Well, that's all she wrote. For both the men and the women, it's all ECAC teams from here on out - one for the men, of course, being a non-conference game, but it's Union, so the point remains.
The women pick up their ECAC schedule in exactly the same place they left off - with Quinnipiac and Princeton, only hosting the pair this time around rather than on the road. RPI's win over Harvard earlier in the year (the only loss the Crimson have yet sustained) has pretty much been negated by losses to Dartmouth and Brown, and the Engineers sit in 8th place, the final playoff spot. Points against teams ahead in the standings are important, which makes home games against two tough opponents key this weekend.
The men also pick up ECAC play where last they left it, with games against Princeton and Quinnipiac. The Engineers earned 3 points at home against these teams, and they're going to want, at bare minimum, a split this weekend if they're going to keep the pace they need for a first-round bye (which, provided they beat Dartmouth in two weeks, they're actually still on by the "3 points at home, 2 on the road" metric). Conventional wisdom would say that tonight's game against 3-14-0 Princeton would be a better opportunity to get that done than tomorrow night against 15-3-5 Quinnipiac, which pretty much makes tonight a must-win game for the Engineers, especially since they're winless in four straight games and five of six.
Last season, the Engineers had a dreadful non-conference showing before a lights-out January and February propelled them to a 2nd place finish. Let's hope the comfortable, familiar surroundings of the ECAC ignite a similar run this year.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Women's Hockey - at Providence (4/5 Jan)
RPI returned from a long layoff with a short departure from ECAC play in a weekend series at Hockey East foe Providence. After the Engineers posted a 3-1 win on Saturday despite being outshot 33-21, Lauren Wash scored a hat trick in Sunday's affair but RPI eventually fell 4-3 in overtime on Lexi Romanchuk's game-winner.
Saturday
Smelker/Mari Mankey/Svoboda
Mahoney/Gruschow/Rooney
Horwood/Wash/Sanders
Letuligasenoa/Walsh/Hylwa
Banks/Schilter
Behounek/Marzario
Middlebrook/Marzario
O'Brien
Alexa Gruschow tallied two points, including an assist on a shorthanded goal by Taylor Mahoney, and Kelly O'Brien held Providence to one goal on 33 shots in a 3-1 victory on Saturday.
Jordan Smelker opened the scoring on Saturday, powering past the defense and putting a shot past goalie Sarah Bryant for a 1-0 first period lead.
The Friars erased that advantage just minutes later, as Cassidy Carels put home a rebound to knot things at one.
In the second period, with Kathryn Schilter in the box on a holding call, Mahoney put RPI back on top with a rebound goal of her own after Gruschow's sharp angle shot bounced back out to the slot and onto her stick.
The Engineers failed to capitalize on three nearly consecutive power plays late in the second period, only managing six shots in the period.
Things looked to get worse for RPI in the third as Providence pushed hard to even the score once again, outshooting the Engineers 16-4 in the final frame. However Gruschow's empty net power play goal with 23 seconds left put the game on ice and the Engineers left with a 3-1 victory on Saturday evening.
Sunday
Smelker/Mari Mankey/Svoboda
Mahoney/Gruschow/Rooney
Horwood/Wash/Sanders
Missy Mankey/Walsh/Hylwa
Banks/Schilter
Behounek/Marzario
Middlebrook/Marzario
Piper
Lauren Wash recorded the Engineers' first hat trick since Eleeza Cox notched one in the 2011-12 season and the Engineers overcame two two-goal defecits to force overtime, but it wasn't enough at Providence took a 4-3 victory thanks to Lexi Romanchuk's overtime tally.
Providence jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, with Beth Hanrahan beating Brianna Piper from close range on the power play and Janine Weber tipping a shot from the point a few minutes later. The Engineers were outshot 18-3 in the opening frame.
Wash's first goal cut the Friars' lead to 2-1 near the midpoint of the second. With numbers breaking into the Providence zone, Wash cut across the slot and put a shot past Bryant to get the Engineers on the board.
It took less than three minutes for Providence to regain the two goal lead, with Courtney Kukowski scoring off a nice 2-on-1 feed from Brittney Thunstrom.
Wash scored twice more in the third period to help the Engineers claw back into the game. Her second goal came on the doorstep as she took a pass from Marzario and quickly put it past Bryant to cut the score to 3-2. The third came with just 0.5 seconds left on the clock, a tip on another Marzario shot to make it 3-3.
The comeback attempt would fall short in overtime, however, as Romanchuk scored with a top shelf rocket from the blue line to give the Friars the win.
RPI now returns to ECAC play for the remainder of the season, beginning with Quinnipiac and Princeton next weekend before the Union home and home the weekend following.
-----
RPI at Providence
Non-Conference Game - Schneider Arena (Providence, RI)
1/4/14 - 7:00pm
RPI 3, Providence 1
RECAPS:
Video Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVv5l0L4Tjw
RECORD: 7-10-1 (3-5 ECAC)
-----
RPI at Providence
Non-Conference Game - Schneider Arena (Providence, RI)
1/5/14 - 4:00pm
Providence 4, RPI 3 (OT)
RECAPS:
Video Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbXXovaY5U0
Wash Named Player of the Week (Press Release): http://ecachockey.com/women/2013-14/Weekly_Awards/W_Weekly_Awards_010714.pdf
RECORD: 7-11-1 (3-5 ECAC)
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Upcoming Games
Jan. 10 - Quinnipiac (7pm)
Jan. 11 - Princeton (4pm)
Jan. 17 - Union (7pm)
Jan. 18 - at Union (4pm)
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Regional Solutions
So, from looking at the breakdown of regional attendances, there are a couple of different things that become apparent. First, the top attendees are almost all home teams at their home rinks. The second is the difference between attendance in the vaster west and the more compact east.
So what's the solution? Having some games played at campus sites has been brought up with some frequency, but there are pros and cons to the idea.
Could we potentially go back to the previous system of having a best of three series at campus sites? Unlikely. That would bring up two possibilities. One would turn the Frozen Four into the Elite Eight following the best-of-three, forcing a three-day single-elimination death march to a national championship. That would be difficult to coordinate, with eight different schools getting access to tickets, a quadruple-header on the first day of the competition... it would be a logistical nightmare.
The other option is to have two best-of-three rounds ahead of the Frozen Four, but there are issues with this as well. First, you're looking at a team ending up playing as many as eight contests AFTER the conference tournaments are over, twice the current maximum of four. Second, unless you push the Frozen Four back another week, now fully into mid-April, there's no bye week between the determining of the Frozen Four and the event. Part of the reason the Frozen Four draws well and many regionals don't is simply the timing - fans are more apt to travel long distances when they have more time to plan a trip, and two weeks is better than one.
No, the best option is to keep the tournament single-elimination. But what options do we have to improve on what already exists? Super regionals of eight teams each? Since no teams have byes as they did in the super regional days of the 12-team tournament, you're looking at one day with four games at the same location. As with the Elite Eight notion above, that's a logistical nightmare.
The best option, in my view, has got to be to award the #1 seeds the right to host each regional.
