Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

Eaves jokes that he might buy a sombrero and attach baseball caps to the top to symbolize all the different hats he wears now.

Some stuff never changes.

[Toe Blake]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

Some stuff never changes.

Better be careful......that kind of thing qualifies as "cultural appropriation" at St.Olaf........

[GBBadger14]

I'd be very interested to know if Blais is correct here...

Dean Blais' thoughts on @BadgerMHockey, via @matthewsemisch at @USCHO https://t.co/sf3jz2H787 pic.twitter.com/o1Znf4dYEz

— Todd Milewski (@ToddMilewski) December 1, 2016

[GBBadger14]

FWIW, Osiecki also retweeted it.

[Crainer]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

Gameday!!

[MadCityRich]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

Right On, Crainer.

These guys are really fun to watch; it's amazing how the energy is way up over the past 2 years, however, I'm very disappointed in the attendance so far. I just hope that the attendance amps up after this weekend when the football team secures a spot in a MAJOR bowl and the Big 6 schedule starts. Squeaky-shoe-ball has been solid for years and will always get their 17,000. It would be so cool to get at least 10,000 actual butts-in-the-seats at upcoming hockey games (I know it will be tough this time of year), and then a steady increase through the season end. I think the athletic dept is trying, but should try to do even more. It's pretty sad seeing a half full (I'm a glass half full guy) Kohl Center.

From a fan's perspective, we are 10+ years out from a consistent, winning program except for a couple good years. That means a 16 year old and under kid cannot remember success from Badger hockey. Some of us have grown up kids knowing nothing but a winning program, some of us have young kids who see (saw) nothing but a stagnant program. I have "made" hockey fans simply by taking them to games. I know it's not cheap these days, but take a "newby" to a game. Explain the game. I've used, "Other than walking into Lambeau Field on a sunny day, smelling and seeing that dark green turf, is there anything more stunning than The Bob Johnson rink just after resurfacing?"

Yep I'm a hockey nerd, geek, whatever you want to call it. We "old timers" talk about the good ol' days of Badger hockey. Let's ****ing try to get it back.

EDIT: Today I'm going to the luncheon put on by the Wisconsin Hockey Backers. I'm very curious to see how many will be in attendance.

[GBBadger14]

Right On, Crainer.

These guys are really fun to watch; it's amazing how the energy is way up over the past 2 years, however, I'm very disappointed in the attendance so far. I just hope that the attendance amps up after this weekend when the football team secures a spot in a MAJOR bowl and the Big 6 schedule starts. Squeaky-shoe-ball has been solid for years and will always get their 17,000. It would be so cool to get at least 10,000 actual butts-in-the-seats at upcoming hockey games (I know it will be tough this time of year), and then a steady increase through the season end. I think the athletic dept is trying, but should try to do even more. It's pretty sad seeing a half full (I'm a glass half full guy) Kohl Center.

From a fan's perspective, we are 10+ years out from a consistent, winning program except for a couple good years. That means a 16 year old and under kid cannot remember success from Badger hockey. Some of us have grown up kids knowing nothing but a winning program, some of us have young kids who see (saw) nothing but a stagnant program. I have "made" hockey fans simply by taking them to games. I know it's not cheap these days, but take a "newby" to a game. Explain the game. I've used, "Other than walking into Lambeau Field on a sunny day, smelling and seeing that dark green turf, is there anything more stunning than The Bob Johnson rink just after resurfacing?"

Yep I'm a hockey nerd, geek, whatever you want to call it. We "old timers" talk about the good ol' days of Badger hockey. Let's ****ing try to get it back.

I'm only 25, but my favorite attendance story to tell is from back when the 2nd half tickets went on sale at a later date when I was in high school (probably a year or two after the '06 natty) and I drove home during my lunch hour so I could get online and buy tickets to a minnesota game right when they went on sale and I still only managed to get 3rd deck corner seats.

I also remember going to that game and being amazed at how the student section was full up through most of the third deck and the second deck wrapped all the way around to 210. I was already hooked on badger hockey, but that played a big part in me wanting to attend UW.

I think that was also the game Kyle Turris scored one handed on a contested breakaway and made sportscenter.

[gwhinwi]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

It is going to take time to get people back into the seats. I know if I was in town I would have bought season tickets this year, but as it is, I'm incredibly happy with the games that I've been able to watch online.

People will be back to see the games once the team starts winning on a regular basis again. This season should do wonders to getting the numbers ramping back up again, but in the mean time, they could do some more promotions to try and get people back into the building. A red-out against Minnesota or something like that (with discounted tickets) could really get some energy back into the program. Hopefully the marketing people aren't sleeping at the switch.

[WiscDC]

Right On, Crainer.

These guys are really fun to watch; it's amazing how the energy is way up over the past 2 years, however, I'm very disappointed in the attendance so far. I just hope that the attendance amps up after this weekend when the football team secures a spot in a MAJOR bowl and the Big 6 schedule starts. Squeaky-shoe-ball has been solid for years and will always get their 17,000. It would be so cool to get at least 10,000 actual butts-in-the-seats at upcoming hockey games (I know it will be tough this time of year), and then a steady increase through the season end. I think the athletic dept is trying, but should try to do even more. It's pretty sad seeing a half full (I'm a glass half full guy) Kohl Center.

