Attendance Totals for HE First Round Playoff Games

[FDNY99]

@brasssbonanzaa called this a while back....
Mass @ BU 1725 (spring break started for BU...lowest attended men's hockey game in history at Agganis)
UNH @ Merrimack 2210
Maine @ Northeastern 1191
UVM @ UConn 4045
(I got these numbers form the box scores posted on USCHO)

Nice showing last night for UConn...thought it could of been better BUT in the whole scheme of things not too bad. I'm sure HE Commissioner Joe Bertagna is smiling this morning seeing that attendance number from the newest team in his league.

 

[Dooley]

Good crowd last night. When UConn shoots at our end (student section/band end), the building seems to be a bit louder. Hoping there will be 5-6K tonight but doubling up the other games is still a good statement for our program.

 

[uconnphil2016]

I found it surprising how few Catamount fans were in the building...I figured with it being a weekend playoff matchup there would be plenty of folks making the trek down from VT

 

[The Viking]

Damn, BB called it.
Was talking to someone at the game last night who said he was disappointed in the fans - I shared with him BB's insight and he didn't seem to care.
If I see him tonight I'll let him know about these other attendances.

 

[Dooley]

I found it surprising how few Catamount fans were in the building...I figured with it being a weekend playoff matchup there would be plenty of folks making the trek down from VT

Me too. Maybe tonight. Saturday gives them more time to drive down and they're up 1-0 in the series so a little more incentive. I hope a few more come down, would add to the atmosphere!

 

[ct06111]

I found it surprising how few Catamount fans were in the building...I figured with it being a weekend playoff matchup there would be plenty of folks making the trek down from VT

I'll bet you'll see more tonight. Anywhere in VT is a 2+ hour ride to Hartford. With most getting out of work around 4-5, it would be tough to make a Friday game especially the north country round burlIngton. It was tough driving to UNH on a Friday last playoff series up there and making it on time . Got there late 1st period.

Glad we broke 4K last night. Wish it was more, but not bad with less than a week of knowing it would even happen. Other than the UNH game at home, we stunk in the 2nd half of season and with the booing and garbage play, I could understand the casual fan writing them off.

Great crowd during 1st and 3rd period. Understanding that we attack twice on that side making it louder, but we gotta get loud during the 2nd. Organic cheers from student section. Seemed to die off during 2nd. Our play didn't help during the 2nd, but cheering and getting loud helps. It was dead during 2nd.

Crazy story: the guy sitting behind me was telling the story of the last whalers game and how he was crying like a baby, and then right in the middle of the story that live puck goes right into his beer!!! Got beer all over my jersey!
Either a omen of the whalers coming back or telling him, hey UConn is our team now... (UConn husky logo was on the puck).

 

[Dooley]

Crazy story: the guy sitting behind me was telling the story of the last whalers game and how he was crying like a baby, and then right in the middle of the story that live puck goes right into his beer!!! Got beer all over my jersey!
Either a omen of the whalers coming back or telling him, hey UConn is our team now... (UConn husky logo was on the puck).

So you sit by the corner tunnel that the visiting coaches come out of to get to their bench? That dude who caught the puck in his beer probably got the loudest cheer of the period. Was dead until that point. I sit in 112 a few rows in front of the band and had a good view of the whole thing.

 

[FDNY99]

I'll bet you'll see more tonight. Anywhere in VT is a 2+ hour ride to Hartford. With most getting out of work around 4-5, it would be tough to make a Friday game especially the north country round burlIngton. It was tough driving to UNH on a Friday last playoff series up there and making it on time . Got there late 1st period.

Glad we broke 4K last night. Wish it was more, but not bad with less than a week of knowing it would even happen. Other than the UNH game at home, we stunk in the 2nd half of season and with the booing and garbage play, I could understand the casual fan writing them off.

Great crowd during 1st and 3rd period. Understanding that we attack twice on that side making it louder, but we gotta get loud during the 2nd. Organic cheers from student section. Seemed to die off during 2nd. Our play didn't help during the 2nd, but cheering and getting loud helps. It was dead during 2nd.

Crazy story: the guy sitting behind me was telling the story of the last whalers game and how he was crying like a baby, and then right in the middle of the story that live puck goes right into his beer!!! Got beer all over my jersey!
Either a omen of the whalers coming back or telling him, hey UConn is our team now... (UConn husky logo was on the puck).

I saw that guy stand up holding his cup crowd cheering....

 

[ct06111]

So you sit by the corner tunnel that the visiting coaches come out of to get to their bench? That dude who caught the puck in his beer probably got the loudest cheer of the period. Was dead until that point. I sit in 112 a few rows in front of the band and had a good view of the whole thing.

Yea, I sit at bottom of 107. Nice chunk of the glass got chipped right near me too. Aiming for me... Lol

 

[Adios]

Should be there tonight.

Was at Dartmouth last night. Speaking of the drive from VT/NH, I had to leave when the game went into OT because of the drive. Those UVM fans do have a long drive to Hartford.

If we draw 4000 on a consistent basis for the playoffs, we're fine.

 

[huskymedic]

LOL... Spin away:

MikeMcMahonCHN11:15am via TweetDeck

Last night's HEA attendance by capacity %
MC-UNH (86.7%, 2,210)
UConn-UVM (50.3%, 4,045)
BU-UMass (24.3%, 1,752)
NU-Maine (19.9%, 1,191)

MikeMcMahonCHN11:22am via TweetDeck
Also re: attendance, the % I'm using for UConn is based on 8,089 as a sellout. That's what was listed for BC-UConn last year as a "sellout"

 

[Adios]

He should be railing against Penn State. They might make the NCAA tournament already.

