Minnesota Cup

[JDUBBS1280]

That's kinda how I was taking JDUBBS comments about Xcel. I've heard that reason so often as a reason that it's "not a home game" that I've started looking at it as a reason for people to act like it's a huge issue for the Gophers to leave Mariucci.

That's not at all what I was saying. I'm saying it's not that big of an advantage for the Gophers. And it's really not. It's a NEUTRAL SITE. And no, I won't complain about us playing home games at a neutral site if we lose. Never have, never will.

I'm just getting a little tired of the complaining about how big of an advantage this will be for the Gophers.

 

[mariucci]

Re: Minnesota Cup

That's kinda how I was taking JDUBBS comments about Xcel. I've heard that reason so often as a reason that it's "not a home game" that I've started looking at it as a reason for people to act like it's a huge issue for the Gophers to leave Mariucci. The way that I've heard it pose is to use it as a reason that it's so difficult for MN to win at Xcel. Maybe I'm reading it wrong in the way people mean it, but it's a roundabout way to come up with an excuse in my book.

Theres a ridiculous amount of "Gopher Hate" on this board but thats a new one to me. I've never once heard a Gopher fan complain about the sheet of ice or use that as an excuse, I haven't even heard that on this board, surely if its a common thing i'd have atleast read that on this board right? GPL? I haven't seen it there either . Just to clarify, you're saying Gopher fans do not want to play at the X because it gives the advantage to other teams because of the size of the rink?

Not trying to turn this into a bich session, but thats fkn crazy.

 

[GopherBigGuy911]

Re: Minnesota Cup

Theres a ridiculous amount of "Gopher Hate" on this board but thats a new one to me. I've never once heard a Gopher fan complain about the sheet of ice or use that as an excuse, I haven't even heard that on this board, surely if its a common thing i'd have atleast read that on this board right? GPL? I haven't seen it there either . Just to clarify, you're saying Gopher fans do not want to play at the X because it gives the advantage to other teams because of the size of the rink?

Not trying to turn this into a bich session, but thats fkn crazy.

Gophers can't hate it too bad.... National Championship and Final 5 wins....

 

[Tipsy McStagger]

Theres a ridiculous amount of "Gopher Hate" on this board but thats a new one to me. I've never once heard a Gopher fan complain about the sheet of ice or use that as an excuse, I haven't even heard that on this board, surely if its a common thing i'd have atleast read that on this board right? GPL? I haven't seen it there either . Just to clarify, you're saying Gopher fans do not want to play at the X because it gives the advantage to other teams because of the size of the rink?

Not trying to turn this into a bich session, but thats fkn crazy.

I think he is saying that Gopher fans act like it is a neutral-ice game, which it TECHNICALLY is, but anybody but Gopher fans would view it as basically home-ice.

 

[scsutommyboy]

Re: Minnesota Cup

People defend their schools for acting in their own best interest, as they should. Well, that's what Mankato did. The downtown businesses got badly hurt by the home and home thing. Instead of staying in the downtown hotels, eating in the restaurants, and frequenting the bars, they came for the game and went home, because it was only one game. Those businesses "mentioned" that their contributions to the program and university might have to be "adjusted" accordingly.

The reason it was bad is because they had a hand shake agreement and they backed out. If the Gophers would have done that everybody on here would screaming bloody murder. I don't know about you but good business people don't like to be screwed over and yes they were screwed over..... Does that mean they won't play them? I don't know what will happen. All I know is Motzko is working out games to play BSU and as far as I know he isn't doing that with Mankato. As for the Gophers I assume they won't be playing any of the Minnesota schools if this tourney happens unless the deal is to play the team that is not in the tourney. That is assuming you don't have a five team tourney...

 

[mariucci]

Re: Minnesota Cup

I think he is saying that Gopher fans act like it is a neutral-ice game, which it TECHNICALLY is, but anybody but Gopher fans would view it as basically home-ice.

I dont think thats what he was saying, he clearly made his point "Gopher fans use the size of the sheet as an allibi etc". If thats his opinion, fine, I just disagree.

