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December 30, 2016

NCAA Division I Hockey: Hockey East conference: attendance map (2015-16 regular season), with arena capacities, percent-capacities & NCAA D1-hockey titles listed.

Filed under: Hockey,NCAA, ice hockey,NCAA, ice- Hockey East — admin @ 3:46 pm

ncaa_ice-hockey_hockey-east-conference_attendance-map_2015-16_12-teams_post_c_.gif
NCAA Division I Hockey: Hockey East conference: attendance map (2015-16 regular season), with arena capacities, percent-capacities & NCAA D1-hockey titles listed
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By Bill Turianski on 30 December 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.

Links…
-Conferences…Division I in ice hockey.
-Teams in Hockey East, etc…Hockey East (en.wikipedia.org).
-My recent post of D1-hockey (map with all 60 teams & 2015-16 attendance.

Conference-maps for NCAA Division I (aka D1) men’s ice hockey
(Note: already-posted D1-hockey conference maps are linked-to, below.)
I have made a location-map for each of the 6 D1-hockey conferences, which are…
∙Atlantic Hockey Association (11 teams/est. 1998-99/ zero titles).
∙Big Ten Conference hockey (6 teams [7-teams in 2017-18]/est. 2013-14/ 23 titles won amongst its six teams).
∙ECAC Hockey (12 teams/est. 1961-62/ 7 titles won amongst its twelve teams).
∙Hockey East Association (12 teams [11 teams in 2017-18]/est. 1984-85/ 13 titles won amongst its twelve teams).
∙National Collegiate Hockey Conference (aka NCHC) (8 teams/est. 2013-14/ 18 titles won amongst its eight teams).
∙Western Collegiate Hockey Association (aka WCHA) (10 teams/est. 1951-52/ 8 titles won amongst its ten teams).

…
The location-map here shows the 12-team Hockey East conference.
The Hockey East conference has teams spread throughout the 6 New England states, plus Notre Dame in Indiana – but Notre Dame will be leaving the Hockey East conference after the 2016-17 season, to join Big Ten Conference hockey {for that, see my post on Big Ten conference hockey}.

Once Notre Dame leaves (after 2016-17), Hockey East will once again be based entirely in the New England states…
Hockey East has 6 teams from Massachusetts. One is based in the central region of the state: UMass (of Amherst, MA/which is 75 miles west of Boston). 5 teams are based in the College-hockey-Mecca of Greater Boston…with Boston University and Northeastern in Boston, proper; and 3 teams in Greater Boston…Boston College (of Chestnut Hill, MA/6 miles west of downtown Boston), UMass-Lowell (of Lowell, MA/23 miles north), and Merrimack College [of North Andover/33 miles north of the Hub]). One team is located in Vermont (Vermont [of Burlington, VT, which is on the eastern side of Lake Champlain]). One team is located in New Hampshire (UNH or New Hampshire [of Durham, NH, which is just east of Manchester, NH and is a few miles inland from Portsmouth, NH, and is 54 miles north of Boston]). One team is located in Maine (Maine [of Orono, ME, which is 115 miles north-east and inland from Portland, ME]). One team is located in Rhode Island (Providence [of Providence, RI, which is 41 miles south of Boston]). And one team is located in Connecticut (UConn – aka Connecticut [of Storrs, CT, with the team playing home games 26 miles west in Hartford, CT]).

The map…
The map is based on my recently-posted 60-team NCAA D1-hockey location-map {see it here}. The 12 Hockey East teams’ crests, colors and locations are shown on the map. Each team’s color-circle, which radiates out from their location-dot, is sized to represent average attendance…the larger the circle, the higher the team’s average attendance. Crowd-size-rank within the 60-team-D1 is also noted – by the number next to the team-name on the map and on the attendance-list. (North Dakota is the highest-drawing D1-hockey team, currently.)

The chart at the right side of the map page shows attendance data. Along with average attendances of the Hockey East teams (2015-16 home regular season figures), arena sizes and percent-capacities are listed. Also shown, below the attendance data, is a list showing all D1-hockey titles which have been won by teams that currently play in the conference (in this case, all titles won by teams in Hockey East). Finally, at the lower-right of the map-page is a chart showing all D1-hockey teams’ titles and Frozen Four appearances (39 of the 60 D1-hockey teams).

Hockey East was established in 1984-85…
Hockey East was formed in 1984-85, by five former ECAC teams: the Boston College Eagles, the Boston University Terriers, the New Hampshire Wildcats, the Northeastern Huskies, and the Providence Friars. These 5 decided to create their own league, because of scheduling concerns (they feared that the Ivy League teams in the ECAC would form their own conference, but that never came about). It also cannot be denied that the Hockey East set-up has decreased travel costs among its member-teams (seeing as it is basically a New-England-only-based conference). Before Hockey East’s inaugural season started in the fall of 1984, two more teams joined the new conference: the Maine Black Bears and the UMass-Lowell River Hawks. The Merrimack Warriors joined Hockey East in 1989-90. The UMass Minutemen joined Hockey East in 1994-95. The Vermont Catamounts joined Hockey East in 2005-06. And the UConn Huskies joined in 2014-15.

Of the top 20-drawing D1-hockey teams, 7 are from Hockey East.
#8-best-drawing UMass-Lowell River Hawks draw in the mid-5-K-range (5,592 per game and at a solid 93.2 percent-capacity in their 6-K-capacity arena). UConn draws 5.1K, Boston College draws 4.9 K, New Hampshire draws 4.8 K, Boston University draws 4.3 K, and Maine (the 20th-highest drawing D1-hockey team), draws 3.9 K. (Note: soon-to-be-departed-for-the-Big-Ten Notre Dame also draws in the top 20, at 4.9 K in their 5.0-K-capacity arena, for a very good 94.6 percent-capacity.) One other note: Providence and Vermont both play to some of the best percent-capacities in D1-hockey…2015 champs Providence basically play to sold-out crowds these days, drawing 2.9 K in their 3.0-K-capacity arena at 98.3 percent-capacity; while Vermont is 21st-highest-drawing D1-hockey team at 3.8 K in their 4.0-K-capacity arena, for an outstanding 95.7 percent-capacity.

In the 32 seasons since Hockey East was formed, there have been 9 D1-hockey titles won by Hockey East teams.
Those 9 titles have been won by 4 teams…the Boston College Eagles, with 4 [of their 5] D1 titles won as a Hockey East team (in 2001, 2008, 2012, and 2014); the Maine Black Bears, with both of their D1 titles won as a Hockey East team (in 1993 and 1999), the Boston University Terriers, with 2 [of their 5] D1 titles won as a Hockey East team (in 1995 and 2009); and the Providence Friars, who won their first D1-hockey title two seasons ago in 2015. So, that means Hockey East has won 28 percent of the last 32 D1-hockey titles, since its inception. That shows you that Hockey East is one of the elite D1-hockey conferences.

Hockey East has also produced 14 other D1-championship-game-finalists. As far as Final Four appearances go, 9 of the 12 Hockey East teams have made it to the Final Four at least once, with Boston College having made the most Final Four appearances of all the D1-hockey teams: 25 times, including last year (2016). Boston University also has a large number of Final Four appearances: 22 (last in 2015). To round out the rest…Maine has made 11 Final Four appearances (last in 2007). New Hampshire has made 7 Final Four appearances (last in 2003). Providence has made 4 Final Four appearances (last in 2015). Vermont has made 2 Final Four appearances (last in 2009). U-Mass Lowell made a Final Four appearance in 2014. And Northeastern made a Final Four appearance in 1982. (Notre Dame has made 2 Frozen Four appearances (last in 2011).)
___
Thanks to all at the following links…
-Thanks to AMK1211 for blank map of USA, ‘File:Blank US Map with borders.svg”>File:Blank US Map with borders.svg‘ (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Thanks to Two Hearted River at en.wikipedia.org/[each teams' page at Wikipedia], for small segments of jersey illustrations of several teams (Wisconsin, Minnesota-Duluth, Cornell, Maine, Minnesota State, Vermont, Yale, UMass, Western Michigan, Canisius College, American International), such as at File:ECAC-Uniform-Cornell.png.
-Thanks to USCHO site for attendance data, Men’s Division I Hockey Attendance: 2015-2016 (uscho.com).

December 26, 2016

NCAA Division I Hockey: Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA): attendance map (2015-16 regular season), with arena capacities, percent-capacities & D1-hockey titles listed.

Filed under: Hockey,NCAA, ice hockey,NCAA, ice- Western (WCHA) — admin @ 9:53 pm

ncaa_ice-hockey_wchc-conference_attendance-map_2015-16_16-teams_post_b_.gif

NCAA Division I Hockey: Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA): attendance map (2015-16 regular season), with arena capacities, percent-capacities & D1-hockey titles listed

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By Bill Turianski on 26 December 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.

Links…
Conferences…Division I in ice hockey.
WCHA teams, etc…Western Collegiate Hockey Association (en.wikipedia.org).

Conference-maps for NCAA Division I (aka D1) men’s ice hockey
(Note: already-posted D1-hockey conference maps are linked-to, below.)
I am making a location-map for each of the 6 D1-hockey conferences, which are…
∙Atlantic Hockey Association (11 teams/est. 1998-99/ zero titles).
∙Big Ten Conference hockey (6 teams [7-teams in 2017-18]/est. 2013-14/ 23 titles won amongst its six teams).
∙ECAC Hockey (12 teams/est. 1961-62/ 7 titles won amongst its twelve teams).
∙Hockey East Association (12 teams [11 teams in 2017-18]/est. 1984-85/ 13 titles won amongst its twelve teams).
∙National Collegiate Hockey Conference (aka NCHC) (8 teams/est. 2013-14/ 18 titles won amongst its eight teams).
∙Western Collegiate Hockey Association (aka WCHA) (10 teams/est. 1951-52/ 8 titles won amongst its ten teams).

