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Section 6AA has their semifinals at noon and 3pm on the final Saturday of Feb. at Bloomington Ice Gardens and Braemar. Seems like these venues are a bit small for the quality of teams. I wish they'd put this double header style at the Colesium at 7:00 and 9:30 like the old state tourney evening session. Thoughts?

My thoughts:

1. For anyone wishing to see these games live, you better get there early, and
2. Too bad they aren't being held at Mariucci.

It was a great atmosphere last year, I don't have a problem with it.

They have been at these two sites for many years and it is always a blasy, but getting tickets mean getting there early. I agree, move them to another site and play on two days instead of one.

Don't have a problem with it. It's a hassle to get all the way out to the U and for those willing to show up early it provides a great high school atmosphere. It's nice to just drive 10 minutes to Braemar instead of rush hour on 494 and 35W (for the early game).

I agree these sites are where the games are always at and they have a normal size ice sheet. I think people dont realize how the olympic ice at the U changes the game. If the ice wasn't olympic it would be fun to have it there for the semi's.

What do you think the seeds and match ups will be (season is young but we have a early idea)?

My guess:

1. EP (I think they will be the best team at the end of the year)
2. Way (Close race with EP but I'm going to guess an EP win and a Tie in Lake Play)
3. Tonka (Lost to BSM by a goal but stronger schedule and better play at the end of the year)
4. BSM (Very talented and could actually get the 1 seed with some more big wins but I think their lack of depth will show up)

Most of you are missing the point completely of why I started this thread. It's not about ice size or atmosphere, which I'm sure is almost as good as the DECC. The point is the number of seats available. I'm sure you could get 6,000-9,000 fans at each game and will be lucky to get half that because of the very limited seats available at BIG and Braemar.

Yes you are right about getting more fans but, these people are bringing up the counter argument to that. The ice is different and such. Isn't that the point of this forum?

Colesium is NHL ice isn't it?

Which rink do they use at BIG? Isn't rink 3 the most seating and an Olympic sized sheet?

Not sure what number it is but it's the oldest one, on the far right after you walk in the entrance. It's NHL size, not olympic.

Edit-After a quick google search I see that it is rink 1 and has a seating capacity of 1,800.

Correct. At BIG, Rink #1 seats the most (2,500), is NHL size and is the rink farthest "to the right" upon entering. Rink #3 is the Olympic sheet.....

Totally agree with the Olympic sheet changing the game. I still don't fully support having the championship at Mariucci even though it's a great venue because for such a big game it really messes with things. Target Center was okay but it didn't really feel like hs hockey.

How about Aldrich? Doesnt that place have 4,000+ seating?

The only thing that the Coliseum has going for it is seating capacity, just over 6K I recall. It is dark, cavernous, and the rink is far from the nearest seats.

Aldrich is a good venue, but maybe a little far from most 6AA schools? Plus, it may be booked already for class A games. Not that those games come close to filling Aldrich and could be at other arenas with less seating.

Ridder may well sell out is the 6AA semis were held there (even separately), but it would allow for more spectators. The U may not be able to rent it out for the day(s) required by 6AA.

The problem is that there is not a mid-sized arena in the Twin Cities that is about the size of the Coliseum but without it's drawbacks. The old Saint Paul Auditorium was good. A little dark like the Coliseum, but seated 8K, mostly in the balcony which allowed for very good sight lines. The refrigeration equipment broke down in the early 80"s and the city wasn't able to afford to repair it. Too bad. There were some great Region 3 games there. It was packed to the rafters. North High tool Hill to overtime at least once, and Mariner took Hill's then undefeated team in 1980 to double OT before Hill won. A similar arena has been missing since then.

Aldrich too far away? 7AA and 8AA fans just fell out of their chairs. Anyways, it sounds like the Twin Cities needs a new rink with 6,000-8,000 seats. Would be a nice addition to the Mall of America Phase II expansion. I think they should model it after some of the classic rinks up north like the IRA Civic Center or the Hibbing Memorial Building.

