Harvard 6 Cornell 1 ECAC post-game & site critique

[Aaron M. Griffin]

You might want to read Ken Schott's post-mortem on AC. A few quotes:

There were 4,131 fans there? Really?

Move the tournament
This was my first experience covering the tournament in Atlantic City. And, honestly, I didn't like it.

The games were poorly attended. There were allegedly 3,462 fans in Boardwalk Hall for Friday's two games, and 4,131 fans for Saturday's contests. Were those numbers chosen from the New Jersey Pick-4 Lottery?

There was no atmosphere in the building. At one point during the championship game, it was so quiet that I thought I was in a library and not a hockey game.

If there is a way the league can buy out the final year of its deal with Atlantic City, do it. It would save the ECACH another possible embarrassment next year.

I guess the very loud (louder than the Lynah Faithful Zajac insisted) "Messa faithful" did not show up. Also, a Union "fan" behind bnr24 and me on Saturday said that the "Cornell fans were obnoxious and made the entire [consolation] game disgusting." I am sure he enjoyed when she and I joined in with a group of other Faithful at the ECAC Championship game chanting "sieve" at both Grosenick and Girard among various other chants.

[cbuckser]

I know it's not a central location, per se ... but this was my main argument in favor of Lake Placid, and I wrote about it a lot when they moved to Albany. And JTW alluded to this as well, that Lake Placid may be the only actual "destination" that has any marketability.

If you're not going to be the best, and you're not going to compete in a major city - then why not take advantage of the one unique thing you do have at your disposal?  Lake Placid gave the ECAC an identity that was unique and has a very favorable emotional component to any hockey fan. The people in Lake Placid made it an "Event." It's a special place.

AC is 1 hr. 20 minutes from my house - and LP is 6 hrs. on a good day (i.e. not snowing) ... yet I'd still be very in favor of Lake Placid any day of the week over anywhere else.

Alas, it will never happen so long as there are coaches in the league who don't want to play on the big ice surface. I understand their concern with it, but they are also the ones to complain about the league's marketability issues.

Today's Cornell teams are far better suited to play on the big sheet than the ECAC Championship teams of 1996 and 1997.

[marty]

Several of us were discussing the venue issue while in AC this past weekend.  

The closest the ECAC has ever come to having a real "event" location was the old Boston Garden.  It was a wonderful venue that was filled for nearly every ECAC championship I ever attended as a CU fan.  Also, Boston is a great hockey town, a nice city to visit, not too expensive for current students and young alumns and has a reasonable contingent of alumni who will turn out for their teams.  There were fabulous games there in the 60s, 70s and a bit beyond.  Alas the old Boston Garden is a memory.  I don't think that the "new" Garden would work as well, but might be worth a try.

The second closest to an "event" location was Lake Placid.  For those of us who experienced Cornell-Clarkson in 1970 in the old rink for the NCAA championship and/or the USA gold medal run in 1980, this is a special place.  The town is still quaint, fun, and not too expensive. Yes, it's a drive for most, but not truly terrible.  However, the biggest problem with it is the Olympic ice sheet.  I believe that if it was 200x85, the ECAC could seriously consider it.

As several have mentioned, there are plenty of rinks with 7000+ seating capacity or more within the ECAC.  Frankly, for the most part, it doesn't matter where the ECAC plays within the general confines of the center of the ECAC.  Atlantic City just isn't the solution.  It's not a hockey town.  It's generally too expensive for students and too far away for just about everyone! The bottom line, there is no draw to the place.  

IMO, the ECAC needs to find a decent rink (as I and others have mentioned, there are several), market the heck out of it, put some packages together for participating schools (including transportation, several hotels at different price points, tickets, etc) and have a decent TV package for those who can't/won't make the trip.  Stick with it for a few years, tweak the packages each year, and build it into something that fans will look forward to.  AC is obviously not "it".  Albany could be, but it too needs better packaging to be successful. Both Bridgeport at Worcester are also possibilities. Both cities are closer to most ECAC teams than AC.  Each has some college hockey connections, aren't too expense, and can generally be driven to.

