LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

[jnacc]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

As the team continues to win on a consistent basis there will be more seats in the seats. It is a well know fact that the better a college's athletic teams do the enrollment goes up.

Some time ago I watched an interview with Bobby Bowden, of Florida State fame, where he said when he started at FSU the attendance was very low. As the football team won the enrollment went up. When my son visited Ohio State years ago they talked about a direct correlation between enrollment and how the football team did. Fortunately he chose to go north to LSSU because of the programs and the hockey program.

A good solid hockey team which will play hard and win most of the time will fill the seats. I wouldn't down size the Norris the goal should be to fill it with good hockey and creative marketing. Like someone said earlier; if the winning continues into January more will begin to come to the Norris; some skeptics are just harder to convince.

The real question is can a school with an enrollment of 2700 in a community with no more than 25k (I'm counting the Soo and surronding areas) really be expected to fill a 4000 seat arena on a consistant basis? Think about it...it would mean 16% of the entire population attending each game. Now take a look at say Northern Michigan, 65000 people and a 4000 seat arena, needing only 6% of the population to fill the stadium. Soo Ontario has 80000 residents and a 5000 seat arena....heck take a look at both Michigan and Michigan State and their football stadiums. They both rely on metro areas of over 1 million plus people to draw from.
The reality is that 4000 seats is much too large for a community the size of the Soo. Yes when the arena was first built, the novelty of it drew in people who would otherwise not bother with hockey or sports in general. A 3000 seat arena would be much more realistic and would greatly improve the atmosphere at the games.

 

[peten16]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

The real question is can a school with an enrollment of 2700 in a community with no more than 25k (I'm counting the Soo and surronding areas) really be expected to fill a 4000 seat arena on a consistant basis? Think about it...it would mean 16% of the entire population attending each game. Now take a look at say Northern Michigan, 65000 people and a 4000 seat arena, needing only 6% of the population to fill the stadium. Soo Ontario has 80000 residents and a 5000 seat arena....heck take a look at both Michigan and Michigan State and their football stadiums. They both rely on metro areas of over 1 million plus people to draw from.
The reality is that 4000 seats is much too large for a community the size of the Soo. Yes when the arena was first built, the novelty of it drew in people who would otherwise not bother with hockey or sports in general. A 3000 seat arena would be much more realistic and would greatly improve the atmosphere at the games.

Has enrollment really dropped that low?

 

[peten16]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

Personally makes my heart warm and cozy watching Michigan struggle. I have to fight the urge to celebrate by urinating on a random library, just in Red's honor. (Yes, I am aware it was almost 20 years ago . . . and no, I won't forget it).

In other, MUCH more important issues -- the Lakers are now ranked 11th! Up two spots from 13th.

This is very nice to see. A solid Top-15 team right now, and well earned. Sweeps against MSU and Miami are looking better and better.

This weekend is #7 versus #11. Not a bad matchup.

Notre Dame is ranked #2 (tied for #2).
Ferris is ranked #6.
MSU is ranked #16. And Rising.
Miami is ranked #18. And Rising.

And the Lakers are 10-4-2 throughout this tough schedule.


Friends, let us take a moment to reflect on this situation. Its after Thanksgiving. And the Lakers are ranked 11th in the country.

We can worry, rub our hands together and predict doom and gloom. But every weekend, this team just keeps proving that they are better than expected, better than hoped, and better than perhaps we -- the worrying faithless rabble -- perhaps deserve.

It's been so great. I look froward watching them on BTN.com on Friday.

RE: Michigan... Tech is up, UM is down... Mel must be the "straw that stirs the drink". ;-)

 

[peten16]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

The Lakers certainly have the ability to attract large crowds now that they are winning again. They just have to convince the Canadian Sault residents to come over more often. Since it can be annoying and sometimes time-consuming to cross the bridge, make some kind of discount for them or other incentive to know that they are appreciated... something as simple as a free popcorn/drink/whatever coupon for showing your Ontario ID might work.

