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Post by rf1 on Mar 28, 2022 8:56:57 GMT -5
The NCAA Hockey Tournament just finished its first weekend of regional games that will lead up to the Frozen-4 that will be held at the TD Garden in Boston April 7th - 9th. Attendance at the four regional sites, one of which was Worcester, was not very high. The DCU Center (ice cap 12,135) with local schools UMass and Northeastern had the best first day crowds. Unfortunately, both local schools lost in OT in their opening games setting up an all mid-west final game in which Worcester had the lowest attendance of the four sites.
First Round Games (2)
Worcester,MA 6,002
Albany, NY 2,345
Allentown, PA 2,155
Loveland, CO 3,138
Second Round Final Worcester,MA 2,848 Albany, NY 3,449 Allentown, PA 3,256 Loveland, CO 4,812
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Post by HC92 on Mar 28, 2022 9:49:30 GMT -5
Weird that three of the four regionals were in NY, MA and PA. Not a recipe for great attendance. Only one Northeast team, Quinnipiac, was as high as a 2-seed. All other Northeast teams were 3 or 4 seeds in their respective regions. UMass and Northeastern both losing their first games was not good for Worcester attendance as rf1 points out.
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 28, 2022 9:57:17 GMT -5
Worcester still had the highest total weekend attendance. Hope HC gets the same kudos for doing a good job hosting like they usually do.
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Post by gks on Mar 28, 2022 9:58:02 GMT -5
UMass/Minnesota was a great atmosphere. Would have been nice if that was the final in Worcester.
Frozen Four in Boston will be all 'western' teams.
Eastern hockey not strong this year.
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Post by ndgradbuthcfan on Mar 28, 2022 10:06:10 GMT -5
Five teams from MA lost in first round; Quinippiac won then lost. TD Garden folks will not be too happy but the nearby hotels will.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 28, 2022 10:36:53 GMT -5
Five teams from MA lost in first round; Quinippiac won then lost. TD Garden folks will not be too happy but the nearby hotels will. Frozen Four sells about 12k tickets of people that go every year no matter the matchup. Now to fill the next 5k is going to be a challenge! Eastern Hockey especially Hockey East was trash all year as seen with Lowell and Northeastern being right on the cusp of not making it on the final day.
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Post by Crucis#1 on Mar 28, 2022 11:01:27 GMT -5
The attendance this weekend is a barometer that Hockey East requirements for a 4K on campus arena should no longer be viewed as valid.
Granted, the Hart Rink does need a major upgrade regarding seating configuration. However the cost at the current time is a major barrier for completion in the immediate future.
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Post by Wormtown Railers Fan on Mar 28, 2022 12:12:42 GMT -5
Not sure if it’s true, I heard ticket prices were really jacked up from previous years keeping fans away that had no rooting interest.
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Post by rf1 on Mar 28, 2022 12:19:57 GMT -5
It looks like college hockey is struggling at the gate. Is this related to diminished interest and participation at the lower levels? Hockey is certainly having issues in nearby RI at younger ages. High school hockey used to be really big in RI just a few decades ago with most all high schools fielding programs. Catholic Mt St Charles Academy in the French-Canadian dominated city of Woonsocket was a well known longtime powerhouse with an arena on its campus and consecutive 26 time RI state championships (1978-2003). High school hockey is however now struggling in the state with many schools dropping their teams. This is especially prevalent in the public schools located in the more urban, less affluent, and higher minority parts of RI. None of the public high schools (about 10) in Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, and Central Falls field their own hockey teams. It is not due to declining populations as many of these communities had the highest growth rates in the state per 2020 census. The inability for public schools to sponsor a team on their own has resulted in what is called Co-Op teams. These teams represent multiple schools. Sometimes the schools are not even close to one another as Woonsocket High a few years ago joined forces with Scituate High which is several towns south of it. High School hockey in RI is becoming ever more closely associated with private schools and the more affluent suburban public schools. The sport is very expensive for youth to participate in given the necessary equipment needs and rented ice time. It seems that children from less affluent families are no longer playing hockey at the same rate as the past. Is this scenario playing out elsewhere?
