East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2020 6:35 pm
Oh man there is no way the Coliseum is worthy of being a D1 arena. It only had two advantages over Aldrich. First & foremost was the capacity. Less importantly, the seats have backs.
It's a dreary, poorly lit dump. It was the Metrodome of HS hockey. Improving it is like putting lip stick on a pig.
It was never used much for hockey until the refrigeration equipment at the St. Paul (now Roy Wilkins) Auditorium crapped out & they decided not to replace it. That place had great sight lines & 8,000 seats.
The only problem with Aldrich is the seating capacity.
Arenas are expensive to build & operate. There just isn't must demand for a 5 or 6 thousand seat arena but for a few days a year.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised a Hill-Murray guy can't appreciate something that isn't filled with luxury. That arena had history, character, and it was a while the Metrodome often took away from the atmosphere (with the exception of the noise), the Coliseum's concrete walls and barn-like roof added so much to it. I enjoyed going to those games so much, even though my team would often get beat by yours (with the exception of 2011).
I'm sure it sucked parking your Lexus and walking into a place without padded seats and the finer things in life, but plenty of us appreciated what you would call a "dump".
Also, the seating capacity (actually just under 6,000) and location makes it a pretty damn good spot for St. Thomas if they go D-1. As mentioned before, building their own ~5,000 seat arena would be very expensive though if they do build it would be a good solution to 4AA's problem. I just hope it is nice enough for Pioneer fans. They better have valet parking!
I love everything about this thread! You might have to ease up on the HIll-Murray guys though, witty comments are something that can't be fixed by money
As someone who played at the Coliseum a number of times, I have to agree that it was a wonderful venue. The only downside to playing there was the ice was sometimes a little soft, since it was so warm. But it was nothing that would change the course of the game completely. Whenever I played there, it felt like a big event. Even when I played youth hockey. The huge arena, state fair atmosphere, old school locker rooms, and loud echoing announcer all made it great. I never had the privilege of playing a section game there, since ours were played at Aldrich, but I have to imagine it would've been thrilling!
I'm all in favor of bringing the Coliseum back. If St. Thomas were to play D1 games there, it would be quite the experience! And Section 4AA games wouldn't be nearly as cramped. Things feel so tight and crowded in Aldrich, spreading out would never hurt.
WestMetro wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2020 10:08 pm
Boom! Well done Zach!
Had heard St T Univ had done some very very prelim exploratory work for possible new D1 size facility on/near campus ,
The U of St Thomas will eventually be the solution. They will know soon if they get approval for jump to D1. If so they will have to build an arena of at least 5000 to support it. I've read they are considering building at the Ford plant site or building on campus where the football stadium is. Football would move to Allianz. We all have great memories of the Coliseum but no amount of money can turn it into a modern arena. It was built for horse shows and all that space between the seats and the rink cannot be undone.
East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2020 6:35 pm
Oh man there is no way the Coliseum is worthy of being a D1 arena. It only had two advantages over Aldrich. First & foremost was the capacity. Less importantly, the seats have backs.
It's a dreary, poorly lit dump. It was the Metrodome of HS hockey. Improving it is like putting lip stick on a pig.
It was never used much for hockey until the refrigeration equipment at the St. Paul (now Roy Wilkins) Auditorium crapped out & they decided not to replace it. That place had great sight lines & 8,000 seats.
The only problem with Aldrich is the seating capacity.
Arenas are expensive to build & operate. There just isn't must demand for a 5 or 6 thousand seat arena but for a few days a year.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised a Hill-Murray guy can't appreciate something that isn't filled with luxury. That arena had history, character, and it was a while the Metrodome often took away from the atmosphere (with the exception of the noise), the Coliseum's concrete walls and barn-like roof added so much to it. I enjoyed going to those games so much, even though my team would often get beat by yours (with the exception of 2011).
I'm sure it sucked parking your Lexus and walking into a place without padded seats and the finer things in life, but plenty of us appreciated what you would call a "dump".
Also, the seating capacity (actually just under 6,000) and location makes it a pretty damn good spot for St. Thomas if they go D-1. As mentioned before, building their own ~5,000 seat arena would be very expensive though if they do build it would be a good solution to 4AA's problem. I just hope it is nice enough for Pioneer fans. They better have valet parking!
Grasshopper:
My old man was a brewery worker. I'm in the trades. You assume way too much. If you have a four year degree, you're more elite than me.
Would UST even draw 5K? I doubt it. Like the bishop tells the minister: Don't build your church for Easter Sunday.
