The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

[Squarebanks]

Brilliant fact. Not an opinion but a fact. Good on ya!

Arkansas, the only state Oklahoma can make fun of.

[gfmorris]

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

Maybe you forgot somebody?

Nope, I think I have all three covered.

GFM

[gfmorris]

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

Arkansas, the only state Oklahoma can make fun of.

Don't forget Mississippi. Everyone can make fun of Mississippi.

GFM <— with family and a HS diploma from the Magnolia State

[vizoroo]

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

Don't forget Mississippi. Everyone can make fun of Mississippi.

GFM <— with family and a HS diploma from the Magnolia State

You beat me to it.

[mtu_huskies]

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

More WCHA office details from Charley Walters in todays St. Paul Pioneer Press.
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_...ter-doesnt-pan

Look for Western Collegiate Hockey Association offices, which have been in Denver and Madison, Wis., under new Commissioner Billy Robertson from St. Paul, to move Monday to Edina, with plans to end up at the Xcel Energy Center next year.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

One has to imagine that if our offices are in the building, the Xcel is going to get used for the league tourney at some point. The same story also stated that the X is getting a new center ice video board this season that is the length of the full neutral zone (blue line to blue line). Can't wait to see Tech claiming the WCHA tourney title on that screen.

Ryan J

[bigblue_dl]

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

One has to imagine that if our offices are in the building, the Xcel is going to get used for the league tourney at some point. The same story also stated that the X is getting a new center ice video board this season that is the length of the full neutral zone (blue line to blue line). Can't wait to see Tech claiming the WCHA tourney title on that screen.

Ryan J

At some point meaning this coming season?

[manurespreader]

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

Don't forget Mississippi. Everyone can make fun of Mississippi.

GFM <— with family and a HS diploma from the Magnolia State

Well maybe, but at least in Mississippi they don't send kids home for having red hair. ( since I have two red headed daughters this could be a problem)

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

At some point meaning this coming season?

Well, I meant down the road for future seasons, but yes, my original post does not clearly state the obvious fact that it is going to be at the X at the end of this season.
Ryan J

[purpleinnebraska]

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

Well, I meant down the road for future seasons, but yes, my original post does not clearly state the obvious fact that it is going to be at the X at the end of this season.
Ryan J

It will be interesting to see how attendance works out at both venues, and if they choose to go to a more permanent site in '18. If there's no BSU, Tech, or (I hate to even type this) Kato at the X in March, will anyone be there? How many will come even if all 3 of those schools are there? And if Grand Rapids gets its dream field in '16 (4 Michigan schools, or 3 Michigan schools and BGSU), and still no one shows up, it's hard to justify going back there again. I do think, because of a much larger population base and airport access, the Final 5ish eventually ends up permanently in the Twin Cities, provided the conference still has the same makeup in '18.

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

It will be interesting to see how attendance works out at both venues, and if they choose to go to a more permanent site in '18. If there's no BSU, Tech, or (I hate to even type this) Kato at the X in March, will anyone be there? How many will come even if all 3 of those schools are there? And if Grand Rapids gets its dream field in '16 (4 Michigan schools, or 3 Michigan schools and BGSU), and still no one shows up, it's hard to justify going back there again. I do think, because of a much larger population base and airport access, the Final 5ish eventually ends up permanently in the Twin Cities, provided the conference still has the same makeup in '18.

How does it end up permanently in the Twin Cities? NCHC has Target Center and Big Ten has the X if they want it. You think the Big Ten abandons the X for something more neutral?

[purpleinnebraska]

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

How does it end up permanently in the Twin Cities? NCHC has Target Center and Big Ten has the X if they want it. You think the Big Ten abandons the X for something more neutral?

I do think the Big will move it around. Detroit, Columbus and Pittsburgh also have NHL arenas and hometown alumni. I just can't think anyone in WCHA headquarters is happy with last year's Final 5 attendance. If St. Paul also proves to be very disappointing, they may look for another solution (#1 seed hosts?). But I can't think another year of a few hundred people in the stands bodes well for Grand Rapids as a host site.

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

I do think the Big will move it around. Detroit, Columbus and Pittsburgh also have NHL arenas and hometown alumni. I just can't think anyone in WCHA headquarters is happy with last year's Final 5 attendance. If St. Paul also proves to be very disappointing, they may look for another solution (#1 seed hosts?). But I can't think another year of a few hundred people in the stands bodes well for Grand Rapids as a host site.

