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12/7/04-
Hockey Tour- Notre Dame
Now that football season is over (at least until I travel to
Pasadena for the Rose Bowl) it's time to turn my attention to Wolverine Hockey.
As I travel to away games I will rate the rinks and give you an idea
of what they're like.
Notre Dame
Last
weekend I made the trek to South Bend, Indiana to visit the campus
of the Notre Dame. This was my second visit to the campus as
earlier this year I saw the Wolverines lose to the Fighting Irish in
football.
Parking
When
you visit the Notre Dame you'll be pleasantly surprised by the
parking situation. It's plentiful, close, and free!
Unfortunately things will go down from here.
Facility
Hockey is played at the Joyce Convocation Center. It's a multi
use facility that houses a number of Notre Dame sports. For
hockey the facility is split roughly in two by a huge curtain with
the hockey rink set up on one side. It reminds you of something
you'd see at a high school. Check that- most of the high
schools in Ann Arbor play at much more suitable facilities.
The overall capacity is a little over 2000 people and seating
includes a
number of bench type bleachers surrounding the
rink.
Concessions
The
concessions were average, nothing special at all. No, Fighting
Irish Communion wafer nachos, no bottles of holy water, just the
normal selection of hot dogs, soda, and popcorn.
Ambiance
This
is a really lame facility. Granted Michigan blew out the Irish
8-0 at the game I attended but the place was as quiet as a tomb. There
was a pep band but they were positioned between the bleachers and
they couldn't see much of the game. You almost expect to peek
behind the curtain dividing the arena and see a bake sale or PTA
meeting. The only recruiting tool the Irish have must be
catholic guilt because I can't imagine ANYONE being impressed with
the tradition or the facilities of this program. The crowd is polite if catatonic.
Other
To
their credit while the facility is hardly suitable for hockey it's
very clean and arena workers are completely professional and
courteous. The arena is located directly adjacent the football
stadium which is an outstanding facility. Looking at the two
facilities it's clear that hockey is definitely a low priority to
Notre Dame. Seeing a game at Notre Dame is being embarrassed
for their hockey team. You almost expect someone to pass a
plate around after the game to collect money for a new arena.
Rankings (1-5) 1 Poor, 3 Average, 5 Superior
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Parking (capacity, convenience, price)
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5
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Facility (sight lines, capacity,
suitability for hockey)
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1
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Concessions (variety, quality)
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3
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Ambiance (tradition, lighting, crowd
participation)
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1
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Other
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2
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Overall
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2
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You're in trouble when the only nice part of visiting your campus
for a hockey game is plentiful and cheap parking!
Go Blue!
Phil
Callihan
UMGoBlue.COM, Editor-in-Chief
phil@umgoblue.com
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Phil Callihan is the Editor-in- Chief of
UMGoBlue.COM. Phil graduated from the University of Michigan
in 1993 and has been a football season ticket holder since 1994.
Full Bio
Read More of Phil's Columns
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