Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

So what can NMU fans expect out of Adam Rockwood?

I wish he was still on the team if that means anything. I hope he does a fantastic job for NMU.

[UWisco]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

Granato posted a good picture of what the back of the new jerseys look like on twitter today. Numbers look different but again it is about what I expected.

[WiscTJK]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

Granato posted a good picture of what the back of the new jerseys look like on twitter today. Numbers look different but again it is about what I expected.

Numbers and names look good in my opinion.

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

Granato posted a good picture of what the back of the new jerseys look like on twitter today. Numbers look different but again it is about what I expected.

The double striped socks take it over the top in terms of eye pleasingness, gotta see it in full dress. Anyway, the lads are practicing, still a month out for games. Is the tilt with the University of Victoria a full priced game?

[KaMiGo]

Is the tilt with the University of Victoria a full priced game?

Yup, the Canadian game and the U18 game are both full priced tickets. At least they are counted that way in the season ticket packages.

[GBBadger14]

Yup, the Canadian game and the U18 game are both full priced tickets. At least they are counted that way in the season ticket packages.

Ok, football is here... hockey's turn now.

Is it October 1st yet?

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

Yup, the Canadian game and the U18 game are both full priced tickets. At least they are counted that way in the season ticket packages.

That just doesn't seem right, especially the Canadian game, but that's the way it's always been. I would love to know season ticket orders to date this yr vs last year.

[gwhinwi]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

That just doesn't seem right, especially the Canadian game, but that's the way it's always been. I would love to know season ticket orders to date this yr vs last year.

Based on the season ticket sales map on the site, I would say that they are up, but we are still nowhere near years past. It'll take a while to get the KC rocking again, but we're on our way.

[BuB]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

Based on the season ticket sales map on the site, I would say that they are up, but we are still nowhere near years past. It'll take a while to get the KC rocking again, but we're on our way.

Provided people know HOW to get the KC rocking again. Maybe it's been too long since I've been a part of a full house at an intense game. Seems like even when we were good before the decline the last two years the place wasn't exactly "rocking". Obviously,we are all hoping this is going to be a part of the positive changes we see in the program.

Winning cures a lot of ills......

[gwhinwi]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

Provided people know HOW to get the KC rocking again. Maybe it's been too long since I've been a part of a full house at an intense game. Seems like even when we were good before the decline the last two years the place wasn't exactly "rocking". Obviously,we are all hoping this is going to be a part of the positive changes we see in the program.

Winning cures a lot of ills......

Can't argue with that. I remember the late 90's and early 2000's being amazing in there. '06 was pretty impressive as well, but since then the student section has had a massive decline and without that there is a real lack of intensity in the building.

Man, I remember being forced to change location for our season tickets in the early part of the '00's because the student section had gone all the way up to the top of the 3rd deck. Those were the days.

[BuB]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

Can't argue with that. I remember the late 90's and early 2000's being amazing in there. '06 was pretty impressive as well, but since then the student section has had a massive decline and without that there is a real lack of intensity in the building.

Man, I remember being forced to change location for our season tickets in the early part of the '00's because the student section had gone all the way up to the top of the 3rd deck. Those were the days.

People get mad at me for saying this - but I really think that since FB and BB have become better there has been a decline in student participation and energy at hockey games. When UW was only good at hockey, it was the only thing we were winning at and the Great Dane and early KC were rocking.

I am NOT wishing for a decline in Badger basketball and football, but now that we are much more competitive across the board in athletics - that thirst to cheer for a winner gets quenched much easier at UW than it used too....

[WiscDC]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

Provided people know HOW to get the KC rocking again. Maybe it's been too long since I've been a part of a full house at an intense game. Seems like even when we were good before the decline the last two years the place wasn't exactly "rocking". Obviously,we are all hoping this is going to be a part of the positive changes we see in the program.

Winning cures a lot of ills......

That's one of the many reasons I'm getting student tickets again this year (as a "student" ). This year's seniors were the last freshman class to really have a big WOW-inducing environment, and that was just some of the time, mainly down the second half stretch (13-14). In terms of numbers, that year wasn't good, though the 11-12(?)-dollar reserved student tickets did get scooped up.

Anyway, it'll be tough to bridge the gap from 5 years ago to now, which is why I hope people start filling seats and get into it now, even though we shouldn't be too optimistic about immediate results a month from now. A whole cycle of students went through school seeing Wisconsin hockey (and college hockey as a whole) as being like a more popular volleyball or soccer, rather than being a more niche "major" sport with a lot of history and its own traditions. It's insane how many big hockey fans on campus are mostly indifferent about UW hockey. As long as new students come in and experience the enthusiasm at Badgers hockey games, see it as a "thing," and get into the traditions, the fan base will build up again.

(Anecdotally, there have been a few times in the past couple of years where I've heard people - even in the regular seats - talking about how fun the hockey games are...and those were games that we would consider awful in terms of atmosphere.)

[WiscDC]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

People get mad at me for saying this - but I really think that since FB and BB have become better there has been a decline in student participation and energy at hockey games. When UW was only good at hockey, it was the only thing we were winning at and the Great Dane and early KC were rocking.

I am NOT wishing for a decline in Badger basketball and football, but now that we are much more competitive across the board in athletics - that thirst to cheer for a winner gets quenched much easier at UW than it used too....