I think they will continue to have attendance issues until they pick a location and give it a chance to grow.

[JohnsonsJerseys]

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

The Bi6 has the advantage of EVERY team making the event EVERY season (at least until the league gets bigger) and tens of thousands of fans behind every program. Fans can decide well in advance if they plan to attend and that (IMO) is a huge advantage in terms of how many fans show up. They could move every year and I don't think it impacts their attendance as long as at least one program is local to the playoff location. Comparing the nWCHA and Bi6 playoffs is like comparing an NCAA regional and the Frozen Four. One will have a basically "walk-up" attendance and the other will have fans who planned their trip well in advance.

When you don't know for sure who will be in the tourney until 5 days in advance, you're not going to get many fans to show up that are outside driving distance unless they are just die-hard college hockey fans who will attend no matter who they will be watching. In the nWCHA, even as the #1 or #2 seed last year, making the tourney was not a given. The league was too tight top to bottom. Most fans won't attend unless their team is playing.

The oWCHA had the huge advantage of 9 teams (Team-hrs from Xcel... MN-0, SCSU-1, MSU-1.5, UMD-2, BSU-2, UW-4.5, UND-5, UNO-5.5, MTU-6) within "reasonable" driving distance of the playoff location and you could easily count on four of those nine teams being regulars. Even though the actual teams were unknown until 5 days prior, those top 3-4 teams were a given most every year. It was usually seeds #5 and #6 that were the unknowns. With only three teams being a great distance away (DU-13, CC-14, UAA-infinity), the odds of having lots of local teams in the tourney was very high. That alone gave the oWCHA playoff attendance high numbers every year (IMO).

Maybe someone could repost that maps graphic showing all nWCHA team locations, but even without seeing it I'm sure most of us realize there is no easy solution when it comes to geography for the nWCHA and a central location. Since there is no location which makes sense to get a lot of fans to drive to the event, Minneapolis is as good of a location as any - big airport, lots of hotels and things to do other than hockey if you want to come early or stay later. You always have the chance that some Bi6 or NCHC might show up as well if you host it in their backyard. That won't happen in Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Duluth, Grand Forks or some of the other locations that have been mentioned in the past.

Ryan J

[Seawolf Fan]

Re: The New WCHA, 2014 Offseason: See-ya, Bruce

The Bi6 has the advantage of EVERY team making the event EVERY season (at least until the league gets bigger) and tens of thousands of fans behind every program. Fans can decide well in advance if they plan to attend and that (IMO) is a huge advantage in terms of how many fans show up. They could move every year and I don't think it impacts their attendance as long as at least one program is local to the playoff location. Comparing the nWCHA and Bi6 playoffs is like comparing an NCAA regional and the Frozen Four. One will have a basically "walk-up" attendance and the other will have fans who planned their trip well in advance.

When you don't know for sure who will be in the tourney until 5 days in advance, you're not going to get many fans to show up that are outside driving distance unless they are just die-hard college hockey fans who will attend no matter who they will be watching. In the nWCHA, even as the #1 or #2 seed last year, making the tourney was not a given. The league was too tight top to bottom. Most fans won't attend unless their team is playing.

The oWCHA had the huge advantage of 9 teams (Team-hrs from Xcel... MN-0, SCSU-1, MSU-1.5, UMD-2, BSU-2, UW-4.5, UND-5, UNO-5.5, MTU-6) within "reasonable" driving distance of the playoff location and you could easily count on four of those nine teams being regulars. Even though the actual teams were unknown until 5 days prior, those top 3-4 teams were a given most every year. It was usually seeds #5 and #6 that were the unknowns. With only three teams being a great distance away (DU-13, CC-14, UAA-infinity), the odds of having lots of local teams in the tourney was very high. That alone gave the oWCHA playoff attendance high numbers every year (IMO).

Maybe someone could repost that maps graphic showing all nWCHA team locations, but even without seeing it I'm sure most of us realize there is no easy solution when it comes to geography for the nWCHA and a central location. Since there is no location which makes sense to get a lot of fans to drive to the event, Minneapolis is as good of a location as any - big airport, lots of hotels and things to do other than hockey if you want to come early or stay later. You always have the chance that some Bi6 or NCHC might show up as well if you host it in their backyard. That won't happen in Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Duluth, Grand Forks or some of the other locations that have been mentioned in the past.

Ryan J

Makes the most sense to me of any of the posts so far.