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The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

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Re: The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

Getting back to the WCHA...best arena: Bemidji, without a doubt, #2 Michigan Tech. As for the worst facility...let's just say it sits in one of college hockey's most beautiful cities.

Oh, I don't think the Verizon Wireless Center is that bad.
 
Re: The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

Getting back to the WCHA...best arena: Bemidji, without a doubt, #2 Michigan Tech. As for the worst facility...let's just say it sits in one of college hockey's most beautiful cities.

I've not been to them all yet... But I can't argue at all with that last point from the ones I've seen..
 
Re: The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

Now lets pronounce the arena//Ewigleben Ice Arena...
I was told A-vah-glave-in,,,I see wiki has it different....oh well Ferris State Ice Arena will work...
 
Re: The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

Getting back to the WCHA...best arena: Bemidji, without a doubt, #2 Michigan Tech. As for the worst facility...let's just say it sits in one of college hockey's most beautiful cities.

You're right. Big Rapids is certainly a picturesque little village.
 
Re: The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

You're right. Big Rapids is certainly a picturesque little village.

So is the town in Ohio. And those two rinks are quite comparable. And neither would end up on the bottom of the list.
 
Re: The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

Getting back to the WCHA...best arena: Bemidji, without a doubt, #2 Michigan Tech. As for the worst facility...let's just say it sits in one of college hockey's most beautiful cities.

I've only been to Tech, NMU, LSSU and Ferris. I'd probably rank those four in that order. From pictures I've seen, Bemidji looks pretty nice. Anchorage looks like a dump while Mankato looks pretty comparable to LSSU and BG to Ferris. I haven't heard or seen much on Fairbanks and Huntsville.
 
Re: The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

I've only been to Tech, NMU, LSSU and Ferris. I'd probably rank those four in that order. From pictures I've seen, Bemidji looks pretty nice. Anchorage looks like a dump while Mankato looks pretty comparable to LSSU and BG to Ferris. I haven't heard or seen much on Fairbanks and Huntsville.

I think ranking the rinks would kinda look like the current standings. There are a couple up top. There's a definite bottom and the rest are pretty tightly grouped.
 
Re: The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

Bowling Green's arena is nicer than that at Ferris. That arena is dark with only seating on the two ends and one side. BG continues to fix up their arena. I say ours is similar to Lake State, but it has been awhile since I have been there.
 
Re: The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

Our barn is a standard issue 1970s civic arena that has ice in it. It's bowl seating with two tiers, concrete everywhere, and has just been retrofit with a nice lobby and actual handrails in the general admission area. (Getting up and down to press row, especially down, laden with equipment wasn't a heck of a lot of fun.) It's a fun place when you get 4,000+ in there, even if the hockey was bad. We had 5,000+ last year when we had Mankato in early in the season, and that was a close game. The Port Authority has bought out GA seating for the rest of the season, and I'm hoping that we pick off either LSSU or NMU (or preferably both) to get our fans a taste of the good life again.

For WCHA purposes, the only thing notable about the VBC is that it's 6600 or so for hockey, which makes it the biggest facility in the conference (in the biggest metro area in the conference hosting currently the worst team in the conference).

GFM
 
Re: The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

Been to Bemidji, Tech, Lake State, Ferris, Mankato and Huntsville, have set foot in Bowling Green (Findlay trip) and Northern Michigan (Lake State Trip). That just leaves me with the two Alaskas!!!!!

Better start saving my pennies!

I am not going to try and rank as I enjoyed my trips to all of them and they each had good things and some bad. Northern and Bowling Green, I did not get to see a game in, but still got to see inside and walk around a bit. Of course Bemidji's is the newest and should be the nicest, but I know Tech, Mankato, Bowling Green and Huntsville have all put some $$$ into theirs here lately with upgrades. I have not seen them since the upgrades.
 
Re: The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

Ferris has upgraded just about everything they reasonably can in the past 15 years or so. The only things that haven't been done are the visitor's locker room and a video/message/score board of some kind and one of those is a much higher priority than the other. ;)
 
Re: The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

Whatever the condition of the barns, one thing can be said for all of the markets: you can find good places to eat and drink and your very likely to find great hockey fans!
 
Re: The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

Ferris has upgraded just about everything they reasonably can in the past 15 years or so. The only things that haven't been done are the visitor's locker room and a video/message/score board of some kind and one of those is a much higher priority than the other. ;)

As a Ferris fan I agree that both the visitor's locker room needs to be upgraded and some type of video board needs to be installed. I would think that upgrading the visitor's locker room will be first to happen. With youth hockey and visiting teams the locker room schedule is tight at best.

I hope that the game tonight sells out. The weather is bad, bad, bad here in Big Rapids! Saturday is a sell out, so I would think Friday's game should be close at this point.

Has anyone seen how Western Michigan is doing this year? It warms my heart to see them at the bottom of the pack in the NACHO league!
 
Re: The New WCHA IV (2013-14): Unlocked and Cocked

Whatever the condition of the barns, one thing can be said for all of the markets: you can find good places to eat and drink and your very likely to find great hockey fans!

Amen to that.

I know I give my buddies at Ferris a lot of crap, but downtown Big Rapids is classic. Gotta love Schuberg's.
 
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