In the west, it seems that the only time crowds come out is if the home team is playing. This is frequently viewed as a negative because it's not always the #1 team that's hosting, and that can put a team that's produced better results over the course of the season behind the 8-ball. So why not just create a system whereby at least the hosts have earned that right through their play, rather than just fortunately being the pre-determined hosts?
Let's look at how last year's regionals might have turned out if this had been the plan in 2013.
1 Quinnipiac
2 Minnesota
3 UMass-Lowell
4 Notre Dame
5 Miami
6 Boston College
7 New Hampshire
8 North Dakota
9 Denver
10 Niagara
11 Minnesota State
12 Union
13 St. Cloud State
14 Wisconsin
15 Yale
-- Canisius
Hamden, CT (TD Bank Sports Center)
1. Quinnipiac
2. New Hampshire
3. Denver
4. Canisius
Minneapolis, MN (Mariucci Arena)
1. Minnesota
2. North Dakota
3. Niagara
4. Yale
Lowell, MA (Tsongas Arena)
1. UMass-Lowell
2. Boston College
3. Union
4. Wisconsin
South Bend, IN (Compton Family Ice Arena)
1. Notre Dame
2. Miami
3. Minnesota State
4. St. Cloud State
This is actually extremely close to what the brackets played out to be in real life. The West Regional in Grand Rapids is exactly the same as it was, only now it's in Minneapolis. The Midwest Regional is also exactly the same, only now it's in South Bend. The two eastern regionals are close, but they have swapped 2-3 matchups. Why? Well, because instead of #2 seed New Hampshire being required to be placed in Manchester as a host, they can instead slot into a more natural position in Hamden.
There's another consideration to ponder as well - Brown was the host in Providence, and nearly made the tournament by winning the ECAC championship, considering that they made the title game. If they'd made the tournament, not only would they have displaced Yale, they'd have been automatically slotted in Providence, requiring conference-mates Quinnipiac to be moved to Manchester and making a mess of the bracket. This is better - because Brown wouldn't have been hosting as a #4 seed in this scenario.
How would this tournament have differed? Well, for one, Yale, having just barely made it into the tournament after imploding in Atlantic City, would be forced to play Minnesota on their home turf instead of the sparse crowd that greeted them in Grand Rapids. Is that fair? It's certainly more fair than Denver's lot in the real tournament, since they got what was basically a home team in New Hampshire, all because they were the pre-selected hosts of that regional. At least in this scenario, Minnesota's earning their home ice.
Perhaps, in a bit of irony, Minnesota fans might have turned out to cheer on Niagara against North Dakota, the way North Dakota fans had cheered Holy Cross to the upset over the Gophers in 2006 in Grand Forks.
Would attendance be an issue, though? We can cross Minneapolis and South Bend off the concern list right away - those arenas are past and future regional spots already. How much better can we expect the crowds to be when we're guaranteed that the home team will be there?
What about Lowell and Hamden? Tsongas seats about 6,500 for hockey, while the TD Bank Sports Center sells out at 4,074. Both of those figures are lower than the actual crowd sizes in Providence and Manchester.
That's why there's no easy fix for the regional problem - because it's largely an east vs west issue. Eastern regionals at larger neutral sites don't frequently have a problem selling at least a decent number of tickets, and home rinks in the east are frequently smaller than their western counterparts.
But in balancing the desire to have important games played in front of large crowds, ticket sales, bracket integrity, and the single-elimination tournament, it's the only idea that really works. We can't guarantee that every year we'll have two of the #1 seeds from the east and two from the west.
Even then, you're not guaranteeing results, especially if the #4 team upsets the #1 team on their home ice. Two #1s were upset last year by #4s that ended up in the Frozen Four. If Yale still beats Minnesota at Mariucci, you'd still probably have enough North Dakota fans coming out the next night, but what about Miami-St. Cloud in South Bend? It's probably not well attended. But that's the chance you take in order to balance all those various factors.
What about small rinks hosting regionals? Union's doing pretty well this year, what if they were to be a #1 seed, forcing four teams to play for the right to go to the Frozen Four in that tiny dump in Schenectady? There's no easy solution, as we've already said. It's not like Union (and RPI, for that matter) can just have the Times Union Center on hold for that weekend, just in case. Quinnipiac and Yale can't just ask the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport to keep some dates open for them.
It's not perfect. But it's at least merit-based, more likely to produce full rinks, and hopefully, up the excitement for teams seeking to reach the Frozen Four.
So what's the solution? Having some games played at campus sites has been brought up with some frequency, but there are pros and cons to the idea.
Could we potentially go back to the previous system of having a best of three series at campus sites? Unlikely. That would bring up two possibilities. One would turn the Frozen Four into the Elite Eight following the best-of-three, forcing a three-day single-elimination death march to a national championship. That would be difficult to coordinate, with eight different schools getting access to tickets, a quadruple-header on the first day of the competition... it would be a logistical nightmare.
The other option is to have two best-of-three rounds ahead of the Frozen Four, but there are issues with this as well. First, you're looking at a team ending up playing as many as eight contests AFTER the conference tournaments are over, twice the current maximum of four. Second, unless you push the Frozen Four back another week, now fully into mid-April, there's no bye week between the determining of the Frozen Four and the event. Part of the reason the Frozen Four draws well and many regionals don't is simply the timing - fans are more apt to travel long distances when they have more time to plan a trip, and two weeks is better than one.
No, the best option is to keep the tournament single-elimination. But what options do we have to improve on what already exists? Super regionals of eight teams each? Since no teams have byes as they did in the super regional days of the 12-team tournament, you're looking at one day with four games at the same location. As with the Elite Eight notion above, that's a logistical nightmare.
The best option, in my view, has got to be to award the #1 seeds the right to host each regional.
In the west, it seems that the only time crowds come out is if the home team is playing. This is frequently viewed as a negative because it's not always the #1 team that's hosting, and that can put a team that's produced better results over the course of the season behind the 8-ball. So why not just create a system whereby at least the hosts have earned that right through their play, rather than just fortunately being the pre-determined hosts?
Let's look at how last year's regionals might have turned out if this had been the plan in 2013.
1 Quinnipiac
2 Minnesota
3 UMass-Lowell
4 Notre Dame
5 Miami
6 Boston College
7 New Hampshire
8 North Dakota
9 Denver
10 Niagara
11 Minnesota State
12 Union
13 St. Cloud State
14 Wisconsin
15 Yale
-- Canisius
Hamden, CT (TD Bank Sports Center)
1. Quinnipiac
2. New Hampshire
3. Denver
4. Canisius
Minneapolis, MN (Mariucci Arena)
1. Minnesota
2. North Dakota
3. Niagara
4. Yale
Lowell, MA (Tsongas Arena)
1. UMass-Lowell
2. Boston College
3. Union
4. Wisconsin
South Bend, IN (Compton Family Ice Arena)
1. Notre Dame
2. Miami
3. Minnesota State
4. St. Cloud State
This is actually extremely close to what the brackets played out to be in real life. The West Regional in Grand Rapids is exactly the same as it was, only now it's in Minneapolis. The Midwest Regional is also exactly the same, only now it's in South Bend. The two eastern regionals are close, but they have swapped 2-3 matchups. Why? Well, because instead of #2 seed New Hampshire being required to be placed in Manchester as a host, they can instead slot into a more natural position in Hamden.
