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2018-2019 Ohio State Hockey! Return to the Show in Buffalo!

Re: 2018-2019 Ohio State Hockey! Return to the Show in Buffalo!

Site of what must be the worst attended regional in NCAA hockey history. And there's a lot of competition for that "honor." No doubt the facility is nice, but the Toledo hockey community just said no.

I went to all the games (I live in Toledo). I did not think it was that bad. Saw a UMD game a Schott a few years ago and it was worse. I agree there is a lot of competition out there for poorly attended regionals, over the years. H Center is a great arena for college hockey, size-wise. Cant believe Sioux Falls last year would have been any better. If beer were sold, there might be more of a chance Toledoans would attend.
 
Re: 2018-2019 Ohio State Hockey! Return to the Show in Buffalo!

I went to all the games (I live in Toledo). I did not think it was that bad. Saw a UMD game a Schott a few years ago and it was worse. I agree there is a lot of competition out there for poorly attended regionals, over the years. H Center is a great arena for college hockey, size-wise. Cant believe Sioux Falls last year would have been any better. If beer were sold, there might be more of a chance Toledoans would attend.
A regional needs promoted properly. I didn't get to the last one at US Bank Arena in Cinci but I did get to the one before that when my daughter was the personal assistant to vice president of arena operations and that regional was hosted by Miami and very well attended. I think if Ohio State's program stays strong we can have a very good attendance and we could bus our entire student section there if need be.
I can't offhand think of a nicer arena and the ideal size for a regional in Ohio than Toledo.
Sometimes it gets a little more complicated than it needs be as you have the arena wanting to do things a certain way, and then the host school wants their input and the NCAA wants to be the boss of all.
 
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Re: 2018-2019 Ohio State Hockey! Return to the Show in Buffalo!

Saw a UMD game a Schott a few years ago and it was worse.
We're doing much better now. Success brings change.
Coach Rohlik was talking in the USCHO story this week about how we're getting 9, 10, & 11,000 at games now and the energy it brings and I'll bet you HE doesn't believe we need a rink below that in size!
 
Re: 2018-2019 Ohio State Hockey! Return to the Show in Buffalo!

I went to all the games (I live in Toledo). I did not think it was that bad. Saw a UMD game a Schott a few years ago and it was worse. I agree there is a lot of competition out there for poorly attended regionals, over the years. H Center is a great arena for college hockey, size-wise. Cant believe Sioux Falls last year would have been any better. If beer were sold, there might be more of a chance Toledoans would attend.
I really don't want to belabor this, with special games & long awaited accomplishments right upon us. But I do want to emphasize that my grievance is with the NCAA format, not with Toledo's facility.

Sioux Falls, of course, was well attended. That city is an easy drive from Grand Forks, at least by their standards. UND has the best traveling fan base in college hockey, period. They are accustomed to regularly making the tournament, and their fans will buy advance tickets based on good odds that their team will be present. UND fans will carry the event in Fargo or Sioux Falls. Call it the exception that proves the rule.

Again, the core point: Very few fans will attend the regionals unless they have a rooting interest. Even with beer. With beer & much more affordable ticket prices, maybe neutral fans will consider the event. Maybe.

A regional needs promoted properly. I didn't get to the last one at US Bank Arena in Cinci but I did get to the one before that when my daughter was the personal assistant to vice president of arena operations and that regional was hosted by Miami and very well attended. I think if Ohio State's program stays strong we can have a very good attendance and we could bus our entire student section there if need be.
I can't offhand think of a nicer arena and the ideal size for a regional in Ohio than Toledo.
Sometimes it gets a little more complicated than it needs be as you have the arena wanting to do things a certain way, and then the host school wants their input and the NCAA wants to be the boss of all.
Good point, proper promotion can help. But see the above.
 
Re: 2018-2019 Ohio State Hockey! Return to the Show in Buffalo!

Not to get stuck on this topic but I would say at SOME point OSU will have to keep up with the Joneses and be a host institution so what DO you do at that point?
It may be premature to inquire with the powers that be at OSU about this but I get the impression after this season concludes the wheels may be in motion for a number of things relating to our program and this may be one of the things on the table for discussion.
 
Re: 2018-2019 Ohio State Hockey! Return to the Show in Buffalo!

I would add that if a second B1G school was at Toledo with us such as ND, Michigan or Michigan State all are within easy driving distance for their fan base and would fill it nicely.
However this is pure speculation on a best case scenario as we have no idea if we ever host who will be there, including ourselves.
 
Re: 2018-2019 Ohio State Hockey! Return to the Show in Buffalo!