Sorry, NO. The MOA does not need a rink that large. They only need a recreational rink.
There are way too many rinks within a 5 mile radius of the MOA. Richfield, BIG, Braemar, Burnsville and MN Made. That is 12 sheets of ice.
Keep the semis in BIG and Braemar they are fine. If they were to move they should only go to Mariucci.

Oh nice Ridder idea, I like it. They should look into that for future years.

Zamman wrote:Sorry, NO. The MOA does not need a rink that large. They only need a recreational rink.
There are way too many rinks within a 5 mile radius of the MOA. Richfield, BIG, Braemar, Burnsville and MN Made. That is 12 sheets of ice.
Keep the semis in BIG and Braemar they are fine. If they were to move they should only go to Mariucci.

Sections that have their semi-finals in two locations are missing out big time for atmosphere. There's nothing like have 4 groups of fans in the same building. Semi-final Saturday in Duluth is hands down the best high school hockey atmoshere in the state throughout the year and it's not even close.

rapidsrapids wrote:

Zamman wrote:Sorry, NO. The MOA does not need a rink that large. They only need a recreational rink.
There are way too many rinks within a 5 mile radius of the MOA. Richfield, BIG, Braemar, Burnsville and MN Made. That is 12 sheets of ice.
Keep the semis in BIG and Braemar they are fine. If they were to move they should only go to Mariucci.

Sections that have their semi-finals in two locations are missing out big time for atmosphere. There's nothing like have 4 groups of fans in the same building. Semi-final Saturday in Duluth is hands down the best high school hockey atmoshere in the state throughout the year and it's not even close.

Keep in mind that there is one section 6 game and one section 2 game at each rink on that day. So maybe the whole section isn't there but there are 4 groups of fans

starmvp wrote:

rapidsrapids wrote:

Zamman wrote:Sorry, NO. The MOA does not need a rink that large. They only need a recreational rink.
There are way too many rinks within a 5 mile radius of the MOA. Richfield, BIG, Braemar, Burnsville and MN Made. That is 12 sheets of ice.
Keep the semis in BIG and Braemar they are fine. If they were to move they should only go to Mariucci.

Sections that have their semi-finals in two locations are missing out big time for atmosphere. There's nothing like have 4 groups of fans in the same building. Semi-final Saturday in Duluth is hands down the best high school hockey atmoshere in the state throughout the year and it's not even close.

Keep in mind that there is one section 6 game and one section 2 game at each rink on that day. So maybe the whole section isn't there but there are 4 groups of fans

Braemar, BIG, or both?

rapidsrapids wrote:

starmvp wrote:

rapidsrapids wrote: Sections that have their semi-finals in two locations are missing out big time for atmosphere. There's nothing like have 4 groups of fans in the same building. Semi-final Saturday in Duluth is hands down the best high school hockey atmoshere in the state throughout the year and it's not even close.

Keep in mind that there is one section 6 game and one section 2 game at each rink on that day. So maybe the whole section isn't there but there are 4 groups of fans

Braemar, BIG, or both?

What are you asking?

Sorry, read thru it too fast the first time so the answer is both. Well, here's hoping when I'm at the semi-finals in Duluth there is a blizzard that drops 3' of snow in the TC so I can watch the games at Braemar on Sunday or Monday. :p

I'd LIKE to see a mid-sized arena in the Metro area, but I don't for a minute think it's economically feasible. Just not enough demand. There was a proposal for a facility adjacent to the Xcel that would be used by the Wild for practices and I don't recall what kind of seating was discussed. I think the Legislature decided that we didn't need to build the Wild a 2nd arena. Too bad the Coliseum appears to be structurally sound. That would be a good location and get enough use year round to make it financially possible.

Colesium would be great
Noon - 2AA 1 seed vs. 4 seed
2:30 - 6AA 1 seed vs. 4 seed
6:30 - 2AA 2 seed vs. 3 seed
9:00 - 6AA 2 seed vs. 3 seed

Just like a day at state.