There's another consideration to ponder as well - Brown was the host in Providence, and nearly made the tournament by winning the ECAC championship, considering that they made the title game. If they'd made the tournament, not only would they have displaced Yale, they'd have been automatically slotted in Providence, requiring conference-mates Quinnipiac to be moved to Manchester and making a mess of the bracket. This is better - because Brown wouldn't have been hosting as a #4 seed in this scenario.
How would this tournament have differed? Well, for one, Yale, having just barely made it into the tournament after imploding in Atlantic City, would be forced to play Minnesota on their home turf instead of the sparse crowd that greeted them in Grand Rapids. Is that fair? It's certainly more fair than Denver's lot in the real tournament, since they got what was basically a home team in New Hampshire, all because they were the pre-selected hosts of that regional. At least in this scenario, Minnesota's earning their home ice.
Perhaps, in a bit of irony, Minnesota fans might have turned out to cheer on Niagara against North Dakota, the way North Dakota fans had cheered Holy Cross to the upset over the Gophers in 2006 in Grand Forks.
Would attendance be an issue, though? We can cross Minneapolis and South Bend off the concern list right away - those arenas are past and future regional spots already. How much better can we expect the crowds to be when we're guaranteed that the home team will be there?
What about Lowell and Hamden? Tsongas seats about 6,500 for hockey, while the TD Bank Sports Center sells out at 4,074. Both of those figures are lower than the actual crowd sizes in Providence and Manchester.
That's why there's no easy fix for the regional problem - because it's largely an east vs west issue. Eastern regionals at larger neutral sites don't frequently have a problem selling at least a decent number of tickets, and home rinks in the east are frequently smaller than their western counterparts.
But in balancing the desire to have important games played in front of large crowds, ticket sales, bracket integrity, and the single-elimination tournament, it's the only idea that really works. We can't guarantee that every year we'll have two of the #1 seeds from the east and two from the west.
Even then, you're not guaranteeing results, especially if the #4 team upsets the #1 team on their home ice. Two #1s were upset last year by #4s that ended up in the Frozen Four. If Yale still beats Minnesota at Mariucci, you'd still probably have enough North Dakota fans coming out the next night, but what about Miami-St. Cloud in South Bend? It's probably not well attended. But that's the chance you take in order to balance all those various factors.
What about small rinks hosting regionals? Union's doing pretty well this year, what if they were to be a #1 seed, forcing four teams to play for the right to go to the Frozen Four in that tiny dump in Schenectady? There's no easy solution, as we've already said. It's not like Union (and RPI, for that matter) can just have the Times Union Center on hold for that weekend, just in case. Quinnipiac and Yale can't just ask the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport to keep some dates open for them.
It's not perfect. But it's at least merit-based, more likely to produce full rinks, and hopefully, up the excitement for teams seeking to reach the Frozen Four.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Men's Hockey - Mariucci Classic (3/4 Jan)
It doesn't get much harder than facing the top two teams in the country on back to back nights on the same weekend, over a thousand miles from home, and taking on the #1 team on its own (larger) ice surface in front of 9,600 fans, but playing poorly for stretches of those games doesn't exactly make things easier. The Engineers didn't exactly look ready for prime time in a tough battle against Ferris State and Minnesota, showing flashes of brilliance but enduring rough stretches, especially in the 2nd period, that doomed them to a pair of 6-2 losses in the Mariucci Classic.
Ferris State
Neal-Higgs-Haggerty
Laliberte-Zalewski-Tinordi
McGowan-Bubela-Schroeder
Miller-Rogic-DeVito
Bradley-Dolan
Leboeuf-Leonard
Minnesota
Neal-Higgs-Haggerty
Laliberte-Zalewski-Tinordi
McGowan-Bubela-Schroeder
Wood-Rogic-DeVito
Leboeuf-Leonard
Colgate's shootout victory over Minnesota ensured that the Engineers' challenge would be the #1 team in the nation the next evening, a team that was getting its head coach and two top young players back on the bench following Team USA's unsuccessful conclusion to the World Junior Championship. The trio, unavailable for the first night due to their trip back from Sweden, were ready to go against the unlucky Engineers for the consolation game, which followed a much-maligned showing against the Raiders.
For the Engineers, Jake Wood returned from his knee injury, replacing Mark Miller in the lineup.
RPI had to weather the early storm from the Golden Gophers, a reversal of the usual script of the Engineers being the early aggressors, and for the most part things were looking good. Scott Diebold bounced back from a tough outing against Ferris State and picked up 14 saves in the first period alone against the high flying Gophers. The home team looked a bit frustrated in the early going.
Things looked bright indeed when Zach Schroeder and Brock Higgs linked up for the team's second shorthanded goal in as many nights with just over four minutes left in the first period, giving RPI a 1-0 lead against the general flow of play. After killing the penalty off, it even looked like the Engineers had the potential to take that lead into the locker room, but a shot from the blue line was redirected past Diebold in the final minute of the period, making it 1-1 after one.
The biggest knock on RPI all season long has revolved around poor play in the second period, and that poor play reared its ugly head again against the Gophers. The top team in the nation won't frequently fail to take advantage of a situation like that. Three goals in the first seven minutes of the second period made the score 4-1 for the second consecutive evening. All told, Minnesota scored four times in just under eight minutes of game time to seize control of the game. The RPI attack picked up slightly late in the second period, but the damage was done.
Unlike Friday's game, however, it was RPI who would score the first goal of the third period as Matt Neal put one away to make it 4-2 and bring the game within reach once more. However, another turning point was coming four minutes later.
Just as Ryan Haggerty appeared to have scored top-shelf off the faceoff to make the score 4-3, the Engineers were whistled instead for interference. The call was originally on Haggerty, who was at the point for the shot, then it was changed to Jimmy DeVito, who wasn't even on the ice. Regardless of the phantom call, RPI went from feeling back in the contest to having to kill a penalty, and only 28 seconds after they'd thought it was 4-3, the real score was 5-2 as the Gophers quickly converted. Another empty-netter given up by the Engineers made it back to back 6-2 losses, with neither score really doing justice to the work RPI put in, but both losses certainly deserved.
Other junk - Losing games, even against the best, doesn't do much for a team outside of the rankings. The Engineers fell further in the vote tally, accruing only three this week. #4 Union (idle, up one), #7 Quinnipiac (beat Sacred Heart and Maine, up one), #10 Yale (tied Vermont, no change), #11 Clarkson (tied and lost to UMass-Lowell, no change), and #12 Cornell (idle, up three) were the ranked ECAC teams this week. Colgate (13) also received votes. Other ranked teams on RPI's schedule include #1 Minnesota (no change with 42 first-place votes), #3 Ferris State (down one), #5 Boston College (up one), #17 Denver (down one), and #20 New Hampshire (previously unranked). No other opponents received votes.