My $.02

If the regionals in Bridgeport draw well this year, we have an answer for an ECAC venue.  Last year there was Yale as a high home seed. The NCAA expects a better draw than Albany, and with Union and Mass-Lowell as the eastern teams we will see just how well they Bridgeport draws hockey fans without a local connection.

[David Harding]

The only way to market sports is to win ... That's 95% of it. ... I've worked in sports my whole life, and no amount of marketing tricks will do the job otherwise.  I've worked for some pro GMs who like to think otherwise, and they've always turned out to be wrong.

There are a few exceptions, but even attendance at Chicago Cubs games falls off a little bit after especially dismal seasons.

[Trotsky]

The games limit really hurts our hockey team though. It creates no margin of error in terms of getting into NCAAs and it limits the amount of times our team can really seek out top notch competition in order to be ready for it come March. I have no doubt a program with Cornell's reputation could get more big games if it didn't have to schedule its NC schedule when many programs are starting to get into conference play.

The late start also sets us back relative to the opposition, so we have a handicap against any non-Ivy we meet before New Year's that can amount to a 50% or more longer schedule.

[css228]

You might want to read Ken Schott's post-mortem on AC. A few quotes:

There were 4,131 fans there? Really?

Move the tournament
This was my first experience covering the tournament in Atlantic City. And, honestly, I didn't like it.

The games were poorly attended. There were allegedly 3,462 fans in Boardwalk Hall for Friday's two games, and 4,131 fans for Saturday's contests. Were those numbers chosen from the New Jersey Pick-4 Lottery?

There was no atmosphere in the building. At one point during the championship game, it was so quiet that I thought I was in a library and not a hockey game.

If there is a way the league can buy out the final year of its deal with Atlantic City, do it. It would save the ECACH another possible embarrassment next year.

I guess the very loud (louder than the Lynah Faithful Zajac insisted) "Messa faithful" did not show up. Also, a Union "fan" behind bnr24 and me on Saturday said that the "Cornell fans were obnoxious and made the entire [consolation] game disgusting." I am sure he enjoyed when she and I joined in with a group of other Faithful at the ECAC Championship game chanting "sieve" at both Grosenick and Girard among various other chants.

Yeah, we were told by rink security to stop,,, But it was fun until I decided it probably wasn't worth it to get myself into a situation that would have required staying in Atlantic City any longer.

[Aaron M. Griffin]

You might want to read Ken Schott's post-mortem on AC. A few quotes:

There were 4,131 fans there? Really?

Move the tournament
This was my first experience covering the tournament in Atlantic City. And, honestly, I didn't like it.

The games were poorly attended. There were allegedly 3,462 fans in Boardwalk Hall for Friday's two games, and 4,131 fans for Saturday's contests. Were those numbers chosen from the New Jersey Pick-4 Lottery?

There was no atmosphere in the building. At one point during the championship game, it was so quiet that I thought I was in a library and not a hockey game.

If there is a way the league can buy out the final year of its deal with Atlantic City, do it. It would save the ECACH another possible embarrassment next year.

I guess the very loud (louder than the Lynah Faithful Zajac insisted) "Messa faithful" did not show up. Also, a Union "fan" behind bnr24 and me on Saturday said that the "Cornell fans were obnoxious and made the entire [consolation] game disgusting." I am sure he enjoyed when she and I joined in with a group of other Faithful at the ECAC Championship game chanting "sieve" at both Grosenick and Girard among various other chants.

Yeah, we were told by rink security to stop,,, But it was fun until I decided it probably wasn't worth it to get myself into a situation that would have required staying in Atlantic City any longer.

You were one of the ones starting it? It was fun. We stayed only through the first period but then left because we had to get back to Philadelphia. Also, staying longer in Jersey than one has to would be rough.

