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Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

I think attendance has been impacted by several factors:

1. Gophers W/L and game to game inconsistency
The Gophers have had winning seasons lately and were even in the NCG in the recent past, but we've seen them go through entire seasons of W on FRI, L on SAT or the reverse and it's frustrating. Playing down to the opponent, lackluster PP when in the past no one left their seat when they had a PP, lack of consistent grit/toughness, failure to sit star players that are under-performing...

2. Excitement of the play on the ice
A bit of a repeat of the previous but just in general I feel like too often I'm watching a program that doesn't represent the M night in and night out. Woog had teams or years with faults and obviously needed to go at the end, but no one was going to push them around and I rarely felt like they didn't care. They had some heartbreaking NCAA results but they almost always made you care.

3. U Administration
Look at the apathy toward the FB and BB programs, yet several women's programs generate tons of excitement. I don't think the men's athletic programs are being guided or marketed correctly.

This seeps into the poorly attended student section. I was only at the U for 2 years before transferring, but I missed 1 game in 2 seasons and the student section was always packed.

4. Ticket prices
I don't think the impact of this can be exaggerated. When you can attend a Wild game for the same price in which let's face it the players are on average more talented, the team is better marketed and has much more exposure, you should not expect to be able to charge the same (and sometimes much more) than the pro franchise. This isn't the early 00's even the 90's when the Gophers were the star team in town and you shouldn't price them like they are.

5. Corpies
There are a lot of corpie tickets and more and more are going unused because of some of the aforementioned. The company I worked at before at Gophers hockey and Vikings tickets. The Gophers never went unused, the Vikings with only 8 games were about 50/50. I bet now that's reversed.

6. The B1G

That said I see a slow turn toward the more positive. While this season has still had a Hekyll/Jekyll WL result they are a more talented team and they have some very good recruits coming in. They have a bit more grit and to me feel like they're not going to take a punch lightly anymore. They have to figure out the G position. Odd thing is they are scoring far more goals FRI nights but their WL is much worse on FRI because Shcierhorn's SV% on FRI is something like 30% lower. That is a lot on him, but I suspect is partially also on team effort in the defensive zone.

Also as I said a lot of kids that have just been introduced to the Gophers in the past 4 seasons don't care about the WCHA and even some a bit older are going to be more forgiving than a lot of the older fans, just like most NHL fans under 25 didn't care about the North Stars when the Wild started up.

Times change and if the Gophers can bring some excitement back to the effort level as the B1G programs grow in their competitiveness those rivalries will improve. I'm old enough and been a fan enough to remember when playing UMi was every bit as big as playing UND/UW and certainly more so than the rivalries vs SCSU, UMD, DU or CC ever were. I remember when playing SCSU and MSUM were an afterthought, but over time they could not be overlooked. I realize proximity there is an advantage over playing PSU for example, but if SCSU and MSUM remained at a UAA level no one would have cared they were from MN.

None of that can solve the programs in the athletic program nor the pricing, but if they present a premium product on the ice - not just a good one with spurts of excellence as well as the opposite - they can afford to charge a premium price. Because I don't think they're ever going to walk back on prices since sadly they're still making money.

[edit] Also I don't think people should underestimate the volatility of Lucia in the minds of fans. Let's face it a sad % of fans demand the coach be an M man, but cut Lucia slack when they were winning. Now all bets are off due to recent results and there is a growing sentiment of a lack of confidence in him leading the program. If they brought in say Mike Hastings (no I don't think it happens) although he's not a UM alum fans would give him a chance just as they originally did Lucia.

That is not to suggest I think Lucia needs to go, but this season for me is a pivotal one toward my opinion on him.
 
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Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

I agree with all that Slap Shot said...I think the Gophers competing against the Wild for fans entertainment dollars is a tough sell. In reply to D2D concerning women's hockey, if they allowed the women to check, I would probably watch it more. But to eliminate a basic component of the game, its shinny not true hockey.

And tDon should not have recruited Schierhorn from Alaska. Should have went after North Branch kid Miska. You know Miska wanted to be a Gopher because ALL Minnesota kids dream of wearing the "M."
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

Slap Shot said:
That is not to suggest I think Lucia needs to go, but this season for me is a pivotal one toward my opinion on him.
Click to expand...
A pivotal one for him in the opinion of Coyle as well.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

section16rowA said:
In reply to D2D concerning women's hockey, if they allowed the women to check, I would probably watch it more. But to eliminate a basic component of the game, its shinny not true hockey.
Click to expand...
The women's game is definitely getting more physical all the time. And the higher the level, the more that's the case. Still no hard, body slamming checks without getting called, but much more use of the body to rub opponents out to gain possession of the puck. Meanwhile the men's game has become less physical, especially at the college level. Coaches and players are hesitant to level crashing checks, both at center ice and against the boards, for fear of drawing 5 minute majors and game misconducts. Shoot even football seems to be headed in that direction, with the advent of targeting calls.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

gopher wes said:
Has he been quoted as saying so or is this just your take?
Click to expand...
Just my take, based on:
(a) empty seats
(b) failure last season to make the NCAA tournament, and one and out the year before
(c) prolonged contract negotiations which resulted in only a 2 year extension
(d) my read on Coyle
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