How far was the rink from the nearest row of seats at the old barn? 30"? It was much further than that on the ends. What made the arena was the games played there, not the building. Just like the Metrodome.
SEC Scotty wrote: ↑Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:47 pm
They do make the fans switch sides when the are the lower seed which is very confusing for some.
But not locker rooms
H-M only uses their own locker room for the quarterfinal. They move to the other end for the other games.
FYI I believe HM will be able to use their locker room again for the entire tournament, if the MSHSL Region 4AA minutes that I read are to be believed.
ifallsin64 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 21, 2020 11:04 pm
But not locker rooms
H-M only uses their own locker room for the quarterfinal. They move to the other end for the other games.
FYI I believe HM will be able to use their locker room again for the entire tournament, if the MSHSL Region 4AA minutes that I read are to be believed.
Where is that in the minutes? I could not find anything from this year but it was discussed in 2019
East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2020 6:35 pm
Oh man there is no way the Coliseum is worthy of being a D1 arena. It only had two advantages over Aldrich. First & foremost was the capacity. Less importantly, the seats have backs.
It's a dreary, poorly lit dump. It was the Metrodome of HS hockey. Improving it is like putting lip stick on a pig.
It was never used much for hockey until the refrigeration equipment at the St. Paul (now Roy Wilkins) Auditorium crapped out & they decided not to replace it. That place had great sight lines & 8,000 seats.
The only problem with Aldrich is the seating capacity.
Arenas are expensive to build & operate. There just isn't must demand for a 5 or 6 thousand seat arena but for a few days a year.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised a Hill-Murray guy can't appreciate something that isn't filled with luxury. That arena had history, character, and it was a while the Metrodome often took away from the atmosphere (with the exception of the noise), the Coliseum's concrete walls and barn-like roof added so much to it. I enjoyed going to those games so much, even though my team would often get beat by yours (with the exception of 2011).
I'm sure it sucked parking your Lexus and walking into a place without padded seats and the finer things in life, but plenty of us appreciated what you would call a "dump".
Also, the seating capacity (actually just under 6,000) and location makes it a pretty damn good spot for St. Thomas if they go D-1. As mentioned before, building their own ~5,000 seat arena would be very expensive though if they do build it would be a good solution to 4AA's problem. I just hope it is nice enough for Pioneer fans. They better have valet parking!
But you’d have to COMPLETELY RENOVATE literally everything in the arena. My oldest son played in a section final at the Coliseum in 2007 & my youngest son played in a section final at Aldrich in 2016. Aldrich was far superior from a sight line viewing, atmosphere & noise standpoint, the Coliseum for all its history, had a terribly shallow seating pitch & some higher seats felt like they were 200 feet from the ice surface, plus the arena was warm at ice level & the ice wasn’t very good. I love nostalgia as much as the next guy & the Coliseum had that & adequate seating capacity, but not much else. This comes from an Anoka guy
East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2020 6:35 pm
Oh man there is no way the Coliseum is worthy of being a D1 arena. It only had two advantages over Aldrich. First & foremost was the capacity. Less importantly, the seats have backs.
It's a dreary, poorly lit dump. It was the Metrodome of HS hockey. Improving it is like putting lip stick on a pig.
It was never used much for hockey until the refrigeration equipment at the St. Paul (now Roy Wilkins) Auditorium crapped out & they decided not to replace it. That place had great sight lines & 8,000 seats.
The only problem with Aldrich is the seating capacity.
Arenas are expensive to build & operate. There just isn't must demand for a 5 or 6 thousand seat arena but for a few days a year.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised a Hill-Murray guy can't appreciate something that isn't filled with luxury. That arena had history, character, and it was a while the Metrodome often took away from the atmosphere (with the exception of the noise), the Coliseum's concrete walls and barn-like roof added so much to it. I enjoyed going to those games so much, even though my team would often get beat by yours (with the exception of 2011).
I'm sure it sucked parking your Lexus and walking into a place without padded seats and the finer things in life, but plenty of us appreciated what you would call a "dump".
Also, the seating capacity (actually just under 6,000) and location makes it a pretty damn good spot for St. Thomas if they go D-1. As mentioned before, building their own ~5,000 seat arena would be very expensive though if they do build it would be a good solution to 4AA's problem. I just hope it is nice enough for Pioneer fans. They better have valet parking!
