Ohio State Buckeyes 2022-2023 ... The Drive For Duluth

[pgb-ohio]

Several years ago OSU built a basketball practice facility onto the Schott so conflicts of use of the main arena is minimized from what it was.
It takes approximately 3 hours for the arena be switched between basketball and hockey. When there is a conflict the men shuttle to the women's ice for practice.

The Men's team uses their locker room in the Schott, and then gets on a bus to go to the Ice Rink. Putting on skates at the Ice Rink.

It's not a huge inconvenience as the two buildings are within sight of each other just separated by the river.

It's good to be positive and say the glass is half full. And yes, the two buildings are within walking distance of each other. For the average pedestrian, crossing the Olentangy is no big deal. It's the smaller of the two Columbus rivers. But is there really any doubt that the players would love to be done with that bus ride?

Your last two comments, taken together, make me nervous. It adds up to: "Somewhere, over the rainbow, we're building you Pegula West. The present set-up is OK. That's why we're doing nothing for the foreseeable future."

On this item, I hope we're both wrong. The Women's program deserves a rink of their own, and they deserve it now.

 

[Hockeybuckeye]

On this item, I hope we're both wrong. The Women's program deserves a rink of their own, and they deserve it now.

I heard some things today while I was at the university that leads me to believe that the university is leaning towards leaving the men in the Schott and giving the women a new facility. No two separate hockey only arenas or a shared facility.

 

[robertearle]

Several years ago OSU built a basketball practice facility onto the Schott so conflicts of use of the main arena is minimized from what it was.
It takes approximately 3 hours for the arena be switched between basketball and hockey. When there is a conflict the men shuttle to the women's ice for practice. It's not a huge inconvenience as the two buildings are within sight of each other just separated by the river.

Above ground, the building that connects LaBahn and the Kohl Center is the basketball practice facility; underground there are also tunnels and walkways so that Zambonis can be 'shared' (a saving of many thousands of dollars) and locker rooms used for multi-team events, etc.

 

[pgb-ohio]

I heard some things today while I was at the university that leads me to believe that the university is leaning towards leaving the men in the Schott...

We're dealing in rumors & speculation here. But this matches the scuttlebutt I've heard.

... and giving the women a new facility.

Sounds great, however:

No two separate hockey only arenas or a shared facility.

I get that the Schott will never be a hockey-only arena. But what the heck does "no sharing" mean? Where is the Men's team supposed to practice? Will they be playing floor hockey in the hoops practice facility?

There's an elephant in the room that has gone unmentioned to this point. From the perspective of Central Administration, ending the existing Ice Rink opens up valuable land; possibly for a new dorm or academic building. No problem so far. Trouble is, going down that path would almost certainly mean the loss of St. John Arena & the Field House as well. Rational or irrational, OSU would get a lot of pushback on that move. Quite honestly I've wondered if this is a big factor in why we've been waiting so long for new Women's Hockey facilities. In other words, doing nothing allows the decision-makers to kick the can down the road on St. John.

 

[Eddie Schorr]

I've come around to the idea that there is no middle ground. Men need at least 6K, and the women need less than 3K. That's a gap that can't be bridged.

 

[Hockeybuckeye]

We're dealing in rumors & speculation here. But this matches the scuttlebutt I've heard.

Sounds great, however:

I get that the Schott will never be a hockey-only arena. But what the heck does "no sharing" mean? Where is the Men's team supposed to practice? Will they be playing floor hockey in the hoops practice facility?

Allow me to clarify the no sharing statement. What I meant was a new arena would be for the women's programs, not shared in the sense like Penn State's Pegula Arena which houses both the men & women's programs. I don't know what the fate of the current ice rink will be if there is a new women's arena. If we do get one there's a possibility it may not be located where the current rink is. I would assume for the times the men couldn't practice at the Schott they would use the old rink if it still exists and if it doesn't it only makes sense they could have some practices in the new women's arena.
As far as scuttlebutt I can only say I can't say where my current source of information came from but let's just say it's a VERY reliable source!

 

[pgb-ohio]

Above ground, the building that connects LaBahn and the Kohl Center is the basketball practice facility; underground there are also tunnels and walkways so that Zambonis can be 'shared' (a saving of many thousands of dollars) and locker rooms used for multi-team events, etc.

An intelligent design with major advantages. Among other things, having a back-up Zamboni readily available is a big plus. I strongly suspect the UW set-up was part of the inspiration for the proposal to connect a new ice sheet with the Schott.