From a fan's perspective, we are 10+ years out from a consistent, winning program except for a couple good years. That means a 16 year old and under kid cannot remember success from Badger hockey. Some of us have grown up kids knowing nothing but a winning program, some of us have young kids who see (saw) nothing but a stagnant program. I have "made" hockey fans simply by taking them to games. I know it's not cheap these days, but take a "newby" to a game. Explain the game. I've used, "Other than walking into Lambeau Field on a sunny day, smelling and seeing that dark green turf, is there anything more stunning than The Bob Johnson rink just after resurfacing?"

Yep I'm a hockey nerd, geek, whatever you want to call it. We "old timers" talk about the good ol' days of Badger hockey. Let's ****ing try to get it back.

EDIT: Today I'm going to the luncheon put on by the Wisconsin Hockey Backers. I'm very curious to see how many will be in attendance.

I was hopeful for some better crowds earlier this year, but I was never expecting much. Even 5-10 years ago, attendance got better as the year went on.

As I've written many times before, a whole cycle of students went through UW without much - if any - exposure to what you (i.e. everyone reading this) think of as "college hockey" and "Wisconsin Badgers hockey." Remember, it's not like if the football or basketball team is garbage for a long time. College hockey doesn't have the same place in American sports, which is how a legitimately elite team (2013-14) went unnoticed by most sports fans - including a decent amount of hockey fans - on and around campus.

This really is like building a new program, because if they just said, "hey, we're back," the response would be "who are you?"

It was good to see local media make an immediate increase in coverage of UW hockey. Even the State Journal bringing on Milewski and FS-Wisconsin scheduling non-simulcast games again were shocking, in a good way.

What you said about taking a newbie to a game is obviously critical. It's how you get a program started (which is how we have to treat it). It turns UW Hockey from something someone is vaguely aware of into something they've seen in person. It becomes a "thing" (that's the technical term in both psychology and marketing) in their view of sports. Obviously, the more people there, the better the game's atmosphere. Even in the student section, where it fills row-by-row, seeing a full arena makes UW hockey present itself as a much bigger and more significant "thing."

I often stand near fans who are obviously new, and seeing their reactions to everything - particularly the silly things - is fantastic. It reminds me of getting my first impressions as a freshman. (Obviously, the loud/passionate things make an impact, but they don't yield funny reactions. ) That spirit is still there, but we need to slowly get more people into it. Realistically, if a big jump in enthusiasm was going to happen this year, it would be next semester. It's tough to remember that sports fans, in general, have no clue how great UW hockey can be. Heck, even at games with the worst attendance, it makes an impression.

Now, would the "old people" please stand UP when we ask for it? And at a bare minimum, yell "let's go red" and help Phil with "we want more!"

[WiscDC]

It is going to take time to get people back into the seats. I know if I was in town I would have bought season tickets this year, but as it is, I'm incredibly happy with the games that I've been able to watch online.

People will be back to see the games once the team starts winning on a regular basis again. This season should do wonders to getting the numbers ramping back up again, but in the mean time, they could do some more promotions to try and get people back into the building. A red-out against Minnesota or something like that (with discounted tickets) could really get some energy back into the program. Hopefully the marketing people aren't sleeping at the switch.

And you're a part of a relatively small minority - someone not going to games but who is a big fan who very actively follows the team. Most other people won't be buying all the tickets instantaneously.

[gwhinwi]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

And you're a part of a relatively small minority - someone not going to games but who is a big fan who very actively follows the team. Most other people won't be buying all the tickets instantaneously.

Yep. It'll take time. If they want to schedule games down here in Georgia, I'll definitely take groups of people to those. heh.

[WiscDC]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

A couple more thoughts:

Regarding first impressions, I'm really hoping they can scrape together some kind of a band and not leave it empty like the last football championship conflict. Tonight, too...I'm not sure when they're traveling, but I remember a Friday when the bare minimum stayed behind on the Friday night for the volleyball 2nd round match.

Also, a matchup with Omaha should be fun. Even beyond their actual team, I think of them as being an established, relevant program, despite starting in the '90s. Those few years in the WCHA were when I was getting into UW hockey, so that - and knowing they have a strong fan base and competitive team - has always made them a more relevant opponent in my mind. This year's matchup should be high scoring, right? Too bad Frederic is out.

[MadCityRich]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

RE: today's luncheon...I would guess about 100 fans there....Dean Blais was funny as hell. After years of seeing this guy stand stoically behind an opponent's bench, it was quite amusing to see another side. Posick was the host: folks this guy is good. (We're very fortunate to have him, Matt Lepay, and Wayne Larrivee in our market.) He knew stats and game situations that blew my mind. Even Tony G looked to him for an occasional ensuring nod. Saw some old friends and shared some old time stories. Met some new friends and some former players my family and I were fans of. All of them took time to talk. I never met Adam Burish before very nice guy; very friendly. When we were talking, Mrs. MCR was staring at him like I stare at Sofia Vergara. I had to remind her Burish is only a handful of years older than MCRJr....like that mattered.

Regarding Coach Granato; all I can say is, if my surgically repaired knees were able, I would've strapped on my old Bauer Custom Supreme 2000's, grabbed by Northland Pro, (yes I said Northland Pro, punks), my visor-less and cage-less CCM bucket, and gone out and kicked some ***. If you can, I highly recommend you attend the next one when the goofs invade Madison.

EDIT: The BTHC was mentioned.....there was a lot of mumbling and booing in the room.

[KaMiGo]

Gonna be a rough night. No band, at all. And it looks like a pretty sizable group made the trip from Omaha, looks like they fill up most of section 210.

[Innova]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey, Vol II: Rebuild, Refresh, and Renew!

What happened to the btn feed?