Even back in the 90's when I was going to games as a student the Canadians didn't care about the Lakers. They like their OHL over there. I see no way how that would change

 

[RealLaker94]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

Even back in the 90's when I was going to games as a student the Canadians didn't care about the Lakers. They like their OHL over there. I see no way how that would change

I agree, there were some Canadians, but nothing that would make or break the attendance. Back then, we had a solid fan base in northern Michigan, and had season ticket holders down in Petosky, Cheboyban, and some as far as Alpena. With the teams basic demise in the last 15 yrs, along with double the gas prices, and crummy economy, these fans don't make the trip up this way that often...if at all. There were Laker fans scattered all over the state when they were winning championships, and that was the best publicity for the school. If the Lakers can get a few successfull seasons under their belt and enter the WCHA as one of the top teams, maybe earn an NCAA tourney bid and play a reagional in Grand Rapids that would be huge.

 

[Hockeyintheblood]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

Excluding this weekend I have to ask why do the students not attend the games? I attend hockey games all over and I do not understand the lack of fans at the games at LSSU especially students. Last season wasn't a bad season and this one is pretty good. When I went to school, yes it was four decades ago, you went to the games. It wasn't long ago that all three U.P. schools had packed stadiums standing room only. I know part of it is the winning but I do not believe it is everything. I believe there is no longer that school spirit going on. When I played and went to school the games were promoted from within. Everyone would be asking you are you going to the game? If you said no they would ask you why not and that you needed to go. Professors, upper classmen, the players, resident assistants and yes even townsfolks would be promoting the games and asking you are you going there. Oh by the way there was always competition for spectators such as Friday night lights, events, junior hockey, HS hockey ect. LSSU is an economic engine and the lack of town support is erie. Hopefully they wake up as they might not only lose their team but their whole school, I know this seems like a stretch. The state legislature is looking to close low performing schools based on several criteria one being graduation rates. LSSUs appears to be low in this category. Yes I understand why? I know this is a hockey forum but this could affect hockey and the town. They better start supporting it or they might lose it. Oh well go lakers. Good job to the lads for hanging tough.

 

[Nosferatu]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

Excluding this weekend I have to ask why do the students not attend the games? I attend hockey games all over and I do not understand the lack of fans at the games at LSSU especially students. Last season wasn't a bad season and this one is pretty good. When I went to school, yes it was four decades ago, you went to the games. It wasn't long ago that all three U.P. schools had packed stadiums standing room only. I know part of it is the winning but I do not believe it is everything. I believe there is no longer that school spirit going on. When I played and went to school the games were promoted from within. Everyone would be asking you are you going to the game? If you said no they would ask you why not and that you needed to go. Professors, upper classmen, the players, resident assistants and yes even townsfolks would be promoting the games and asking you are you going there. Oh by the way there was always competition for spectators such as Friday night lights, events, junior hockey, HS hockey ect. LSSU is an economic engine and the lack of town support is erie. Hopefully they wake up as they might not only lose their team but their whole school, I know this seems like a stretch. The state legislature is looking to close low performing schools based on several criteria one being graduation rates. LSSUs appears to be low in this category. Yes I understand why? I know this is a hockey forum but this could affect hockey and the town. They better start supporting it or they might lose it. Oh well go lakers. Good job to the lads for hanging tough.

There are several factors affecting student attendance at Laker games:

1 Enrollment has been low.
2 Aside from the Hockey game there is no reason to be on campus
3 More students go home for the weekends
4 More students have jobs that conflict with hockey, as in the case at our office
5 Soccer, Lacrosse and other sports have grown phenomally since the 90's when LSSU ruled
6 Losing season after season doesn't help either

 

[Lakerblue]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

I think the Hill's long-standing push against partying has made on-campus weekends a less-attractive alternative. I don't know, perhaps a few current students could give us an inside glance? I know that when I was in school, the party started on Thursday night and stretched well into Sunday, with very few stops inbetween. But I also know that the hockey games were so important that people planned their trips "home" around the weekends without hockey games.