RPI is 1-6-3 against currently ranked teams. There it is. Not something that's going to be a bright spot on the NCAA resume, even if they can turn things around in ECAC play.
Despite his four-game goal drought, Ryan Haggerty continues to lead the nation in goals with 18. As of the Minnesota game, he has fallen under 1 goal per game. BC's Johnny Gaudreau is right on his heels now with 17. Brock Higgs is tied for 5th in the nation with 13 goals.
Haggerty's 1.37 points per game has him tied for 9th nationally. Higgs, Matt Neal, and Jacob Laliberte are all among the top 100 in the nation in points per game. Haggerty's 8 power play goals is now tied for first in the nation with Minnesota State's Jean-Paul Lafontaine.
Guy Leboeuf and Brock Higgs each have two short-handed goals this season. That's the first time the Engineers have had two players with two shorties in a season since Chase Polacek and Joel Malchuk in 2010-11. RPI had two as a team all of last year (Higgs had one of them), the six that the team has scored is the most since 10 in 1999-2000 (they had 6 in 2000-01 as well).
Defensively, the Engineers are now in the bottom half of the nation in a tie for 33rd with a team GAA of 2.85. The offense has slipped to 15th at 3.30 goals per game.
It's back to ECAC play for RPI this coming weekend with a road series at Princeton and Quinnipiac. The way the Tigers' season has gone, points are a must out of that game, while the Bobcats present another serious challenge as the Engineers tangle with their third high-flying offense in four games by the time they get to Hamden.
ECAC Standings
1. Union - 16 points (8-1-0)
2. Quinnipiac - 14 points (6-2-2)
3. Clarkson - 12 points (6-2-0)
4. Colgate - 11 points (5-3-1)
5. Cornell - 10 points (4-3-2)
6. Yale - 9 points (3-2-3)
7. RPI - 9 points (3-3-3)
8. Brown - 7 points (3-4-1)
9. St. Lawrence - 6 points (2-4-2)
10. Harvard - 6 points (2-6-2)
11. Dartmouth - 4 points (2-8-0, -16 GD)
12. Princeton - 4 points (2-8-0, -19 GD)
RPI vs. #2 Ferris State
Mariucci Classic Game - Mariucci Arena (Minneapolis, MN)
1/3/14 - 5:00pm
RESULT: Ferris State 6, RPI 2
BOX SCORES
Neal-Higgs-Haggerty
Laliberte-Zalewski-Tinordi
McGowan-Bubela-Schroeder
Miller-Rogic-DeVito
Bradley-Dolan
Leboeuf-Leonard
Curadi-Reno
Diebold
The break certainly helped get the Engineers relatively healthy. Jacob Laliberte and Matt Neal, both injured during RPI's last game weekend against Denver and the U-18 team, were back in the lineup.
Early on against the Bulldogs, RPI actually looked pretty decent. They were getting shots on goal, they were taking offensive opportunities as they came, and they were generally controlling play. Then a bad bounce - from the RPI perspective, anyway - combined with spot errors to put the Engineers behind the eight-ball. Ferris State scored the game's first goal on a bounce which put the puck right on a forward's stick in front of the net, and Scott Diebold could do little to get to it. The Bulldogs had a 1-0 lead after just over seven minutes.
From there, unforced errors helped build the Ferris lead. A cross-checking call against Mike Zalewski made it 2-0 at 13:45, marking the first time all season that the Engineers, who have dominated the opening 20 minutes in most of their games, gave up two goals in the first period.
RPI would get one back with about 2:30 left in the period as Milos Bubela finally broke off his long goal scoring drought, netting his second of the year on the power play shortly after a 5-on-3 ended to make the score 2-1 heading into the second period. The Engineers came out of the first with momentum and an 11-9 shot edge, but that was not to carry over into the second period.
One of the keys to Ferris State's success throughout the game was in blocking shots. The Engineers, as strong as they had been offensively in the first half, needed to put more pucks on net, and while they took more shots against the Bulldogs, many of them were not getting through thanks to a concerted shot-blocking effort by the designated home team.
A holding call on the power play against Bo Dolan can probably go down as the full turning-point in the game. After several golden opportunities for the Engineers were met with iron or a big save, Dolan turned the puck over and picked up the penalty while tracking down the short-handed counter. Ferris State scored with the subsequent 4-on-4 on the larger ice surface, then netted one on the power play that followed to make it 4-1, putting the Engineers in a serious hole.
The Engineers put 11 pucks on net in the final period of the game to officially outshoot Ferris State 34-30, but an early Ferris goal in the period had already made it 5-1. Mike Zalewski picked up a short-handed goal midway through the period to bring RPI back within three, but that was as close as they would get. The Bulldogs gained an empty net tally with three minutes left on the clock to cinch things up and advance to the championship game.
The break certainly helped get the Engineers relatively healthy. Jacob Laliberte and Matt Neal, both injured during RPI's last game weekend against Denver and the U-18 team, were back in the lineup.
Early on against the Bulldogs, RPI actually looked pretty decent. They were getting shots on goal, they were taking offensive opportunities as they came, and they were generally controlling play. Then a bad bounce - from the RPI perspective, anyway - combined with spot errors to put the Engineers behind the eight-ball. Ferris State scored the game's first goal on a bounce which put the puck right on a forward's stick in front of the net, and Scott Diebold could do little to get to it. The Bulldogs had a 1-0 lead after just over seven minutes.
From there, unforced errors helped build the Ferris lead. A cross-checking call against Mike Zalewski made it 2-0 at 13:45, marking the first time all season that the Engineers, who have dominated the opening 20 minutes in most of their games, gave up two goals in the first period.
RPI would get one back with about 2:30 left in the period as Milos Bubela finally broke off his long goal scoring drought, netting his second of the year on the power play shortly after a 5-on-3 ended to make the score 2-1 heading into the second period. The Engineers came out of the first with momentum and an 11-9 shot edge, but that was not to carry over into the second period.
One of the keys to Ferris State's success throughout the game was in blocking shots. The Engineers, as strong as they had been offensively in the first half, needed to put more pucks on net, and while they took more shots against the Bulldogs, many of them were not getting through thanks to a concerted shot-blocking effort by the designated home team.
A holding call on the power play against Bo Dolan can probably go down as the full turning-point in the game. After several golden opportunities for the Engineers were met with iron or a big save, Dolan turned the puck over and picked up the penalty while tracking down the short-handed counter. Ferris State scored with the subsequent 4-on-4 on the larger ice surface, then netted one on the power play that followed to make it 4-1, putting the Engineers in a serious hole.
The Engineers put 11 pucks on net in the final period of the game to officially outshoot Ferris State 34-30, but an early Ferris goal in the period had already made it 5-1. Mike Zalewski picked up a short-handed goal midway through the period to bring RPI back within three, but that was as close as they would get. The Bulldogs gained an empty net tally with three minutes left on the clock to cinch things up and advance to the championship game.
