• The KillerFrogs

Hockey Tournament—2023 begins on page 3 with post #52; 2022 precedes it.

bc puckett

Active Member
There is an East Coast bias when it comes to college hockey! My guess is one of the issues with the Xcel Center is that it is used for the MSHSL tournaments over a 2 week span in March. I thought it was also being used for a college tournament. In order to host all of these events it limits the Wild to their home for one weekend the entire month of March. That isn’t fair to them.

Denver is never a bad location given the number of teams out West. I think Mariucci gets avoided due to the rink size. There are several other arenas throughout the Midwest (MN, ND, WI, and even NE) that could be used. It would also seem that a site in MI, OH, IN, or even Western PA could be used.

This is Michigan’s tournament to lose, but in hockey anything can happen.

Not sure about any East Coast Bias. Regional sites since 2015:

2015: Providence, Manchester NH, South Bend, Fargo, FF: Boston
2016: Allentown, St Paul, Cincy, Worcester, FF: Tampa
2017: Cincy, Fargo, Providence Manchester, FF: Chicago
2018: Sioux Falls, Bridgeport, Worcester, Allentown FF St Paul
2019: Fargo, Allentown, Providence, Manchester, FF Buffalo
2020; Covid
2021 Bridgeport, Manchester, Fargo, Loveland FF Pittsburgh

Also future sites as follows:

So it may lean a little East but certainly not in a "biased" way. Cities make bids and we all know the NCAA will chase every last nickel
 

bc puckett

Active Member
Really strange to have a tourney with no BU and no BC...

And bad timing for those teams to struggle with the championship in Boston.
Actually while they both struggled early they on came pretty strong at the end but a case of too little too late. I'm old enough to remember the beginning of Hockey East (and sadly many years before) and this was easily the weakest HE conference ever, Also, with the exception of QU the ECAC was every bit as bad. If Harvard hadn't upset QU in the conference tourney the ECAC would have had only one team get a bid and tOSU would have gotten in.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
Actually while they both struggled early they on came pretty strong at the end but a case of too little too late. I'm old enough to remember the beginning of Hockey East (and sadly many years before) and this was easily the weakest HE conference ever, Also, with the exception of QU the ECAC was every bit as bad. If Harvard hadn't upset QU in the conference tourney the ECAC would have had only one team get a bid and tOSU would have gotten in.
There's something to be thankful for (tOSU getting left out of a playoff). All hail the use of the pairwise over a committee that "knows better."

It's always seemed weird to me, though, that the early cross-sectional games end up carrying so much weight in terms of the relative ranking of teams. Would like to see at least one weekend after Jan. 1 reserved for OOC games.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
Actually while they both struggled early they on came pretty strong at the end but a case of too little too late. I'm old enough to remember the beginning of Hockey East (and sadly many years before) and this was easily the weakest HE conference ever, Also, with the exception of QU the ECAC was every bit as bad. If Harvard hadn't upset QU in the conference tourney the ECAC would have had only one team get a bid and tOSU would have gotten in.
Also, I think for the duration of this thread, you should be referred to as bc puckhead.
 

Pharm Frog

Full Member
I’m from Houston. So not of big interest. Notre Dame is a more entitled version of UT. I haven’t watched a hockey game since Gordie Howe played for the Houston Aeros. But I root for whoever plays ND regardless of sport.
Leprechaun St Paddys GIF by MOODMAN
Remember when Gordie and Mark and Marty played together for the Aeros? I have vague memories of watching them play a team called the Hartford Whalers. Fights all night long
 

bc puckett

Active Member
Remember when Gordie and Mark and Marty played together for the Aeros? I have vague memories of watching them play a team called the Hartford Whalers. Fights all night long
I’m going to really date myself here. October 11 1975 I watched the Red Sox and Luis Tiant shut out the Reds 6-0 in game one of the World Series (and yes it didn’t end well) went to Hartford and watch Geordie and the boys kick the crap out of the Whalers by the same 6-0 score and got home in time to watch the series premiere of a show called Saturday Night Live. Pretty big day for someone 8 days short of his 16th birthday
 

Hoosierfrog

Tier 1
Remember when Gordie and Mark and Marty played together for the Aeros? I have vague memories of watching them play a team called the Hartford Whalers. Fights all night long
Played in the Houston Chronicle softball tournament against the Aeros team with the Howe brothers. We had a first baseman that was about 6’5” that was a DE at Penn State Names Ebersole. An Aero named Terry Denard (I think) who must have been all of 5’9” 185 hit a ground ball in the hole at short. The SS threw high, Ebersole went high and Denard drilled him in the hip. Ebersole was like what the fork man! Denard apologized and said Sorry aboot thot mon, instinct took over. Their whole seemed to have about 15 teeth between them…
 