The location-map here shows the 10-team Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA).
The WCHA has teams spread through 5 states, some of which are extremely far apart: 4 teams from Michigan (Ferris State, and 3 teams from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech, and Northern Michigan), 2 teams from Minnesota (Minnesota State [Mankato] and Bemidji State), 2 teams from Alaska (Alaska-Anchorage and Alaska-Fairbanks), 1 team from Ohio (Bowling Green), and 1 team from Alabama (Alabama-Huntsville).

The map…
The map is based on my recently-posted 60-team NCAA D1-hockey location-map {see it here}. The WCHA hockey teams’ crests, colors and arena-locations are shown on the map. Each team’s color-circle, which radiates out from their location-dot, is sized to represent average attendance…the larger the circle, the higher the team’s average attendance. Crowd-size-rank within the 60-team-D1-hockey is also noted – by the number next to the team-name on the map and on the attendance-list. (North Dakota is the highest-drawing D1-hockey team, currently.)

The chart at the right side of the map page shows attendance data. Along with average attendances of the WCHA teams (2015-16 home regular season figures), arena sizes and percent-capacities are listed. Also shown, below the attendance data, is a list showing all D1-hockey titles which have been won by teams that currently play in the conference (in this case, all titles won by teams in the WCHA). Finally, at the lower-right of the map-page is a chart showing all D1-hockey teams’ titles and Frozen Four appearances (39 of the 60 D1-hockey teams). (Michigan has the most D1-hockey titles, but the Wolverines have not won a D1-hockey title in eighteen years (last in 1998); meanwhile, with North Dakota winning the title last season (2015-16), they have moved past Denver up to second-most D1-hockey titles, with 8. The D1-hockey team with the most Frozen Four appearances is the Boston College Eagles, with 25.)
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Division I NCAA hockey was instituted in 1948.
(Division I NCAA hockey titles, 1948 to 2015-16/ 69 titles.)

    The D1-hockey realignment saw the WCHA turn from a major conference into a mid-minor…

The WCHA is extremely different from what it was before 2013 – the WCHA now has a vast (and frankly unwieldy) spread of teams: in Alaska, Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio {see WCHA former-members and WCHA timeline}. The WCHA was once one of the most elite D1-hockey conferences. That can be seen simply by the fact that the WCHA owns the record for the most D1-hockey titles…36 D1-hockey titles have been won by WCHA teams. But the vast majority of those titles – 27 D1-hockey titles – were won by four of the biggest D1-hockey teams, all of whom opted to leave the WCHA in 2013…Denver (with 7 D1-hockey titles won as a WCHA member), North Dakota (also with 7 D1-hockey titles won as a WCHA member), Wisconsin (with 6 D1-hockey titles won as a WCHA member), and Minnesota (with 5 D1-hockey titles won as a WCHA member). Also leaving the WCHA in 2013 were every other team that had fanbases sizable enough to draw above 4-K-per-game (Duluth, Colorado College, Nebraska-Omaha, St. Cloud). Leaving all the small schools left in the conference (Alaska-Anchorage, Bemidji State, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State, Northern Michigan). Then 5 schools, four of them refugees from the implosion of the CCHA, all ended up in the re-vamped and gutted new WCHA. All were from schools whose D1-hockey teams had fanbases which did not have the ability to draw above 3-K-per-game. (Alaska-Fairbanks, Alabama-Huntsville, Bowling Green [Ohio], Ferris State [Michigan], and Lake Superior State [Upper Peninsula of Michigan].) So the once-powerhouse WCHA was turned into a completely-small-school conference, and travel costs were guaranteed to go up, because of the unwieldy spread of the teams now in the conference.

If you want to know how that all happened, well, blame mid-major-program paranoia spiced with a dose of greed (shown by the schools that bolted to the new NCHC), combined with Penn State’s general bull-in-china-shop behavior, and Minnesota’s D1-hockey front office (who ignored the fans’ wishes to keep local rivalries) and ditto Wisconsin…in other words blame the Big East. As it says in the following article, Big Ten shaking up college hockey, just not on the ice, “The Western Collegiate Hockey Association is a shell of its former self and bleeding money since Minnesota and Wisconsin left. Six other former WCHA schools — including 2015 Frozen Four participants North Dakota and Nebraska-Omaha — left to start the National Collegiate Hockey Conference because of concerns that they would be overshadowed by the Big Ten if they stayed.” (quote from article by Eric Olson at Detroit Free Prees/ freep.com on Feb. 26 2016).

Many puck fans in the Twin Cities feel this way, as the following two articles suggest…
-Big Ten hockey is a buzzkill for fans in Minnesota – Plenty of fans aren’t buying what new hockey league is selling (by Rachel Blount at startribune.com on Feb. 26 2016).
-Breaking Up the WCHA: the NCAA’s Worst Mistake Yet (by Alexandra Werner at freshu.io on Nov. 24 2015).

The inclusion of Penn State as a D1-hockey team led to the 2011-2013-era realignment in D1-hockey. The shakeup in D1-hockey conferences occurred in much the same way (and in nearly the same time-period) as the recent realignments in NCAA D1-football and in NCAA D1-basketball. After the dust had settled in D1-hockey, there was 6 conferences instead of 5, and one conference was dissolved – the Central Collegiate Hockey Associaition (CCHA). (The CCHA existed as a D1-hockey conference from 1973-2013; five teams left the CCHA to join the WCHA in 2013-14: Northern Michigan, Alaska Fairbanks, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior State). And another conference was, for all intents and purposes, asset-stripped: the WCHA.

The conference that ended up most diminished in stature, after the D1-hockey realignment, was the WCHA.
The WCHA ended up losing 8 teams in 2013…Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota, Omaha, St. Cloud State, and Wisconsin. Basically all the teams that left the WCHA in 2013 were the big-title-winning teams-and-/-or-the-higher-drawing-teams…those aforementioned big-drawing/title-winning teams (Denver, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin); an up-and-coming D1-hockey team: Minnesota-Duluth (who were D1-hockey champions in 2011, and were the 5th-highest-drawing D1-hockey team in 2015-16); and another high-drawing (though relatively new and title-less) team, Nebraska-Omaha, who are the fourth-highest-drawing team these days in D1-hockey. The sad fact of the matter is that none of the teams now in the WCHA draw higher than 3.7-K-per-game. And no current WCHA team has won the D1-hockey title in more than two decades. The most-recent D1-hockey title-winner from the present-day WCHA was Lake Superior State 22 years ago, in 1994.

And no WCHA team has made it to the Frozen Four since the 2013 realignment that gutted the WCHA. The most-recent Frozen Four team from the WCHA was the St. Cloud Huskies in 2013 (but St. Cloud is also now in the NCHC). I don’t know how you can see it otherwise: the practical upshot of the 2013 realignment is this… the big boys (Big Ten and Minnesota and Wisconsin and Penn State), got to dictate terms, and the result was that all the biggest teams bolted from two conferences (the now-defunct CCHA and the now-asset-stripped WCHA). And just left many of the small-school D1-hockey teams to twist in the wind. In a conference which makes no geographical sense, amid a realignment that makes no sense except for the big boys. A realignment that has confused the whole D1-hockey world with unanswered questions. Like, for starters, why is Air Force Academy – of Colorado Springs, CO – still in the Atlantic conference and not in the NCHC or the WCHA? Or why, exactly, should the 5 D1-hockey teams from the state of Minnesota be in THREE different conferences? Or why, exactly, should the 7 D1-hockey teams from the state of Michigan also be in THREE different conferences? Or why would you throw away a great rivalry like North Dakota versus Minnesota? I thought the whole concept of realignment meant to consolidate, not to Balkanize.

And meanwhile, Big Ten hockey teams are underperforming since the realignment.
I find it interesting that since the realignment, no Big Ten D1-hockey teams have made it to the Frozen Four (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16: 3-seasons/16-spots, and zero Big Ten teams in the Frozen Four). Meanwhile, by its very far-flung and patched-together and decidedly-small-school nature, the WCHA has now become doomed to near-total obscurity. And travel costs have gone up around 40% per team in the WCHA since realignment {again, see this article, Big Ten shaking up college hockey, just not on the ice}. The WCHA used to make a healthy profit for its schools; now it is deep in the red, with announced losses of over a million dollars last season {see last link}. And so many great Upper Midwest D1-hockey rivalries were abandoned. For example, most-if-not-all Minnesota hockey fans would rather see their Golden Gophers versus North Dakota or Wisconsin or Duluth (or Bemidji or St. Cloud), not versus friggin’ Penn State or Ohio State. Penn State has been a big success in D1-hockey, but do you really think that would be the case without their sugar daddy (Pegula) ?. And besides, Penn State is in an entirely different region to Minnesota, with very little cultural overlap. And the embarrassing attendances for Big Ten D1-hockey conference finals bear this out – thanks to the fact that the University of Minnesota crammed the Big Ten D1-hockey concept down the throats of lifelong and multi-generational Minnesota-college-hockey-fans, who just want to see the Gophers play their real rivals, all of whom are within an easy road-trip away. Not in Pennsyl-tucky or in the part of Ohio that only cares about college football and basketball. Don’t get me started on the viability of Ohio State as a D1-hockey power…because the vast majority of people in central and south-central Ohio do not care about hockey. At all.

