Golden Gophers Hockey Is Dead

[Fish Felon]

From Friday night's conference playoff game....

Yet another reason to hate Barry Alvarez---he forced the schools to create a B1G conference for reason of increased revenue from the B1G network. U of M was the last holdout school and wanted to stay in the WCHA but Alvarez strong-armed them into joining. He even had Penn State create a team since the NCAA requirement for a conference is six teams (Notre Dame later joined to make it seven and of course, add more TV revenue). Barry Alvarez is a ****.

[9manfan]

I havn't watched the Gopher Hockey team since they left the WCHA, I heard the crowd was dismal, but that is really bad.......

[Fish Felon]

It's insane. Not that many years ago UND v UofM would be the hottest ticket in town....they sold out the Xcel and made scalpers rich every time they met in the Final Five. St. Cloud, UMD, Bemidji State, Mankato, CC, Denver....they'd all result in Marriucci being sold out, just packed with rabid fans.

Gophers versus Notre Dame in the B1G conference playoff game....maybe three-hundred people there....Maybe?

It's absolutely insane. Those pics of a near empty Mariuccu for a men's hockey game against a conference rival left me stunned....totally in stunned and in awe of how it's even possible one of the most storied programs not just in college hockey, but college sports overall, was driven into the ground until it died as quickly as it did.

It'd be like seeing Duke basketball playing in front of an empty Fieldhouse, or 'Bama having a few thousand fans in their 80K plus stadium in Tuscaloosa......that shit ain't supposed to ever happen, it's virtually impossible to drive those programs into the ground in five years....the time it took to absolutely destroy Gophers Hockey beyond all recognition.

Only in MN........

[9manfan]

I said when they left the WCHA that Mn College Hockey will never be the same, the games against UND and Denver , Colorado College, UMD etc. were some of the best rivalries ever, and they ruined it with Big Ten Hockey...........

[Hansen]

Are those legit photos!

My dad use to take me to the old building, it was packed coolest experience. I watched Dave Snuggerud score a hat-trick . . . probably around 88 or so.

A high school game gets more people than that!

[Fish Felon]

Photos are legit.....Friday night's men's hockey game against Notre Dame....totally real and unaltered photos.....this is no joke

[emptymag]

[9manfan]

Are those legit photos!
!

listened to beyond the pond yesterday for awhile and they were talking about the terrible crowd that showed up Friday nite to the Gophers, they were begging people to come watch the Gophs Sunday nite, I had no idea they were drawing so few people, they said the whole Big 10 crowds were down alot, I remember years ago and you would never see a empty seat.......

[maplelakeduckslayer]

Looks like an NBA game...

[browningguy18]

Time for the University of Minnesota to not only leave the Big 10 for hockey but entirely. I grew up a huge gopher hockey fan and to see what has happened to the program since joining the Big 10 is so frustrating. The University can't be let off the hook either. They still charge like it is the program it used to be. Last year they said they decreased season ticket cost but for any good seats they raised the donation to the scholarship program. I hear they actually did drop the season ticket prices for next year but I haven't really looked into any of the fine print yet. Why they can't realize that getting people into the game is more important is mind boggling to me as it not only improves the atmosphere but increases concessions spending and other spending within the arena. They can't say it is the hockey either. I actually think the level of play in the Big 10 is better than the old WCHA. I watched the majority of all 3 games and attended Sunday. They were good hockey games played by two pretty evenly matched teams with good skill level. It is the fact that no one gives a damn about the games. I was talking to my father in law saying I can almost guarantee you there really is hardly any gopher hockey fans thinking to themselves "man I hope we beat Notre Dame because I just can't stand them". Compare that to playing North Dakota in the final five. Fans would fight in the stands sometimes (not that I think that is good) but the level of care was 100X more by both fan bases. The Big 10 is a joke. It is not even regional really anymore. Outside of WI and Iowa, and kind of Nebraska I guess combined with adding Rutgers and Maryland it is not like we it promotes fans travelling to road games for any sport and this is super evident with hockey. Think of how easy it was for St. Cloud, UMD, Mankato, UND, Bemidji, for fans on either side to attend road games. No one wants to drive out Notre Dame, drive or fly to Mich and Mich State, fly to Penn State or Ohio State. Of course the money trail will probably never allow this to happen but man is it frustrating.