A little hockey history for you. 1986 Men's Frozen Four in Providence, RI. The Zamboni breaks down at the downtown arena. No back-up on site. A zam from Providence College, driving on city streets, steps up to save the day. Those of us at the game wondered about the extra long intermission, only learning the back story after the fact.

 

[pgb-ohio]

I've come around to the idea that there is no middle ground. Men need at least 6K, and the women need less than 3K. That's a gap that can't be bridged.

Me too.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Allow me to clarify the no sharing statement. What I meant was a new arena would be for the women's programs, not shared in the sense like Penn State's Pegula Arena which houses both the men & women's programs. I don't know what the fate of the current ice rink will be if there is a new women's arena. If we do get one there's a possibility it may not be located where the current rink is. I would assume for the times the men couldn't practice at the Schott they would use the old rink if it still exists and if it doesn't it only makes sense they could have some practices in the new women's arena.
As far as scuttlebutt I can only say I can't say where my current source of information came from but let's just say it's a VERY reliable source!

Thanks for clarifying; now it makes sense.

 

[Hockeybuckeye]

I got to meet and interact today with some of the St.Thomas coaching staff and players. A very rewarding experience. The St.Thomas players I spoke with are very excited about the new arena they're getting and rightly so!

 

[Hockeybuckeye]

I don't have details to share or know the whole story but I can accurately attest there have been discussions in the athletic department on the needs of our women's team. What will come of it time will tell.

 

[pgb-ohio]

The MuzzArena

Just Build It!​

 

[Hockeybuckeye]

The MuzzArena

Just Build It!​

Good one!

 

[pgb-ohio]

Good one!

See you at The Muzz. (winking emoticon here)

 

[ARM]

I've come around to the idea that there is no middle ground. Men need at least 6K, and the women need less than 3K. That's a gap that can't be bridged.

Subjectively, that may be true. When looked at objectively, of course it can be bridged. In your mind, ideally the women would play in a rink that's less than 3K, but it isn't like it would set the program back in some way if they played in an arena that seated 5K. UMD did that for years in the DECC, which was a dingy dump that looked like the lights had been dimmed to save on the electricity bill. I get that Columbus doesn't have the hockey history that a city like Duluth does, but Duluth's population is under 100K these days. If they can move from the DECC to a rink that seats 6.75K, it suggests that a rink that's a little too large doesn't have to be this huge negative that you think it is. UW won four national titles playing in the Kohl Center, and UM won one while Mariucci was home. UNH won a title in the Whit. It seems like too big works at least as often as too small does.

What if OSU's rink was going to be condemned and had to be replaced, and the men said if the women were playing in a new rink, they wanted to play in one, too. There's only money to build one rink. What size would you build that one rink, that might not be perfect for either, but would be a compromise size under those constraints? You're not going to be forced to build this imaginary rink, and maybe there isn't actually any funding identified to build anything, but I think it makes for a more interesting discussion than saying it's impossible and opting to continue to put an elite team on crappy ice.

 

[Hockeybuckeye]

See you at The Muzz. (winking emoticon here)

And at the Frozen Four hopefully!

 

[Hockeybuckeye]

What if OSU's rink was going to be condemned and had to be replaced, and the men said if the women were playing in a new rink, they wanted to play in one, too. There's only money to build one rink.

From what I heard today the women's programs has earned priority for an improved facility, the university feels the men have for the time being an adequate home and the lamenting of the fans won't sway them.
Now if some mega rich booster or alumnus offers to pony up the money then the men might be in included if that's what it would take to get the donation. Anybody bought any Powerball tickets lately?

 

[Lindsay]

What if OSU's rink was going to be condemned and had to be replaced, and the men said if the women were playing in a new rink, they wanted to play in one, too. There's only money to build one rink. What size would you build that one rink, that might not be perfect for either, but would be a compromise size under those constraints? You're not going to be forced to build this imaginary rink, and maybe there isn't actually any funding identified to build anything, but I think it makes for a more interesting discussion than saying it's impossible and opting to continue to put an elite team on crappy ice.