(As I recall from my days on staff at the Compass that LSSU, NMU, and Tech were given honorable mention as the nations "top party schools," by Playboy, except, "Playboy has to exclude the schools of Michigan's Upper Penninsula, because the magazine didn't except professional entrants." I believe that was in 89-91 era?).

Anyhow, winning is everything. Winning = butts in the seats. And the team IS winning, for now. But what will real seal it for the students and curious fans is winning in Detroit in the CCHA Finals, winning in the NCAA, seeing our boys rpresenting our university on TV in the Tourney. What will seal it for the students and many fence-sitting fans is winning when you are surrounded by mouthy Detroiters and MSU and UM fans. Winning when UM fans denegrate your school's and your own person academic standards. Winning when school pride is most acutely felt. I recall the enormous pride I felt in 92 in Albany, when our little sliver of LSSU fan sat in a sea of red Badger fans, who catcalled us, called us a community college, said "Send me your resume, I'll see what I can do." And we beat them. And a small army of LSSU fans marched through the streets, defiant.

The passion will come to our current students when they put their hearts on the line and are fully repayed by their hockey team. I understand where many of the students are coming from today --- this hockey program has never given them a chance to put their heart and soul into the school --- and it has ergo never repayed the students with that oh-so-satisfying feeling of beating the mouthy arrogant jerks from down below. A few nice wins here and there is not enough to bond a student body to its team.

In many ways, LSSU hockey has always been tied to its students and its town. LSSU hockey has never been about stud-super-stars and blue-chip 18-year-old-phenoms playing up-tempo hockey. Its about somewhat older players, many passed over by other programs, former captains of juniors teams in Saskatchewan who played 3-4 years in juniors. Its about tough, hard nosed kids who find a home at a tiny school clinging to the edge of civilization on a snow covered wind-swept hill. The students who attend LSSU are often people from small towns, mostly from northern Michigan. They don't study latin and english and history (some do . . . ahem . . . like myself) but most study practical application studies: forstery, fresh water fish, law enforcement, accounting. Some of the smartest people I've ever met were students at LSSU, but they don't much care for the larger cities and larger schools. The Soo and LSSU fit them. So it is with the hockey team.

And when the hockey team wins, it can be a validation and vindication for all the students at the school. The hockey team wins with tight defense, hard work, good goaltending, and more hard work. They aren't pretty. They aren't sexy.

I think you'll see a slow, steady uptick in attendance all season. But the real games are played in February and March.

 

[Bill]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

I think the Hill's long-standing push against partying has made on-campus weekends a less-attractive alternative. I don't know, perhaps a few current students could give us an inside glance? I know that when I was in school, the party started on Thursday night and stretched well into Sunday, with very few stops inbetween. But I also know that the hockey games were so important that people planned their trips "home" around the weekends without hockey games.

(As I recall from my days on staff at the Compass that LSSU, NMU, and Tech were given honorable mention as the nations "top party schools," by Playboy, except, "Playboy has to exclude the schools of Michigan's Upper Penninsula, because the magazine didn't except professional entrants." I believe that was in 89-91 era?).

Anyhow, winning is everything. Winning = butts in the seats. And the team IS winning, for now. But what will real seal it for the students and curious fans is winning in Detroit in the CCHA Finals, winning in the NCAA, seeing our boys rpresenting our university on TV in the Tourney. What will seal it for the students and many fence-sitting fans is winning when you are surrounded by mouthy Detroiters and MSU and UM fans. Winning when UM fans denegrate your school's and your own person academic standards. Winning when school pride is most acutely felt. I recall the enormous pride I felt in 92 in Albany, when our little sliver of LSSU fan sat in a sea of red Badger fans, who catcalled us, called us a community college, said "Send me your resume, I'll see what I can do." And we beat them. And a small army of LSSU fans marched through the streets, defiant.

The passion will come to our current students when they put their hearts on the line and are fully repayed by their hockey team. I understand where many of the students are coming from today --- this hockey program has never given them a chance to put their heart and soul into the school --- and it has ergo never repayed the students with that oh-so-satisfying feeling of beating the mouthy arrogant jerks from down below. A few nice wins here and there is not enough to bond a student body to its team.

