2023 D3 Bracketology

[DIIIFan]

I have been to 3 FF at LP and 1 in Lewiston Maine. Have to say the fans from western teams travel well. There was lots of support so don't worry about them showing up.
Oswego '88

 

[nefan]

No, NCAA rules are that if a particular school is chosen to host, it has to be at the home rink that they've played at all year

Salve Regina played at URI rink in 2017-18. They played no games there all season so NCAA made an exception that year??

 

[Russell Jaslow]

It is what it says....It has to be the same ice sheet the host plays at least 50% of its games. Even the practice sessions must be on that surface, We talked about this before, Plattsburgh had to give up a first round game because the women's final 4 was there and there would not be enough time for the practices even though AmCan Arena right in town was willing to help out. Russell will confirm this. AND, if Plattsburgh can win 2 games, problem solved!! And, if the Plattsburgh women happen to host the week before, the logos will be already on the ice !!

You would have to change the logo. They are gender specific...

But speaking of on ice logos, they take time to put down. So, that's even more time an arena has to be made available. This is why you need to put in a bid, to show that you will have that time blocked off, as well as the practice and game times. For teams that play at community rinks, it's not time these rinks typically want to remove from their rental income.

(And yes, the HarborCenter in Buffalo was cancelled because of the pandemic.)

 

[Fishman'81]

Hockey in Lake Placid just feels special. I’ve been to 4 Frozen Fours there and 4 ECAC D1 conference championships there. It’s always a good time, tends to draw lots of fans from teams not in the tournament (likely because of the history) and the surrounding area is magical in the winter.

However I can imagine traveling there could be a nightmare for western fans as the closest decent sized airport is over 2 hours away and winter weather can be dicey. I’m fortunate to be within a 3 hour drive.

I agree. Placid is out of the way for just about everyone, but it's a "destination", as opposed to a Utica , an Endicott, a friggin' Geneva, or a Green Bay. (And the list goes on and on... There are fun things to do in LP, even if your team doesn't show up.)

Ergo, some hockey fans might plan a trip there, whether or not if they know that their team makes it... The aforementioned Podunks, not so much.

Give people a reason to go to a D-3 FF, take it from there, and for God's sake, and don't require them to make last-minute plans.

 

[Fishman'81]

Its being talked about because there are only 3 teams with the capability of hosting. Utica, Norwich, and Plattsburgh. Plattsburgh and Norwich play each other in the first round, and that winner goes to play in arguably the toughest away rink in the country against a red hot Hobart team.

For what its worth, I have heard similar to Pioneer. IF Utica makes the final 4 (IF), they will host. I can say that with absolute certainty.

Assuming UU faces UNE again, I truly hope that it doesn't have to face the same goalie that it did last time. Utica dominated the entire game, but to no avail.

Fort Knox should be so airtight as that guy.

 

[Fishman'81]

I have been to 3 FF at LP and 1 in Lewiston Maine. Have to say the fans from western teams travel well. There was lots of support so don't worry about them showing up.
Oswego '88

Was any of the attendance > 2,000 or even close to that?

i suppose I could look that up, but I have serious doubts.

 

[MELIN27]

Damn, Plymouth State's on-campus rink built in 2010 looks pretty nice (but still too small to host.)

It is a nice rink but only seats 860 and with standing room the rink had just over 1200 fans for the MASCAC final. The concourse is huge which I presume means there are enough dressing rooms below as that's where they are (I think).

 

[CUgradUUfan]

Was any of the attendance > 2,000 or even close to that?

i suppose I could look that up, but I have serious doubts.

I was there last year (so recent memory), Adrian traveled extremely well and so did UNE. Augsburg had a fair few fans there, I would say Geneseo had the least. Between all them, plus a small crowd from UC to watch the finals and many other fans not supporting a specific team there, there were probably 2,500-3000 over the course of the weekend, but not necessarily all in the arena at once (watching their own teams, etc). Definitely a significantly greater amount than when the Utica AUD hosted a few years back and there were a few 100 people from each team that made it and basically no one else.

 

[JSicedog]

I was there last year (so recent memory), Adrian traveled extremely well and so did UNE. Augsburg had a fair few fans there, I would say Geneseo had the least. Between all them, plus a small crowd from UC to watch the finals and many other fans not supporting a specific team there, there were probably 2,500-3000 over the course of the weekend, but not necessarily all in the arena at once (watching their own teams, etc). Definitely a significantly greater amount than when the Utica AUD hosted a few years back and there were a few 100 people from each team that made it and basically no one else.

Not how I remember it. Norwich was the only crowd that travelled in 2017 to Utica. There weren’t much more than parents from Adrian, St Norbert, Trinity. Some locals showed up, moreso than if it was held at a “campus” site anywhere else. Were you expecting Utica to sell out games where they had no one to cheer for?