Post-realignment, there has been no real practical advantage gained for the teams outside the NCHC and the Big Ten.
Sure the NCHC teams are doing OK, but that is because they all ABANDONED THE SMALL SCHOOLS. And there’s no extra television revenue or exposure for any other D1-hockey teams outside the Big Ten, because D1-hockey has no significant television footprint, while the Big Ten has its own regional, and powerful, television network. The Big Ten network has no interest in promoting D1-hockey – it only has an interest in promoting Big Ten teams. D1-hockey is a niche sport. D1-hockey is extremely tied to ticket-paying support, not to television exposure. Local rivalries are the lifeblood of niche-sports, like D1-hockey, which depends heavily on ticket-paying support. Minnesota Golden Gophers fans’ displeasure can be seen in this quote from the first article I linked to, “The actual number of tickets scanned per game also has fallen since the Gophers left the WCHA, from 8,162 in 2012-13 to 7,604 last year. Scalpers outside Mariucci [Arena] say they are getting $15 for tickets with a face value of $45, and many go unsold even at that price. The Big Ten tournament has been a disappointment, too, with attendance a fraction of the 87,295 that packed Xcel Energy Center [in St. Paul, MN] for the last WCHA tournament in 2013.” (quote from Big Ten hockey is a buzzkill for fans in Minnesota – Plenty of fans aren’t buying what new hockey league is selling – (by Rachel Blount at startribune.com on Feb. 26 2016).

So, 3 years into the realignment, because of very poor ticket sales, especially in D1-hockey conference finals these past few years, now here’s three D1-hockey conference presidents acknowledging as much: WCHA pushing to to team with Big Ten, NCHC in conference finals (by David McCoy at minnesota.cbslocal.com on March 20 2016).

How long until people start talking about the realignments that need to be made in D1-hockey to correct the Balkanized realignment of 2013?
___
Thanks to all at the following links…
-Thanks to AMK1211 for blank map of USA, ‘File:Blank US Map with borders.svg”>File:Blank US Map with borders.svg‘ (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Thanks to Two Hearted River at en.wikipedia.org/[each teams' page at Wikipedia], for small segments of jersey illustrations of several teams (Wisconsin, Minnesota-Duluth, Cornell, Maine, Minnesota State, Vermont, Yale, UMass, Western Michigan, Canisius College, American International), such as at File:ECAC-Uniform-Cornell.png.
-Thanks to USCHO site for attendance data, Men’s Division I Hockey Attendance: 2015-2016 (uscho.com).

December 21, 2016

NCAA Division I Hockey: ECAC Hockey: attendance map (2015-16 regular season), with arena capacities, percent-capacities & NCAA D1-hockey titles listed.

Filed under: Hockey,NCAA, ice hockey,NCAA, ice- ECAC — admin @ 8:42 pm

ncaa_ice-hockey_ecac-conference_attendance-map_2015-16_12-teams_post_f_.gif
NCAA Division I Hockey: ECAC Hockey: attendance map (2015-16 regular season), with arena capacities, percent-capacities & NCAA D1-hockey titles listed
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By Bill Turianski on 21 December 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.

Links…
-Teams in ECAC, etc…ECAC Hockey (en.wikipedia.org).
-Official site…ecachockey.com/men/index.
-Conferences…Division I in ice hockey.
-USCHO page for ECAC Hockey…uscho.com/conference/ecac.
…

Conference-maps for NCAA Division I (aka D1) men’s ice hockey
(Note: already-posted D1-hockey conference maps are linked-to, below.)
I am making a location-map for each of the 6 D1-hockey conferences, which are…
∙Atlantic Hockey Association (11 teams/est. 1998-99/ zero titles).
∙Big Ten Conference hockey (6 teams [7-teams in 2017-18]/est. 2013-14/ 23 titles won amongst its six teams).
∙ECAC Hockey (12 teams/est. 1961-62/ 7 titles won amongst its twelve teams).
∙Hockey East Association (12 teams [11 teams in 2017-18]/est. 1984-85/ 13 titles won amongst its twelve teams).
∙National Collegiate Hockey Conference (aka NCHC) (8 teams/est. 2013-14/ 18 titles won amongst its eight teams).
∙Western Collegiate Hockey Association (aka WCHA) (10 teams/est. 1951-52/ 8 titles won amongst its ten teams).

Division I NCAA hockey was instituted in 1948.
(Division I NCAA hockey titles, 1948 to 2015-16/ 69 titles.)
The inclusion of Penn State as a D1-hockey team led to the 2011-2013-era realignment in D1-hockey. The shakeup in D1-hockey conferences occurred in much the same way (and in nearly the same time-period) as the recent realignments in NCAA D1-football and in NCAA D1-basketball. After the dust had settled in D1-hockey, there was 6 conferences instead of 5, and one conference was dissolved – the Central Collegiate Hockey Associaition (CCHA). (The CCHA existed as a D1-hockey conference from 1973-2013; the two teams which left the CCHA to join the brand-new NCHC are listed two paragraphs below.) (Note: there is one Independent D1-hockey team, Arizona State.)

Since 2013-14, there are two new conferences in D1-hockey:
∙Big Ten Conference hockey,
∙National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).

The location-map here shows the twelve-team ECAC hockey conference…
Formed in 1961-62, the ECAC D1-hockey conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United States. This relationship ended in 2004; however, the ECAC abbreviation was retained in the name of the hockey conference. The ECAC was the only D1 men’s hockey conference that remained unchanged during the major conference realignment in 2011 and 2012.

The ECAC has teams spread through 6 states in the Northeast and in New England…6 teams from New York (Clarkson, Colgate, Cornell, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Union College), 2 teams from Connecticut (Quinnipiac and Yale), 1 team from Massachusetts (Harvard), 1 team from Rhode Island (Brown), 1 team from New Hampshire (Dartmouth), and 1 team from New Jersey (Princeton). (There are 6 Ivy League teams in the ECAC: Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Yale. The Ivy League does not have a D1-hockey conference, but each season the best-finisher of the 6 wins the Ivy League D1-hockey title.)

There are 5 distinct two-team clusters in the ECAC. Two teams are located in Central New York, situated 55 miles apart: Colgate (of Hamilton, NY) and Cornell (of Ithaca , NY). Two teams are located in the St. Lawrence Seaway area of Northern New York, situated 10 miles apart: Clarkson (of Potsdam, NY) and St. Lawrence (of Canton, NY). Two teams are located in the Capital/Tri-Cities region of New York, situated 14 miles apart: Rensselaer (of Troy, NY) and Union College (of Schenectady, NY). Two teams are located in south-eastern New England, situated 41 miles apart: Brown (of Providence, RI) and Harvard (of Cambridge, MA). And two teams are located in south-central Connecticut, situated just 5 miles apart: Quinnipiac (of Hamden, CT) and Yale (of New Haven, CT).

The map…
The map is based on my recently-posted 60-team NCAA D1-hockey location-map {see it here}. The 12 ECAC teams’ crests, colors and locations are shown on the map. Each team’s color-circle, which radiates out from their location-dot, is sized to represent average attendance…the larger the circle, the higher the team’s average attendance. Crowd-size-rank within the 60-team-D1 is also noted – by the number next to the team-name on the map and on the attendance-list. (North Dakota is the highest-drawing D1-hockey team, currently.)

The chart at the right side of the map page shows attendance data. Along with average attendances of the 12 ECAC teams (2015-16 home regular season figures), arena sizes and percent-capacities are listed. Also shown, below the attendance data, is a list showing all D1-hockey titles which have been won by teams that currently play in the conference (in this case, all titles won by teams in the ECAC). Finally, at the lower-right of the map-page is a chart showing all D1-hockey teams’ titles and Frozen Four appearances (39 of the 60 D1-hockey teams). (Michigan has the most D1-hockey titles, but the Wolverines have not won a hockey title in eighteen years (last in 1998); meanwhile, with North Dakota winning the title last season (2015-16), they have moved past Denver up to second-most D1-hockey titles, with 8. The D1-hockey team with the most Frozen Four appearances is the Boston College Eagles, with 25.)

Five ECAC teams have won D1-hockey titles.
The Rensselaer Engineers of Troy, NY were champions in 1954, and then three decades later, in 1985, RPI won their second title. The Cornell Big Red, of Ithaca, NY, won two D1-hockey titles in a four-year span, in 1967 and in 1970. The Harvard Crimson, of Cambridge, MA, won the 1989 D1-hockey title. And the Yale Bulldogs, of New Haven, CT, were recently D1-hockey champions, in 2013. The 2013 D1-hockey final was contested between two ECAC teams, with Yale defeating nearby rivals Quinnipiac 4-0. And then the following year (2014), the tiny Union College Dutchmen (with about 2,100 undergraduates), won the D1-hockey title…without even having one scholarship player. That, to me, sums up the beauty of D1-hockey. Where minnows can run rampant.

The most recent Frozen Four appearance by an ECAC team was by Quinnipiac in 2016. Overall, Harvard boasts the most Frozen Four appearances by an ECAC team, with 12 (but none since 1994). 11 of the 12 ECAC teams have made it to a Frozen Four, with the exception being Princeton. Last season three ECAC teams qualified for the 16-team D1-hockey tournament – Quinnipiac, Yale, and Harvard.
___
Thanks to all at the following links…
-Thanks to AMK1211 for blank map of USA, ‘File:Blank US Map with borders.svg”>File:Blank US Map with borders.svg‘ (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Thanks to Two Hearted River at en.wikipedia.org/[each teams' page at Wikipedia], for small segments of jersey illustrations of several teams (Wisconsin, Minnesota-Duluth, Cornell, Maine, Minnesota State, Vermont, Yale, UMass, Western Michigan, Canisius College, American International), such as at File:ECAC-Uniform-Cornell.png.
-Thanks to USCHO site for attendance data, Men’s Division I Hockey Attendance: 2015-2016 (uscho.com).
-Thanks to Distance From To site.
-Thanks to FreePik.com (free photo vectors) at freepik.com/free-photos-vectors/shield, for shield-template to make Harvard VE-RI-TAS hockey jersey shoulder-patch-logo.