That's a little bit of it, but wasn't the hockey student section sold out and as loud as ever from the mid to late 2000s? (EODS, please chime in.) Even when I was a freshman (right as the decline was really starting), anyone who had been to a hockey game (and not just hockey nuts like myself) knew that it had the strongest atmosphere.

The presence of UW hockey and college hockey on the UW campus did fall much further than football or basketball could conceivably fall. If the basketball team finished in the bottom 2 or 3 every year for a decade (yes, a decade) in the 14-team Big Ten, it might get to the point where we could start comparing the decline of the program overall (not just on-ice/on-court) to what we saw with UW hockey. That being said, you might be surprised how well the hockey student section at its worst, minus one or two terrible games, compares to the basketball student section at its best, minus one or two marquee "event" games.

I was a freshman the first year of the men's hockey non-sellout streak. That was before the basketball team was making final four runs, but it was well known how good that team was every single year (always top 4 in the Big Ten, making sweet sixteens like it's automatic, etc). In terms of the actual number of fans at games, the hockey and basketball student sections were pretty comparable (doing some estimating, as they're arranged differently with the temporary seats). There were literally only 2 basketball games that had more than a smattering of students (who would be sitting) in the second level: senior day had a modestly populated second level, and the OSU game was the only full student section. Also, if you had read or heard anything about the Grateful Red, you'd have been shocked by how quiet and passive it was, even for good games.

Obviously, things took a turn for the better once the hype train got rolling the next year, and more so in the two following years. (And hooray for the priority purchase day!) There were even a few creative chants from fans - and not just band members doing "sieve" chants - which was new. It still lacked the cohesiveness of the hockey fans, but people visibly cared. As expected, things started getting more flat last year, but I'd be surprised if it gets down to how it was in 2011-12 very soon.

Anyway, I feel like there were other factors at play. I see tons of hockey fans who just don't get into UW hockey (more about college hockey falling off the map for its own reasons, rather than football/basketball pushing it off), and the student section was out in full force well after football and men's basketball established themselves as competitive programs. Sure, if hockey were the only competitive team, it would be huge, but I really don't feel overly optimistic saying that it can be strong along with other strong programs.

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

That's a little bit of it, but wasn't the hockey student section sold out and as loud as ever from the mid to late 2000s? (EODS, please chime in.) Even when I was a freshman (right as the decline was really starting), anyone who had been to a hockey game (and not just hockey nuts like myself) knew that it had the strongest atmosphere.

Certainly the fact that our team was doing so well in the lead-up to the '06 title helped with the atmosphere. But I'd agree, there was certainly enough sustained excellence to go around. All three of the big moneymakers were excellent draws at the time.



... and it wasn't until 2011-12 that student season ticket sales went below 5k.

[BuB]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

That's a little bit of it, but wasn't the hockey student section sold out and as loud as ever from the mid to late 2000s? (EODS, please chime in.) Even when I was a freshman (right as the decline was really starting), anyone who had been to a hockey game (and not just hockey nuts like myself) knew that it had the strongest atmosphere.

The presence of UW hockey and college hockey on the UW campus did fall much further than football or basketball could conceivably fall. If the basketball team finished in the bottom 2 or 3 every year for a decade (yes, a decade) in the 14-team Big Ten, it might get to the point where we could start comparing the decline of the program overall (not just on-ice/on-court) to what we saw with UW hockey. That being said, you might be surprised how well the hockey student section at its worst, minus one or two terrible games, compares to the basketball student section at its best, minus one or two marquee "event" games.

I was a freshman the first year of the men's hockey non-sellout streak. That was before the basketball team was making final four runs, but it was well known how good that team was every single year (always top 4 in the Big Ten, making sweet sixteens like it's automatic, etc). In terms of the actual number of fans at games, the hockey and basketball student sections were pretty comparable (doing some estimating, as they're arranged differently with the temporary seats). There were literally only 2 basketball games that had more than a smattering of students (who would be sitting) in the second level: senior day had a modestly populated second level, and the OSU game was the only full student section. Also, if you had read or heard anything about the Grateful Red, you'd have been shocked by how quiet and passive it was, even for good games.

Obviously, things took a turn for the better once the hype train got rolling the next year, and more so in the two following years. (And hooray for the priority purchase day!) There were even a few creative chants from fans - and not just band members doing "sieve" chants - which was new. It still lacked the cohesiveness of the hockey fans, but people visibly cared. As expected, things started getting more flat last year, but I'd be surprised if it gets down to how it was in 2011-12 very soon.

Anyway, I feel like there were other factors at play. I see tons of hockey fans who just don't get into UW hockey (more about college hockey falling off the map for its own reasons, rather than football/basketball pushing it off), and the student section was out in full force well after football and men's basketball established themselves as competitive programs. Sure, if hockey were the only competitive team, it would be huge, but I really don't feel overly optimistic saying that it can be strong along with other strong programs.

Well stated, and I would agree. I guess I was looking back further in my UW history to the 80's and 90's. I do agree that there is more than one reason for this situation. In retrospect I presented my theory not as a singular reason as much as perhaps a less thought of "part of the reason" for decline in attendance. Either way, more W's will get more butts into seats. I know mine would be there more often...I'd sell less of my season ticket package off if I thought I could see a few more wins.