Not to get stuck on this topic but I would say at SOME point OSU will have to keep up with the Joneses and be a host institution so what DO you do at that point?
It may be premature to inquire with the powers that be at OSU about this but I get the impression after this season concludes the wheels may be in motion for a number of things relating to our program and this may be one of the things on the table for discussion.
Alaska-Anchorage hosted a FF in Anaheim, CA. Wisconsin hosted a FF in Tampa, FL. That constitutes doing a school's share of the hosting, but in no way addresses your concern -- better access for fans in the CCHA States.

I would add that if a second B1G school was at Toledo with us such as ND, Michigan or Michigan State all are within easy driving distance for their fan base and would fill it nicely.
However this is pure speculation on a best case scenario as we have no idea if we ever host who will be there, including ourselves.
Exactly. You have to bid on the event years before you have any idea who the participating teams will be.

Note also the rule against intra-conference match-ups in the first round. Which is a very good rule IMHO. So if we're looking at ND, UM, MSU & OSU as the schools that are "local enough," the best case scenario is two of those four schools. For me, that best case scenario is the only one that has a reasonable chance of succeeding in a neutral city. So do we really want to bid on a tournament when the situation is best case scenario or bust? Maybe I'm getting conservative in my old age, but my answer is no.
 
Re: 2018-2019 Ohio State Hockey! Return to the Show in Buffalo!

So do we really want to bid on a tournament when the situation is best case scenario or bust? Maybe I'm getting conservative in my old age, but my answer is no.
Now I haven't fact checked this but I'm going to go out on a limb and say Ohio State is the only school in our conference who has NOT hosted a regional which includes obviously pre-B1G hockey conference.
If you want to be a hockey school you eventually have to pony up to the bar and do what everyone else in the conference has done at one point or another.
And we did host a Frozen Four on campus but it was a failure in the respect that there were NO SUPPORTING AMENITIES within an easy walk and the fans were very unhappy in that respect.
Ohio State would do very well however if they could host a FF at Nationwide as it has EVERYTHING within walking distance. They should really try hard for that at least.
 
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We're doing much better now. Success brings change.
Coach Rohlik was talking in the USCHO story this week about how we're getting 9, 10, & 11,000 at games now and the energy it brings and I'll bet you HE doesn't believe we need a rink below that in size!

Commencing to beat the dead horse. I think 6-7 thousand is the right size. I've been following the program since the Pooley Brothers, so I don't make any assumptions that the good times won't end (after all, we're not Miami fans). 7K is still a great environment if we hit the skids and average attendance drops intonthe 4k range. Plus, I like the idea of it being a hot ticket. Push people into buying season tickets because they can't count on empty seats. Standing room only in a 7K barn would absolutely be a rocking environment.
 
Re: 2018-2019 Ohio State Hockey! Return to the Show in Buffalo!

Just looked on Ticketmaster on saw only GA available for tomorrow night
 
Commencing to beat the dead horse. I think 6-7 thousand is the right size. I've been following the program since the Pooley Brothers, so I don't make any assumptions that the good times won't end (after all, we're not Miami fans). 7K is still a great environment if we hit the skids and average attendance drops intonthe 4k range. Plus, I like the idea of it being a hot ticket. Push people into buying season tickets because they can't count on empty seats. Standing room only in a 7K barn would absolutely be a rocking environment.

I agree with you 6-7K sets arena is big enough not any bigger
 
Re: 2018-2019 Ohio State Hockey! Return to the Show in Buffalo!

Slow and sloppy is it in a nutshell for our performance.
Good news is BOTH Notre Dame & Penn State lost tonight!
 
Re: 2018-2019 Ohio State Hockey! Return to the Show in Buffalo!

Now I haven't fact checked this but I'm going to go out on a limb and say Ohio State is the only school in our conference who has NOT hosted a regional which includes obviously pre-B1G hockey conference.
If you want to be a hockey school you eventually have to pony up to the bar and do what everyone else in the conference has done at one point or another.
Keep in mind that regionals at Yost, Munn & Mariucci would not permitted under current rules, and therefore aren't relevant to the topic of future sites. Unless the rules change, of course.

And we did host a Frozen Four on campus but it was a failure in the respect that there were NO SUPPORTING AMENITIES within an easy walk and the fans were very unhappy in that respect.
True, but only part of the story. The All WCHA FF was a great credit to that league, but it was a problem for the tournament. Eastern fans cancelled their trips en masse, apparently on the grounds that there was no one to root for. That destroyed the value of the tickets on the secondary market, leaving many of the people who did come in an ornery mood.

Ohio State would do very well however if they could host a FF at Nationwide as it has EVERYTHING within walking distance. They should really try hard for that at least.
On this we agree! It would be a great set-up. I wouldn't hold your breath, though. Since the 2020 & 2021 Frozen Fours are so close by, I expect that it will be a period of years before our region gets serious consideration again. But in the medium term, it should happen.
 
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