As far as the X being lopsided in favor of the Gophs, theres no avoiding that. Unless the venue be roated around the state, maybe outdoors, which I would love.

 

[Bale]

Re: Minnesota Cup

I dont think thats what he was saying, he clearly made his point "Gopher fans use the size of the sheet as an allibi etc". If thats his opinion, fine, I just disagree.

As far as the X being lopsided in favor of the Gophs, theres no avoiding that. Unless the venue be roated around the state, maybe outdoors, which I would love.

Actually, that's exactly what I was trying to say. NOthing more, nothing less. When I hear Gopher fans talk about it, I take it as an alibi. Not a big deal. I have no Gopher hate as I have made quite clear on a number of occasions. I actually think the Gophers are the most responsible party in this entire scenario right now.

 

[Bakunin]

Re: Minnesota Cup

In practice, the X is somewhere between home and neutral ice for MN. You can't call it "home ice" because they are by no means guaranteed of having ~90% of the crowd there in their favor (due to seats being locked up by season ticket holders). The NHL size sheet is another difference between the two facilities.

With that said, it obviously isn't a truly neutral site either since anytime MN plays at the X, they will have a majority of the crowd on their side. For F5 games, it's probably about 2/3 (since fans of any other team will root against them). If it's just some random mid-season tournament, the percentage will probably skew a bit more in their favor - but still nowhere near the lopsided one that would exist at Mariucci.

 

[Blackheart]

Re: Minnesota Cup

That's not at all what I was saying. I'm saying it's not that big of an advantage for the Gophers. And it's really not. It's a NEUTRAL SITE. And no, I won't complain about us playing home games at a neutral site if we lose. Never have, never will.

I'm just getting a little tired of the complaining about how big of an advantage this will be for the Gophers.

How is playing in front of 18K plus of your fans not an advantage??

 

[mariucci]

Re: Minnesota Cup

Actually, that's exactly what I was trying to say. NOthing more, nothing less. When I hear Gopher fans talk about it, I take it as an alibi. Not a big deal. I have no Gopher hate as I have made quite clear on a number of occasions. I actually think the Gophers are the most responsible party in this entire scenario right now.

My apologies then.

Back to the tourney, im just glad to see this happening. Wether the Gophs have an edge at the X or the tourney rotates to the outdoor rinks on Hockey Day (pipedream). I think its awesome!

 

[Bakunin]

Re: Minnesota Cup

How is playing in front of 18K plus of your fans not an advantage??

That's a bit of hyperbole. Other than the game against Maine in '02, I can't think of a single time where MN had 18k fans in the X supporting them.

 

[Greyeagle]

Re: Minnesota Cup

That's a bit of hyperbole. Other than the game against Maine in '02, I can't think of a single time where MN had 18k fans in the X supporting them.

There was a home Mankato game that came close....

 

[JDUBBS1280]

That's a bit of hyperbole. Other than the game against Maine in '02, I can't think of a single time where MN had 18k fans in the X supporting them.

Exactly. There will be fans from four fan bases at the tournament. Who does this guy think the fans of the other three programs will be cheering for when the Gophers play? The Gophers? That's rich.

There are plenty of UMD, SCSU, and MSU-M fans in the Twin Cities, and all of these schools are close enough to make a trip to watch. There will be no reserved seats for Gopher season ticket holders. Come out and support your team and stop complaining is what I say.

 

[Go4PuckFan2.0]

Exactly. There will be fans from four fan bases at the tournament. Who does this guy think the fans of the other three programs will be cheering for when the Gophers play? The Gophers? That's rich.

There are plenty of UMD, SCSU, and MSU-M fans in the Twin Cities, and all of these schools are close enough to make a trip to watch. There will be no reserved seats for Gopher season ticket holders. Come out and support your team and stop complaining is what I say.

Ahhh, yes, the old Xcel-is-Gopher-home-game screed.

The classics never go out of style, do they?

