IMO, outdoor hockey isn't what's going to make the casual fan start watching hockey on tv so the entire premise of Mariucci's argument is moot. Hockey is already a tough sell on tv (it just doesn't translate well) and playing against a BAD team on BAD ice in an EMPTY stadium isn't going to help. Outdoor hockey is a gimmick that gets people's attention for a few minutes and after they see the empty stadium and poor play, they'll change the channel. If they saw a fuller stadium and two teams and fanbases that loathe eachother, they might stick around.
The average sports fan isn't likely to tune in at all, and if they do they'll change the channel soon after. By scheduling UND, UM and the BTN would've guaranteed themselves at least a decent (by hockey standards) following.