Frozen Four choices for '13, '14 made.. whaat??
According to the report today, the NCAA awarded Frozen Fours to Pittsburgh (2013) and Philly (2014). Now God bless the cities as good hockey cities who support their teams, but where the hell are the college hockey fans in Pennsylvania? Robert Morris? Mercyhurst? Penn St club hockey? For gosh sakes, is the NCAA trying to purposely kill college hockey?
http://www.detnews.com/article/20100713/SPORTS07/7130425/1136/SPORTS07/…
About the only redeeming quality I can come up with is that they are near the East Coast population bases or driveable from Minnesota/Wisconsin for Pittsburgh. If we get to the Pittsburgh Frozen Four, we're looking at a Yost invasion methinks.
invasion of the far east
...is in Kansas.
Philly -- NY Metro. You can get to Philly by train in about 2 hours. Yeah... that's all I got.
wtf...same state twice in a row...i don't get the NCAA sometimes
Pittsburgh choice was all but guaranteed once Robert Morris put together a decent bid. To be honest, I think that RM should be pretty decent here heading forward, and hopefully competitive in their host year.
Coupled with the strong bid and dedication from Robert Morris, the Penguins new stadium is going to be the nicest in the NHL this year, and will likely be a top 3 arena in 2013 at worst. The whole area around it is being renovated and will allow for attractions aside from the hockey.
Can't speak for Philadelphia, but the Pittsburgh bid is sensible and should be very successful.
IF we get?
It will almost approach 2008-levels of disappointment for me if this team does not get to the Frozen Four, let alone win the National Championship.
We're stacked offensively; solid defensively; the only question mark are the men between the pipes.
And yes, what shitty choices for a Frozen Four.
and if the 2017 michigan hockey team doesn't make the frozen four then we definitely need to think about firing mel pearson
Pittsburgh was long rumored for 2013, the new building, the support for Robert Morris, things of that nature. Philadelphia in 2014 is a bit of shock, because it was long reported that Boston was considered to be the front runner, but perhaps they are trying to mix things up.
I guess the issue if you would like to rotate between the three college hockey heartlands of Minnesota, Michigan, and Massachusetts, people would likely not complain, but I suspect that the NCAA wants to grow the game*, and Philadelphia, with its plethora of colleges, would be a solid start.
*-Still doesn't justify Tampa 2012, but...
I think that is truly the biggest thing about the Pittsburgh bid, growing college hockey in what is an ever growing market in Pittsburgh.
Maybe you missed the memo but in 2012 the Frozen Four is in Tampa....that will kill college hockey more than Pittsburgh or Philly ever will.
At least Pennsylvania has a college hockey team within its lands as well as some of its surrounding states, which is a HECK of a lot more than I can say for Tampa Bay.
Whoever the nutjob is who thought it'd be a good idea to host a college hockey championship in Florida has hopefully been fired. Needless to say, UF and FSU still aren't upgrading the club teams I'm not sure they actually have.
and no ones there to see it, did it actually happen?
Fortunately, yes. The ACC Championship has occurred over the past couple years and only a dozen people made it there.
Wasn't the Frozen Four in Anahiem once, I think college hockey survived?
Also I think Philly is a good location, my personal hatred of the city aside. The Frozen Four in DC was a huge success, atleast in my opinion, and Philly is even closer to the "traditional hockey markets".
was in Anahiem in 1999. Paul Kariya was playing for the Ducks and Maine, which featured his little brother as the biggest offensive threat, made the field. All we heard from the locals was "which one is Kariya's little brother?"
Had a great time, but not because of the hockey.
I, for one, and being a resident of this fine city, support the idea of Pittsburgh getting the Frozen Four. Especially if Michigan ends up making it there.
Like others have said above, it really is a budding hockey market. Don't forget that Robert Morris took 3 of 4 points from Miami last year. Even in the 3 years I've lived here, I've seen an increase in the talent level of youth and high school hockey teams. As long as the Penguins are a championship contender, it should only get better - and Michigan might be able to take advantage once it becomes a legitimate NCAA-caliber prospect-generating area.
I'd support a Frozen Four in either MSG or Lake Placid, NY.
The former Olympic Center?
All 7,700 seats?
(As an aside, it's difficult to fathom, in this day and age, that one of the nation's finest sporting triumphs took place in front of a crowd that was only slightly larger than the average haul at Yost.)
I think the Frozen Four will be great in Philly. The city has a love for Hockey that will only grow now that they have reached the Stanley Cup Finals. The Wachovia Center is sold out every game and has been for years, despite being the worst team in the league in 2006-07. Pittsburgh however had terrible attendence between the Super Mario era and the 5 straight top draft pick era (Whitney,Staal, Crosby, Malkin, Fleury). Pittsburgh is the area I would be more worried about.
Woooo-HA!!!!
That is all.