December 11, 2016

NCAA Division I Hockey: the Atlantic Hockey Conference (AHC): attendance map (2015-16 regular season), with arena capacities, percent-capacities.

Filed under: Hockey,NCAA, ice hockey,NCAA, ice- Atlantic Conf — admin @ 7:00 pm

ncaa_ice-hockey_atlantic-hockey-conference_attendance-map_2015-16_11-teams_post_d_.gif
NCAA Division I Hockey: the Atlantic Hockey Conference (AHC): attendance map (2015-16 regular season), with arena capacities, percent-capacities
…


…

By Bill Turianski on 11 December 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.

Links…
Conferences…Division I in ice hockey.
Teams in Atlantic Hockey, etc…Atlantic Hockey (en.wikipedia.org).
-USCHO.com Atlantic Hockey blog (uscho.com).

Conference-maps for NCAA Division I (aka D1) men’s ice hockey
(Note: already-posted D1-hockey conference maps are linked-to, below.)
I am making a location-map for each of the 6 D1-hockey conferences, which are…
∙Atlantic Hockey Association (11 teams/est. 1998-99/ zero titles).
∙Big Ten Conference hockey (6 teams [7-teams in 2017-18]/est. 2013-14/ 23 titles won amongst its six teams).
∙ECAC Hockey (12 teams/est. 1961-62/ 7 titles won amongst its twelve teams).
∙Hockey East Association (12 teams [11 teams in 2017-18]/est. 1984-85/ 13 titles won amongst its twelve teams).
∙National Collegiate Hockey Conference (aka NCHC) (8 teams/est. 2013-14/ 18 titles won amongst its eight teams).
∙Western Collegiate Hockey Association (aka WCHA) (10 teams/est. 1951-52/ 8 titles won amongst its ten teams).
…

The location-map here shows the eleven-team Atlantic Hockey Conference (AHC).
The AHC has teams spread through four Northeastern states, plus Colorado. There are 4 teams from New York (Canisius College, Niagara, Rochester Institute of Technology [RIT], US Military Academy [Army]), 3 teams from Massachusetts (American International University [AIC], Bentley, Holy Cross), 2 teams from Pennsylvania (Mercyhurst and Robert Morris), 1 team from Connecticut (Sacred Heart), and 1 team from Colorado (US Air Force Academy).

The map…
The map is based on my recently-posted 60-team NCAA D1-hockey location-map {see it here}. The Atlantic Hockey teams’ crests, colors and arena-locations are shown on the map. Each team’s color-circle, which radiates out from their location-dot, is sized to represent average attendance…the larger the circle, the higher the team’s average attendance. Crowd-size-rank within the 60-team-D1 is also noted – by the number next to the team-name on the map and on the attendance-list. (North Dakota is the highest-drawing D1-hockey team, currently.)

The chart at the right side of the map page shows attendance data. Along with average attendances of the 11 Atlantic hockey teams (2015-16 home regular season figures), arena sizes and percent-capacities are listed. At the lower-right of the map-page is a chart showing all D1-hockey teams’ titles and Frozen Four appearances (39 of the 60 D1-hockey teams).

Of the eleven Atlantic Hockey teams, eight of them are in the bottom ten of D1-hockey attendance…
Not only is Atlantic Hockey full of teams that are decidedly small-program, there are no D1-hockey titles won among its eleven teams. But there are four teams in Atlantic Hockey which are filling their small arenas pretty well. The Mercyhurst Lakers (of Erie, PA) are playing to sell-out crowds most games (they drew 1.2 K in their 1.3-K-capacity arena last season). And the Air Force Falcons, the RIT Tigers, and the Holy Cross Crusaders are all drawing above 75 percent-capacity.

I suspect most teams in Atlantic Hockey do not benefit from much local newspaper coverage or from local television-sports-news coverage, and this contributes to low attendance. Here is an article from the Buffalo News from March 2015, which discusses this, BNRinkside: College hockey attendance analytics (by Amy Moritz at buffalonews.com). In that article it is said that “Atlantic Hockey could do better to promote itself, not just nationally but in its own markets.” But how? If the local media aren’t covering Atlantic Hockey teams because they draw so low, how do you get people to know you even exist? It is a Catch-22-situation that ends up dooming low-drawing Atlantic Hockey teams to small crowds, thanks to a non-existent media footprint. In other words, they don’t get any local news coverage because they draw so poorly, and they draw so poorly because they don’t get any local news coverage.

That being said, there are a few teams in Atlantic Hockey that enjoy decent coverage in their local newspaper, like my hometown’s team, the RIT Tigers (see 2 paragraphs below). And like the Holy Cross Crusaders (of Worcester, MA), as this write-up of a recent game shows. And like Air Force (of Colorado Springs, CO)/see this. And like the two Greater Buffalo-based teams (Canisius College and Niagara)/see this.

But many teams in Atlantic Hockey, like the Robert Morris Patriots (of Moon Township, Greater Pittsburgh, PA), get very spotty coverage (like a report on a game a week ago, but no report on the Robert Morris game versus Bentley on Dec. 10th). Or gets none at all (note how at that link there is a section for the minor-league soccer team [Pittsburgh Riverhounds], but no section at all for any Robert Morris sports teams). And the same can be said – for a complete lack of media coverage – of the two Atlantic Hockey teams within the Greater New York City area: the Sacred Heart Pioneers (of Fairfield, CT) and the Army Black Knights (of West Point, NY). Ditto for the Bentley Falcons (of Waltham, MA), in Boston. I could not find any coverage of the AIC Yellow Jackets in the Springfield, Massachusetts television and print media. And it looks like the Mercyhurst Lakers get less coverage than local high school hockey and the Erie Otters (who play in the Ontario Hockey League and draw 4 times what Mercyhurts draws/see this recent OHL map I made).

In my hometown – Rochester, NY – that is actually not the case, and the RIT Tigers hockey team gets pretty solid coverage in the local newspaper, and from the local cable 24-hour news channel, as well as the local network-television stations (like this: RIT hockey toger toss and this: RIT Hockey Loses Series Against Providence). But that is because my hometown is a real anomaly. Rochester has a population of around 1.1 million in its metro-area (making it the 54th largest city in the USA/see this). Despite that, Rochester is one of the two largest city/metro-areas in the USA without even a D1-college basketball team, let alone any major league teams, or a D1-football team. (The only other city of equal-or-greater-size with that same situation is Grand Rapids, MI [52nd-largest-city in the USA], which also has no major league teams, or D1-football teams, or D1-basketball teams.)

So when the RIT Tigers hockey team made the leap up, from Division III to Division I in 2005, it was relatively big news in my sleepy town, because Rochester finally had a D1 team, albeit only in hockey. But Rochester is a hockey town (the Rochester Amerks are the second-oldest team in the AHL and are the nearby Buffalo Sabres’ top farm team). Now in a new, on-campus 4.3-K-capacity arena, the RIT Tigers lead Atlantic Hockey in attendance, drawing 3.3 K. And the RIT Tigers made it to a Frozen Four (in 2010), which is the only time any Atlantic Hockey team has ever done so.
___
Thanks to all at the following links…
-Thanks to AMK1211 for blank map of USA, ‘File:Blank US Map with borders.svg”>File:Blank US Map with borders.svg‘ (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Thanks to Two Hearted River at en.wikipedia.org/[each teams' page at Wikipedia], for small segments of jersey illustrations of several teams (Wisconsin, Minnesota-Duluth, Cornell, Maine, Minnesota State, Vermont, Yale, UMass, Western Michigan, Canisius College, American International), such as at File:ECAC-Uniform-Cornell.png.
-Thanks to USCHO site for attendance data, Men’s Division I Hockey Attendance: 2015-2016 (uscho.com).

December 7, 2016

NCAA Division I Hockey: Big Ten Conference hockey: attendance map (2015-16 regular season), with arena capacities, percent-capacities & D1-hockey titles listed.

Filed under: Hockey,NCAA, ice hockey,NCAA, ice- Big Ten hockey — admin @ 4:15 pm

ncaa_ice-hockey_big-ten-conference_attendance-map_2015-16_7-teams_post_b_.gif
NCAA Division I Hockey: Big Ten Conference hockey: attendance map (2015-16 regular season), with arena capacities, percent-capacities & D1-hockey titles listed
…


…

By Bill Turianski on 7 December 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.

Links…
Conferences…Division I in ice hockey.
Teams, etc…Big Ten Conference hockey (en.wikipedia.org).

Conference-maps for NCAA Division I (aka D1) men’s ice hockey
(Note: already-posted D1-hockey conference maps are linked-to, below.)
I am making a location-map for each of the 6 D1-hockey conferences, which are…
∙Atlantic Hockey Association (11 teams/est. 1998-99/ zero titles).
∙Big Ten Conference hockey (6 teams [7-teams in 2017-18]/est. 2013-14/ 23 titles won amongst its six teams).
∙ECAC Hockey (12 teams/est. 1961-62/ 7 titles won amongst its twelve teams).
∙Hockey East Association (12 teams [11 teams in 2017-18]/est. 1984-85/ 13 titles won amongst its twelve teams).
∙National Collegiate Hockey Conference (aka NCHC) (8 teams/est. 2013-14/ 18 titles won amongst its eight teams).
∙Western Collegiate Hockey Association (aka WCHA) (10 teams/est. 1951-52/ 8 titles won amongst its ten teams).
…

The location-map here shows the 6-team (and soon-to-be-7-team) Big Ten Conference hockey.
Big Ten hockey has teams spread through 5 states in the Northeast/Upper Midwest: 2 teams from Michigan (Michigan and Michigan State), 1 team from Minnesota (Minnesota), 1 team from Wisconsin (Wisconsin), 1 team from Ohio (Ohio State), and 1 team from Pennsylvania (Penn State). Next season – 2017-18 – Notre Dame (of Notre Dame, Indiana) will join Big Ten Conference hockey to make it a 7-team conference. So I have included Notre Dame on the map, with a captions describing their future inclusion into Big Ten hockey. I also added Notre Dame’s attendance data. {Also see this, Notre Dame Fighting Irish men’s ice hockey.}

The map…
The map is based on my recently-posted 60-team NCAA D1-hockey location-map {see it here}. The Big Ten hockey teams’ crests, colors and arena-locations are shown on the map. Each team’s color-circle, which radiates out from their location-dot, is sized to represent average attendance…the larger the circle, the higher the team’s average attendance. Crowd-size-rank within the 60-team-D1 is also noted – by the number next to the team-name on the map and on the attendance-list. (North Dakota is the highest-drawing D1-hockey team, currently.)

