So I'm only a part time follower of the sport. But I do watch a few partial games. Irish are good not great this year. But when I looked at the Hockey Poll I see Penn State at #1!! I mean they didn't even have a program a few years ago and now they are #1. I also was shocked to see that Michigan and Mich State are not even ranked, what is up with that? They were a couple of powerhouses with the old CCHA. It is interesting to look at the rankings to see so many teams who don't have anything other than Hockey that is good. Union!! Quinnipac, Denver!! http://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-i-mens-poll/
I visited a friend in Bangor, Maine many years ago and he had gotten out of the Navy and was going to school at the University of Maine. As we drove around the campus, we went past the football stadium. It looked like a mid-sized high school stadium in Hoover. Then he took us to the hockey rink. It is a domed structure built into the ground so that only to roof is above ground. Natural colored wood and holds about 5 or 6 thousand spectators for hockey. Pretty impressive and you could tell which sport brought in the money there. 8)
I know this sounds petty but being raised in Florida, hockey is on par with cricket being played in India. It absolutely was not part of my childhood and I cannot relate to it at all. Does it even have rules or is the goal to push the opponent thru the plexiglass. I wish them well but I do that for the cricket players in India as well. Snow, ice, skates, puck and cool weather is like me asking you what size alligator have you seen lately and have you turned your A/C off the past 10 months... Yeah I know, it's narrow minded but it does not compute or relate....Go men in blue!!! Historical note: The first recorded cricket game played in America was 1742....In Savannah
Oddly enough University of Alabama Huntsville has a decent hockey team in the West Coast Hockey Conference.
Ralph, I'm guessing that you've never been to an NHL hockey game. I was never much of a hockey fan, but when my college roommate took me to a Blackhawks game, I was blown away by the speed, athleticism, and the size of the players. You just can't appreciate those aspects of the game watching on TV. I've been to many minor league hockey gsames over the years, but they seem like boys compared to the men in the NHL.
Sid you may have nailed it as I have never attended a NHL game. Heck if I can watch soccer down to a tie (Oh the agony) I'm sure the excitement of hockey would be much more. Of course the idea of driving to Tampa 2 hours away is another story 8)
NHL hockey is played by a group of men who roughly translate (physically) to NFL RBs, LBs, TEs, CBs and S. The speed and precision they move with is mind numbing and if you're blessed enough to have seats against the glass, the concussion from the hits they deliver will haunt you. It's a sport where attempted murder is basically legal so long as the opponent has his head up and sees you coming. Hockey is truly a 'man's man' kinda game. It's a game in which it's routine for a player to lay themselves out on the ice to block a shot of frozen rubber travelling upwards of 100mph and often take that shot to the neck or face. 2 hard and fast rules will save you in awkward situations. 1. Don't ever fight a wrestler and 2. Don't try to out crazy a hockey player.
Had a hockey goalie on my dorm floor at Purdue (it was a club sport not a varsity sport but nonetheless...) I can vouch for the "don't try to out crazy a hockey player" thing... Oh, and the guy was a concert piano master too. Went by the name of "Gumper". Was a nice guy and smart...but yeah, crazy fits. I played a little intramural hockey at Ohio State...we totally sucked (won one game in three years) but had a lot of fun. One guy on our team was a real hockey player (experience in an industrial league)...the rest of us were just cannon fodder for the other teams.