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 28, 2022 12:29:50 GMT -5
It looks like college hockey is struggling at the gate. Is this related to diminished interest and participation at the lower levels? Hockey is certainly having issues in nearby RI at younger ages. High school hockey used to be really big in RI just a few decades ago with most all high schools fielding programs. Catholic Mt St Charles Academy in the French-Canadian dominated city of Woonsocket was a well known longtime powerhouse with an arena on its campus and consecutive 26 time RI state championships (1978-2003). High school hockey is however now struggling in the state with many schools dropping their teams. This is especially prevalent in the public schools located in the more urban, less affluent, and higher minority parts of RI. None of the public high schools in Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Central Falls, and Newport field their own hockey teams. It is not due to declining populations as many of these communities had the highest growth rates in the state per 2020 census. The inability for public schools to sponsor a team on their own has resulted in what is called Co-Op teams. These teams represent multiple schools. Sometimes the schools are not even close to one another as Woonsocket High a few years ago joined forces with Scituate High which is several towns south of it. High School hockey in RI is becoming ever more closely associated with private schools and the more affluent suburban public schools. The sport is very expensive for youth to participate in given the necessary equipment needs and rented ice time. It seems that children from less affluent families are no longer playing hockey at the same rate as the past. Is this scenario playing out elsewhere? Mount St Charles still has a varsity team but the best players at Mount actually play on several teams as a select squad which plays in tournaments across the country. www.risaintsm.com/schedule/team_instance/6433282?subseason=751958
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 28, 2022 12:35:30 GMT -5
Not sure if it’s true, I heard ticket prices were really jacked up from previous years keeping fans away that had no rooting interest. They were NOT jacked up. The doubleheader get in price was around 50 dollars. The usual price for the weekend package is between 80-90 dollars for the three games. Providence was charging 35 dollars a ticket for regular season games against BC and BU this past season. Worcester had the highest price for the Regionals but the opening round of the NCAA Hockey Tourney still had 2k more people at it than the home "PLAYOFF" game Holy Cross football hosted on their own campus.
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Post by gks on Mar 28, 2022 12:40:19 GMT -5
It looks like college hockey is struggling at the gate. Is this related to diminished interest and participation at the lower levels? Hockey is certainly having issues in nearby RI at younger ages. High school hockey used to be really big in RI just a few decades ago with most all high schools fielding programs. Catholic Mt St Charles Academy in the French-Canadian dominated city of Woonsocket was a well known longtime powerhouse with an arena on its campus and consecutive 26 time RI state championships (1978-2003). High school hockey is however now struggling in the state with many schools dropping their teams. This is especially prevalent in the public schools located in the more urban, less affluent, and higher minority parts of RI. None of the public high schools (about 10) in Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Central Falls, and Newport field their own hockey teams. It is not due to declining populations as many of these communities had the highest growth rates in the state per 2020 census. The inability for public schools to sponsor a team on their own has resulted in what is called Co-Op teams. These teams represent multiple schools. Sometimes the schools are not even close to one another as Woonsocket High a few years ago joined forces with Scituate High which is several towns south of it. High School hockey in RI is becoming ever more closely associated with private schools and the more affluent suburban public schools. The sport is very expensive for youth to participate in given the necessary equipment needs and rented ice time. It seems that children from less affluent families are no longer playing hockey at the same rate as the past. Is this scenario playing out elsewhere? If you have any lick of talent, or think you have a lick of talent, and you are high school age you are being poached by Junior programs which are all over New England now. It has really killed high school hockey in Massachusetts. Schools like the Mount in RI and Catholic Memorial and St. John's Prep in MA were hockey factories. Talent then shifted to the Preps but now it's going to Juniors. It's really too bad.
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 28, 2022 12:50:37 GMT -5
Every degree of separation from the public schools reduces oversight and increases costs to families it would seem.
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Post by rf1 on Mar 28, 2022 12:54:18 GMT -5
I am aware that MSC still has hockey. Most all the RI Catholic high schools with boys (MSC, Prout, LaSalle, BHHS) still have their own teams (SRA being an exception with a Co-op). What is striking to me is that the public high school just a mile away in Woonsocket no longer has its own team. Woonsocket has for most of its history been associated with the French-Canadians that came to the city from Quebec to work in its mills. There are many old RI phrases relating to the French influence in the city as evidenced by the "drive slow your car in Woooooon-sock-et." The immigrants from Quebec brought a love of hockey along with them. The public Woonsocket High for decades sponsored its own team but it could not survive going the co-op route some 5+ years ago. As I noted in my earlier post, high school hockey is still strong in some quarters across RI. The trend however seems to show it is becoming heavily tilted to the more affluent private and public suburban schools.
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Post by timholycross on Mar 28, 2022 13:22:01 GMT -5
Rf1, what's the origin of Woonsocket High's nickname, which is the Villa Novans? Could never figure that one out.