Minnesota
Neal-Higgs-Haggerty
Laliberte-Zalewski-Tinordi
McGowan-Bubela-Schroeder
Wood-Rogic-DeVito
Leboeuf-Leonard
Bradley-Dolan
Curadi-Reno
Curadi-Reno
Diebold
Colgate's shootout victory over Minnesota ensured that the Engineers' challenge would be the #1 team in the nation the next evening, a team that was getting its head coach and two top young players back on the bench following Team USA's unsuccessful conclusion to the World Junior Championship. The trio, unavailable for the first night due to their trip back from Sweden, were ready to go against the unlucky Engineers for the consolation game, which followed a much-maligned showing against the Raiders.
For the Engineers, Jake Wood returned from his knee injury, replacing Mark Miller in the lineup.
RPI had to weather the early storm from the Golden Gophers, a reversal of the usual script of the Engineers being the early aggressors, and for the most part things were looking good. Scott Diebold bounced back from a tough outing against Ferris State and picked up 14 saves in the first period alone against the high flying Gophers. The home team looked a bit frustrated in the early going.
Things looked bright indeed when Zach Schroeder and Brock Higgs linked up for the team's second shorthanded goal in as many nights with just over four minutes left in the first period, giving RPI a 1-0 lead against the general flow of play. After killing the penalty off, it even looked like the Engineers had the potential to take that lead into the locker room, but a shot from the blue line was redirected past Diebold in the final minute of the period, making it 1-1 after one.
The biggest knock on RPI all season long has revolved around poor play in the second period, and that poor play reared its ugly head again against the Gophers. The top team in the nation won't frequently fail to take advantage of a situation like that. Three goals in the first seven minutes of the second period made the score 4-1 for the second consecutive evening. All told, Minnesota scored four times in just under eight minutes of game time to seize control of the game. The RPI attack picked up slightly late in the second period, but the damage was done.
Unlike Friday's game, however, it was RPI who would score the first goal of the third period as Matt Neal put one away to make it 4-2 and bring the game within reach once more. However, another turning point was coming four minutes later.
Just as Ryan Haggerty appeared to have scored top-shelf off the faceoff to make the score 4-3, the Engineers were whistled instead for interference. The call was originally on Haggerty, who was at the point for the shot, then it was changed to Jimmy DeVito, who wasn't even on the ice. Regardless of the phantom call, RPI went from feeling back in the contest to having to kill a penalty, and only 28 seconds after they'd thought it was 4-3, the real score was 5-2 as the Gophers quickly converted. Another empty-netter given up by the Engineers made it back to back 6-2 losses, with neither score really doing justice to the work RPI put in, but both losses certainly deserved.
RPI is 1-6-3 against currently ranked teams. There it is. Not something that's going to be a bright spot on the NCAA resume, even if they can turn things around in ECAC play.
Despite his four-game goal drought, Ryan Haggerty continues to lead the nation in goals with 18. As of the Minnesota game, he has fallen under 1 goal per game. BC's Johnny Gaudreau is right on his heels now with 17. Brock Higgs is tied for 5th in the nation with 13 goals.
Haggerty's 1.37 points per game has him tied for 9th nationally. Higgs, Matt Neal, and Jacob Laliberte are all among the top 100 in the nation in points per game. Haggerty's 8 power play goals is now tied for first in the nation with Minnesota State's Jean-Paul Lafontaine.
Guy Leboeuf and Brock Higgs each have two short-handed goals this season. That's the first time the Engineers have had two players with two shorties in a season since Chase Polacek and Joel Malchuk in 2010-11. RPI had two as a team all of last year (Higgs had one of them), the six that the team has scored is the most since 10 in 1999-2000 (they had 6 in 2000-01 as well).
Defensively, the Engineers are now in the bottom half of the nation in a tie for 33rd with a team GAA of 2.85. The offense has slipped to 15th at 3.30 goals per game.
It's back to ECAC play for RPI this coming weekend with a road series at Princeton and Quinnipiac. The way the Tigers' season has gone, points are a must out of that game, while the Bobcats present another serious challenge as the Engineers tangle with their third high-flying offense in four games by the time they get to Hamden.
ECAC Standings
1. Union - 16 points (8-1-0)
2. Quinnipiac - 14 points (6-2-2)
3. Clarkson - 12 points (6-2-0)
4. Colgate - 11 points (5-3-1)
5. Cornell - 10 points (4-3-2)
6. Yale - 9 points (3-2-3)
7. RPI - 9 points (3-3-3)
8. Brown - 7 points (3-4-1)
9. St. Lawrence - 6 points (2-4-2)
10. Harvard - 6 points (2-6-2)
11. Dartmouth - 4 points (2-8-0, -16 GD)
12. Princeton - 4 points (2-8-0, -19 GD)
RPI vs. #2 Ferris State
Mariucci Classic Game - Mariucci Arena (Minneapolis, MN)
1/3/14 - 5:00pm
RESULT: Ferris State 6, RPI 2
BOX SCORES
RECORD: 8-7-4 (3-3-3 ECAC, 9 pts)
RPI at #1 Minnesota
Mariucci Classic Consolation - Mariucci Arena (Minneapolis, MN)
1/4/14 - 8:00pm
RESULT: Minnesota 6, RPI 2
Mariucci Classic Consolation - Mariucci Arena (Minneapolis, MN)
1/4/14 - 8:00pm
RESULT: Minnesota 6, RPI 2
BOX SCORES
RECORD: 8-8-4 (3-3-3 ECAC, 9 pts)
Upcoming games
10 Jan - at Princeton
11 Jan - at #7 Quinnipiac
24 Jan - Dartmouth
25 Jan - vs. #4 Union (Albany, NY)
31 Jan - at #11 Clarkson
10 Jan - at Princeton
11 Jan - at #7 Quinnipiac
24 Jan - Dartmouth
25 Jan - vs. #4 Union (Albany, NY)
31 Jan - at #11 Clarkson
Friday, January 3, 2014
Survive and Advance
(The end of our series on the NCAA Regionals will run on Tuesday of next week.)
The Engineers come off a long break this weekend - both the men and the women. For the women, it's a road series at Providence, a team that has run hot and cold this year with a fairly challenging schedule. For the men, it's nothing less than a possible weekend with the two best teams in the nation.
The ladies return from basically a full month off with games at Providence, who started the second half of their season on Tuesday with a loss at Dartmouth. Right away, that should be a warning sign. The Lady Friars also have losses to Yale and Union in their resume. But, then again, the Engineers managed a loss to Yale as well, so who knows what's in store at "The Coffin."
The men have a tall task this afternoon as they face off with #2 Ferris State at about 5pm Eastern time, 4pm local at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis. The college hockey world is watching to see if the Bulldogs get to face off with #1 Minnesota tomorrow night. Hopefully, the Engineers will be spoiling that dream - or, perhaps, helping to force it into the Mariucci consolation game provided that Colgate helps things along.
It's not going to be easy... but anything worthwhile rarely is.