Hard to argue that good checks are sometimes being called penalties now in hockey. Worse is when 5'10" player with his head down in open ice is checked by 6'2" player and contact to head or charging penalty is called. Has happened to 6'5" Riley Tufte a couple of times this year.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

It's a tough call from my perspective. Minnesota has home ice advantage and a good familiarity of playing on big ice. Ohio State can seem stagnant and without warning wake up and bust a play wide open and looks for the opportunity for the rush up ice.
Our goaltenders have been good in the clutch but I think we lack that once in a blue moon goalie who is truly amazing in the net. Our guys do get beat on shots they should have stopped.
Healy is our top defenseman and he likes to hit - a lot! But sometimes that gets you in the box if the refs aren't letting them play.
For scorers look for Schilkey, Brevig, and Gust as the most consistent.
 
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Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

Hockeybuckeye said:
Our goaltenders have been good in the clutch but I think we lack that once in a blue moon goalie who is truly amazing in the net. Our guys do get beat on shots they should have stopped.
Click to expand...
The Gophers have a great habit of making average to good goaltenders look like amazing goaltenders through most of the game and then throw everything at them in the last couple minutes of the game. Just a heads up.;)

It worked once against St Lawrence with two goals while the goalie was pulled to salvage a tie but I don't see that happening against stronger competition.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

So how do you credit THAT goal when 3 Gophers were the last to touch the puck before putting it in their own net?
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

Shaky start, shaky finish. But MN won. It's sad that I'm in the "well, a win's a win" mode with this team. It shouldn't be like that, but yet it is.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

Brenthoven said:
Shaky start, shaky finish. But MN won. It's sad that I'm in the "well, a win's a win" mode with this team. It shouldn't be like that, but yet it is.
Click to expand...
Gophers always seem to make it exciting at the end, even when it shouldn't be. Ohio State was whistled for four consecutive penalties in the 3rd period but the Gophers failed to get what would have amounted to an insurance goal. The result was we had to withstand the usual end-of-regulation 3rd period assault by the opponent, catching a few breaks to escape with a win that should never been in doubt at the end. And yes, as you say, a win's a win, but it shouldn't be like that.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

Or you can look at the fact they were the better team for most of the game. While we'd all have preferred it not have been that close they won a Friday game with at times dominating play which is something they've failed to do many times on Fridays this month. But I realize MN fans find it so much easier to always find the cloud in the silver lining. :rolleyes:
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

klbaum1077 said:
The last Buckeye to touch the puck gets credit
Click to expand...
I know that, I was just being humorous as that was the last thing I expected to see from Minnesota. Well it is the holiday season and that was our gift.
 
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Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

D2D said:
Ohio State was whistled for four consecutive penalties in the 3rd period but the Gophers failed to get what would have amounted to an insurance goal.
Click to expand...
Not meaning to be a Harbaugh here and whine about it but I thought one call in the third shouldn't have been made. The replays sure seemed to show Schierhorn intentionally turn his shoulder into our guy and then flop to draw the penalty. He had a legit interference call against us earlier and thought he could sell another I guess.
Well, tonight's a new game and now that each team knows each other a little better it may be a more tight one but we'll see.
 
Re: Minnesota hosts Ohio State: 12/2 -12/3

Slap Shot said:
Or you can look at the fact they were the better team for most of the game. While we'd all have preferred it not have been that close they won a Friday game with at times dominating play which is something they've failed to do many times on Fridays this month. But I realize MN fans find it so much easier to always find the cloud in the silver lining. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I'm hardly one of those people normally. Last night's game, though.....
 
Hockeybuckeye said:
Not meaning to be a Harbaugh here and whine about it but I thought one call in the third shouldn't have been made. The replays sure seemed to show Schierhorn intentionally turn his shoulder into our guy and then flop to draw the penalty. He had a legit interference call against us earlier and thought he could sell another I guess.
Well, tonight's a new game and now that each team knows each other a little better it may be a more tight one but we'll see.
Click to expand...
May be true, but earlier in the game the Buckeyes got away with a couple high hits, a knee on knee and a couple blatant elbows, so pretty hard to worry about one extra minor.
 
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