But you’d have to COMPLETELY RENOVATE literally everything in the arena. My oldest son played in a section final at the Coliseum in 2007 & my youngest son played in a section final at Aldrich in 2016. Aldrich was far superior from a sight line viewing, atmosphere & noise standpoint, the Coliseum for all its history, had a terribly shallow seating pitch & some higher seats felt like they were 200 feet from the ice surface, plus the arena was warm at ice level & the ice wasn’t very good. I love nostalgia as much as the next guy & the Coliseum had that & adequate seating capacity, but not much else. This comes from an Anoka guy
You rich Anoka snobs make me sick. So sorry we can't provide 'good ice' and 'sight lines'. Richy rich. Take your helicopter back to Anoka why don't you?!
The City of Hill Murray is beautiful this time of year
I guess I shouldn't be surprised a Hill-Murray guy can't appreciate something that isn't filled with luxury. That arena had history, character, and it was a while the Metrodome often took away from the atmosphere (with the exception of the noise), the Coliseum's concrete walls and barn-like roof added so much to it. I enjoyed going to those games so much, even though my team would often get beat by yours (with the exception of 2011).
I'm sure it sucked parking your Lexus and walking into a place without padded seats and the finer things in life, but plenty of us appreciated what you would call a "dump".
Also, the seating capacity (actually just under 6,000) and location makes it a pretty damn good spot for St. Thomas if they go D-1. As mentioned before, building their own ~5,000 seat arena would be very expensive though if they do build it would be a good solution to 4AA's problem. I just hope it is nice enough for Pioneer fans. They better have valet parking!
But you’d have to COMPLETELY RENOVATE literally everything in the arena. My oldest son played in a section final at the Coliseum in 2007 & my youngest son played in a section final at Aldrich in 2016. Aldrich was far superior from a sight line viewing, atmosphere & noise standpoint, the Coliseum for all its history, had a terribly shallow seating pitch & some higher seats felt like they were 200 feet from the ice surface, plus the arena was warm at ice level & the ice wasn’t very good. I love nostalgia as much as the next guy & the Coliseum had that & adequate seating capacity, but not much else. This comes from an Anoka guy
You rich Anoka snobs make me sick. So sorry we can't provide 'good ice' and 'sight lines'. Richy rich. Take your helicopter back to Anoka why don't you?!
East Side Pioneer Guy wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2020 6:35 pm
Oh man there is no way the Coliseum is worthy of being a D1 arena. It only had two advantages over Aldrich. First & foremost was the capacity. Less importantly, the seats have backs.
It's a dreary, poorly lit dump. It was the Metrodome of HS hockey. Improving it is like putting lip stick on a pig.
It was never used much for hockey until the refrigeration equipment at the St. Paul (now Roy Wilkins) Auditorium crapped out & they decided not to replace it. That place had great sight lines & 8,000 seats.
The only problem with Aldrich is the seating capacity.
Arenas are expensive to build & operate. There just isn't must demand for a 5 or 6 thousand seat arena but for a few days a year.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised a Hill-Murray guy can't appreciate something that isn't filled with luxury. That arena had history, character, and it was a while the Metrodome often took away from the atmosphere (with the exception of the noise), the Coliseum's concrete walls and barn-like roof added so much to it. I enjoyed going to those games so much, even though my team would often get beat by yours (with the exception of 2011).
I'm sure it sucked parking your Lexus and walking into a place without padded seats and the finer things in life, but plenty of us appreciated what you would call a "dump".
Also, the seating capacity (actually just under 6,000) and location makes it a pretty damn good spot for St. Thomas if they go D-1. As mentioned before, building their own ~5,000 seat arena would be very expensive though if they do build it would be a good solution to 4AA's problem. I just hope it is nice enough for Pioneer fans. They better have valet parking!
But you’d have to COMPLETELY RENOVATE literally everything in the arena. My oldest son played in a section final at the Coliseum in 2007 & my youngest son played in a section final at Aldrich in 2016. Aldrich was far superior from a sight line viewing, atmosphere & noise standpoint, the Coliseum for all its history, had a terribly shallow seating pitch & some higher seats felt like they were 200 feet from the ice surface, plus the arena was warm at ice level & the ice wasn’t very good. I love nostalgia as much as the next guy & the Coliseum had that & adequate seating capacity, but not much else. This comes from an Anoka guy
Just got to Aldrich. People worried about Hill getting an “advantage” from their banners being up or using their own locker room - it’s not happening tonight. Banners are down and Hill is not using their own locker room. No advantage for Hill tonight
I guess I shouldn't be surprised a Hill-Murray guy can't appreciate something that isn't filled with luxury. That arena had history, character, and it was a while the Metrodome often took away from the atmosphere (with the exception of the noise), the Coliseum's concrete walls and barn-like roof added so much to it. I enjoyed going to those games so much, even though my team would often get beat by yours (with the exception of 2011).
