2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

[Bumbles]

Sounds like this game will be the earlier of the two semi's. Should be a good one! Golden opportunity for both teams to make it back to the National Title game. BU still looks like they are having issues with taking penalties but so far the PK has held up. I think Mercyhurst's wins this yr (vs. Clarkson, BC, and now Cornell) show that they can play with anyone. Good luck to both teams.

*reposted for the sake of having consistency with the other threads.

 

[Blackbeard]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

Crowd sure thinned out after the first game.

Thirstyhurst needs to muster some coordinated offence...pretty anemic so far...Bestland is trying to do it on her own.

 

[Bumbles]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

Thanks for reviving this, I was just going to post in the tourney thread haha.

Both teams have had a lot of great opportunities but Sperry is playing well for BU. Dingeldein is one aggressive player......

 

[Cali]

Crowd sure thinned out after the first game.

Thirstyhurst needs to muster some coordinated offence...pretty anemic so far...Bestland is trying to do it on her own.

Janiga missed 2 glorious chances in the first.

Is it just me or are both of the commentators taking negative jabs at Mercyhurst?

 

[Blackbeard]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

Gorgeous goal by BU...tremendous effort/playmaking by Kohanchuk.

 

[Blackbeard]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

Nice touch for the video to stop just long enough to miss Mercyhurst's only goal.

And what are these commentators talking about..."Sperry has a .88 save percentage and next to Raty that's quite good" or something to that effect!!!! An .88 save percentage is extremely mediocre, average, run of the mill...much less and you are a bottom feeder...if your save percentage number doesn't at least start with a "9" then you're not even approaching the elite goaltender neighbourhood. As a matter of fact, I'd say you have to have .92%+ to be considered elite.

I've seen BU play six games this year and prior to this game I've been very underwhelmed. Tonight they looked like a hockey team...a hungry hockey team. Rather disappointing that Mercyhurst didn't have more to offer.

But I think far more disappointing is how the crowd disappeared after the first game. Lots of people here are upset that the UM vs BC game wasn't televised. If it was you would have to think that the second one would have been as well. How good would that have looked? A National Championship semi-final game and everybody made out like Elvis after the first game. Terrible, terrible impression.

Maybe you might first want to hold it at a venue that is likely to stay full for both games...I found this to be horribly pathetic and extremely embarassing for the organizers.

Very, very, poor.

 

[CrazyDave]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

But I think far more disappointing is how the crowd disappeared after the first game. Lots of people here are upset that the UM vs BC game wasn't televised. If it was you would have to think that the second one would have been as well. How good would that have looked? A National Championship semi-final game and everybody made out like Elvis after the first game. Terrible, terrible impression.

With the Gopher men's hockey and both basketball teams also in action this evening, this is absolutely no surprise to me.

 

[Blackbeard]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

With the Gopher men's hockey and both basketball teams also in action this evening, this is absolutely no surprise to me.

I was sort of aware of this which is why I said "Maybe you might first want to hold it at a venue that is likely to stay full for both games".

This is not the first time I've heard UM fans explain that the reason for poor attendance at one of their games was too many other distractions in MSP. That was my point...it seems to often be a problem...too often...if it's not the men's team it's a major kid's tournament, if it's not that then it's basketball and if it's not that then...it's the Wild, Vikings, Twins, tubing on the Apple River or picking blueberries in January.

Not your fault, but my point was that maybe Ridder isn't a great place to hold these events unless these other distractions are first considered with respect to how much else is going on that is likely to conflict.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't recall the building emptying out in 2010 after the first semi-final game.

 

[CanHockGuy]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

It's the event period, unfortunately.

 

[CrazyDave]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't recall the building emptying out in 2010 after the first semi-final game.

That's because the Gophers (and Bulldogs) played in the late game.

 

[Blackbeard]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

That's because the Gophers (and Bulldogs) played in the late game.

I was trying to recall but thought it was the first game...so that answers that question. I was right about the building not being vacated but for the wrong reason. So the problem still exists.

 

[Eeyore]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

I was sort of aware of this which is why I said "Maybe you might first want to hold it at a venue that is likely to stay full for both games".

You're expecting that someone can predict two years ahead of time that the NCAA/WCHA/WNIT would schedule all of our teams playing at the same time?