 

[Sir Nubs]

I've very clearly used the words "if" and "may" whenever I've talked about it, but thank you for your concern

Hope you have a good next game-day in October

Again, St. Norbert missing the tournament is a complete non-sequitur when we are talking about many Utica fanboys putting the cart before the horse.

 

[Sir Nubs]

Not how I remember it. Norwich was the only crowd that travelled in 2017 to Utica. There weren’t much more than parents from Adrian, St Norbert, Trinity. Some locals showed up, moreso than if it was held at a “campus” site anywhere else. Were you expecting Utica to sell out games where they had no one to cheer for?

Utica had no chance to sell out that FF because nobody wanted to travel to that armpit.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Not how I remember it. Norwich was the only crowd that travelled in 2017 to Utica. There weren’t much more than parents from Adrian, St Norbert, Trinity. Some locals showed up, moreso than if it was held at a “campus” site anywhere else. Were you expecting Utica to sell out games where they had no one to cheer for?

Utica is relatively easy to get to from anywhere in the East. So, yeah, there were many of us who expected a better crowd from both the eastern teams involved and the casual fan (I would have still gone even if I wasn't covering it). In that sense, it was a disappointment.

 

[CUgradUUfan]

Not how I remember it. Norwich was the only crowd that travelled in 2017 to Utica. There weren’t much more than parents from Adrian, St Norbert, Trinity. Some locals showed up, moreso than if it was held at a “campus” site anywhere else. Were you expecting Utica to sell out games where they had no one to cheer for?

Adrian traveled better last year to middle of no where, 3 hours from the closest airport on mountain roads LP; than they did to 1 hour from the airport down the interstate in Utica. So yes, I would have expected better. I would like to have seen the crowd at the Harbor Center in 2020 had it not been canceled to make a prediction, but my guess has to do with the fact it’s not Lake Placid. I really think the history has a lot to do with it.

 

[PrezdeJohnson09]

I was there last year (so recent memory), Adrian traveled extremely well and so did UNE. Augsburg had a fair few fans there, I would say Geneseo had the least. Between all them, plus a small crowd from UC to watch the finals and many other fans not supporting a specific team there, there were probably 2,500-3000 over the course of the weekend, but not necessarily all in the arena at once (watching their own teams, etc). Definitely a significantly greater amount than when the Utica AUD hosted a few years back and there were a few 100 people from each team that made it and basically no one else.

There was a very strong Norwich contingent there on Saturday. I'd say there had to be at least 600-750 just Norwich fans there on Saturday for the final, if not more. The one side of the rink was pretty litered with maroon and gold.

 

[WCHornet]

Adrian traveled better last year to middle of no where, 3 hours from the closest airport on mountain roads LP; than they did to 1 hour from the airport down the interstate in Utica. So yes, I would have expected better. I would like to have seen the crowd at the Harbor Center in 2020 had it not been canceled to make a prediction, but my guess has to do with the fact it’s not Lake Placid. I really think the history has a lot to do with it.

Not sure what airport you used to go to Lake Placid. The major ones I think of are BTV and ALB, You are on interstate highways for all but less than a half hour from either of those airports.

 

[JSicedog]

Not sure what airport you used to go to Lake Placid. The major ones I think of are BTV and ALB, You are on interstate highways for all but less than a half hour from either of those airports.

Less than a half hour is a stretch. And its still a 2+ hour drive from any airport. Turns into a nightmare if you hit any weather.

 

[Hockeyguy1424]

I guess your national championship team doesn’t have a true following then. True fans follow their team regardless of where they are playing…. More bullshit excuses.

 

[CUgradUUfan]

Not sure what airport you used to go to Lake Placid. The major ones I think of are BTV and ALB, You are on interstate highways for all but less than a half hour from either of those airports.

The airports I had in mind were Syracuse, Albany and Burlington. The 2 you listed, Burlington is almost no interstate, and Albany leaves about 40 min off interstate, but even the interstate portion is through the eastern edge of the Adirondacks and high peaks region, and can get dicey in bad weather.

 

[Tom Coughlin]

I guess your national championship team doesn’t have a true following then. True fans follow their team regardless of where they are playing…. More bull**** excuses.

Plenty of "true fans" have any number of life circumstances that require them to follow their team on the world wide web from the comfort of their living room.

 

[CUgradUUfan]

I guess your national championship team doesn’t have a true following then. True fans follow their team regardless of where they are playing…. More bull**** excuses.

Not sure who this is directed to, but if it’s me and thus UU, they weren’t even in this discussion. The discussion was purely about the somewhat surprisingly poor attendance when the Utica AUD hosted as a neutral site a few years back compared to the good turn out that LP typically gets.

I’d make the argument though that since jobs, money and families are a thing, true fans can’t necessarily follow their team across country. That’s completely besides the point of the conversation though.