Section Finals Locations Thought

[The51]

Being back in Amsoil last night for the first time in a couple years reminded me what an awesome rink that is but it also got me thinking about how easy this could be for the AA Section Finals once the St Thomas arena is finished.

MN has a fantastic college hockey scene which happens to be spread out pretty well around the state. The high school league should work with the colleges to have them host all the section finals. It would add a level of excitement for those kids and an extra "stage" of playoffs they could get to. "Hey if you make the section final it's at the college rink and next stop the X" type of thing.

Wednesday
2AA & 6AA at Mariucci

Thursday
1AA at Mankato
5AA at St. Cloud
7AA at AMSOIL
8AA at Bemidji

Friday
3AA & 4AA at new St. Thomas Arena

[Zamman]

I am going to guess when the new St Thomas arena opens they will host a lot of games. 2,3,4,6. 1 wil stay in Rochester and 7 & 8 will stay where they are at now. Games should never be played at BIG, Braemar, Aldrich.

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

I would not make the assumption that the colleges give a rat's behind about section finals. Worse they may consider hosting them a pain in the rear.

Now someone will post about how they can use it for recruiting players and students, but I'd not be surprised if they are not interested in that at all.

[hm88]

Interesting thought - not sure if it would ever garner much traction.

It's cool to think about that maybe someday they could host section 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6. Maybe a double header on Wednesday night for 2AA and 6AA like the old Mariucci days. 3AA and 5AA on Thursday night. Leave 4AA at it's usual Friday night spot.

If nothing else - I am hopeful that 4AA could be played at the new Saint Thomas arena to allow for bigger crowds for the section final. Maybe allow for another 1,000 - 2,000 people in. Not sure what the planned capacity is for the new arena - but guessing around 4,500 - 5,500 seats.

[The51]

I would not make the assumption that the colleges give a rat's behind about section finals. Worse they may consider hosting them a pain in the rear.

Now someone will post about how they can use it for recruiting players and students, but I'd not be surprised if they are not interested in that at all.

I'm sure they don't care but it could easily be sold to them that this is for the good of the MN hockey eco system as a whole which is something they should care about or at least pretend to

[Doc Holliday]

I would not make the assumption that the colleges give a rat's behind about section finals. Worse they may consider hosting them a pain in the rear.

Now someone will post about how they can use it for recruiting players and students, but I'd not be surprised if they are not interested in that at all.

I'm almost thinking the opposite & that it's the sections that prefer having them at venues they can have a little more "control" over. Sure they may be throwing away some potential revenue, but their costs are pretty set & it probably logistically is easier to deal with Aldrich/Braemar/BIG, minus the ticket situation.....

[East Side Pioneer Guy]

I would not make the assumption that the colleges give a rat's behind about section finals. Worse they may consider hosting them a pain in the rear.

Now someone will post about how they can use it for recruiting players and students, but I'd not be surprised if they are not interested in that at all.

I'm sure they don't care but it could easily be sold to them that this is for the good of the MN hockey eco system as a whole which is something they should care about or at least pretend to

Right, I could be be wrong. But my thought is "Good luck selling a college facilities guy on the hockey ecosystem." The response likely would be, "You're confusing me with someone who's a eff."