In many ways, LSSU hockey has always been tied to its students and its town. LSSU hockey has never been about stud-super-stars and blue-chip 18-year-old-phenoms playing up-tempo hockey. Its about somewhat older players, many passed over by other programs, former captains of juniors teams in Saskatchewan who played 3-4 years in juniors. Its about tough, hard nosed kids who find a home at a tiny school clinging to the edge of civilization on a snow covered wind-swept hill. The students who attend LSSU are often people from small towns, mostly from northern Michigan. They don't study latin and english and history (some do . . . ahem . . . like myself) but most study practical application studies: forstery, fresh water fish, law enforcement, accounting. Some of the smartest people I've ever met were students at LSSU, but they don't much care for the larger cities and larger schools. The Soo and LSSU fit them. So it is with the hockey team.

And when the hockey team wins, it can be a validation and vindication for all the students at the school. The hockey team wins with tight defense, hard work, good goaltending, and more hard work. They aren't pretty. They aren't sexy.

I think you'll see a slow, steady uptick in attendance all season. But the real games are played in February and March.

Ah yes, 1992. And there was quite a party at the Holiday Inn following the game.

 

[Neil Diamond]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

Or how about the parties at the Ren Cen, when that was Laker central during the CCHA playoffs?

Good times!

 

[peten16]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

Boy you know, I was there 89-93 and The Soo could be a really fun place. We used to take that little bus from in front of Crawford Hall over to Canada and go to the Bars, then take the bus back. It was pretty cool when you were only 19 or 20. But also, while there were lots of kid from rural areas, most were from more than three hours away, going home for the weekend was not a regular thing for most. In the dorms there was a big lead-up to game time. Then after the games there was all the parties down in the Townhouses and on Sheridan and Eureka Streets. ...And some kids really liked the Pioneer Club as well.

I am sorry to hear it has gotten rather dreary there.

 

[jnacc]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

Boy you know, I was there 89-93 and The Soo could be a really fun place. We used to take that little bus from in front of Crawford Hall over to Canada and go to the Bars, then take the bus back. It was pretty cool when you were only 19 or 20. But also, while there were lots of kid from rural areas, most were from more than three hours away, going home for the weekend was not a regular thing for most. In the dorms there was a big lead-up to game time. Then after the games there was all the parties down in the Townhouses and on Sheridan and Eureka Streets. ...And some kids really liked the Pioneer Club as well.

I am sorry to hear it has gotten rather dreary there.

They were the glory years not only for the hockey team but many of us student-fans as well.....on the weekends after the games, there would be line-ups out of every club (the Pioneer, the Back Door, Alpha-addition and the Savoy). Even the smaller drinking establishments like the Downtowner, Corner Pub and Maloneys, would be packed with patrons and many of them would be re-hashing the Lakers game played that night. Heck I remember downing more than a few with the likes of Jeff Jackson, Roque and Ron Rolston at the Downtowner discussing not only hockey but the finer points of fishing in the wilds of northern Ontario on more than one occasion. That's what it was like back then...a close knit community of fans, coaches and players on one heck of a great ride.
A shame it had to all end.

 

[peten16]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

They were the glory years not only for the hockey team but many of us student-fans as well.....on the weekends after the games, there would be line-ups out of every club (the Pioneer, the Back Door, Alpha-addition and the Savoy). Even the smaller drinking establishments like the Downtowner, Corner Pub and Maloneys, would be packed with patrons and many of them would be re-hashing the Lakers game played that night. Heck I remember downing more than a few with the likes of Jeff Jackson, Roque and Ron Rolston at the Downtowner discussing not only hockey but the finer points of fishing in the wilds of northern Ontario on more than one occasion. That's what it was like back then...a close knit community of fans, coaches and players on one heck of a great ride.
A shame it had to all end.

Monday Night Football at the Corner Pub was good- Free hot dogs and buckets of beer. I took "Understanding Hockey" from Ron Rolston. He was a cool guy.