 

[ct06111]

I saw that guy stand up holding his cup crowd cheering....

People were going crazy. Some kid went all the way down the stairs to tell him: your beer just got natty iced! Oh, college...
The puck was right under my seat, but I let him have it cause his son normally sitting right next to him was waiting at the airport. Plus, he just bought that 9.00 beer. Sammy A

Glad it didn't hit me. I was 1/2 paying attention, ducked cause I knew it might come my way, but didn't have my eye on it at all. People were going crazy, but I was in shock cause it was really friggin close to my head.

 

[The Viking]

LOL... Spin away:

MikeMcMahonCHN11:15am via TweetDeck

Last night's HEA attendance by capacity %
MC-UNH (86.7%, 2,210)
UConn-UVM (50.3%, 4,045)
BU-UMass (24.3%, 1,752)
NU-Maine (19.9%, 1,191)

MikeMcMahonCHN11:22am via TweetDeck
Also re: attendance, the % I'm using for UConn is based on 8,089 as a sellout. That's what was listed for BC-UConn last year as a "sellout"

What's his point of doing that? Is he trying to say Merrimack has a better fanbase?
It's not like 2K people stayed home cuz they thought it would be a sellout.

 

[huskymedic]

What's his point of doing that? Is he trying to say Merrimack has a better fanbase?
It's not like 2K people stayed home cuz they thought it would be a sellout.

He is the Merrimack College Hockey guy: "Senior writer @chnews. Covering Merrimack College for The @EagleTrib since 2006."

 

[FDNY99]

LOL... Spin away:

MikeMcMahonCHN11:15am via TweetDeck

Last night's HEA attendance by capacity %
MC-UNH (86.7%, 2,210)
UConn-UVM (50.3%, 4,045)
BU-UMass (24.3%, 1,752)
NU-Maine (19.9%, 1,191)

MikeMcMahonCHN11:22am via TweetDeck
Also re: attendance, the % I'm using for UConn is based on 8,089 as a sellout. That's what was listed for BC-UConn last year as a "sellout"

I guess this is what happens when you are the "local" expansion add...you start recruiting in the same terrority as the "establishment" and taking kids away from them. You have the $$/support from the AD that only a few of the elite have in the conference.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Damn, BB called it.
Was talking to someone at the game last night who said he was disappointed in the fans - I shared with him BB's insight and he didn't seem to care.
If I see him tonight I'll let him know about these other attendances.

That guy you talked to is a complete fool. The QFs next week, outside of a possible UML-BU series, will be awful as well, even at BC and ND. Historically, only when nontraditional teams host big-name opponents, or when teams hosting for the first few times, like UConn are the numbers good.

For reference, last year ND hosted UMass in the octofinals, and barely got 4K. UNH barely got 3,500. And those numbers were both....massaged, to say the least. BU's number last night actually was true, the place as really only about 30% full if that. Most schools that are pretty guaranteed to host a first round or QF series will include the tickets for those with the season ticket package, so the attendance numbers they announce can include all of those as "tickets distributed" when in reality many of those people don't show up, hence the numbers fromo ND and UNH above being a big massaged. They're not incorrect, but by no means represent how many were actually there. BU, for whatever reason, did not include the tickets with the season ticket package this year so all Season ticket holders had to go onto their accounts this week and buy them, which very few did so they couldn't even pretend like those tickets were distributed last night when they were not.

Edit - I went back and looked at last year's numbers, BC's series with UVM they didn't go above 3,500 once against UVM. UML had Notre Dame in town and only barely got above 4K Friday and Saturday. Getting a playoff series at home against Notre Dame for a program like Lowell is a HUGE thing, as it would be for UConn. I can't imagine if ND were in Hartford this weekend there'd only be 4K at XL.

Point being, these first round and QF series nationwide have been attendance drags for years. Even North Dakota, the Kentucky of college hockey, who sells out EVERY game and has hoards of fans, had 1,000+ seats unsold for both of their QF home games last year.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

He is the Merrimack College Hockey guy: "Senior writer @chnews. Covering Merrimack College for The @EagleTrib since 2006."

McMahon is one of the most level-headed college hockey reporters in the country. He's by no means a homer of anyone despite being primarily a Merrimack beat reporter. In no uncertain terms would (nor has he) ever claim that Merrimack has a large fanbase.

 

[huskymedic]

McMahon is one of the most level-headed college hockey reporters in the country. He's by no means a homer of anyone despite being primarily a Merrimack beat reporter. In no uncertain terms would (nor has he) ever claim that Merrimack has a large fanbase.

Agree on MM reporting - he does a good job. I wasn't insinuating that he was claiming MC had a huge fan base but just pointing out the fact that he used % of capacity to point out the MC number in comparison to total attendance. Cuts both ways when you have a "home rink" the size of the XL.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Agree on MM reporting - he does a good job. I wasn't insinuating that he was claiming MC had a huge fan base but just pointing out the fact that he used % of capacity to point out the MC number in comparison to total attendance. Cuts both ways when you have a "home rink" the size of the XL.

Yeah, ranking by percentage wasn't the best idea. It's more an indictment of Merrimack that they can't sellout a home playoff game, something quite infrequent up there, when their place only holds 2,400 and the opponent is half an hour over the state line.

 

[FDNY99]

4572 was the attendance for tonight. 8617 total for 2 games (4308.5 Avg.)...not too bad. I thought the number would be over 5000 tonight with most of the center ice sections pretty full.