I'm sure it sucked parking your Lexus and walking into a place without padded seats and the finer things in life, but plenty of us appreciated what you would call a "dump".
Also, the seating capacity (actually just under 6,000) and location makes it a pretty damn good spot for St. Thomas if they go D-1. As mentioned before, building their own ~5,000 seat arena would be very expensive though if they do build it would be a good solution to 4AA's problem. I just hope it is nice enough for Pioneer fans. They better have valet parking!
But you’d have to COMPLETELY RENOVATE literally everything in the arena. My oldest son played in a section final at the Coliseum in 2007 & my youngest son played in a section final at Aldrich in 2016. Aldrich was far superior from a sight line viewing, atmosphere & noise standpoint, the Coliseum for all its history, had a terribly shallow seating pitch & some higher seats felt like they were 200 feet from the ice surface, plus the arena was warm at ice level & the ice wasn’t very good. I love nostalgia as much as the next guy & the Coliseum had that & adequate seating capacity, but not much else. This comes from an Anoka guy
BodyShots wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2020 3:57 pm
Wait a minute...… Anoka has hockey?
I remember when Anoka was the biggest school in the State. Then they split in two and Andover was born. If that split didn't happen they'd be pretty decent right now, eh?
BodyShots wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2020 3:57 pm
Wait a minute...… Anoka has hockey?
I remember when Anoka was the biggest school in the State. Then they split in two and Andover was born. If that split didn't happen they'd be pretty decent right now, eh?
Your barking up the wrong tree with this comment. I grew up in Roseville (Ramsey / Kellogg).
stpaul wrote: ↑Sun Feb 16, 2020 1:06 pm
The Metro East went 8-4-1 against the Suburban East this season. It's clearly a far better hockey conference. HM should get a bye into the final and the 7 SE schools plus Minnehaha should have a play-in tournament.
HM's sweep of the SEC in 4AA makes it 11-4-1. Big congratulations to the Metro East schools. 3 State Tournament teams and 2 Section runners-up. Love the season Hastings had. They were oh so close to making it 4. Tartan also had a good year at 15-12. They beat Mahtomedi in the regular season and gave them a battle in 4A. High school hockey is alive and well in St Paul's east metro.
Last edited by stpaul on Mon Mar 02, 2020 8:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Well, When you have the ability to re-tool every year by offering a grand church experience and also a hockey team it certainly helps. Public schools will have good teams from time to time and certainly goes in cycles. WBL seems to have good teams a little more often but are always a couple players short of truly being a favorite. A couple more good players really makes a difference and as long as there are parents out there that want to win at all costs and send their kid to HM it's really never going to change. Sometimes WBL has kids that are actually too good and don't play there for that reason which happened to them this year. You add Gallatin and the kid that went to juniors and WBL beats HM this year handily.
highgloveside wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:10 am
Well, When you have the ability to re-tool every year by offering a grand church experience and also a hockey team it certainly helps. Public schools will have good teams from time to time and certainly goes in cycles. WBL seems to have good teams a little more often but are always a couple players short of truly being a favorite. A couple more good players really makes a difference and as long as there are parents out there that want to win at all costs and send their kid to HM it's really never going to change. Sometimes WBL has kids that are actually too good and don't play there for that reason which happened to them this year. You add Gallatin and the kid that went to juniors and WBL beats HM this year handily.
It's hard to argue gallatin didn't want to play there. It's very hard to pass up the opportunity to play for the national team. If he hadn't received an invite, I'm sure you would have seen him in orange and black at least the last two years.
I could be wrong, but I believe Cameron Berg was always intending to go the AAA route going back to squirts, and not necesarily anything to do with WBL.
If you really want to think of a "what could have been" scenario, keep in mind that at one time, this team included those two listed above as well as the lucius boys when they were squirts. The one is now on the national team as well. That team would have been one of the best high school teams we would have seen in quite a while.
highgloveside wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:10 am
Well, When you have the ability to re-tool every year by offering a grand church experience and also a hockey team it certainly helps. Public schools will have good teams from time to time and certainly goes in cycles. WBL seems to have good teams a little more often but are always a couple players short of truly being a favorite. A couple more good players really makes a difference and as long as there are parents out there that want to win at all costs and send their kid to HM it's really never going to change. Sometimes WBL has kids that are actually too good and don't play there for that reason which happened to them this year. You add Gallatin and the kid that went to juniors and WBL beats HM this year handily.