I think they’ve done this exercise already. The compromise number was too small for the men. They said given the venue sizes that were being floated they want to stay in the Schott because their attendance already exceeded the proposed number for a certain number of games a year. I Give them credit for being honest, or maybe they just really want a practice rink and are angling for that. Shortly thereafter the conversation about building a new rink was tabled; they cited costs in Columbus construction market. I think they used to talk about a new rink just north of the covelli center, now the website shows something attached to the Schott.

what I suspect the men really want/need (if they also are not going to get a perfectly sized rink built for them) is a practice rink that doesn’t include the occasional bus ride. This is a fine compromise as long as it is a practice rink with enough seats and atmosphere for the women’s team and fans. As you said in an earlier post - learn from Ridder, LaBahn, Pegula etc. Ohio State, even being attached to the Schott and being the men’s practice rink too, could have the best rink in the country.

I don’t think the men would agree to a game rink with less than 8k seats (picking a number) so if I engage in your hypothetical the women would be in a cavernous rink but they’d get to host frozen four, and assuming the Schott got fully taken over for non ice sports OSU would actually be a step backwards in rinks. Much as I love women’s sports do I think it’s fair to tell the men that a couple thousand of their fans will no longer be able to come to games because we are downsizing the rink? That doesn’t seem right either.

Does a really nice rink for the women with the right number of seats for the women, attached to the Schott that the men happen to practice in make the most sense? It feels like it to me.

 

[pgb-ohio]

Still catching up on all of the correspondence!

PGB thanks for accumulating all this!
wonder why Minn 2012 was so down. Nice to see the steady up tick at OSU.

Your very welcome; don't know -- maybe ask ARM; and yes indeed!

when they broadcast the Frozen Four last year inexplicably the cameras were on the same side as the fans so it looked even emptier. Bugged me… crowd is part of the production normally. I wonder if you all were on opposite side of the benches, for the perceived benefit of the players.

Most fans were seated behind the benches. So for better or worse, the players were staring at the empty seats. But hey, a lot of fans "had their back." Speaking for the OSU contingent, we certainly did!

Finally, it looked there was a "student section" at one end. Perhaps some Penn State students got their usual section, and were checking out the tournament?

Curious to see what Duluth does, hopefully they let people sit anywhere.

I believe they will. Not endorsing Ticketmaster, but using it as a source of information:

1. It looks like the public seats on both sides are selling well.
2. Obviously the participating team allotments aren't on the market yet. But the allotments will put fans in at least 4 additional sections. Can't tell from Ticketmaster where the 4 sections are located.
3. It appears that seating on both ends will be general admission.

Maybe I'm just a hopeless optimist, but I think this means that there will be a reasonable number of fans on all 4 sides of the ice sheet.

 

[osualum86]

Well, just for fun, I have hotel reservations in Duluth for the Frozen Four weekend. I do not have tickets for the games. Amsoil Arena seats I believe around 8,000, these games will not sell out, tickets WILL be available at the door.

In fact, I attended the 2012 finals in Duluth (Minnesota 4, Wisconsin 2) and purchased my tickets at the arena for both games. The final game featured Emily West scoring on a penalty shot to break a 2-2 tie with Sarah Erickson scoring the insurance goal. Hillary Knight earned my long lasting respect by being a completely gracious loser. She already had a couple of national championships herself but showed a lot of class by standing on the blue line during the presentation ceremony and clapping for the new champions. It was a great day to be a Gopher fan in Duluth.

So, tickets are not going to be your biggest problem.

But where will you stay? I have two nights in a lake front motel with lake view, very easy walking distance to the arena and to all of the food and beverage establishments of the Canal Park entertainment district. All of you Ohio people (note I refer to Ohio the state not the University) seem pretty confident you will be there (and why wouldn't you be, that is a mighty fine team) but probably do not realize that hotel accommodations could be a problem. I encourage you to look into a place to stay now, not on the Monday before the Friday semi-finals.

Meanwhile, as a Gopher fan I have done this lots of times (7, yes 7 time national champions) and know that even if you have a mighty fine team (which the Gophers most assuredly this time do have) sometimes you don't get there. But what is it that they say about a failure to plan?

So if by some chance the Gophers do not get there but Ohio State does . . . ?

I always plan ahead when it comes to room for the Frozen Four and made reservations months ago. Got the rooms on Priceline.com and I paid the extra for free cancellation. There is always that chance that you get upset in the quarterfinal. Us OSU fans are well aware of that, having had to go into 2 OT to get to the Frozen Four last season. Even though we outshot Quinnipiac 77-22 and I liked our chances at the time, there is always the possibility that the other team lights the lamp instead of your team.