UConn MHOC headed to the 2026 NCAA Ice Hockey Tournament >Game 1 @Worcester Regional v. MIchigan State Spartans (3/26/26 @1:30p on ESPN2/FoxSports97.9

[FfldCntyFan]

There are a handful of nits that could be picked, but this is not the time to do it.

Thus team, all of the players have a tremendous amount to be proud of. We ended up being inches away of winning our conference tournament, then got eliminated (barely) by the best goalie in the country, to the #3 team (who was preseason #1).

We have some younger players who should return and play larger roles and we have set a foundation that can help take us to where we will nationally significant for many years.

We need to appreciate what we've seen the past couple of seasons and anticipate taking the next step in the very near future.

 

[Bomber36]

Hockey East knocked out of the tourney on day one.

 

[TagTen901]

Hockey East knocked out of the tourney on day one.

Yhea I think it's going to be a all teams from out west. I don't think quinnipiac has a chance against North Dakota!

 

[RSTuthill]

Hockey East knocked out of the tourney on day one.

This year for HE was the amount of parity. There were not the two or three teams better than all the rest. Thus the league struggled to compete at the highest level.

The other thing to consider is that in HE there are no teams whose schools are running a football program surplus, whereas all the BIG schools appear to be. That makes a big difference in how much they can invest in recruitment and player compensation. There is a rapidly developing oligarchy as a result of the new landscape.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[The Viking]

Give credit to channel 8. Their coverage of UConn hockey is far greater than the other local networks.
Perhaps its their proximity to QU and Yale that causes them to commit time to the sport. Its always great to see.

 

[zls44]

How was attendance today? There were no attendance numbers in the box score.

With tickets at over $71.00 you weren't going to get many casual fans.

It was actually pretty good. I'd say about 3-4k for UConn's game?

Tickets were $20 less at the door btw.

 

[Bomber36]

It was actually pretty good. I'd say about 3-4k for UConn's game?

Tickets were $20 less at the door btw.

This is why…fees…ridiculous fees. Also I agree on attendance. Probably close to 4K.

 

[RSTuthill]

At those prices I am almost glad I was under the weather and couldn't go.

 

[Bomber36]

At those prices I am almost glad I was under the weather and couldn't go.

Well, it was technically for 2 games. I had no intention of staying for the 2nd game but I saw a lot of Dartmouth and Wisconsin folks at our game. It was worth it to be there. There was a lot of excitement in the air and the pregame reception was packed with many of the players parents and lots of fans. The photos I posted didn’t do the crowd justice. By the time I left, there were no tables left and you had to pick your way thru a dense crowd of revelers at the bar just to get out. It was a great atmosphere, I just wish I was doing it again tomorrow.

 

[TagTen901]

Give credit to channel 8. Their coverage of UConn hockey is far greater than the other local networks.
Perhaps its their proximity to QU and Yale that causes them to commit time to the sport. Its always great to see.

Yhea no other news stations really cover UConn hockey. They will show highlights once I a while but they never show interviews. All they care about is basketball and when geno retires people are going to have a rude awakening. Yes they win still but they won't win every game!

 

[JwittersPAC]

This year for HE was the amount of parity. There were not the two or three teams better than all the rest. Thus the league struggled to compete at the highest level.

The other thing to consider is that in HE there are no teams whose schools are running a football program surplus, whereas all the BIG schools appear to be. That makes a big difference in how much they can invest in recruitment and player compensation. There is a rapidly developing oligarchy as a result of the new landscape.

But if revenue sharing is really capped at $21 million then the schools that do not play football can spend more money on hockey. That is the rational in stating Big East should be able to spend more money on basketball than P4 schools.

 

[RSTuthill]

But if revenue sharing is really capped at $21 million then the schools that do not play football can spend more money on hockey. That is the rational in stating Big East should be able to spend more money on basketball than P4 schools.

Isn't there a percentage of gate receipts restriction too?

 

[RSTuthill]

Yhea no other news stations really cover UConn hockey. They will show highlights once I a while but they never show interviews. All they care about is basketball and when geno retires people are going to have a rude awakening. Yes they win still but they won't win every game!

The Hartford area stations are firmly oriented to UConn round ball and are more likely to do stories on QU hockey (with a recent nattie) than UConn. But that is understandable given the history. On hockey night in Storrs in the early 1990's we used be watching a game, all 200 of us friends and family and very unusual fanatics, and the folks leaving Gampel would come streaming past on the way home rubbernecking to see what the hell was going on over there. UConn has a hockey team? And I remember standing by the glass at Enfield Twin rinks and getting tidbits about the championship game from other parents. Basketball has a much longer history in the high profile atmosphere. But hockey is slowly getting there.

 

[JeannoCT]

Hockey is the best sport. No doubt about it.

 

[RSTuthill]

Hockey is the best sport. No doubt about it.

Well, skiing is the BEST sport, but hockey is a close second. Interesting tidbit, UConn has a great ski team. Even though it functions as a club sport it competes against varsity teams in the USCSA, the de facto equivalent of D-3 in skiing. They won the Women's GS event at the nationals at Whiteface a couple weeks ago.