I wanted to comment on a couple of posts out there, especially Mike M.'s
usual intelligent observations.
 
>better.  I expect the Knick will get it very soon, if not next year, but
>the Centrum does deserve consideration for future regionals IMO.
 
>One of the things that may weigh heavily upon any future bids submitted by
>Worcester is the great turnout - 9,000 the first night, 12,045 (sellout)
>the second.  That's by far the best of any of the four regionals held in
>the last two years.  But it would be interesting to see what would have
>happened had Maine not been there; many of the tickets sold ahead of time
>were probably sold to Maine fans who knew their team would make it, and it
>seemed like they had turned the Centrum into Alfond South (Southwest?) on
>Saturday.
 
>Laing (sp?) Kennedy, the Cornell AD and head of the selection committee, was
>impressed and has recommended that the Centrum bid for future events.  In fact
>BU and the Centrum have already bid for next year's Eastern Regionals and the
>next available (96?) NCAA Finals.
 
I continue to favor regional play at the big arenas.  As so many out there have
complained about, America, outside of hockey-l, Massachusetts, Minnesota and
sometimes Michigan and New York, doesn't know there is a sport called college
hockey.  It is a sad commentary that ESPN didn't even read the scores of the
NC$$ regionals on Sportcenter this weekend.  The only way to get the American
fan's attention is through exposure--showcasing the playoffs in the most
attractive venues available.  This is important for two reasons: it builds a
base of support for college hockey in the areas surrounding the big arenas; and
second it can lead to greater media attention in those markets.  The first step
in gaining exposure is to market college hockey into certain key areas.  At
this stage there aren't enough major markets to warrant anyone's attention, be
it the NCAA, the press or the general public.  Without true hotbeds of
interest college hockey will remain a sub-standard sport, a second class sport
ranking below college baseball, and only slightly ahead of lacrosse.
 
In New England and the Northeast you've got several logical sites.  Worcester,
althought I hate to admit it, can certainly stand on the same footing with
Albany's Knick as a good locale.  BTW if RPI was ever in a regional held at the
Knick I'm sure the attendance would go through the roof--in fact there would
be a decent turn-out if there was a couple of decent teams from New York or
Massachusetts in the draw.  The Knick's attendance for the semi-finals last
year was quite favorable, especially considering the Black Bears never showed
up; give the Knick some Eastern teams and it could be quite a show!  And for
those out there who are interested, the Knick ice is expandable to Olympic
dimensions--that's why it continues to host international tournaments.  The ice
was originally planned for the US Olympic team as their training base. ;-)
They simply take out the first two rows of seating when they elect to play a
game at the international size.
 
I can also think of a couple of other good candidates, most of which have been
already thrown out on the list: Hartford, the new Gahden (when it finally opens
in 2001) and maybe some more interesting locations like metro New York (Nassau
Coliseum, the Meadowlands) or Buffalo perhaps.  The point of all this is that
the NC$$ should continue with the existing format and NOT return the playoffs
to the campus arenas where they would denigrate to little more than local
curiosities.
 
>I think it's a definite problem that hockey challenges the accepted supremacy
>of the hoop tourney by scheduling its championship game opposite hoop.  A
>couple of years ago, the semis were played on Fri and the final on Sunday
>afternoon.  I would like to see them return to this, since the hoop games
>are played on Sat and Monday night.  There's also the question of whether
>the arena is available for Sunday, however.  But it would even be possible
>to play the final on Saturday afternoon and avoid a conflict, and they did
>not do that.  Someone like myself (and probably many people on here) will
 
An excellent suggestion.  Friday night would make a great showcase for the
playoffs.  I would add that a late afternoon/evening double-header would make
for great TV, rather than the present practice of starting the game at 2:00.
Also the Sunday afternoon final would lend itself to national TV since
hockey would probably only have to compete with the Seniors PGA tour and a
NASCAR stock car race.
 
Perhaps the best solution of all would be to turn the whole NC$$ tournament
over to Hockey-L sponsorship.  That would certainly give us lots of targets
of opportunity over the coming dreary months of summer.
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