>>many of the other rinks in Hockey East have much to brag about either.  The
>>only schools in my opinion with a better atmosphere would be UNH and BU.
 
BU and UNH are running away from the pack in the league standings.  Hmmm...
would it be fair to speculate that perhaps next year with the shroud of
post-season ineligibility removed, and with a team that will be in the Hockey
East top three at worst, the crowd will revert to the form of the "good old
days"?
 
A fair question would be:  how were the crowds at UNH last season, when the team
was in the middle of the HE pack?  In other words, does success breed more vocal
support?  It's a great deal easier to get into a game if you know the team
you're rooting for is likely to win, even moreso if you know that it will earn
your team a better position come playoff time.  Were the pre-Christmas Alfond
crowds last year significantly better than those at the games that followed the
post-season ban announcement?
 
As far as ticket distribution goes, my wife was a student when the change was
made.  It was a heck of a lot more difficult for her to pick up tickets the week
before the game every week than it was to pick them up a few times a season for
several games at a time.  Of course, it helped that she knew that we would be
going to most of the games.
 
Matt C.