The chart at the right side of the map page shows attendance data. Along with average attendances of the Big Ten hockey teams (2015-16 home regular season figures), arena sizes and percent-capacities are listed. Also shown, below the attendance data, is a list showing all D1-hockey titles which have been won by teams that currently play in the conference (in this case, all titles won by teams in Big Ten Conference hockey). Finally, at the lower-right of the map-page is a chart showing all D1-hockey teams’ titles and Frozen Four appearances (39 of the 60 D1-hockey teams). (Michigan has the most D1-hockey titles, but the Wolverines have not won a hockey title in eighteen years (last in 1998); meanwhile, with North Dakota winning the title last season (2015-16), they have moved past Denver up to second-most D1-hockey titles, with 8. The D1-hockey team with the most Frozen Four appearances is the Boston College Eagles, with 25.)
…

Division I NCAA hockey was instituted in 1948.
(Division I NCAA hockey titles, 1948 to 2015-16/ 69 titles.)
The inclusion of Penn State as a D1-hockey team (who debuted in 2012-13), led to the 2011-2013-era realignment in D1-hockey. The shakeup in D1-hockey conferences occurred in much the same way (and in nearly the same time-period) as the recent realignments in NCAA D1-football and in NCAA D1-basketball. After the dust had settled in D1-hockey, there was 6 conferences instead of 5, and one conference was dissolved – the Central Collegiate Hockey Associaition (CCHA). (The CCHA existed as a D1-hockey conference from 1973-2013.) (Note: there is one D1-hockey team that is currently an Independent, newcomers Arizona State.)

Since 2013-14, there are two new conferences in D1-hockey:
∙Big Ten Conference hockey,
∙National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).
…

In D1-hockey these days, the Big Ten is the 800-pound gorilla in the room…
The creation of Big Ten Conference hockey has upset some within the D1-college-hockey community. They fear that the days of small schools being able to compete in D1-hockey may be soon over. And it is not just that small schools have been able to be in, and compete well, in D1-hockey. It is the fact that, going back many decades, small schools within D1-hockey have actually been able to win D1 titles. Like how all three D1-hockey schools from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan (Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan, and Lake Superior State) were able to win D1-hockey titles in the time period from the 1960s up until the mid-1990s. And more recently, like how tiny Union College (of Schenectedy, NY) won the 2014 D1-hockey title. Despite Union College being a school with an enrollment of only around 2,240 undergraduates, and despite the Union College Dutchmen having a D1-hockey team without a single scholarship-player.

Here an excerpt from an article from 2014 from the College Hockey News site, ‘From the get go, there’s been a worry that the formation of the Big Ten would allow the rich to get richer, allow recruiting budgets to go even higher, increase the distance between the big guy and little guy.’ (quote from Stop Complaining – Conference Tournaments’ Attendance, Setup Not Worthy of Scorn by Adam Woden at collegehockeynews.com).

Big Ten hockey did something recently that was by most accounts pretty tone-deaf. They made, unilaterally, a proposal to the NCAA, to toughen the D1-hockey rules for older-aged players’ eligibility, which would end up hurting the smaller schools. (You can read about that in the article at the link below.) That action by Big Ten hockey is being perceived by some as perhaps being a foreshadowing of the big schools throwing their weight around in D1-hockey, to the detriment of the smaller D1-hockey schools. Here is an article from July 2016, from SB Nation, on the Big Ten’s entrance into D1-hockey and how it has some worried (note: the comments section at the link below is also worth reading, as several commenters there raise some interesting points)…The Fabled Big Ten Hockey Conference Is Ruffling Feathers Did you know that many hockey fans outside of the Big Ten are not happy about the conference’s existence? – (by Chris Taylor at blackshoediaries.com).
___
Thanks to all at the following links…
-Thanks to AMK1211 for blank map of USA, ‘File:Blank US Map with borders.svg”>File:Blank US Map with borders.svg‘ (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Thanks to Two Hearted River at en.wikipedia.org/[each teams' page at Wikipedia], for small segments of jersey illustrations of several teams (Wisconsin, Minnesota-Duluth, Cornell, Maine, Minnesota State, Vermont, Yale, UMass, Western Michigan, Canisius College, American International), such as at File:ECAC-Uniform-Cornell.png.
-Thanks to USCHO site for attendance data, Men’s Division I Hockey Attendance: 2015-2016 (uscho.com).

November 23, 2016

NCAA Division I Hockey: the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC): attendance map (2015-16 regular season), with arena capacities, percent-capacities & NCAA D1-hockey titles listed./+Chart of all-time D1-hockey titles-&-Frozen-Four-appearances.

Filed under: Hockey,NCAA, ice hockey,NCAA, ice- NCHC — admin @ 10:42 pm

ncaa_ice-hockey_nchc-conference_attendance-map_2015-16_8-teams_post_d_.gif
NCAA Division I Hockey: the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC): attendance map (2015-16 regular season), with arena capacities & percent-capacities
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…

By Bill Turianski on 23 November 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.

Links…
-Teams in NCHC, etc…National Collegiate Hockey Conference (en.wikipedia.org).
-NCHC page at USCHO.com.
-My recent post of D1-hockey (map with all 60 teams & 2015-16 attendance.

Conference-maps for NCAA Division I (aka D1) men’s ice hockey
(Note: already-posted D1-hockey conference maps are linked-to, below.)
I am making a location-map for each of the 6 D1-hockey conferences, which are…
∙Atlantic Hockey Association (11 teams/est. 1998-99/ zero titles).
∙Big Ten Conference hockey (6 teams [7-teams in 2017-18]/est. 2013-14/ 23 titles won amongst its six teams).
∙ECAC Hockey (12 teams/est. 1961-62/ 7 titles won amongst its twelve teams).
∙Hockey East Association (12 teams [11 teams in 2017-18]/est. 1984-85/ 13 titles won amongst its twelve teams).
∙National Collegiate Hockey Conference (aka NCHC) (8 teams/est. 2013-14/ 18 titles won amongst its eight teams).
∙Western Collegiate Hockey Association (aka WCHA) (10 teams/est. 1951-52/ 8 titles won amongst its ten teams).
…

The map-page here shows the eight-team National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) + a chart of all-time D1-hockey titles-&-Frozen-Four-appearances…
The NCHC has teams spread through 6 states: 2 teams from Colorado (Denver and Colorado College [of Colorado Springs, CO), 2 teams from Minnesota (Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud), 1 team from North Dakota (North Dakota [of Grand Forks, ND]), 1 team from Michigan (Western Michigan [of Kalamazoo, MI]), 1 team from Ohio (Miami of Ohio [of Oxford, OH]), and 1 team from Nebraska (Omaha). In 2013, Miami of Ohio and Western Michigan left the now-defunct CCHA to join the newly-formed NCHC. Also in 2013, 6 others joined the newly-formed NCHC – Denver, Colorado College, Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota, Omaha, and St. Cloud. Those 6 teams came from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The WCHA still exists, but is vastly different from what it was before 2013 – the WCHA now has a vast spread of teams in Alaska, Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio {see WCHA former-members and WCHA timeline}.

The NCHC team the North Dakota Fighting Hawks were champions in D1-hockey in 2016…
{See this recent illustration I made for 2015-16 North Dakota: D1-hockey champions.} As to the all-time records, Michigan (now of Big Ten hockey) has the most D1-hockey titles, but the Wolverines have not won a hockey title in eighteen years (last in 1998). Meanwhile, with North Dakota winning the title last season, North Dakota has moved past Denver up to second-most D1-hockey titles, with 8. The NCHC team the Denver Pioneers won the last of their 7 D-1 hockey titles in 2004 and 2005. There are 2 other NCHC teams which have won D1-hockey titles…the Colorado College Tigers, and the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. Colorado College has won 2 D1-hockey titles (albeit both were won over a half century ago, in 1950 and 1957). Minnesota-Duluth won their sole D1-hockey title 6 seasons ago, in 2011.

North Dakota has 22 Frozen Four appearances, which is tied for 4th-best (with Boston University). (The D1-hockey team with the most Frozen Four appearances is the Hockey East team the Boston College Eagles, with 25 Frozen Four appearances.) Another NCHC team is high on the list of Frozen Four appearances – the Denver Pioneers, with 15 (6th-best). To round out the Frozen Four appearances of NCHC teams, the Colorado College Tigers have 10 (last in 2005), and 3 others have one each: the Miami RedHawks (in 2005), the St. Cloud State Huskies (in 2013), and the Omaha Mavericks (in 2015). An indication of the power of the NCHC is that in the 3 seasons it has existed, it has produced 5 of the last 12 Frozen Four qualifiers, with North Dakota qualifying for 3 straight Frozen Fours (2014-16), and with Denver (last season) and Omaha (two seasons ago) also making it to the Frozen Four since the NCHC began operating in 2013-14. So the NCHC is brand new, and it already is basically one of the elite D1-hockey conferences.