It's Eminem for this weekend's pumpup... so be aware that it's obviously NSFW, but the lyrics seem to describe this team and this weekend fairly well (hopefully).
The Engineers come off a long break this weekend - both the men and the women. For the women, it's a road series at Providence, a team that has run hot and cold this year with a fairly challenging schedule. For the men, it's nothing less than a possible weekend with the two best teams in the nation.
The ladies return from basically a full month off with games at Providence, who started the second half of their season on Tuesday with a loss at Dartmouth. Right away, that should be a warning sign. The Lady Friars also have losses to Yale and Union in their resume. But, then again, the Engineers managed a loss to Yale as well, so who knows what's in store at "The Coffin."
The men have a tall task this afternoon as they face off with #2 Ferris State at about 5pm Eastern time, 4pm local at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis. The college hockey world is watching to see if the Bulldogs get to face off with #1 Minnesota tomorrow night. Hopefully, the Engineers will be spoiling that dream - or, perhaps, helping to force it into the Mariucci consolation game provided that Colgate helps things along.
It's not going to be easy... but anything worthwhile rarely is.
It's Eminem for this weekend's pumpup... so be aware that it's obviously NSFW, but the lyrics seem to describe this team and this weekend fairly well (hopefully).
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Regional Final Attendance
Regional - Attendance (Location - Matchup)
2006 West - 11,492 (Grand Forks - UND/Holy Cross)
2007 West - 11,217 (Denver - UND/Minnesota)
2012 West - 10,974 (St. Paul - Minnesota/UND)
2008 Midwest - 9,816 (Madison - UND/UW)
2003 West - 9,622 (Minneapolis - Minnesota/Ferris)
2005 West - 9,054 (Minneapolis - Minnesota/Cornell)
2003 Northeast - 8,927 (Worcester - UNH/BC)
2006 Northeast - 8,742 (Worcester - BC/BU)
2005 East - 8,695 (Worcester - UND/BC)
2009 East - 8,478 (Bridgeport - UVM/Air Force)
2004 Northeast - 8,439 (Manchester - BC/Michigan)
2013 Northeast - 8,357 (Manchester - UML/UNH)
2006 Midwest - 8,086 (Green Bay - UW/Cornell)
2009 Northeast - 7,863 (Manchester - BU/UNH)
2011 East - 7,816 (Bridgeport - UMD/Yale)
2009 West - 7,554 (Minneapolis - Miami/UMD)
2003 East - 7,489 (Providence - Cornell/BC)
2010 West - 7,182 (St. Paul - UW/SCSU)
2007 Northeast - 7,007 (Manchester - BC/Miami)
2003 Midwest - 6,781 (Ann Arbor - Michigan/CC)
2005 Midwest - 6,571 (Grand Rapids - CC/Michigan)
2010 Northeast - 6,054 (Worcester - BC/Yale)
2004 West - 6,047 (Colorado Springs - DU/UND)
2008 Northeast - 5,911 (Worcester - BC/Miami)
2011 Northeast - 5,906 (Manchester - ND/UNH)
2008 West - 5,836 (Colorado Springs - ND/MSU)
2004 East - 5,480 (Albany - Maine/UW)
2012 East - 5,328 (Bridgeport - Union/UML)
2013 East - 5,007 (Providence - QU/Union)
2007 Midwest - 4,839 (Grand Rapids - MSU/ND)
2006 East - 4,470 (Albany - Maine/MSU)
2012 Northeast - 4,470 (Worcester - BC/UMD)
2008 East - 4,301 (Albany - Michigan/Clarkson)
2011 Midwest - 3,956 (Green Bay - UND/DU)
2010 East - 3,737 (Albany - RIT/UNH)
2007 East - 3,522 (Rochester - Maine/UMass)
2005 Northeast - 3,441 (Amherst - DU/UNH)
2004 Midwest - 3,206 (Grand Rapids - UMD/Minnesota)
2010 Midwest - 3,204 (Fort Wayne - Miami/Michigan)
2009 Midwest - 3,170 (Grand Rapids - Bemidji/Cornell)
2012 Midwest - 3,108 (Green Bay - Ferris/Cornell)
2013 Midwest - 2,460 (Toledo - SCSU/Miami)
2013 West - 1,918 (Grand Rapids - Yale/UND)
2011 West - none listed (St. Louis - Michigan/CC) (Seats 19,000 for hockey, drew 5,024 for two games in semis)
2014 capacities for past regional sites
Scottrade Center, St. Louis - 19,150
Pepsi Center, Denver - 18,007
Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul - 17,954
Kohl Center, Madison - 15,325
DCU Center, Worcester - 14,800
Times Union Center, Albany - 14,236
Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence - 11,940
Ralph Engelstad Arena, Grand Forks - 11,643
Blue Cross Arena, Rochester - 11,200
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids - 10,834
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne - 10,480
Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis - 10,000
Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester - 9,852
Resch Center, Green Bay - 8,709
Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport - 8,525
Mullins Center, Amherst - 8,387
Huntington Center, Toledo - 8,200
World Arena, Colorado Springs - 7,750
Yost Arena, Ann Arbor - 6,600
Future sites:
US Bank Arena, Cincinnati - 14,453
Compton Family Ice Arena, South Bend - 5,022
Scheels Arena, Fargo - 5,000
2006 West - 11,492 (Grand Forks - UND/Holy Cross)
2007 West - 11,217 (Denver - UND/Minnesota)
2012 West - 10,974 (St. Paul - Minnesota/UND)
2008 Midwest - 9,816 (Madison - UND/UW)
2003 West - 9,622 (Minneapolis - Minnesota/Ferris)
2005 West - 9,054 (Minneapolis - Minnesota/Cornell)
2003 Northeast - 8,927 (Worcester - UNH/BC)
2006 Northeast - 8,742 (Worcester - BC/BU)
2005 East - 8,695 (Worcester - UND/BC)
2009 East - 8,478 (Bridgeport - UVM/Air Force)
2004 Northeast - 8,439 (Manchester - BC/Michigan)
2013 Northeast - 8,357 (Manchester - UML/UNH)
2006 Midwest - 8,086 (Green Bay - UW/Cornell)
2009 Northeast - 7,863 (Manchester - BU/UNH)
2011 East - 7,816 (Bridgeport - UMD/Yale)
2009 West - 7,554 (Minneapolis - Miami/UMD)
2003 East - 7,489 (Providence - Cornell/BC)
2010 West - 7,182 (St. Paul - UW/SCSU)
2007 Northeast - 7,007 (Manchester - BC/Miami)
2003 Midwest - 6,781 (Ann Arbor - Michigan/CC)
2005 Midwest - 6,571 (Grand Rapids - CC/Michigan)
2010 Northeast - 6,054 (Worcester - BC/Yale)
2004 West - 6,047 (Colorado Springs - DU/UND)
2008 Northeast - 5,911 (Worcester - BC/Miami)
2011 Northeast - 5,906 (Manchester - ND/UNH)
2008 West - 5,836 (Colorado Springs - ND/MSU)
2004 East - 5,480 (Albany - Maine/UW)
2012 East - 5,328 (Bridgeport - Union/UML)
2013 East - 5,007 (Providence - QU/Union)
2007 Midwest - 4,839 (Grand Rapids - MSU/ND)
2006 East - 4,470 (Albany - Maine/MSU)
2012 Northeast - 4,470 (Worcester - BC/UMD)
2008 East - 4,301 (Albany - Michigan/Clarkson)
2011 Midwest - 3,956 (Green Bay - UND/DU)
2010 East - 3,737 (Albany - RIT/UNH)
2007 East - 3,522 (Rochester - Maine/UMass)
2005 Northeast - 3,441 (Amherst - DU/UNH)
2004 Midwest - 3,206 (Grand Rapids - UMD/Minnesota)
2010 Midwest - 3,204 (Fort Wayne - Miami/Michigan)
2009 Midwest - 3,170 (Grand Rapids - Bemidji/Cornell)
2012 Midwest - 3,108 (Green Bay - Ferris/Cornell)
2013 Midwest - 2,460 (Toledo - SCSU/Miami)
2013 West - 1,918 (Grand Rapids - Yale/UND)
2011 West - none listed (St. Louis - Michigan/CC) (Seats 19,000 for hockey, drew 5,024 for two games in semis)
2014 capacities for past regional sites
Scottrade Center, St. Louis - 19,150
Pepsi Center, Denver - 18,007
Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul - 17,954
Kohl Center, Madison - 15,325
DCU Center, Worcester - 14,800
Times Union Center, Albany - 14,236
Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence - 11,940
Ralph Engelstad Arena, Grand Forks - 11,643
Blue Cross Arena, Rochester - 11,200
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids - 10,834
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne - 10,480
Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis - 10,000
Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester - 9,852
Resch Center, Green Bay - 8,709
Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport - 8,525
Mullins Center, Amherst - 8,387
Huntington Center, Toledo - 8,200
World Arena, Colorado Springs - 7,750
Yost Arena, Ann Arbor - 6,600
Future sites:
US Bank Arena, Cincinnati - 14,453
Compton Family Ice Arena, South Bend - 5,022
Scheels Arena, Fargo - 5,000
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Regional History
To understand the problem with the NCAA regionals, first we have to understand where they've come from So a little history lesson is in order.
Regionals are a relatively new concept in the history of the NCAA tournament. For the first 30 years or so, there were only four teams that qualified for the tournament in the first place, so no additional games were required to determine the Frozen Four once qualification was over. The concept was very simple during this time - two teams from the east, two teams from the west. Every year, no exceptions.
In the late 1970s, there was some experimentation with play-in games to determine the second semifinalist from one or both of the two regions - especially due to the advent of the CCHA and its automatic bid to the tournament - but it wasn't until the tournament expanded to eight teams for the 1980-81 season (and four teams from both regions) that the pre-Frozen Four element of the national tournament became a real thing.
From 1981 through 1987, the quarterfinal round consisted of two-game series of inter-regional matchups, played at the higher seed. The team that scored the most goals in the two games advanced to the Frozen Four, with overtime taking place in the second game if the two teams had scored the same number of goals. RPI hosted two first round series during this time period, infamously falling to North Dakota at the Field House in 1984 and defeating Lake Superior State the next year on the way to winning the national championship.
The tournament expanded again to 12 teams in the 1987-88 season, which required the awarding of byes in order to get down to four teams for the Frozen Four. Initially, the top four seeds earned a free pass to the quarterfinal round, with the remaining eight teams competing in the first round - still a two-game, most goals series hosted by the higher seed. The winners would then travel the following weekend to the four highest seeds, and compete in yet another two-game, most goals series, with the winners advancing to the Frozen Four.
That lengthened the tournament by an entire week, pushing the Frozen Four into the month of April for the first time. The following season, and for the next three years between 1989 and 1991, the two-game series that had previously comprised the first and quarterfinal rounds became best of three series, turning the national tournament into a battle of attrition. For instance, Boston University in 1990 played seven NCAA games before losing in the semifinals at the Frozen Four.
So for 30 years, there wasn't much beyond the Frozen Four, and for another 10, series were played at the higher seeds on campus. In 1992, the first neutral-site regionals took place ahead of the Frozen Four in Albany. Six teams were sent to the East Regional in Providence, while six were sent to the West Regional in Detroit. The top two teams in each regional were given a bye to the second round of the regional, while the other four played each other in the first round, the winners advancing to take on the top seeds the next day.
That's pretty much how things played out for the next 10 years. However, there was a perceived problem in the west, as a number of West Regionals were hosted in campus rinks - in 1994 (Michigan State), 1995 (Wisconsin), 1996 (Michigan State), 1998 (Michigan), 1999 (Wisconsin), 2000 (Minnesota), and 2002 (Michigan). Each of those seasons, with the exception of 1996, 1999, and 2000, saw the home team playing on its own ice sheet. In 1998 and 2002, Michigan teams that hadn't earned a bye to the second round won twice on their home ice and earned a trip to the Frozen Four. (The East didn't have the same problem, as the Regional basically alternated between Albany and Worcester for most of the 1990s.)
With the expansion of the tournament to 16 teams in time for the 2002-03 season, the NCAA basically had two options. They could either continue the East/West regionals, seeding eight teams in each regional and eliminating the bye, or expand to four regional sites per season, seeding four teams per site playing three games to determine a regional champion that advances to the Frozen Four. They chose the latter, and since 2003, the tournament has proceeded in that fashion.
The problem? Practically since the very beginning, most regionals have been practically devoid of spectators, with some major exceptions coming only when a notable host team is present.
The record for attendance at a regional final came in 2006 at the West Regional as North Dakota took on Holy Cross in... Grand Forks, North Dakota. For the geographically challenged, that's where UND's campus is, and the game took place on their home ice surface at Ralph Engelstad Arena. 11,492 took in the Fighting Sioux's victory over a Holy Cross team fresh off the biggest upset in the recent history of the tournament. One has to wonder how many of the 11,153 at that game were Sioux fans cheering fervently against their hated rivals from Minnesota.
In fact, five of the top six best attended regional finals involved a team either playing on its home ice surface or within 10 miles of its campus. All of these occurred in the west, and involved one or both of Minnesota, North Dakota, or Wisconsin. The one exception was the 2007 West Regional in Denver, which drew 11,217 for a game between Minnesota and North Dakota in a regional that also included Michigan, played in an easy-to-travel-to city with teams that have large followings.
But these are the exceptions and not the rule. The median regional final attendance is somewhere around 6,250, and in most cases, special circumstances - the right teams in the right place - are necessary to drive that figure up.
Take the 2010 East Regional in Albany, for instance. It featured Denver as the top seed, Cornell as the second seed, New Hampshire as the third seed, and RIT as the fourth seed. It was seen as a bit of a compromise situation for Denver to be in Albany, since they would have to fly to whatever region they went to, and the other three teams, from relatively nearby schools, would be able to draw some fans, especially considering that those three schools have solid fanbase sizes.
