Godsmack Posted October 3, 2021 Posted October 3, 2021 I stayed home and watched the UND game and some of the CC game on NCHC.tv but my wife went to the first CC game at the new arena and based on reports from her as well as what I’ve heard from other CC fans, the first impressions of the game day experience are mixed. The good… 1. Open air concourse is such a cool concept. 2 The ice. Having spoken to the players a few weeks ago, they universally LOVE the quality of the ice which in turn, should make for a great viewing experience for the fans. 3. Excellent sight lines. At 3,400 seat capacity, no nosebleed sections. 4. Parking. Contrary to what I assumed would be a hassle with a parking garage, my wife said they did a great job with traffic flow patterns both pre- and post-game. The bad… 1. The stairs. Uneven depth and height is going to lead to some nasty falls. Plus, given the arena’s policy on removing caps from pop and beer bottles and wine boxes, some have already commented about spilling as they walk back down to their seats. 2. The piped in noise. Yah, every arena does it but I’ve been told about ringing ears after the game last night. Between the goal horn and the music they blast during stoppages of play, you can’t even hold a conversation with the person next to you, it’s so loud. We probably won’t be bringing our young child to any games unless they address this fixable issue, which we plan on contacting the hockey operations director about this week. 3. Quality and variety of the concessions is poor. Perhaps this was a soft opening and the options will get better but one fan described his slice of pizza as cafeteria quality pizza. 4. Lack of many GA seating for visiting fans. Not yet sure on the official numbers of available general admission seats but it sounds like it’ll be difficult for any significant number of visiting fans to attend games. 5. TV production. Given how bad the tv viewing experience was when games were played at World Arena, I was expecting much much better at the new venue. I was wrong. Several alternate cameras were dark and the picture was very grainy. Not every camera was hi-Def. Hopefully this is a fixable issue as the tv viewing experience was pretty low budget last night. 6. Cramped, tiny seating. Much less leg and elbow room than at WA. 7. Some curious things with regards to the playing of the National Anthem as well as the signage for the restrooms but since we’re not supposed to get political, I’ll just leave it at that. You can pm me if you care to hear more. EDIT: 8. I don’t know how I could’ve forgotten this as this was a huge let down for me as a college hockey fan in general but the lack of acknowledgment of CC’s past players and legacy inside the arena was a real bummer. There is so much drab, unused gray space in the rink area as well as the concourses. Such wasted space that could be used to highlight former greats like our two Hobey Baker winners, Peter Sejna and Marty Sertich, not to mention the all-Americans who’ve played there, the Gold Pan trophies and Pikes Peak trophies won, etc. Call me naive but I’ve been to a lot of arenas and one thing as a visiting fan I love to do is walk around and look at the pictures of that program’s former greats, read stories up on the walls, and admire the murals. North Dakota, Boston University, and Minnesota come to mind as excellent examples or barns that, when you walk in for the first time or as a visiting fan, you know you’re in their house. CC’s arena, for the most part, feels very non-descript and that, to me is disappointing. Quote
AlphaMikeFoxtrot Posted October 3, 2021 Posted October 3, 2021 Watching UMass Mankato, Morrow is noticeably getting out-worked. Smooth skater but 24 year olds push back harder than 17 year olds. Quote
cberkas Posted October 3, 2021 Author Posted October 3, 2021 Penn State leads LIU 2-0 UMass leads Mankato 2-0 Duluth beats Wisconsin 4-2 Miami leads Ferris State 2-1 Quote