[billhoward]

I went to the game because my sister's nephew plays for AF.  It was decidedly a RIT crowd...surprise, surprise, but the AF folks held their own, especially after they went up 2-0.

Well, sure, if anybody can move about the country, it'd be Air Force people. Cadets without the money to travel could sign up for drones that circled the arena. Thank goodness AF didn't lose.

Now, here's something amazing:  An AF Academy alum (who lives in Rochester) comps everyone who signs up in advance for a ticket.  The guest list was pretty impressive!

I was about to say, "Your defense dollars at work," but actually, that's a very nice touch. I'm still grateful to a Cornell alum who paid my way to a Cornell Club dinner when I was feeling broke a couple years out of school. If you're an undergrad now and somebody bought you a round in Atlantic City, return the favor in 20 years.

[css228]

You might want to read Ken Schott's post-mortem on AC. A few quotes:

There were 4,131 fans there? Really?

Move the tournament
This was my first experience covering the tournament in Atlantic City. And, honestly, I didn't like it.

The games were poorly attended. There were allegedly 3,462 fans in Boardwalk Hall for Friday's two games, and 4,131 fans for Saturday's contests. Were those numbers chosen from the New Jersey Pick-4 Lottery?

There was no atmosphere in the building. At one point during the championship game, it was so quiet that I thought I was in a library and not a hockey game.

If there is a way the league can buy out the final year of its deal with Atlantic City, do it. It would save the ECACH another possible embarrassment next year.

I guess the very loud (louder than the Lynah Faithful Zajac insisted) "Messa faithful" did not show up. Also, a Union "fan" behind bnr24 and me on Saturday said that the "Cornell fans were obnoxious and made the entire [consolation] game disgusting." I am sure he enjoyed when she and I joined in with a group of other Faithful at the ECAC Championship game chanting "sieve" at both Grosenick and Girard among various other chants.

Yeah, we were told by rink security to stop,,, But it was fun until I decided it probably wasn't worth it to get myself into a situation that would have required staying in Atlantic City any longer.

You were one of the ones starting it? It was fun. We stayed only through the first period but then left because we had to get back to Philadelphia. Also, staying longer in Jersey than one has to would be rough.

Yep, I figured I needed to get back to Philly too. On a related note, consolation highlights. I'm under the distinct impression that no other video of the tournament exists.

[Aaron M. Griffin]

You might want to read Ken Schott's post-mortem on AC. A few quotes:

There were 4,131 fans there? Really?

Move the tournament
This was my first experience covering the tournament in Atlantic City. And, honestly, I didn't like it.

The games were poorly attended. There were allegedly 3,462 fans in Boardwalk Hall for Friday's two games, and 4,131 fans for Saturday's contests. Were those numbers chosen from the New Jersey Pick-4 Lottery?

There was no atmosphere in the building. At one point during the championship game, it was so quiet that I thought I was in a library and not a hockey game.

If there is a way the league can buy out the final year of its deal with Atlantic City, do it. It would save the ECACH another possible embarrassment next year.

I guess the very loud (louder than the Lynah Faithful Zajac insisted) "Messa faithful" did not show up. Also, a Union "fan" behind bnr24 and me on Saturday said that the "Cornell fans were obnoxious and made the entire [consolation] game disgusting." I am sure he enjoyed when she and I joined in with a group of other Faithful at the ECAC Championship game chanting "sieve" at both Grosenick and Girard among various other chants.

Yeah, we were told by rink security to stop,,, But it was fun until I decided it probably wasn't worth it to get myself into a situation that would have required staying in Atlantic City any longer.

You were one of the ones starting it? It was fun. We stayed only through the first period but then left because we had to get back to Philadelphia. Also, staying longer in Jersey than one has to would be rough.

Yep, I figured I needed to get back to Philly too. On a related note, consolation highlights. I'm under the distinct impression that no other video of the tournament exists.

I am not sure if that is wishful thinking hoping to forget the horrific Friday loss, but all the games are available for free at RPI TV. The games are in their entirety. Here is the less painful Colgate-Cornell game in its entirety.

