Respectfully disagree. Weather argument made elsewhere here is a non-starter. You're just as likely to hit a March noreaster on the Mass Pike or in ALB, as you are in LP. NY'ers and new Englanders are a hardy bunch -- the potential a little frozen March crud hardly slows them down, and if you have to deal with it, their aren't many more beautiful places to do so than L. Placid. The fan bases that best support the ECAC are from Cap Dist/Central/ Northern NY. These folks aren't scared of weather.
The tourney in Lake Placid is an event. The shopkeepers and hoteliers know why you are there and are happy to see you. Contrast that to ALB where no one outside of the TUC knows what the ECACHL is, much less that an event is going on. Every article written has a Lake Placid, NY byline - that doesn't suck, from a PR perspective. But for me, the bottom line is that the Olympic Center knows how to run a hockey tourney. The ice is ALWAYS hard and fast (do I need to mention the cloudy, slushy ice that plagues the TUC for much of the hockey season?) In LP, the players /coaches /officials are treated very well by a building staff that KNOWS hockey. They have the new convention center open and that should mean a cost savings for the league (league dinner, team receptions,etc.) as well as better fan experience.
In Albany, no one outside of the building knows what the ECACHL is, much less that the tourney is going on. I worked in the neighborhood near the TUC for 10+ years and the ECACHL could not be more invisible if they tried. Zero presence in the City/Region. Its a mail drop and nothing more.
Kudos to the committee and league for stopping the bleeding caused by the AC debacle.
