Here is what makes the tournament special!

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Mitch Hawker
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Here is what makes the tournament special!

Post by Mitch Hawker » Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:13 pm

A little off-season discussion fodder.

The atmosphere is unrivaled at the high school level and the AA Tournament should be in the discussion for best hockey atmosphere at any level.

The Minnesota Class A Tournament outdraws any other state's high school hockey tournament, and the AA Tournament draws about three times as many as A!

Is it the best HS Tournament atmosphere for any sport in any state? It beats Indiana Basketball hands down as their two sessions of finals for 4 classes of basketball drew under 23,000 total again this year (for comparison, the MSHSL Basketball Finals usually total 17,000+/- for their two finals sessions in 4 total classes).

It is interesting to note that Wisconsin's State HS Hockey Tournament has only topped Minnesota's 1948 grand total of 19,354 on one occasion (and barely).

Contrary to what some have stated, the tournament WAS a big deal before the North Stars arrived. The Met Center just allowed more people to attend because it could seat more fans.

I was able to dig these attendance numbers up from the MSHSL.

The Tournament moved from St Paul Auditorium to Met Center in 1969, to St Paul Civic Center in 1976, Target Center in 1999 and 2000 and Xcel Energy Center since 2001.

State Boys’ Hockey Tournament Attendance — 1945-2015

1945 8,434
1946 11,035
1947 17,566
1948 19,354
1949 15,471
1950 14,272
1951 18,582
1952 15,523
1953 19,924
1954 24,508
1955 27,213
1956 30,949
1957 33,041
1958 35,243
1959 36,023
1960 39,488
1961 40,607
1962 41,571
1963 43,061
1964 44,362
1965 43,728
1966 46,016
1967 45,140
1968 45,369
1969 79,868
1970 83,625
1971 79,362
1972 82,300
1973 84,039
1974 84,210
1975 83,089
1976 92,333
1977 94,772
1978 98,870
1979 100,902
1980 102,197
1981 100,914
1982 101,006
1983 102,596
1984 100,160
1985 103,096
1986 100,824
1987 100,215
1988 98,718
1989 95,356
1990 97,718
1991 99,507
1992 117,563 Tier I 90,370 Tier II 27,193
1993 107,030 Tier I 88,014 Tier II 19,016
1994 112,846 Class AA 87,738 Class A 25,108
1995 116,870 Class AA 89,095 Class A 27,775
1996 115,235 Class AA 76,457 Class A 27,389 A & AA Cons. Finals 11,389
1997 111,800 Class AA 74,729 Class A 26,338 A & AA Cons. Finals 10,733
1998 116,155 Class AA 74,902 Class A 29,557 A & AA Cons. Finals 11,696
1999 106,307 Class AA 72,760 Class A 22,616 A & AA Cons. Finals 10,931
2000 106,918 Class AA 74,994 Class A 20,801 A & AA Cons. Finals 11,123
2001 111,273 Class AA 78,551 Class A 21,730 A & AA Cons. Finals 10,992
2002 108,524 Class-AA 77,568 Class A 19,937 A & AA Cons. Finals 11,019
2003 115,524 Class AA 81,069 Class A 23,218 A & AA Cons. Finals 11,237
2004 120,114 Class AA 81,879 Class A 26,530 A & AA Cons. Finals 11,705
2005 123,809 Class AA 82,249 Class A 29,475 A & AA Cons. Finals 12,085
2006 125,201 Class AA 83,179 Class A 29,929 A & AA Cons. Finals 12,093
2007 124,348 Class AA 82,460 Class A 29,938 A & AA Cons. Finals 11,950
2008 129,643 Class AA 87,355 Class A 30,421 A & AA Cons. Finals 11,867
2009 116,690 Class AA 78,989 Class A 26,750 A & AA Cons. Finals 10,951
2010 118,934 Class AA 81,499 Class A 26,440 A & AA Cons. Finals 10,995
2011 116,662 Class AA 80,214 Class A 25,903 A & AA Cons. Finals 10,545
2012 123,615 Class AA 83,441 Class A 29,127 A & AA Cons. Finals 11,047
2013 116,051 Class AA 80,130 Class A 25,490 A & AA Cons. Finals 10,431
2014 118,249 Class AA 80,028 Class A 26,909 A & AA Cons. Finals 11,312
2015 135,618 Class AA 89,755 Class A 34,873 A & AA Cons. Finals 10,990

Total 1945-2015 5,697,136

2015 Session Specifics (* indicates record sessions)
2015
Wed. Afternoon (A Quarterfinals 6,495 *
Wed. Evening (A Quarterfinals 5,802
Thur. (Mariuccci A Consolation Semis 732
Thur. Afternoon (AA Quarterfinals 18,749
Thur. Evening (AA Quarterfinals 19,005 *
Fri. (Mariucci AA Consolation Semis 10,897
Fri. Afternoon (A Semifinals 12,487 *
Fri. Evening (AA Semifinals 21,609 *
Sat. Morning (Mariucci A & AA Consol. Finals 10,990
Sat. Afternoon (A Third Place and Finals 9,357 *
Sat. Evening (AA Third Place and Finals 19,495 *
Total 135,618 *
A 34,873
AA 89,755

-Note that the A and AA numbers in the two class era do not include the Consolation Finals numbers because that is a joint A/AA Session.
Last edited by Mitch Hawker on Wed Apr 15, 2015 3:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

nahc
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Post by nahc » Wed Apr 15, 2015 12:33 pm

Mitch what makes the tourney extra special is having Duluth East score on a breakaway to go up 3-1 and 20,000 screaming fans at the Excel all becoming instant Hound fans!!!!! That moment will go down in history!!!!

Mitch Hawker
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Post by Mitch Hawker » Wed Apr 15, 2015 3:21 pm

That's right. The players feed off the energy of the fans and vice versa. What happens on the ice is fueled by what is happening off of it, it is a big feedback loop of which it is great to be a part.

ted2you
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Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2013 4:02 pm
Location: Chaska

State HS Championship is The best tournament: BUT

Post by ted2you » Wed Apr 15, 2015 5:37 pm

I'm in the minority because I love Single A Hockey and have seen the talent jump in quality. It is time to put the Championship A and AA back to back on Saturday night. The EGF-Hermantown game was played at such a high level that that game deserved to be played in prime time.

Come on MSHL..... Make it a championship evening.

slacsap
Posts: 151
Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2011 4:30 am

Post by slacsap » Wed Apr 15, 2015 7:26 pm

The problem is that if you make the A and AA finals one session, there won't be any tickets available for the A schools because the AA season ticket holders will fill the XCel Center by themselves.

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