cberkas Posted October 3, 2021 Author Posted October 3, 2021 7 hours ago, Godsmack said: I stayed home and watched the UND game and some of the CC game on NCHC.tv but my wife went to the first CC game at the new arena and based on reports from her as well as what I’ve heard from other CC fans, the first impressions of the game day experience are mixed. The good… 1. Open air concourse is such a cool concept. 2 The ice. Having spoken to the players a few weeks ago, they universally LOVE the quality of the ice which in turn, should make for a great viewing experience for the fans. 3. Excellent sight lines. At 3,400 seat capacity, no nosebleed sections. 4. Parking. Contrary to what I assumed would be a hassle with a parking garage, my wife said they did a great job with traffic flow patterns both pre- and post-game. The bad… 1. The stairs. Uneven depth and height is going to lead to some nasty falls. Plus, given the arena’s policy on removing caps from pop and beer bottles and wine boxes, some have already commented about spilling as they walk back down to their seats. 2. The piped in noise. Yah, every arena does it but I’ve been told about ringing ears after the game last night. Between the goal horn and the music they blast during stoppages of play, you can’t even hold a conversation with the person next to you, it’s so loud. We probably won’t be bringing our young child to any games unless they address this fixable issue, which we plan on contacting the hockey operations director about this week. 3. Quality and variety of the concessions is poor. Perhaps this was a soft opening and the options will get better but one fan described his slice of pizza as cafeteria quality pizza. 4. Lack of many GA seating for visiting fans. Not yet sure on the official numbers of available general admission seats but it sounds like it’ll be difficult for any significant number of visiting fans to attend games. 5. TV production. Given how bad the tv viewing experience was when games were played at World Arena, I was expecting much much better at the new venue. I was wrong. Several alternate cameras were dark and the picture was very grainy. Not every camera was hi-Def. Hopefully this is a fixable issue as the tv viewing experience was pretty low budget last night. 6. Cramped, tiny seating. Much less leg and elbow room than at WA. 7. Some curious things with regards to the playing of the National Anthem as well as the signage for the restrooms but since we’re not supposed to get political, I’ll just leave it at that. You can pm me if you care to hear more. EDIT: 8. I don’t know how I could’ve forgotten this as this was a huge let down for me as a college hockey fan in general but the lack of acknowledgment of CC’s past players and legacy inside the arena was a real bummer. There is so much drab, unused gray space in the rink area as well as the concourses. Such wasted space that could be used to highlight former greats like our two Hobey Baker winners, Peter Sejna and Marty Sertich, not to mention the all-Americans who’ve played there, the Gold Pan trophies and Pikes Peak trophies won, etc. Call me naive but I’ve been to a lot of arenas and one thing as a visiting fan I love to do is walk around and look at the pictures of that program’s former greats, read stories up on the walls, and admire the murals. North Dakota, Boston University, and Minnesota come to mind as excellent examples or barns that, when you walk in for the first time or as a visiting fan, you know you’re in their house. CC’s arena, for the most part, feels very non-descript and that, to me is disappointing. For your #8 looked like they did what North Dakota did around the locker area. Quote
cberkas Posted October 3, 2021 Author Posted October 3, 2021 UMass leads Mankato 3-0 Penn State beats LIU 3-1 Quote
cberkas Posted October 3, 2021 Author Posted October 3, 2021 Mankato leads UMass 5-3 on one weird goal Omaha leads LSSU 1-0 Quote
cberkas Posted October 3, 2021 Author Posted October 3, 2021 1 hour ago, AlphaMikeFoxtrot said: Watching UMass Mankato, Morrow is noticeably getting out-worked. Smooth skater but 24 year olds push back harder than 17 year olds. I don't think I've seen him touch the puck long enough to make a stick handle. He just poke checks Quote
cberkas Posted October 3, 2021 Author Posted October 3, 2021 Mankato leads UMass 6-3 That was a nasty goal Quote
jk Posted October 3, 2021 Posted October 3, 2021 Man, Hastings knows how to run a program. The season has barely started and they've already taken a big PWR step to getting into the tournament. 1 Quote
cberkas Posted October 3, 2021 Author Posted October 3, 2021 Lowell leads Arizona State 2-0 St. Cloud leads St. Thomas 2-0 Quote
Gma loves hockey Posted October 3, 2021 Posted October 3, 2021 1 hour ago, cberkas said: Mankato beats UMass 6-3 Anyone else think of the Hakstol time out with the Gophers? Wasn't it 3-0 Gophers and then we won 6-3? Quote
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