So if the Gophers play the Badgers in Hudson WI, who's got the home game?

The Gophers control the very gravity of the WCHA. Yelling about it is like yelling at the rain.

 

[gopheritall]

Re: Minnesota Cup

Let me first state that it is obvious that a tournament like this would be held in the Twin Cities. There's no place else that makes any sense. That having been said, to pretend that there's no home ice advantage for the Gophers is either Naïve or disingenuous. Twice Mankato held "home" games against U of M at the X. Both times, the crowd was 95% Maroon and Gold.

Exactly. If I remember right, ticket sales at the X for the Mankato "home" games refused to sell tickets to people from Mankato until all Gopher fans that wanted tickets had them. I think they used caller ID to identify Mankato fans. I suppose Gopher fans should have just agreed to only have Mankato fans purchase tickets. Of course it would be hard to get a home ice atmosphere with 1500-2000 fans in the X. Kind of quiet... Any team will be able to create home ice advantage by buying the tickets. If you want this to be a home game then convince your fans to buy all the tickets. To complain when your fans don't buy the tickets, Gopher fans do, and your program gets the $ is foolish.

Now, the Gophers have the much larger fans base and will have the most fans buying tickets to the MN Cup. I'm sure that the revenue sharing that will happen when 12-15,000 tickets are sold will find some kind of way to benefit the non-Gopher programs.

 

[TeamPoland]

Re: Minnesota Cup

I hear what both sides are saying about "home ice" but I think if they go through with this we would all agree that the X is the best VENUE to host this event. If they shoot for an outdoor facility, that would be great if it was at Target Field but that might be too much for them to juggle at this moment, but maybe after a few years once(if) this can gain support.

Being in attendance for the games that were played at the X a few years ago, I would think the biggest hurdle would be to get interest and have respectable attendance. I like the thought of encompassing it into the MHD but as a few have mentioned, that might be somewhat tough to do. Here is my blindfolded dart throw at the wall...

Have the second day on MHD. Ask the Wild to be the host of the event(great community support). Have the Wild play the FIRST game on Saturday around noon. I know some may say they HAVE to play the late game, but hear me out. Have the consolation game at 3:30 pm and the championship at 7:30pm. If the Wild would host it they could help market it by having a couple Wild players in and around the arena during the 2 college games doing interviews with FSN and maybe have them doing some with kids in the stands. Call it The Minnesota Wild Cup and have coaches/players from the Wild present it to the winning team at the end.

Market the Hell out of it. Offer huge discounts to area youth teams from the competing teams and bus them to the arena to help cheer/support their team(upper Deck). Have Mites play during intermissions and give them free tickets(upstairs). Lower bowl and club level seats will be for those who purchase the tix through normal channels and our schools. If need be(even though I hate it) sell maybe only two ticket packages, one ticket for both Friday games and the other for both saturday games. It might make some people who would normally leave after their team played, stay for the next game. Obviously, give a little discount to those who purchase the entire weekend. Have events going on around the arena for young and old. Truly make it a "Hockey Day" for all.

I'm a SCSU fan and I too would rather play a home and home series with the gophs every year but if this is going to happen, do it right. Make it an EVENT. I think it's easy to shoot holes in this but if this is gonna happen we should be thinking about ways to make it a success.

 

[mariucci]

Re: Minnesota Cup

I hear what both sides are saying about "home ice" but I think if they go through with this we would all agree that the X is the best VENUE to host this event. If they shoot for an outdoor facility, that would be great if it was at Target Field but that might be too much for them to juggle at this moment, but maybe after a few years once(if) this can gain support.

Being in attendance for the games that were played at the X a few years ago, I would think the biggest hurdle would be to get interest and have respectable attendance. I like the thought of encompassing it into the MHD but as a few have mentioned, that might be somewhat tough to do. Here is my blindfolded dart throw at the wall...