 

[Lakerblue]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

I don't completely agree with the lack of Canadian support in the championship years. I recall five or six Canadian LSSU students, mostly from Timmons and the surrounding area, at the 92 Championship game in Albany. (They had an old beater van, like from Strange Brew, and a couple a kegs in the back. They left the Soo at about the same time as our group, but didn't get into Albany until a few hours after us. They had to stop and replace something on that old van, and they just sat around in the parking lot of a repair garage in Port Huron working on Keg #1).

I also know there was just as much competition from the Greyhounds, who won the Memorial Cup in 91 -- in Soo Ontario, no less -- and still knew plenty of Canadian students who stuck around on Friday nights for the hockey games. And there was always a tidy line at the bridge after hockey nights of fans heading back to Canada.

Part of the explanation for the perceived drop in Canadian support may be that crossing the boarder is a lot tougher now. Its just such a greater hassle.

Another part of the explanation is the arena for the Greyhounds is nicer than the old War Memorial (although nowhere near as awsome or charming).

Another part of the explanation is that Soo Ontario has really improved it nightlife options in the past 25 years. Lets be honest, in the late 80's, and through the 90's, Soo Ontario didn't have much to offer that couldnt be found cheaper, and better, on the US side. That is not entirely true anymore.

BUT . . . I still contend that the attendance is tied directly to the product on the ice. And its not as though the fans disappeared overnight. As recently as 1999 there were predictably good crowds for all home games, despite not having a championship since 1994 (or a decent run since 1996). But when the team is boring, losing, and likely to continue losing . . . the casual fan will find other diversions.

There has also been a good 15 years of in-fighting on the Hill. Lots of changes at the top. And the academics have decided that "beer is bad", which has quashed some of the party spirit on campus.

 

[peten16]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

There has also been a good 15 years of in-fighting on the Hill. Lots of changes at the top. And the academics have decided that "beer is bad", which has quashed some of the party spirit on campus.

Maybe not "academics" per se, but admin. Most profs are pretty okay with drinking, if not outright for it.

 

[peten16]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

But Soo Ontario had the Jolly Friar, the first Brew Pub I ever saw and it was there in 1989 hen I arrived. Pretty forward thinking. Te younger kids all went to the bars across the river; Sometimes the older ones too. I remember being at the Movieola one night in the spring and pretty much the whole school was there. I had a drunken conversation with Mark Astley that my wife's roommate will still not let me live down to this day.

 

[Laker54]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

Has enrollment really dropped that low?

Reading recently; President McClain said enrollment, last year, was up the highest since 2004. While the numbers were not in at the time of the story he expected enrollment to be up again this year.

 

[Lakerblue]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

Maybe not "academics" per se, but admin. Most profs are pretty okay with drinking, if not outright for it.

True enough. "Administrators" need to justify their jobs by "Administrating."

And I didn't mean to imply that Soo Ontario offered nothing in those days. I personally wandered through many of the beer distribution centers in my time. Today, however, there is a more interesting selection of dinning choices beyond the Swiss Chalet. And if you're talking about Canadian fans and season ticket holders, you're likely talking about people who are out of college. Family people. And since the Greyhounds have a nice new rink and its a generally positive family atmosphere, many Canadians may just prefer to stay home -- get chicken pot pie at Swiss Chalet and hit the Greyhounds game.

And darn it all, before anyone jumps on that, I still love the Swiss Chalet -- the Swiss Chalet for lunch on a cold winter day is almost unbeatable. Personally, I like to hit the Chalet after a good day of skiing with the family.

 

[Lakerblue]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

While we're wandering down memory lane . . . check out some of the pictures at the bottom. I swear to God I can still smell old Memorial. I mixture of zamboni diesel fuel, hockey stank, and beer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sault_Memorial_Gardens

 

[peten16]

Re: LSSU Hockey 2011-2012

LOL I got a chuckle out of that. I do recall that there was not much in the way in terms of restaurants. Hell, we would just eat at Time Out.