NCHC teams draw pretty well too…
Every NCHC team draws above 75 percent-capacity. And 4 of the 8 NCHC teams draw crowds that place them in the top 6 of D1-hockey…#1-best-drawing-team North Dakota Fighting Hawks (drawing 11.6-K, at an impressive 100.5 percent-capacity), #4-best-drawing-team Omaha Mavericks (6.9-K, at 87.6 percent-capacity), #5-best-drawing-team Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (6.1-K, at a solid 92.6 percent-capacity), and #6-best-drawing-team Colorado College Tigers (6.1-K, at 83.2 percent-capacity). Colorado College’s attendance numbers are even more respectable than it first appears, once you realize that there actually is another D1-hockey team in their home-city of Colorado Springs – Air Force Academy (of the Atlantic Conference).
___
Thanks to all at the following links…
-Thanks to AMK1211 for blank map of USA, ‘File:Blank US Map with borders.svg”>File:Blank US Map with borders.svg‘ (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Thanks to Two Hearted River at en.wikipedia.org/[each teams' page at Wikipedia], for small segments of jersey illustrations of several teams (Wisconsin, Minnesota-Duluth, Cornell, Maine, Minnesota State, Vermont, Yale, UMass, Western Michigan, Canisius College, American International), such as at File:ECAC-Uniform-Cornell.png.
-Thanks to USCHO site for attendance data, Men’s Division I Hockey Attendance: 2015-2016 (uscho.com).

November 15, 2016

NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey – 2015-16 average attendance map of all 60 teams in D1-hockey (with arena capacities & percent capacities).

Filed under: Hockey,NCAA ice hockey map 2011,2016,NCAA, ice hockey — admin @ 6:09 pm

ncaa_ice-hockey_attendance-map_2015-16_60-teams_post_b_.gif
NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey – 2015-16 average attendance map of all 60 teams in Division I (with arena capacities & percent capacities)
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By Bill Turianski on 15 November 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.

Links…
-D1 Men’s Hockey coverage…uscho.com.
-Teams, etc…College ice hockey/Division I (en.wikipedia.org).

-Conference-maps for NCAA Division I (aka D1) men’s ice hockey
(Note: already-posted D1-hockey conference maps are linked-to, below.)
I am making a location-map for each of the 6 D1-hockey conferences, which are…
∙Atlantic Hockey Association (11 teams/est. 1998-99/ zero titles).
∙Big Ten Conference hockey (6 teams [7-teams in 2017-18]/est. 2013-14/ 23 titles won amongst its six teams).
∙ECAC Hockey (12 teams/est. 1961-62/ 7 titles won amongst its twelve teams).
∙Hockey East Association (12 teams [11 teams in 2017-18]/est. 1984-85/ 13 titles won amongst its twelve teams).
∙National Collegiate Hockey Conference (aka NCHC) (8 teams/est. 2013-14/ 18 titles won amongst its eight teams).
∙Western Collegiate Hockey Association (aka WCHA) (10 teams/est. 1951-52/ 8 titles won amongst its ten teams).
…

Here is a list of all D1-hockey teams (14 teams) which drew above 90 percent-capacity in 2015-16…
Team [location], percent-capacity, average attendance, (D-1 attendance-rank).
Penn State Nittany Lions [of University Park, PA], 105.4% at 6,093 per game (#7 in attendance).
Quinnipiac Bobcats [of Hamden, Greater New Haven, CT], 105.2% at 3,247 per game (#27 in attendance).
North Dakota Fighting Hawks [of Grand Forks, ND], 100.5%, at 11,675 per game (#1-best attendance).
Mercyhurst Lakers [of Erie, PA], 98.7%, at 1,283 per game (#54 in attendance).
Minnesota Golden Gophers [of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN], 98.5% (#2 in attendance.
Providence Friars [of Providence, RI], 98.3%, at 2,980 per game (#29 in attendance).
Yale Bulldogs [of New Haven, CT], 97.1%, at 3,385 per game (#23 in attendance).
Vermont Catamounts [of Burlington, VT], 95.7%, at 3,860 per game (#21 in attendance).
Notre Dame Fighting Irish [of Notre Dame, IN], 94.6%, at 4,749 per game (#16 in attendance).
Cornell Big Red [of Ithaca, NY], 94.3%, at 4,022 per game (#19 in attendance).
Michigan Wolverines [of Ann Arbor, MI], 94.1%, at 5,457 per game (#10 in attendance).
UMass-Lowell River Hawks [of Lowell, Greater Boston, MA], 93.2%, at 5,592 per game, at 6,111 per game (#5 in attendance).
Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs [of Duluth, MN], 92.6%, at 6,111 per game (#5 in attendance).
Merrimack College Warriors [of North Andover, Greater Boston, MA], 92.5, at 2,359 per game (#39 in attendance).
…

Division I NCAA hockey was instituted in 1948.
(Division I NCAA hockey titles, 1948 to 2015-16/ 69 titles.)
The inclusion of Penn State as a D1-hockey team (who debuted in 2012-13), led to the 2011-2013-era realignment in D1-hockey. The shakeup in D1-hockey conferences occurred in much the same way (and in nearly the same time-period) as the recent realignments in NCAA D1-football and in NCAA D1-basketball. After the dust had settled in D1-hockey, there was 6 conferences instead of 5, and one conference was dissolved – the Central Collegiate Hockey Associaition (CCHA). (The CCHA existed as a D1-hockey conference from 1973-2013.) (Note: there is one D1-hockey team that is currently an Independent, newcomers Arizona State.)

Since 2013-14, there are two new conferences in D1-hockey:
∙Big Ten Conference hockey,
∙National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).

…

    The highest-drawing NCAA college hockey team & the 2016 NCAA Division I champions:
    The University of North Dakota (of Grand Forks, ND    ).

-From USA Today.com from April 10, 2016, North Dakota beats Quinnipiac 5-1 to capture NCAA hockey title (usatoday.com).
-From the official UND site, Ralph Englestad Arena (article, with photos, at undsports.com).
University of North Dakota hockey team – 2016 Division I champions…
north-dakota_fighting-hawks_hockey_2016-div1-champs_2016-best-attendance_ralph-engelstad-arena_grand-forks-nd_d_.gif

Photo and Image credits above -
Aerial view of Grand Forks [video image] from Smithsonian via gettyimages.com/video/view-of-grand-forks-town-square-and-red-river-grand-stock-footage. Shot of exterior of Ralph Englestad Arena at twilight, photo by undsports.com. Aerial shot, photo by Northern Technologies, LLC at ntigeo.com/projects/project-example-two-2 [Ralph Englestad Arena]. Interior shot of full crowd at the Ralph, photo by undsports.com. Game-action shot of 2016 Final, photo unattributed at fox61.com [New Haven, CT]. 4 game-action shots of 2016 Final, photos by UNDsports.com at undsports.com/PhotoAlbum [2016 Final]. Drake Caggiula slapping teammates gloves, photo by Tampa Bay Times at live.tampabay.com/Event/Live_blog_2016_Frozen_Four_in_Tampa. North Dakota players getting the trophy, photo by Elsa/Getty Images via chicagotribune.com/sports/college.

__
Thanks to all at the following links…
-Thanks to AMK1211 for blank map of USA, ‘File:Blank US Map with borders.svg”>File:Blank US Map with borders.svg‘ (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Thanks to Two Hearted River at en.wikipedia.org/[each teams' page at Wikipedia], for small segments of jersey illustrations of several teams (Wisconsin, Minnesota-Duluth, Cornell, Maine, Minnesota State, Vermont, Yale, UMass, Western Michigan, Canisius College, American International), such as at File:ECAC-Uniform-Cornell.png.
-Thanks to USCHO site for attendance data, Men’s Division I Hockey Attendance: 2015-2016 (uscho.com).

May 21, 2016

Ligue de Hockey Junior Majeur du Québec (LHJMQ) [English: Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)]: location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, QMJHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 2 QMJHL teams with the best attendance in 2015-16 (the Quebec Remparts & the Halifax Mooseheads), and the 2 QMJHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies & the Val-d’Or Foreurs).

Filed under: Canada,Canada>QMJHL,Hockey — admin @ 8:20 pm

Brand-new post…2017 Memorial Cup, here:
2017 CHL Memorial Cup tournament (in Windsor, Ontario/ May 19 to May 28) – the 4 teams: Windsor Spitfires (host team), Erie Otters (OHL), Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL): photo-illustrations with standout players in 2016-17.

…

quebec-major-junior-hockey-league_map_2016_w-2015-16-attendances_arena-capacities_percent-caps_chl-qmjhl-titles_post_e_.gif
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)]: location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, QMJHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed
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…
By Bill Turianski on 21 May 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-Teams, etc… Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).
-Official site… theqmjhl.ca.
-Site officiel (en Français)…lhjmq.qc.ca.
-2016 CHL Memorial Cup tournament… 2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).

-My 2012 map-&-post on major junior hockey in Canada (CHL) from Nov.2012…Canadian Hockey League: location maps for WHL, OHL, and QMJHL teams (60 teams) and 2011-12 attendance data. Plus the top 3 highest drawing teams, the top 10-highest percent-capacities….
…

The QMJHL, one of 3 major junior hockey leagues in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL)…
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) is one of three Canadian major junior hockey leagues, along with the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Western Hockey League (WHL). Since 1971-72, the 3 leagues have sent their league-champion to compete for the Memorial Cup title. Since 1975-76, the 3 leagues together comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The 3 CHL leagues are for players aged 16 to 20 – there are no restrictions for the amount of USA-born players on each team; however, non-Canadian-&-American players (ie, European and Russian players) are restricted to 2 per team roster. The 3 leagues of the CHL are quite a big deal, because approximately 54% of all NHL players, currently, were drafted from either the OHL, the WHL, or the QMJHL. {Citation: see 2nd paragraph, here [Ontario Hockey League page at en.wikipedia.org].}

Click on image below for:
Location-map of all the teams in the 3 leagues which comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL/60 teams)…
chl_canadian-hockey-league_2016_location-map_60-teams_whl_ohl_qmjhl_post_d_.gif

The CHL is an umbrella-organization for the 3 leagues; there is no inter-league play except for the post-season tournament…the CHL has a four-team playoff tournament – the Memorial Cup, which is played at a different host-city each May. (Note: see 4 paragraphs below for more info about the Memorial Cup.)
…

On the map page…
The map page shows the locations (and the logos) of the 18 QMJHL teams -12 of which are in the Canadian province of Quebec, 3 of which are in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, 2 of which are in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and one of which is in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. The locations of all the NHL teams from the Eastern Canada/upper-north-east-USA region are also shown on the map.