 

[Eeyore]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

To be honest, I thought this was a dreadful game. BU was good but not great and Mercyhurst had next to nothing. Stephanie Ciampa was horrible tonight, starting from the very beginning of the game.

After the first game I was incredibly tense and wound up. The second game didn't so much calm me down as it did beat me senseless.

 

[Bumbles]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

Gorgeous goal by BU...tremendous effort/playmaking by Kohanchuk.

Didn't see the goal when it happened but just saw it in the highlights video. Wowsers - very nice. Def highlight reel. Maybe even makes sportscenter? hahah

 

[Back2BackU-MnPride2002]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

You're expecting that someone can predict two years ahead of time that the NCAA/WCHA/WNIT would schedule all of our teams playing at the same time?

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[Eeyore]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

I was thinking the same thing.

There's also the part that, if you want to compare it to the DECC last year, you might ask what attendance at the second semifinal tonight would have been like had Wisconsin made the tournament. That might have provided a wee advantage to attendance in Duluth.

 

[Skate79]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

With the Gopher men's hockey and both basketball teams also in action this evening, this is absolutely no surprise to me.

During the video feed of the UM-BC game, the announcers mentioned that one of the reasons the game sold out was to allow Minnesota fans to see both the women and men's games. Everyone headed out to Xcel Energy Center after the game. That's why the building looked deserted. Had the Minnesota-BC game taken place after BU-Mercyhurst, it is doubtful that Ridder would have been sold out.

 

[ARM]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

During the video feed of the UM-BC game, the announcers mentioned that one of the reasons the game sold out was to allow Minnesota fans to see both the women and men's games. Everyone headed out to Xcel Energy Center after the game. That's why the building looked deserted. Had the Minnesota-BC game taken place after BU-Mercyhurst, it is doubtful that Ridder would have been sold out.

It would still have been sold out (it sold out well before the NCAA Tournament), but there would have been more no-shows. I know some people bought tickets for the entire Frozen Four in the hope of attending a game on Sunday where Minnesota had a chance to play for the championship.

 

[Blackbeard]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

You're expecting that someone can predict two years ahead of time that the NCAA/WCHA/WNIT would schedule all of our teams playing at the same time?

Wasn't expecting anything other than the "consideration" that I mentioned. Some forward looking consultation with some of these other groups whose timing for their events might conflict might be helpful. Then again, the Frozen Four is held every year on either the third or fourth weekend in March (don't know what determines which) so that, if it were to remain the same, would immediately limit the options.

It just strikes me as being a vicious circle. Some want these games televised but as I mentioned what impression would be left in the viewer's mind tuning in to a game where the building is empty? Psychology/marketing are at the root of the problem. The underlying impression is that the product can't be that good because the building is empty...that's just the way the human herd mentality works (why would I want to go if nobody else is going or conversely, if everybody else is staying away then that's what I should be doing too...most people think like sheep) and if it's not good then why is it being televised?

Seems to me that the above mentioned psychology/marketing translates into promotion and attempting to eliminate the competition...the line between the two is very blurred. This all assumes, of course, that the product is good.

Look at that link to the commentary that was posted yesterday about the Clarkson Cup discussing the same thing, empty buildings.

Two things immediately struck me...I wasn't aware that it was even taking place and the fact that it was taking place on the same weekend as the Frozen Four, albeit their championship game is on Saturday, which is today, the non-game day for the Frozen Four. Maybe the organizers have made that conscious decision of scheduling it on the same weekend as the Frozen Four thinking it would be a positive. If, so, it doesn't seem to be working.

Or does that even have anything to do with it?

At the same time there's no perfection...there's only so many weekends in a month/year. But that gets us back to my earlier point, that maybe these events should be held at venues where there is a lot less likelihood of local distractions occurring thereby reducing attendance or conversely causing it to be a big attraction because there's nothing else or not much else going on that weekend, locally.

 

[OldDave]

Re: 2013 NCAA Semifinal: Boston University vs. Mercyhurst

Between the games, the concourse was packed. So much so that we gave up on an effort to walk around. My point is that there was no mad dash for the exits and that there was still a very good crowd (2,700?) for the beginning of the second game. However, a lot of it was standing and watching from the concourse, and I doubt those folks were visible on the broadcast. It was a lot quieter than the first game as well.

People started filtering out when it became obvious that Mercyhurst wasn't going to be competitive. There was a rush for the exits when BU scored their third goal, but folks had been there for five hours at that point.