STrib: Big Ten hockey is a buzzkill for fans in Minnesota

[BleedGopher]

per Blount:

“It’s Hockey Day Minnesota, and we’re playing these guys?” said Adam Holten, wearing a Gophers jersey bearing the old WCHA logo. “I’m not a fan [of the Big Ten]. Give me the old rivalries, the old traditions.”

University athletic officials acknowledge that a major chunk of their fan base shares Holten’s opinion. In the Gophers’ third season as a member of the six-team Big Ten, they still are working to win over people who believe the new league offers inferior competition and who miss being part of an elite, history-laden conference that included the state’s four other Division I programs.

There is no going back. Big Ten deputy commissioner Brad Traviolia said the league is committed to hockey for the long term. The Gophers are obligated to stay the course, enduring the growing pains that come with such a monumental change.

Sales of season tickets rose slightly in the first year of Big Ten play but have fallen in each of the past two years, from 7,394 in 2013-14 to 6,732 this season. Announced average attendance this season is 9,788 — 98 percent of capacity — but has dropped to its lowest level since 2011-12.

http://www.startribune.com/big-ten-hockey-is-a-buzzkill-for-fans-in-minnesota/370397541/

Go Gophers!!

 

[DougMN]

I went to the National Hockey Center on Friday to watch SCSU and UMD square off. While I'm there- I keep thinking 'how can this program in St Cloud with inferior facilities, exposure and fan base be consistently better than the Gophers?'. The B1G Ten is most definitely to blame for a lot of it...inferior competition and loss of rivalries is huge. But I think coaching is a pretty big part of it too. Both of those teams looked well-coached and both had a fire under them for the whole game. It was a well-played game by both teams.

You don't see that intensity from the Gophers very often and instead of continuing to circle the drain and wait for this turd to flush- I think it's time to get rid of Lucia now. I know I'm preaching to the choir and winning another worthless conference championship will probably be enough to keep him here indefinitely...but it's embarrassing and way overdue.

Also- attendance was near capacity and tickets were a fraction of the price of Mariucci.

 

[upnorthkid]

Ticket prices suck at Mariucci. Players, whether they admit it or not, feed off a big crowd. Get people in the effin seats and it'd go a long way to improving the fire the players show on the ice

 

[Otis]

I'd love to see Harrington coaching at the U! Leaving the WCHA was a HUGE mistake.

 

[gopherguy05]

I'd love to see Harrington coaching at the U! Leaving the WCHA was a HUGE mistake.

You do know Harrington coaches the Mankato women....a team that just won a single game all year...right?

Probably not....