The map…
The map itself is a section of a blank map of Canada, which I found at Wikipedia Commons (and which was not available 7-and-a-half years ago, when I made my first map of the QMJHL). I cropped and enlarged that blank map, then I drew in the St. Lawrence River’s river banks in the area between Kingston, ON and Quebec City, QC – because the original map did not show that. I also added the Ottawa River, which makes up a large part of the boundary between the provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Then I added one more detail – bridges – and shown on the map is the 12.9 km/8 mile-long bridge which connects mainland Canada (in New Brunswick) to the province of Prince Edward Island (the Confederation Bridge). I also included the two eastern-most bridges which span the St. Lawrence River and connect southern Quebec to the rest of Quebec, at Quebec City: the Quebec Bridge and the Pierre Laporte Bridge. (East of Quebec City, the river widens considerably and no bridge is feasible for the rest of the length of the St. Lawrence River, as the river makes its way north-east to the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf Of St. Lawrence.)

On the right-hand-side of the map page is a chart for the QMJHL which shows 7 things…
1). 2015-16 average attendances of the 22 QMJHL teams, ranked {source: Quebec Major Junior Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com)}.
2). Home arena seated capacity of the 18 QMJHL teams.
3). Percent-capacity for each team in 2015-16 [Percent Capacity equals Average Attendance divided by Arena-seated-capacity] (ie, how well the team fills its arena).
4). Metropolitan-area population of each team’s home-city (or home-town). {Source: List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada [2011 census figures] (en.wikipedia.org).}
5). Season the QMJHL team began play in its present-day location.
6). QMJHL titles (and the year of last title/ since 1966-67).
7). CHL/Memorial Cup titles (and the year of last title/ since 1971-72)/ see notes below.

Notes on the Memorial Cup title / CHL title…
The Memorial Cup was instituted in 1919, and was named in remembrance of the Canadians who died in the Great War (World War I). From 1919 to 1971, the Cup was contested between 2 teams: the best junior team each season from Eastern Canada versus the best junior team from Western Canada. (The winner won that season’s Memorial Cup title.) The current format of the Memorial Cup tournament dates to 1971-72, when a 3-team playoff tournament was created. The tournament at that point [1972] involved the champion from each of the 3 leagues:
•The-long-established-[1933]-and-now-20-team OHL.
•The-established-in-1966-and-now-22-team-WHL.
•The-then-newly-established-[1971]-and-now-18-team-QMJHL.

4 years later [1975], the arrangement was formalized with the institution of the Canadian Hockey League – which, again, is the governing body of the OHL/WHL/QMJHL. In 1982-83, the Memorial Cup tournament was expanded to a 4th team, with the host-city’s team given a place in the competition. (There is a different host-city for the Memorial Cup each May/ see next paragraph.) Currently, the 60 teams in the CHL (from the 3 member-leagues), which hail from 9 Canadian provinces and 4 American states, compete for the chance to qualify for the Memorial Cup tournament and win the Memorial Cup title/CHL title.

Red Deer, Alberta will host the 2016 Memorial Cup…
2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
The 2016 Memorial Cup tournament will be held at the 6,000-capacity ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta, with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels the host-team. The tournament will run from May 19th to May 29th, 2016.

List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).

QMJHL teams that have won Memorial Cup titles (1969-2015)
1971: Quebec Remparts (I) (Quebec City, QC QMJHL charter franchise (I) (1969-70 to 1984-85)// defunct).
1972: Cornwall Royals (Cornwall, ON QMJHL charter franchise (1969-70 to 1991-92)/in 1992 transferred over to the OHL & moved to Newmarket, ON (1992-94)/in 1994 moved to Sarnia, ON/present-day Sarnia Sting).
1980: Cornwall Royals (see above).
1981: Cornwall Royals (see above).
1996: Granby Predateurs (Granby, QC QMJHL expansion franchise (1981-82 to 1996-97)/in 1997 moved to Cape Breton, NS/present-day Cape Breton Screaming Eagles).
1997: Hull Olympiques (Hull, QC QMJHL charter franchise (1969-70 to present)/present-day Gatineau Olympiques).
2000: Rimouski Oceanique (Sherbrooke, QC QMJHL charter franchise (1969-70 to 1981-82)/in 1982 moved to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC (1982-95)/in 1995 moved to Rimouski, QC/present-day Rimouski Oceanique).
2006: Quebec Remparts (II) (Beauport [Greater Quebec City], QC QMJHL expansion franchise (1990-91 to 1996-97)/ moved ~5 km west & became 2nd Quebec City, QC QMJHL franchise (1997-98 to present)/present-day Quebec Remparts (II) ).
2011: Saint John Sea Dogs (Saint John, NB QMJHL expansion franchise (2005-06 to present).
2012: Shawingan Cataractes (Shawingan, QC QMJHL charter franchise (1969-70 to present).
2013: Halifax Mooseheads (Halifax, NS QMJHL expansion franchise (1994-95 to present).

…

    Illustrations for the 2 QMJHL teams with the best attendance in 2015-16 (Quebec Remparts & Halifax Mooseheads),
    and the 2 QMJHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figure in 2015-16 (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies & Val-d’Or Foreurs)…

Quebec Remparts: Best attendance in the QMJHL in 2015-16, at 13,835 per game..
quebec-remparts_centre-videotron_f_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Jersey illustration by sportslogos.net/Quebec Remparts. View of Qubec City in winter from the southern shore of the St. Lawrence River, photo by Bernard Gagnon at File:Quebec City 01.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Cobbled street in Old Quebec with Funiculare in background, photo by Miranda at spendyourdays.com/europe-in-quebec-city-canada. Xmas in Old Quebec, photo unattributed at thispeacefulhome.com via pinterest. Aerial view of Centre Videotron, photo by Ville de Quebec at lecentrevideotron.ca. Rooftop-view of Centre Videotron, photo by Daniel Mallard/Agencie QMI via fr.canoe.ca/. The queue for the sold-out opening night at Centre Videotron [Aug. 31 2015], photo by Daniel Mallard/Agencie QMI via journaldequebec.com/premiere-grande-soiree-de-visites-du-centre-videotron. Shot of interior of Centre Videotron [preseason game, Montreal vs. Pittsburgh on Sept. 28 2015], photo by Dario Ayala/Montreal Gazette at montrealgazette.com/sports. Shot from the upper-stands at a game-night at Videotron Centre [photo from Sept. 2015], photo unattributed at blogs.theprovince.com/2015/09/28/the-morning-skate. Photo from a 2012 Bring back the Nordiques rally in Quebec City, photo unattributed at sb7.sportsblog.com/posts/1148850/which_nhl_teams_should_relocate__part_1.
Quebec Nordiques fans keeping the flame alive, photo from nordiquebec.blogspot.com. Photo of Nordiques fans with Sakic and Stasny jerseys, in line at opening night at Centre Videotron, photo by Pierre Boissinot via torontosun.com/[sports].

…

Halifax Mooseheads: 2nd-best attendance in the QMJHL in 2015-16, at 6,893 per game…
halifax-mooseheads_scotiabank-centre_2013-chl-memorial-cup-champions_b_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Jersey illustrations by sportslogos.net/Halifax Mooseheads. Aerial view of Halifax, photo unattributed at thefabweb.com. Exterior view of Scotiabank Centre, photo by Andy Ritter at roamingtherinks.com. Halifax Mooseheads: the 2013 QMJHL champions (and the 2013 CHL/Memorial Cup champions), photo by /status/333025704633565184″>twitter.com/TheDrake1001 [tweet/photo from Scotiabank Centre on May 10 2013]. 2013 Mooseheads squad with banners and trophies on Banner Night in Halifax, photo by Ted Pritchard/ [Halifax] Chronicle Herald at thechronicleherald.ca/mooseheads/wildcats-top-moose-spoil-banner-night.

