Looking back at my recent 3 arena trip to Quebec finds me reflecting on the highs and lows. Of course a trip to the old Province means some delectable dining treats in the Poutine and some communication challenges in figuring out the language. Luckily I survived and am able to tell the tale on these pages. In the next couple weeks I will do detailed reviews of the 3 new arenas attended: 1- Pavillon De La Jeunesse in Quebec City, 2- Arena Jacques Plante in Shawinigan, and 3- The surprisingly fun and virtually unknown Arena Grand-Mere in Grand-Mere (loosely translated Grand-Mere means "Big Mama"). The trip was a success overall and also allowed for return visits to LNAH arenas in St Jean and St Hyacinthe for photos so I can do reviews on those previously visited arenas as well. Now for the highs and lows:
Assist of the game- thanks to hockeyfights.com poster Simon Fortin for the fun conversation during the Radio X game in Quebec. It was a blast talking to him and you should all check out his webpage http://ca.youtube.com/user/simonfortin2 where he posts videos of all of the Quebec Radio X fights. (This is the LNAH, so there are plenty). Again Simon- Nice to meet you buddy!
Game winning goal- This award goes to the Arena Jacques Plante itself, as this ancient barn, which is in its last year of use in the QMJHL, is now my new favorite arena and the highlight of my trip. I will save the details for the arena review, but needless to say this place exudes hockey atmosphere like few other places in the world. Mark this place down as a must see, but do it soon as you only have until December of 2009.
Save and a beauty!- After shuffling my hotel reservations to avoid a blizzard (I guess I didnt really avoid it, but was able to get a game in under awful weather circumstances) I am super glad to have visited the Arena Grand-Mere for some LCH action. This semi-pro league is a feeder for the LNAH. This barn was a pleasant treat as I had no information on the place except for the address, and had no idea what to expect. Even the outside of the building did not elude to the fact that inside was as old school of a hockey barn as you will find. The game experience was a blast as well, although not exactly family friendly as there were as many fights in the stands as on the ice. Gotta give these fans credit though, they love their team. The 7 mile drive back to the hotel in Shawinigan was white knuckles to say the least, as had I not kept my car moving through the blizzard like conditions and lightning I would surely been trapped on the roadway, as I found many motorist to be when I watched the news the next morning. Scary for sure, but a memorable experience.
Now for the penalties:
Delay of game- Well actually not delay of game, but delay getting to the game as I was amazed how bad the traffic is in Quebec City. The 1.6 miles from my hotel to the arena for the Radio X game took exactly 47 minutes. Much of the delay was at the Quebec Expocite itself, as they had horse racing also going on this evening. Needless to say it wasnt much fun to sit in traffic however.
Roughing- this goes to both the Quebec Radio X and their opponent the Sherbrooke St Francis. Not that roughing is a bad thing, but the problem was that there was not a single fight in the LNAH game. That is virtually unheard of in this most pugilistic of all hockey leagues. An additional downer was that one of my all time favorite players, Curtis Tidball of the Radio X was a scratch, along with most of the tough guys for both teams. I did get a chance to shoot the breeze with Tidball, and we discussed his former home team my Elmira Jackals. Still seeing him drop the gloves would have been more enjoyable than talking to him in street clothes. You still have to give the warriors of the LNAH credit as the go to battle every night. I just happened to catch them on an off night.
Game misconduct- This goes to the LNAH for the weather cancellation of the game in Trois Rivieres due to the severe blizzard the night before. I had no idea of the cancellation until I arrived at the rink, and by the time I found out it was too late to make a backup plan, so unfortunately this trip yielded 1 less arena than I had planned.
That's it for my brief recap of the Quebec trip. Look for full reviews in the Arena and Roadtrip report section shortly.
As I sit here completing this update to my site I am hit with the fact that 3 of the arenas I attended this year can now be classified as "former arenas" at least as far as minor league hockey is concerned. When I read about the announcement of the MAHL's formation I was pretty excited. Why wouldn't I be? After all it meant 5 more cities would have the ability to have teams of their own in the coolest sport there is. I also liked the fact that most of the 5 teams were small towns, figuring that the locals would rally around the teams as there are not a whole lot of other hockey options in these areas (Valley Forge excluded as it is close to both Reading and Philly). Having attended the arena in Jamestown previously for a preseason Erie Otters game I also felt that was an ideal venue for a lower level team.
After attending a Vikings game just before Christmas, and then a Mon Valley game a couple days later on the same road trip I immediatley had some doubts on the viability of the league. Jamestown had an OK crowd, but Mon Valley had a crowd you could actually count by simply looking around the empty building. I was impressed with the effort put forth by the players, as I was when I attended a game in Indiana last month. (I made getting to as many MAHL rinks as I could a priority as honestly I didnt think I would get the chance next year at quite a few of these rinks. Sadly I missed out on Wooster and Valley Forge).