The end result? For starters, Denver played an ostensible road game in front of an almost entirely pro-RIT crowd and lost a close one, 2-1. But the total attendance? Between DU-RIT and Cornell-UNH, the total listed attendance was 4,073. Surely not all of those people were at both games, played in a building that holds over 14,000 for hockey, creating a pretty dead atmosphere. Only 3,737 were on hand to watch RIT earn a trip to the Frozen Four the next night. By comparison, last year's RPI-Union game in the same building drew a shade under 6,000, but the upper bowl was closed and tickets were included in both schools' season ticket package.
Which draws us back to the west. In the Midwest and West regionals, outside of the aforementioned 2007 West Regional, no regional final has ever cleared the median average without having a team with significant local interest involved, and with the exception of the 2008 West Regional in Colorado Springs, none have ever even cleared 5,000.
Tonight, we'll post the attendance figures from each of the 43 regional finals that we have figures for - the 2011 West Regional in St. Louis was unreported. That was almost certainly due to the paltry crowd that was in attendance for a game between Michigan and Colorado College in a building that seats over 19,000. Draw your own conclusions on what makes for worthwhile attendance.
Regionals are a relatively new concept in the history of the NCAA tournament. For the first 30 years or so, there were only four teams that qualified for the tournament in the first place, so no additional games were required to determine the Frozen Four once qualification was over. The concept was very simple during this time - two teams from the east, two teams from the west. Every year, no exceptions.
In the late 1970s, there was some experimentation with play-in games to determine the second semifinalist from one or both of the two regions - especially due to the advent of the CCHA and its automatic bid to the tournament - but it wasn't until the tournament expanded to eight teams for the 1980-81 season (and four teams from both regions) that the pre-Frozen Four element of the national tournament became a real thing.
From 1981 through 1987, the quarterfinal round consisted of two-game series of inter-regional matchups, played at the higher seed. The team that scored the most goals in the two games advanced to the Frozen Four, with overtime taking place in the second game if the two teams had scored the same number of goals. RPI hosted two first round series during this time period, infamously falling to North Dakota at the Field House in 1984 and defeating Lake Superior State the next year on the way to winning the national championship.
The tournament expanded again to 12 teams in the 1987-88 season, which required the awarding of byes in order to get down to four teams for the Frozen Four. Initially, the top four seeds earned a free pass to the quarterfinal round, with the remaining eight teams competing in the first round - still a two-game, most goals series hosted by the higher seed. The winners would then travel the following weekend to the four highest seeds, and compete in yet another two-game, most goals series, with the winners advancing to the Frozen Four.
That lengthened the tournament by an entire week, pushing the Frozen Four into the month of April for the first time. The following season, and for the next three years between 1989 and 1991, the two-game series that had previously comprised the first and quarterfinal rounds became best of three series, turning the national tournament into a battle of attrition. For instance, Boston University in 1990 played seven NCAA games before losing in the semifinals at the Frozen Four.
So for 30 years, there wasn't much beyond the Frozen Four, and for another 10, series were played at the higher seeds on campus. In 1992, the first neutral-site regionals took place ahead of the Frozen Four in Albany. Six teams were sent to the East Regional in Providence, while six were sent to the West Regional in Detroit. The top two teams in each regional were given a bye to the second round of the regional, while the other four played each other in the first round, the winners advancing to take on the top seeds the next day.
That's pretty much how things played out for the next 10 years. However, there was a perceived problem in the west, as a number of West Regionals were hosted in campus rinks - in 1994 (Michigan State), 1995 (Wisconsin), 1996 (Michigan State), 1998 (Michigan), 1999 (Wisconsin), 2000 (Minnesota), and 2002 (Michigan). Each of those seasons, with the exception of 1996, 1999, and 2000, saw the home team playing on its own ice sheet. In 1998 and 2002, Michigan teams that hadn't earned a bye to the second round won twice on their home ice and earned a trip to the Frozen Four. (The East didn't have the same problem, as the Regional basically alternated between Albany and Worcester for most of the 1990s.)
With the expansion of the tournament to 16 teams in time for the 2002-03 season, the NCAA basically had two options. They could either continue the East/West regionals, seeding eight teams in each regional and eliminating the bye, or expand to four regional sites per season, seeding four teams per site playing three games to determine a regional champion that advances to the Frozen Four. They chose the latter, and since 2003, the tournament has proceeded in that fashion.
The problem? Practically since the very beginning, most regionals have been practically devoid of spectators, with some major exceptions coming only when a notable host team is present.
The record for attendance at a regional final came in 2006 at the West Regional as North Dakota took on Holy Cross in... Grand Forks, North Dakota. For the geographically challenged, that's where UND's campus is, and the game took place on their home ice surface at Ralph Engelstad Arena. 11,492 took in the Fighting Sioux's victory over a Holy Cross team fresh off the biggest upset in the recent history of the tournament. One has to wonder how many of the 11,153 at that game were Sioux fans cheering fervently against their hated rivals from Minnesota.
In fact, five of the top six best attended regional finals involved a team either playing on its home ice surface or within 10 miles of its campus. All of these occurred in the west, and involved one or both of Minnesota, North Dakota, or Wisconsin. The one exception was the 2007 West Regional in Denver, which drew 11,217 for a game between Minnesota and North Dakota in a regional that also included Michigan, played in an easy-to-travel-to city with teams that have large followings.
But these are the exceptions and not the rule. The median regional final attendance is somewhere around 6,250, and in most cases, special circumstances - the right teams in the right place - are necessary to drive that figure up.
Take the 2010 East Regional in Albany, for instance. It featured Denver as the top seed, Cornell as the second seed, New Hampshire as the third seed, and RIT as the fourth seed. It was seen as a bit of a compromise situation for Denver to be in Albany, since they would have to fly to whatever region they went to, and the other three teams, from relatively nearby schools, would be able to draw some fans, especially considering that those three schools have solid fanbase sizes.
The end result? For starters, Denver played an ostensible road game in front of an almost entirely pro-RIT crowd and lost a close one, 2-1. But the total attendance? Between DU-RIT and Cornell-UNH, the total listed attendance was 4,073. Surely not all of those people were at both games, played in a building that holds over 14,000 for hockey, creating a pretty dead atmosphere. Only 3,737 were on hand to watch RIT earn a trip to the Frozen Four the next night. By comparison, last year's RPI-Union game in the same building drew a shade under 6,000, but the upper bowl was closed and tickets were included in both schools' season ticket package.
Which draws us back to the west. In the Midwest and West regionals, outside of the aforementioned 2007 West Regional, no regional final has ever cleared the median average without having a team with significant local interest involved, and with the exception of the 2008 West Regional in Colorado Springs, none have ever even cleared 5,000.
Tonight, we'll post the attendance figures from each of the 43 regional finals that we have figures for - the 2011 West Regional in St. Louis was unreported. That was almost certainly due to the paltry crowd that was in attendance for a game between Michigan and Colorado College in a building that seats over 19,000. Draw your own conclusions on what makes for worthwhile attendance.
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