Have the second day on MHD. Ask the Wild to be the host of the event(great community support). Have the Wild play the FIRST game on Saturday around noon. I know some may say they HAVE to play the late game, but hear me out. Have the consolation game at 3:30 pm and the championship at 7:30pm. If the Wild would host it they could help market it by having a couple Wild players in and around the arena during the 2 college games doing interviews with FSN and maybe have them doing some with kids in the stands. Call it The Minnesota Wild Cup and have coaches/players from the Wild present it to the winning team at the end.

Market the Hell out of it. Offer huge discounts to area youth teams from the competing teams and bus them to the arena to help cheer/support their team(upper Deck). Have Mites play during intermissions and give them free tickets(upstairs). Lower bowl and club level seats will be for those who purchase the tix through normal channels and our schools. If need be(even though I hate it) sell maybe only two ticket packages, one ticket for both Friday games and the other for both saturday games. It might make some people who would normally leave after their team played, stay for the next game. Obviously, give a little discount to those who purchase the entire weekend. Have events going on around the arena for young and old. Truly make it a "Hockey Day" for all.

I'm a SCSU fan and I too would rather play a home and home series with the gophs every year but if this is going to happen, do it right. Make it an EVENT. I think it's easy to shoot holes in this but if this is gonna happen we should be thinking about ways to make it a success.

Could not agree more!! Market the hell out of it, turn it into a big deal, I'd love to see it outdoors, but you're right, the X is a good venue for this, its all set and ready to go.

 

[Tipsy McStagger]

Ahhh, yes, the old Xcel-is-Gopher-home-game screed.

The classics never go out of style, do they?

So if the Gophers play the Badgers in Hudson WI, who's got the home game?

The Gophers control the very gravity of the WCHA. Yelling about it is like yelling at the rain.

Well, its like the old saying goes: "if everybody is saying it, it must be true."

 

[Tipsy McStagger]

Could not agree more!! Market the hell out of it, turn it into a big deal, I'd love to see it outdoors, but you're right, the X is a good venue for this, its all set and ready to go.

I co-sign your co-sign.

 

[gopheritall]

Re: Minnesota Cup

I hear what both sides are saying about "home ice" but I think if they go through with this we would all agree that the X is the best VENUE to host this event. If they shoot for an outdoor facility, that would be great if it was at Target Field but that might be too much for them to juggle at this moment, but maybe after a few years once(if) this can gain support.

Being in attendance for the games that were played at the X a few years ago, I would think the biggest hurdle would be to get interest and have respectable attendance. I like the thought of encompassing it into the MHD but as a few have mentioned, that might be somewhat tough to do. Here is my blindfolded dart throw at the wall...

Have the second day on MHD. Ask the Wild to be the host of the event(great community support). Have the Wild play the FIRST game on Saturday around noon. I know some may say they HAVE to play the late game, but hear me out. Have the consolation game at 3:30 pm and the championship at 7:30pm. If the Wild would host it they could help market it by having a couple Wild players in and around the arena during the 2 college games doing interviews with FSN and maybe have them doing some with kids in the stands. Call it The Minnesota Wild Cup and have coaches/players from the Wild present it to the winning team at the end.

Market the Hell out of it. Offer huge discounts to area youth teams from the competing teams and bus them to the arena to help cheer/support their team(upper Deck). Have Mites play during intermissions and give them free tickets(upstairs). Lower bowl and club level seats will be for those who purchase the tix through normal channels and our schools. If need be(even though I hate it) sell maybe only two ticket packages, one ticket for both Friday games and the other for both saturday games. It might make some people who would normally leave after their team played, stay for the next game. Obviously, give a little discount to those who purchase the entire weekend. Have events going on around the arena for young and old. Truly make it a "Hockey Day" for all.

I'm a SCSU fan and I too would rather play a home and home series with the gophs every year but if this is going to happen, do it right. Make it an EVENT. I think it's easy to shoot holes in this but if this is gonna happen we should be thinking about ways to make it a success.

I would love to see them incorporate HDM with this. They would need more time between the Wild and the first game to get the Wild ticket holders out and the HDM in. Some sort of Hockey Fest between outside the X?