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Pharm Frog

Full Member
Played in the Houston Chronicle softball tournament against the Aeros team with the Howe brothers. We had a first baseman that was about 6’5” that was a DE at Penn State Names Ebersole. An Aero named Terry Denard (I think) who must have been all of 5’9” 185 hit a ground ball in the hole at short. The SS threw high, Ebersole went high and Denard drilled him in the hip. Ebersole was like what the fork man! Denard apologized and said Sorry about thot mahn, instinct took over. Their whole seemed to have about 15 teeth between them…
Ha! I remember that Chronicle tournament. My dad played for a team that made it to the finals one year. May be misremembering a bit but I seem to recall them playing games at like 1am and stuff like that.
 

Hoosierfrog

Tier 1
Ha! I remember that Chronicle tournament. My dad played for a team that made it to the finals one year. May be misremembering a bit but I seem to recall them playing games at like 1am and stuff like that.
Some early games started pretty late, but 1am was probably a rain make up game.

There was a team made up current and retired Oilers. You may remember free agent DE that they got from the fire dept. The guy was about 6’7” 275. He hit a ball so hard it cleared the St Pius baseball fence. When the kid brought it in for a snow cone, it had a bat sized dent and unusable. Andy Doris a DT hit a line drive at my chest at third base that I caught but knocked me I’m my butt. I was in short left on the grass too.
 

Pharm Frog

Full Member
Some early games started pretty late, but 1am was probably a rain make up game.

There was a team made up current and retired Oilers. You may remember free agent DE that they got from the fire dept. The guy was about 6’7” 275. He hit a ball so hard it cleared the St Pius baseball fence. When the kid brought it in for a snow cone, it had a bat sized dent and unusable. Andy Doris a DT hit a line drive at my chest at third base that I caught but knocked me I’m my butt. I was in short left on the grass too.
Spoke with my dad. It was a rain delayed game but what I didn’t recall is that they had to play a game at 8a the next morning. He remembered how upset my mom was about the whole thing.
 

froginmn

Full Member
Back to hockey... Minnesota won so I'll have a LOT of fun seeing those friends for dinner next Friday. U of MN is set to play Minnesota State in the semifinal. Their son is a sophomore at MSU so a grudge match coming up in two weeks.
 

Hoosierfrog

Tier 1
Spoke with my dad. It was a rain delayed game but what I didn’t recall is that they had to play a game at 8a the next morning. He remembered how upset my mom was about the whole thing.
The bracket was so big that they had to squeeze tons of games in in a day. There was a fast pitch and slow. There was the perennial national champ from Pasadena (San Jacinto Ford, I think) that actually paid guys just to play softball. They accepted a bet from Eddie Feigner’s King and his Court, a 4 man team that toured. Boasted no one could hit his fast pitch. Once struck out 9 Major League Baseball players. San Jac’s lead off guy hit the first pitch for a hit, the second guy took a strike and hit it out of the park. If I recall, Feigner got so mad, they walked off.
 
Denver and Michigan 2-2 going to OT in the first semifinal of the Frozen Four. It has been a good game. Minnesota and Minnesota State follows.

Both games were scheduled to be on ESPN 2, but because of an MLB conflict the OT and second game have been switched over to ESPNU.
 

JogginFrog

Active Member
Denver and Michigan 2-2 going to OT in the first semifinal of the Frozen Four. It has been a good game. Minnesota and Minnesota State follows.

Both games were scheduled to be on ESPN 2, but because of an MLB conflict the OT and second game have been switched over to ESPNU.
Looks like DU made the Wolverines pay for sloppy zone clearance on the winner. As a Coloradan, I'm happy to see an all-old-WCHA final (despite my sports rivalry hate of DU).
 
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JogginFrog

Active Member
Why the distaste for the DU Pioneers—are you a Colorado College fan?
Go Tigers!
No ties to the school, but when I moved to the Springs in '02 the Tigers were very good and at $15 a ticket it was the best entertainment value in town. Didn't take long to become a fan and embrace the Gold Pan rivalry. Been hard to see CC fall on hard times, but the school's block program (1 class at a time; 3 weeks each) seems especially tough to balance with a D1 sports schedule. I'm surprised they ever recruited well enough to make the Frozen Four.
 
Colorado College (Go Tigers!) is an elite school of only 2000 students so it is amazing that they can compete in Divison 1 hockey. Tigers’ hockey has two national championships. They opened a beautiful new campus arena in September, 2021, which seats 3,400—Ed Robson Arena—estimated cost 52 million. But now I suspect the ticket prices are higher—fewer seats and more demand.
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