01grad Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 I thought that it was just B.S. when I heard it mentioned that Blais wasn't allowing Michigan Tech to practice on our ice. Here is a program that is going down the tubes just like previous others and has had fundraisers to help bring money into the program and yet we force them to travel and buy ice time elsewhere. On top of that we joke about it, how they were carrying all of their bags off and on the bus (Blais in the Fargo booster thing) The main reason they aren't going home just to come back is that they don't have the funds. I know this because a person I work with has a son on the team. I remember how kind the gophers were to allow Alaska to practice on their ice when they didn't want to travel home earlier in the year. This is very bush league in my opinion and I hope it doesn't come back to bite us in the rear when their players are upset. Not saying that we will get beat, but possibly some opposing player taking his aggression out on one of our players and injuring them. I have a great abundance and respect for Blais, but until I see his reasoning behind this, I hold a little chip on my shoulder for now. It's not like they are going to beat us if we let them practice in our home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wreckincrew Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Here is a program that is going down the tubes just like previous others and has had fundraisers to help bring money into the program and yet we force them to travel and buy ice time elsewhere. I would think a bus ride to and from Houghton is cheaper then the team staying in a hotel all week I remember how kind the gophers were to allow Alaska to practice on their ice when they didn't want to travel home earlier in the year. I believe that UAA wasn't playing the Rodents, they were playing UMD and MSU-M. They just practiced at Minny in-between. It's not like they are going to beat us if we let them practice in our home. There are no guarantees, and this IS the playoffs. Why give them any advantage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaNorthStar Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Oh no, they have to drive 5 minutes to East Grand Forks...get over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Well, I can understand the desire to be a good neighbor, but when I consider the benefit of allowing a team to practice on your own home ice for a week heading into the playoffs, I begin to understand Blais' point a little bit better. If we were going on the road for the playoffs in 2001 to MN, do you think Lucia would have allowed us to come down 1 week early and practice at Mariucci for a week? I doubt it when I think of it. I think this is one of those situations where it sounds bad on the surface but when you dig a little deeper you can find a bit more sense in the matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoteauRinkRat Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 I have to believe that it is probably costing them more money to keep the players in Grand Forks for the whole week, than it would to bus them home and then back again. They are not traveling far and I feel that allowing them to practice in our own rink would give them an advantage of getting a better feel for the rink and a better comfort level of playing in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01grad Posted March 10, 2004 Author Share Posted March 10, 2004 I would think a bus ride to and from Houghton is cheaper then the team staying in a hotel all week I believe that UAA wasn't playing the Rodents, they were playing UMD and MSU-M. They just practiced at Minny in-between. There are no guarantees, and this IS the playoffs. Why give them any advantage? In my opinion, ice is ice and the fans create the ultimate home ice advantage during a game, practice shouldn't have that much greater of an impact. They have already played many games at this rink to know how the boards and glass play. The other thing is that I wouldn't think we would charge them ice time, but EGF probably is. With gas prices high and having to hire a bus driver and taking into consideration the discounts the teams receive on hotels for trips, I guess this probably would be about the same. As far as the gopher example I realize it is a different situation, but it was nice to see their generosity and in my book that counts for a lot. What this all comes down to is that Tech shouldn't have lost to Mankato and this wouldn't have been an issue. Thanks Dagies for seeing both sides in the matter and not snapping back. You helped me understand the situation a better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCM Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Chris Conner said after the game on Saturday that even if MTU had won and had to play Wisconsin, they weren't going to return to Houghton. They would have driven to Madison and spent the week there. Also, Blais said on the coaches show last week that the Huskies wouldn't be able to use the rink at the Ralph if they stayed in Grand Forks for the week. I'm sure they were well aware of that before they got here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedorov Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Yeah, it definitely costs more money to stay here. They could have saved money by staying at the casino and renting the TRF REA. Personally, I would have let them rent the REA.....Olympic ice that is. I would pay the trumpet guy to play during some of the practices, and put Chucky and his one man band in there the rest of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoggy Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Didn't UAA have to pay to rent the ice from the Gophers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiouxTupa Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 It's not a big issue. Under "normal" circumstances the visiting team only gets to practice/skate on the ice once or twice before the game. If that were different, many teams would leave earlier and get more practice in. If you ask the Tech players/coaches I guarentee there are no hard feelings. The ralph is used for other things throughout the week, including our team's normal practices. It costs money to keep it running and clean throughout the day, so even if we let them practice there they would probably have to pay. Considering how every other conglomorate in this town