Frankly, the nearly 8K at XL Saturday for the BU game was not an advantage. That may have been an anomaly - football game, early start time, whatever, but the atmosphere was putrid except for the short part of the 3rd where it was a game. I wrote in the other thread, you could hear the buzzing of the HVAC system over the crowd during play. That same=sized crowd at Mullins in UMass, with many, many more students makes the place a snake pit. Many VERY good teams have gone into Mullins and lost to terrible UMass teams, in large part due to their raucous crowd. Heck, even BU's world-beating 2009 team got curbstomped 5-1 there that season. Unless they can open the whole facility and sell it, the cavernous nature of XL really doesn't make for a good environment, even with the curtaining. Plus, it just looks minor league. UConn's in the pros of college hockey now, they should play in a facility that looks up to and above standard with the rest of the league. XL is not that place. The best option for the program, the team, the recruiting, the coaching, the practice setup, ability to schedule and be on television is a top of the line 5-6K facility in or around Storrs. Some of you may have to drive a bit farther, but either suck it up and do it, or don't waste your time following the program. UConn-Hartford didn't join Hockey East, UConn did. The only people who benefit from playing in Hartford are politicians and fans who don't want to drive. Every other successful hockey program in the country does this. Heck, just about every other hockey program in the country, period, plays on or very near campus. I can't think of one off hand who doesn't.