It's hard to argue gallatin didn't want to play there. It's very hard to pass up the opportunity to play for the national team. If he hadn't received an invite, I'm sure you would have seen him in orange and black at least the last two years.
I could be wrong, but I believe Cameron Berg was always intending to go the AAA route going back to squirts, and not necesarily anything to do with WBL.
If you really want to think of a "what could have been" scenario, keep in mind that at one time, this team included those two listed above as well as the lucius boys when they were squirts. The one is now on the national team as well. That team would have been one of the best high school teams we would have seen in quite a while.
Think about MG this year with all the kids they lost to NTDP, USHL, NAHL, WHL, etc.
highgloveside wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:10 am
Well, When you have the ability to re-tool every year by offering a grand church experience and also a hockey team it certainly helps. Public schools will have good teams from time to time and certainly goes in cycles. WBL seems to have good teams a little more often but are always a couple players short of truly being a favorite. A couple more good players really makes a difference and as long as there are parents out there that want to win at all costs and send their kid to HM it's really never going to change. Sometimes WBL has kids that are actually too good and don't play there for that reason which happened to them this year. You add Gallatin and the kid that went to juniors and WBL beats HM this year handily.
It's hard to argue gallatin didn't want to play there. It's very hard to pass up the opportunity to play for the national team. If he hadn't received an invite, I'm sure you would have seen him in orange and black at least the last two years.
I could be wrong, but I believe Cameron Berg was always intending to go the AAA route going back to squirts, and not necesarily anything to do with WBL.
If you really want to think of a "what could have been" scenario, keep in mind that at one time, this team included those two listed above as well as the lucius boys when they were squirts. The one is now on the national team as well. That team would have been one of the best high school teams we would have seen in quite a while.
Think about MG this year with all the kids they lost to NTDP, USHL, NAHL, WHL, etc.
It would have been fun to see those teams square off in Saint Paul. The bears did defeat MG in Bantams to capture state, and that was without either of the Lucius kids (they were at Gentry by that time I believe).
highgloveside wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:10 am
Well, When you have the ability to re-tool every year by offering a grand church experience and also a hockey team it certainly helps. Public schools will have good teams from time to time and certainly goes in cycles. WBL seems to have good teams a little more often but are always a couple players short of truly being a favorite. A couple more good players really makes a difference and as long as there are parents out there that want to win at all costs and send their kid to HM it's really never going to change. Sometimes WBL has kids that are actually too good and don't play there for that reason which happened to them this year. You add Gallatin and the kid that went to juniors and WBL beats HM this year handily.
It's hard to argue gallatin didn't want to play there. It's very hard to pass up the opportunity to play for the national team. If he hadn't received an invite, I'm sure you would have seen him in orange and black at least the last two years.
I could be wrong, but I believe Cameron Berg was always intending to go the AAA route going back to squirts, and not necesarily anything to do with WBL.
If you really want to think of a "what could have been" scenario, keep in mind that at one time, this team included those two listed above as well as the lucius boys when they were squirts. The one is now on the national team as well. That team would have been one of the best high school teams we would have seen in quite a while.
Think about MG this year with all the kids they lost to NTDP, USHL, NAHL, WHL, etc.
highgloveside wrote: ↑Tue Mar 03, 2020 10:10 am
Well, When you have the ability to re-tool every year by offering a grand church experience and also a hockey team it certainly helps. Public schools will have good teams from time to time and certainly goes in cycles. WBL seems to have good teams a little more often but are always a couple players short of truly being a favorite. A couple more good players really makes a difference and as long as there are parents out there that want to win at all costs and send their kid to HM it's really never going to change. Sometimes WBL has kids that are actually too good and don't play there for that reason which happened to them this year. You add Gallatin and the kid that went to juniors and WBL beats HM this year handily.
It's hard to argue gallatin didn't want to play there. It's very hard to pass up the opportunity to play for the national team. If he hadn't received an invite, I'm sure you would have seen him in orange and black at least the last two years.
I could be wrong, but I believe Cameron Berg was always intending to go the AAA route going back to squirts, and not necesarily anything to do with WBL.
If you really want to think of a "what could have been" scenario, keep in mind that at one time, this team included those two listed above as well as the lucius boys when they were squirts. The one is now on the national team as well. That team would have been one of the best high school teams we would have seen in quite a while.