[Jim Hyla]

You might want to read Ken Schott's post-mortem on AC. A few quotes:

There were 4,131 fans there? Really?

Move the tournament
This was my first experience covering the tournament in Atlantic City. And, honestly, I didn't like it.

The games were poorly attended. There were allegedly 3,462 fans in Boardwalk Hall for Friday's two games, and 4,131 fans for Saturday's contests. Were those numbers chosen from the New Jersey Pick-4 Lottery?

There was no atmosphere in the building. At one point during the championship game, it was so quiet that I thought I was in a library and not a hockey game.

If there is a way the league can buy out the final year of its deal with Atlantic City, do it. It would save the ECACH another possible embarrassment next year.

I guess the very loud (louder than the Lynah Faithful Zajac insisted) "Messa faithful" did not show up. Also, a Union "fan" behind bnr24 and me on Saturday said that the "Cornell fans were obnoxious and made the entire [consolation] game disgusting." I am sure he enjoyed when she and I joined in with a group of other Faithful at the ECAC Championship game chanting "sieve" at both Grosenick and Girard among various other chants.

Yeah, we were told by rink security to stop,,, But it was fun until I decided it probably wasn't worth it to get myself into a situation that would have required staying in Atlantic City any longer.

They actually told you to stop yelling sieve?

[css228]

You might want to read Ken Schott's post-mortem on AC. A few quotes:

There were 4,131 fans there? Really?

Move the tournament
This was my first experience covering the tournament in Atlantic City. And, honestly, I didn't like it.

The games were poorly attended. There were allegedly 3,462 fans in Boardwalk Hall for Friday's two games, and 4,131 fans for Saturday's contests. Were those numbers chosen from the New Jersey Pick-4 Lottery?

There was no atmosphere in the building. At one point during the championship game, it was so quiet that I thought I was in a library and not a hockey game.

If there is a way the league can buy out the final year of its deal with Atlantic City, do it. It would save the ECACH another possible embarrassment next year.

I guess the very loud (louder than the Lynah Faithful Zajac insisted) "Messa faithful" did not show up. Also, a Union "fan" behind bnr24 and me on Saturday said that the "Cornell fans were obnoxious and made the entire [consolation] game disgusting." I am sure he enjoyed when she and I joined in with a group of other Faithful at the ECAC Championship game chanting "sieve" at both Grosenick and Girard among various other chants.

Yeah, we were told by rink security to stop,,, But it was fun until I decided it probably wasn't worth it to get myself into a situation that would have required staying in Atlantic City any longer.

They actually told you to stop yelling sieve

Among other things, but yes. I think at the time we were told to stop I was getting on Girard for being impressed how he gets his mask down with no hands. Definitely wasn't anything profane. Just kind of taking advantage of the complete and utter silence of the game. Even got in a Let's Go Red cheer. I think the problem was more that we were near rink cameras with mics that were definitely picking up every word we were saying. Either way, they were far less appreciative of our addition to the hockey atmosphere than were the other Faithful.

[ugarte]

consolation highlights

Oh wow. First time I'm seeing RPItv. It's beeeyoooooooootiful.

[Rosey]

consolation highlights

Oh wow. First time I'm seeing RPItv. It's beeeyoooooooootiful.

Indeed. Makes RedCast even more obviously an embarrassment.

[jtn27]

moving back to 7:30 starts (did you see the pre-game attendance against Dartmouth?) would go a long way in re-energizing the fan base.

I don't think moving the games back to 7:30 would do anything to improve attendance. Students who are late to 7:00 games would be late to 7:30 games. The only reason the Dartmouth game filled up before the game started is that most people didn't know about the delay and thought they were arriving 5 minutes late instead of 30 minutes early. Remember, when we told a group of girls who were headed to the game while we getting dinner between the two games that the men's game was delayed, they turned around and went back to their apartment for another half hour. Plus, a later start means there's a higher risk of students leaving early to go to parties.