So what went wrong? The style of play was good. It was about what you would expect from single A level hockey. I think the answer lies in that lack of financial support the league had. A league where all 5 teams are league owned seemed doomed from the start, although the majority of teams did find local owners. On my visits to these games there seemed to be little to no marketing or advertising. I realize that no team owned their arena, and many had unfavorable leases, but why was there not a single ad on the boards of any of the 3 rinks I attended? I would think if a team sold advertising and sponsors came forward to put their names on the boards, or ice, or game programs, etc that everyone would benefit. There was also little to no promotional give aways at the games. There were barely any between period contests to get the casual fans interested. I honestly do not know how much local advertising in print or on radio was done, but I can draw a conclusion that it was not enough. I had a discussion with the fan who named the Ice Miners and was surprised to find out there were no radio broadcasts for the games. Come on- our local high schools have their games on the radio, how come a professional team would not figure that was important? I also think the ticket prices were a bit high for the level of entertainment the games offered. I am not referring to the games themselves, but rather the game day experience as there were no mascots, sometimes no music during the stoppages, and the games did not really have a professional feel to them. The ticket prices were a catch 22 however as small arenas like Indiana would need to be standing room only to break even as the seating capacity was so low. The teams did a lot right including having all players greet the fans after each game. I think accessibility to the players in small townd like these is a good way to sell the sport.
The next theory may ruffle some feathers, but I will mention it anyway. How many people go to single A level hockey to see the skating and passing? I'm gonna guess not very many. I think the league could have found a niche by marketing the rough stuff. The first ever game in the league had a bunch of fights, including a goalie fight. Although attendance was never released by the league I am gonna guess that the second Vikings game had a bunch more fans after they heard about all the fighting. These are small town teams, and I am guessing that the fans would enjoy old time hockey. There were guys like Joe Pelle for Valley Forge who put up a bunch of fighting majors, but did anyone who did not get on the MAHL forums know about it? Granted there was not much marketing to begin with, but marketing which even vaguely eluded to "old time hockey" could have brought in the fans. Not having any Canadian players may have hurt the draw a little, but I dont think that would have mattered if the league was marketed correctly.
I think that single A hockey could be a good draw, and although the MAHL has said they will reorganize and come back next year I have serious doubts. Starting a league or franchise would clearly be a money losing proposition for the first couple years, and I am not sure the supporters have deep enough pockets to sustain the league through the rough times. Also with the recent incident of the Jamestown players trashing a local landmark hotel, and the fact that this is the second league that went belly-up on Jamestown I dont think anyone will be too eager to try it again, so there goes the facility which was best suited for minor league hockey in this league.
Overall I am bummed that it did not work out, and glad that I was able to attend games at 3 of the 5 arenas and document them on this site. I feel bad for fans in the towns that had teams the most as they, along with the players who played without pay at the end of the season, are the real losers here. This is not the first league to bite the dust however, and will surely not be the last.
As we sit here the last couple weeks listening to the Democrats talk endlessly about change things keep plugging along here at RTR.
I have a couple recent arena visits to update, and have photos now to add a Lewiston Colisee review. I also need to muster enough composure to add some retro reviews of arenas I had visited last season, and a couple arenas I have attended with some regularity in nearby Elmira.
Since we're on the subject of change here are 3 changes I would like to see:
1- Have the NCAA get rid of the silly rule that requires players to wear the full cage. Lets think about this for a few minutes- I have attended college games this year at Elmira, Morrisville, Colgate, Oswego State, and Cortland. Each game had teams made up of about half, and in some cases 75% of players who prior to attending college played Junior A in Canada. If these guys could play with just a visor starting at age 16 in Canada why is it unsafe for them to do so now? I gotta think that the Canadians arent too fond of the full cage, and neither am I.
2- Lets get rid of Gary Bettman. I am tired of hearing how we need to attract new fans to hockey. Whats is wrong with the fan base the sport has had for the last 30 years or more? By watering down and wussifying the current game they seem to be alienating their core base of fans, yet do not seem to be attracting too many new folks. If its fancy skating Euros you want go to the Icecapades! I dont have a whole lot of interest in spending $50-$75 or more to sit in the cheap seats to watch the NHL anyway. The minors and Junior leagues do it for me, and the atmosphere at most College rinks certainly cannot be duplicated at a 18000 seat corporate palace.
3- Lets get back to the old days of marketing the rough stuff! Although overall fighting majors seem to be slightly up this year in most leagues there is still too much NHL influence on the game. I would like to see some US teams market their tough guys just like they do in the LNAH. Whats wrong with using the enforcer as the main ambassador for the team? Shouldn't the newspaper and print adds play upon prior fights in rivalry match ups? I guess I am just hoping the fighting aspect of the game is not lost.
I will be sure to watch the upcoming debates and see if any of the above become campaign promises. If not I will keep rolling along enjoying every minute of hockey season.
