Why still Olympic size rink?????

[Some Day...Maybe]

Only 3 teams in the last 40 years, maybe ever, that play on an Olympic size rink have won a national title.

No NHL teams play on Olympic size rinks.

The vast majority of Frozen Fours are not on Olympic rinks.

Seems pretty stupid for the "State of Hockey "! Money should not be an object when it comes to this. This is Minnesota, and this is hockey!


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[Derhey]

You bring up very valid points but you must admit it is intimidating for other teams to play in Mariucci and we are always one of the best conditioned teams in college hockey.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Only 3 teams in the last 40 years, maybe ever, that play on an Olympic size rink have won a national title.

No NHL teams play on Olympic size rinks.

The vast majority of Frozen Fours are not on Olympic rinks.

Seems pretty stupid for the "State of Hockey "! Money should not be an object when it comes to this. This is Minnesota, and this is hockey!


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Its demise is planned and covered in another thread. And, yes, it should go. I thought it was a good idea at the time; but hockey went another way.

 

[north45]

You bring up very valid points but you must admit it is intimidating for other teams to play in Mariucci and we are always one of the best conditioned teams in college hockey.

The olympic sized rink may be an advantage during the regular season but it becomes a disadvantage during the post season. No post season play is on an olympic sized rink. The Gophers go up against teams that have been playing in 85 x 200 rinks all season and they are not up to the challenge.
I read a few years back of a proposal to remodel Mariucci arena that included reducing the ice sheet to a conventional size. Not sure what ever became of that plan?
The arena definitely needs some updating. The lighting has gotten weaker and the arena is a lot darker than it use to be.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

http://www.startribune.com/with-mar...t-in-april-gophers-could-use-boost/374009561/

“Mariucci was built in ’93. There have been a lot of facilities built and upgraded since that time. We need to do our upgrades, too,” Lucia said after the renovations were approved. He helped lead the fundraising campaign and eventually expects the rink size to be updated to NHL standards.

“The rink size is the last phase. … Everything we want to do first is for the players, their development and their comfort. That’s why this area has to be done first,” Lucia added. “The weight room will be second and everything else down the line.”

 

[#2Gopher]

I believe there is a water table problem. They would like to dig deeper into the ground and then I'm assuming more seats as they go down a bit. If they can't dig down, then it will look like the old Civic Center with much gap between the glass and the first row of seats that didn't look very good and doesn't have good sightlines.

 

[KillmeNow]

Well, not sure if it's relevant or not, but the U of Mn has sent more players to the Olympics than any other 2 programs combined. UND and Wisc combined haven't sent as many players to the Olympics as UMn has.

Granted I understand sending players to the Olympics is not as glorious as winning NCAA titles. so yeah, maybe we should revamp our rink size!!!