charges, it makes more sense to rent some cheap ice in East Grand and practice there. Practice is practice, like it's been said, ice is ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojordan23 Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 I don't think the cost was why Mich. Tech stayed in GF. It was about having time to practice and still get back here for Friday, without having to waste almost 48 hours on a bus (round trip). And while it may seem a little cruel to have them rent ice in town, it's not like the kids are paying for it out of their pockets. The student body as a whole, plus the tax-payers are the ones paying for it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airmail Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 If they're practicing in the REA of Thief River Falls, which has a capacity almost the same as MacInnes Student Ice Arena, I'm sure they feel right at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jloos Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 I say let them practice in the REA. Publish the times they are practicing and open the rink to the public. Organize as many students as possible to show up to heckle them. At the same time play highlights from UND NCAA championship games on the scoreboard and play American Pie as loud as possible over and over. By Friday half the team would be on prozac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagard Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 When I read the comment last week about Blais refusing to let MTU practice at the Ralph, I thought he was being a little rough on MTU. But then I figured he was either kidding, or must have had a reason. Sounds like accomodations were made for Tech and I'm sure they will get their regular end of week practices on the sheet at the Ralph. After the fighting up at Tech, I also wouldn't have blamed Blais for showing no mercy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Just like after any other regular season series, after Saturday's hockey game UND had no obligation to Tech until Thursday afternoon. (The road team gets a WCHA mandated skate on the game rink on Thursday.) Everyone knew that going in. UND let them keep their stuff in REA until Monday. UND advised them to get rooms at the casino in TRF plus MTU would have had REA-TRF all to themselves (ice, weight room, everything) this week. Tech made the decision that they decided was best for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAR Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 This is the playoffs, not some meaningless series. The object is to win not to be accomodating to the opposing team. I see no problem in making them rent their ice somewhere else. Much like the business world, it's not about making friends it is all about winning. I think a major reason why Alaska was able to practice at Mariucci is because Alaska's coach (Hill) used to be a Lucia asst. coach and they are good friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siouxnami Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Needed to do something to slow down future Hobey award winner Connor... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tnt Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Teams go to great lengths to get an advantage at home. Some ballparks leave their grass taller to suit their game, and some even go so far as to have the air conditioning blowing in when the opposing team is at bat. That would be bush league. The Sioux worked their butts off to be in this position, why would we let them get comfy in our building? If the Sioux let them practice all week and lost to them in the playoffs, I'm sure there would be plenty of fans to question the wisdom of being "nice" to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fighting Sioux #1 Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 tnt, I AGREE 100% !!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZSIOUX Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 I have no problem at all with Dean Blais not letting Tech practice at the ralph this week. I believe you have home ice for a reason and thats it.. they could have gone to t. river falls to the mini ralph and personally i would love to get out of g-forks if i was a tech player.. this is the playoffs as many people have stated on this board and these games are important . just because tech is not at the top anymore we should not give them brakes and feel sorry for them.. the ralph is not their home ice, it's ours!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCM Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Let's not jump to conclusions. Do we know that not allowing MTU to practice at REA was Blais' decision to make? I'm not sure it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airmail Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Let's not jump to conclusions. Do we know that not allowing MTU to practice at REA was Blais' decision to make? I'm not sure it was. Yeah... let's blame Kupchella. Nobody seems to like him anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnv Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 It's been said before.......but I'll reply as well. This is the PLAYOFFS! Home ice advantage is just that.....an ADVANTAGE! Why would anybody give another team the option to use their own home ice to get a better feel? It would be different if there was NO ice available anywhere else. This is not a "classless act", rather it's not really an issue or act at all! Get over it..... GO SIOUX! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagies Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 Let's not jump to conclusions. Do we know that not allowing MTU to practice at REA was Blais' decision to make? I'm not sure it was. PCM, you make a valid point. I believe I read this in a Herald article or something several days ago, before it was brought up in this Forum. Don't quote me on that. I read it somewhere, though, just can't play where.... Anyway, what I read said Blais wouldn't let Tech practice in the REA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sicatoka Posted March 10, 2004 Share Posted March 10, 2004 If the Sioux let them practice all week and lost to them in the playoffs, I'm sure there would be plenty of fans to question the wisdom of being "nice" to them. Enough said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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