Just saw this article that was written after the UMass Lowell game.
"The attendance last night was 6,855 on a night when a majority of the state was at home watching the New England Patriots and Baltimore Raven NFL Playoff game. Between stoppages in play on the ice, droves of people at the game made their way onto the XL Center concourses to watch the flat screens over the concourse concession stands. During the first intermission of the hockey game almost everyone was on the concourse watching the last few minutes of the Patriots game, half of the televisions on the concourse were switched to football while the other half showed the game on the ice.
Drawing people to Hartford while up against the NFL for any event is tough but last night's attendance was not only impressive but it increased the attendance average of UConn games in Hartford. Hockey East games in Hartford have helped UConn become the third most watched Hockey East team. The average in Hartford increased from 6,188 to 6,285 over five games.
The Governor has stated that he wants all Hockey East games to be played at the XL Center going forward. The attendance in Hartford makes a strong case for keeping Hockey East games in Hartford. I don't think many predicted this kind of interest. I know I never spoke to anyone who told me that UConn would draw this well in there first year. UConn's future at the XL Center will become even more interesting when the Capital Region Development releases a study on options of what to do with the building in the future. UConn is currently not under contract but if UConn and Hockey East like what they see in the new plans whose to say they do not decide to keep some Hockey East games in Hartford, similar to how the UConn Basketball team handles their games at the XL Center.
There used to be a question if Hartford could support a losing team but the attendance for UConn has been great. UConn is 7-10-1 overall, but the win last night gave them a .500 record against Hockey East teams(4-4-1).
UConn's performance in Hartford has been quite remarkable. They shut out Boston College 1-0 and now have shut out UMass-Lowell 2-0 at a time when both teams were nationally ranked in the top six.
http://www.examiner.com/article/hartford-hockey-fans-get-treated-to-another-uconn-upset
"The attendance last night was 6,855 on a night when a majority of the state was at home watching the New England Patriots and Baltimore Raven NFL Playoff game. Between stoppages in play on the ice, droves of people at the game made their way onto the XL Center concourses to watch the flat screens over the concourse concession stands. During the first intermission of the hockey game almost everyone was on the concourse watching the last few minutes of the Patriots game, half of the televisions on the concourse were switched to football while the other half showed the game on the ice.
Drawing people to Hartford while up against the NFL for any event is tough but last night's attendance was not only impressive but it increased the attendance average of UConn games in Hartford. Hockey East games in Hartford have helped UConn become the third most watched Hockey East team. The average in Hartford increased from 6,188 to 6,285 over five games.
The Governor has stated that he wants all Hockey East games to be played at the XL Center going forward. The attendance in Hartford makes a strong case for keeping Hockey East games in Hartford. I don't think many predicted this kind of interest. I know I never spoke to anyone who told me that UConn would draw this well in there first year. UConn's future at the XL Center will become even more interesting when the Capital Region Development releases a study on options of what to do with the building in the future. UConn is currently not under contract but if UConn and Hockey East like what they see in the new plans whose to say they do not decide to keep some Hockey East games in Hartford, similar to how the UConn Basketball team handles their games at the XL Center.
There used to be a question if Hartford could support a losing team but the attendance for UConn has been great. UConn is 7-10-1 overall, but the win last night gave them a .500 record against Hockey East teams(4-4-1).
UConn's performance in Hartford has been quite remarkable. They shut out Boston College 1-0 and now have shut out UMass-Lowell 2-0 at a time when both teams were nationally ranked in the top six.
http://www.examiner.com/article/hartford-hockey-fans-get-treated-to-another-uconn-upset