Private elite programs and/or private schools may grab the best talent, but the spectators that would have seen those kids play for xxxx High School or xxxx Catholic aren't for the most part watching them play. Has to have some effect on attendance at the next level, too.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 28, 2022 13:23:05 GMT -5
It looks like college hockey is struggling at the gate. Is this related to diminished interest and participation at the lower levels? Hockey is certainly having issues in nearby RI at younger ages. High school hockey used to be really big in RI just a few decades ago with most all high schools fielding programs. Catholic Mt St Charles Academy in the French-Canadian dominated city of Woonsocket was a well known longtime powerhouse with an arena on its campus and consecutive 26 time RI state championships (1978-2003). High school hockey is however now struggling in the state with many schools dropping their teams. This is especially prevalent in the public schools located in the more urban, less affluent, and higher minority parts of RI. None of the public high schools (about 10) in Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Central Falls, and Newport field their own hockey teams. It is not due to declining populations as many of these communities had the highest growth rates in the state per 2020 census. The inability for public schools to sponsor a team on their own has resulted in what is called Co-Op teams. These teams represent multiple schools. Sometimes the schools are not even close to one another as Woonsocket High a few years ago joined forces with Scituate High which is several towns south of it. High School hockey in RI is becoming ever more closely associated with private schools and the more affluent suburban public schools. The sport is very expensive for youth to participate in given the necessary equipment needs and rented ice time. It seems that children from less affluent families are no longer playing hockey at the same rate as the past. Is this scenario playing out elsewhere? If you have any lick of talent, or think you have a lick of talent, and you are high school age you are being poached by Junior programs which are all over New England now. It has really killed high school hockey in Massachusetts. Schools like the Mount in RI and Catholic Memorial and St. John's Prep in MA were hockey factories. Talent then shifted to the Preps but now it's going to Juniors. It's really too bad. Look at Berard's two kids for one example. They both played two years of high school hockey and then went into the US developmental program which is basically a boarding school for a junior team.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 28, 2022 13:29:43 GMT -5
Rf1, what's the origin of Woonsocket High's nickname, which is the Villa Novans? Could never figure that one out. Private elite programs and/or private schools may grab the best talent, but the spectators that would have seen those kids play for xxxx High School or xxxx Catholic aren't for the most part watching them play. Has to have some effect on attendance at the next level, too. Boston College had six kids on their roster this year from New England (all from Mass). Boston University had seven from New England (six from Mass) Northeastern had 13 from New England. Vermont had one from New England and two from Quebec (which you would consider close by). Uconn had seven from New England and two from CT.
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Post by rf1 on Mar 28, 2022 15:27:33 GMT -5
Rf1, what's the origin of Woonsocket High's nickname, which is the Villa Novans? Could never figure that one out.
I did not know the origin until I did a bit of checking to answer your question. Villa Nova is "new town" in Latin. Marc's Distinctive High School Mascot Collection says the school chose the mascot name because it was built on land that was part of Villa Nova Park. Perhaps what is today Cass Park that surrounds the high school on Cass Avenue was once called the new town park.
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 28, 2022 15:48:18 GMT -5
All this Woonsocket talk has me Jonesing for a Weiner with meat sauce on top in a soft roll.
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Post by rf1 on Mar 28, 2022 16:03:56 GMT -5
All this Woonsocket talk has me Jonesing for a Weiner with meat sauce on top in a soft roll.
Not a dynamite sandwich, meat pie, or all you can eat chicken?
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 28, 2022 16:06:45 GMT -5
All this Woonsocket talk has me Jonesing for a Weiner with meat sauce on top in a soft roll.
Not a dynamite sandwich, meat pie, or all you can eat chicken?
All of the above please,on Social Street after the bars shut down.🙂
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Post by gks on Mar 28, 2022 17:10:56 GMT -5
Next at DCU in 2026
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 28, 2022 19:01:56 GMT -5
Would like Kit to put on a full court press to get NCAA D-1 MBB back for the first time since 2005. Between his other activities.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 28, 2022 19:32:45 GMT -5
Would like Kit to put on a full court press to get NCAA D-1 MBB back for the first time since 2005. Between his other activities. Not sure if the DCU is going to be big enough for the next round of bidding which would start with the 2027 tournament. Spokane and Providence are the smallest buildings to host in this round of Regional sites through 2026. The vast majority are NBA/NHL rinks with some large arenas like Rupp. www.ncaa.com/mens-final-four/future-info
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Post by gks on Mar 28, 2022 20:58:41 GMT -5
Would like Kit to put on a full court press to get NCAA D-1 MBB back for the first time since 2005. Between his other activities. Unfortunately Worcester just doesn't have the number of large hotels.
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