…

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies:
Best at filling their arena in the QMJHL in 2015-16, at 100.5 percent-capacity.
And: the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are the 2016 President’s Cup winners (their first QMJHL title)…
rouyn-noranda-huskies_arena-iamgold_2016-qmjhl-champions_h_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies jersey, illustration by sportslogos.net/Rouyn-Noranda. Aerial shot of Rouyn-Noranda, photo by Point du Jour Avaiation, here via gigi461.canalblog.com. Shot of Northern Lights above Rouyn-Noranda, photo by Charles Schiele Photography at coolnaturephotos.com/aurora-borealis-at-rouyn-noranda-qc-canada-by-charles-schiele-photography. Shot of interior of Aréna Iamgold, photo by François Fortin at stationnation.blogspot.com.
Standout Huskies players in 2016 QMJHL playoffs…
Timo Meier, photo unattributed, here, at sportsnet.ca. Francis Perron, after scoring in 2nd game of 2016 Presidents Cup finals (4-1 to Huskies), photo by Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at huskies.qc.ca/article/24-h-plus-tard-victoire-des-huskies. Chase Marchand, photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images via sportsnet.ca. Anthony-John Greer, after scoring in 2nd game of 2016 Presidents Cup finals (4-1 to Huskies), photo by Jean-François Vachon/TC Media via lafrontiere.ca/sports/hockey/2016/5/7/huskies-shawinigan. Jean-Christophe-Beaudin, photo by Agencie QMI via bsndenver.com/nhl-draft-prospect-profile-jean-christophe-beaudin. Title celebration photo, by Vincent Éthier/QMJHL Media at theqmjhl.ca/2016-president-cup-huskies-win-first-ever-president-cup-title.
…

Val-d’Or Foreurs: 2nd-best at filling their arena in the QMJHL in 2015-16, at 93.2 percent-capacity…
val-d-or-foreurs_centre-air-creebec_c_.gif
Photo and Image credits above –
Jersey and shoulder-patch illustrations by sportslogos.net/Val d’or Foreurs. Aerial shot of Val-d’Or in the autumn, photo unattributed at voyageretdecouvrir.com/voyage_au_quebec_abitibi_temiscamingue. Aerial shot of some of the extensive precious metals mining in the Val-d’Or area, photo by Agnico Eagle at agnicoeagle.com/northern-operations/goldex. Exterior shot of Centre Air Creebc, photo unattributed at ici.radio-canada.ca. Interior shot of Centre Air Creebec, photo by atmosphare.com/fr/Interieur_Realisations/Mobilier/Centre-Air-Creebec. Another full house of Val-d’Or Foreurs fans applaud their team [circa April 2015], screenshot of video by tvasport.ca. Shot of Huskies one ice for Canadian national anthem. photo by stationnation.blogspot.com.

___
-Thanks to the contributors at Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).
-Thanks to STyx at Wikipedia for the blank map of Eastern Canada [segment of map of Canada], by STyx at File:Canada (geolocalisation).svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
-A big thank you to Hockey Database site, for the hard-to-find OHL attendance figures (nobody wants to bother hunting down and compiling them, I guess), at Quebec Major Junior Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com).

May 14, 2016

2016 CHL Memorial Cup tournament (in Red Deer, Alberta/ May 20 to May 29) – the 4 teams: Red Deer Rebels (host team), Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL), London Knights (OHL), Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL): photo-illustrations with standout players in 2016 playoffs/+ 2016 CHL location-map.

Filed under: Canada,Hockey — admin @ 2:47 pm

By Bill Turianski on 14 May 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
…WHL official site…whl.ca [live scores at top banner]
…2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org),
…2016 CHL Memorial Cup tournament preview at Reddit.com…Memorial Cup Preview (reddit.com/r/hockey, posted by SchoppNotebook).

Click on image below for:
Location-map of all the teams in the 3 leagues which comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL/60 teams)…
chl_canadian-hockey-league_2016_location-map_60-teams_whl_ohl_qmjhl_post_d_.gif

The CHL is an umbrella-organization for the 3 leagues; there is no inter-league play except for the post-season tournament…the CHL has a four-team playoff tournament – the Memorial Cup, which is played at a different host-city each May. It is an 8 game tournament (9 if a tie-breaker is needed).

Notes on the Memorial Cup title / CHL title…
The Memorial Cup was instituted in 1919, and was named in remembrance of the Canadians who died in the Great War (World War I). From 1919 to 1971, the Cup was contested between 2 teams: the best junior team each season from Eastern Canada versus the best junior team from Western Canada. (The winner won that season’s Memorial Cup title.) The current format of the Memorial Cup tournament dates to 1971-72, when a 3-team playoff tournament was created. The tournament at that point [1972] involved the champion from each of the 3 leagues:
•The-long-established-[1933]-and-now-20-team OHL.
•The-established-in-1966-and-now-22-team-WHL.
•The-then-newly-established-[1971]-and-now-18-team-QMJHL.

4 years later [1975], the arrangement was formalized with the institution of the Canadian Hockey League – which, again, is the governing body of the OHL/WHL/QMJHL. In 1982-83, the Memorial Cup tournament was expanded to a 4th team, with the host-city’s team given a place in the competition. (There is a different host-city for the Memorial Cup each May.) Currently, the 60 teams in the CHL (from the 3 member-leagues), which hail from 9 Canadian provinces and 4 American states, compete for the chance to qualify for the Memorial Cup tournament and win the Memorial Cup title/CHL title.

Red Deer, Alberta will host the 2016 Memorial Cup…
2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
The 2016 Memorial Cup tournament will be held at the 6,000-capacity ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta, with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels the host-team. The tournament will run from May 20th to May 29th, 2016. (Note: within the Red Deer Rebels illustration below, you can read a short paragraph about the etymology and early history of Red Deer, Alberta, and its location with respect to Edmonton & Calgary.)

    Below: the 4 teams who have qualified for the 2016 Memorial Cup tournament…
    2016 Host: Red Deer Rebels / 2016 WHL champions: Brandon Wheat Kings / 2016 OHL champions: London Knights /2016 QMJHL champions: Rouyn-Noranda Huskies…

Red Deer Rebels: 2nd-best at filling their arena in the WHL in 2015-16, at 93.9 percent-capacity.
Host of 2016 Memorial Cup tournament, the Red Deer Rebels…
red-deer-rebels_emax-centrium_k_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Jersey illustration by sportslogos.net/Red Deer Rebels. Aerial view of Red Deer, photo by Waynercook at File:Red Deer – Aerial – downtown bridges.jpg (commons.wikimedia.org). Aerial view of Red Deer Alberta in summer, photo unattributed at yellowpencil.com/reddeer-aerial.jpg. View of Red Deer in summertime, photo unattributed at meshav.com. Red Deer Rebels 2014-15 alternate burgundy jersey & R and RED DEER shoulder-patch logos, photos from reddeerrebels.com/article/back-in-burgandy-rebels-unveil-third-jersey. Exterior shot of Enmax Centrium, photo by Curtis Lund via goodkey.com. Shot of traveling Red Deer fans cheering on the Rebels’ 5-0 away-win versus the Oil Kings at Rexall Place in Edmonton on March 6, 2014. photo by Derek Leung at gettyimages.co.uk.
Players…
Ivan Nikolishin, photo by Red Deer Rebels at reddeerrebels.com/players. Adam Helewka, photo by WHL.ca at whl.ca/rebels-helewka-named-whl-player-of-the-week. Jake DeBrusk, photo by Swift Current Broncos.com at swiftcurrentonline.com/debrusk-pederson-thriving-after-trade.

…

The Brandon Wheat Kings are the 2016 Ed Chenowyth Cup winners (their 3rd WHL title)…
brandon-wheat-kings_keystone-centre_2016-whl-champions_h_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Brandon Wheat Kings jersey illustration by sportslogos.net/Brandon_Wheat_Kings. View of Brandon skyline from nearby lake, photo by Travel Manitoba at flickr.com . Exterior shot of Keystone Centre in winter, photo by stadiumjourney.com. Interior shot of Keystone Centre, with Wheat Kings fans waving gold scarves, photo by keystonecentre.com. Wheat Kings players celebrating Championship Series OT win over Seattle [May 7 2016], photo by Tim Smith at winnipegsun.com.
Players…
Nolan Patrick, photo by Tim Smith at brandonsun.com. John Quenneville, photo unattributed at alchetron.com/John-Quenneville. Tim McGauley, photo by Marissa Baeker, Getty Images via sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/whl-playoffs-mcgauleys-hat-trick-helps-wheat-kings-advance.
Jordan Papirny, photo by Greg Southam at edmontonjournal.com. Ivan Provorov, photo unattributed at hockeywilderness.com. Reid Duke, photo by Doug Westcott at eliteprospects.com. Jayce Hawryluk, photo unattributed at brandon-wheat-kings-online-store.myshopify.com/products/jayce-hawryluk-vintage-jersey. Wheat Kings celebrating in ice after a goal, photo by Brian Liesse at new.whl.ca/gallery/frozen-moments-brandon-wheat-kings-whl-champions [5/24]. Wheat Kings full-team title celebration photo, photo by Brian Liesse at new.whl.ca/gallery/frozen-moments-brandon-wheat-kings-whl-champions [24/24], via luberslounge.blogspot.com/2016/05/wheat-kings-claim-whl-title.

…



…

London Knights: Best OHL attendance in 2015-16 & 2nd-best at filling their arena in 2015-16 at 99.6 percent-capacity
And: the London Knights are the 2016 Robertson Cup champions (their 4th OHL title)…
london-knights_budweiser-gardens_r_.gif
Photo and illustration credits above – Jersey front illustrations by sportslogos.net/London Knights. Aerial view of London, ON in early autumn, photo by londontourism.ca via ctvnews.ca/canada. Aerial view of downtown London, ON, photo unattributed at ca.hotels.com. Rppftop view of Budweiser Gardens, photo by Craig Glover/London Free Press/QMI Agency via sunmediaphotos.photoshelter.com. Exterior shot of main entrance to Budweiser Gardens, photo unattributed at londonmoms.ca. Logos from sportslogos.net/London Knights. Team lined up on ice for national anthem in front of another full house at the JLC (aka Budweiser Gardens), photo by London Knights at londonknights.com/team-history.
Players…
Mitchell Marner, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via mapleleafshotstove.com/2015/12/06/mitch-marners-second-consecutive-hat-trick. Christian Dvorak, photo by London Free Press via londonknights.com. Matthew Tkachuk, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via gettyimages.com. Tyler Parsons, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via zimbio.com. Knights players celebrating after sweeping Niagara in finals, photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images via blackburnnews.com/knights-sweep-ice-dogs-claim-ohl-championship.

…

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies:
Best at filling their arena in the QMJHL in 2015-16, at 100.5 percent-capacity.
And: the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are the 2016 President’s Cup winners (their first QMJHL title)…
rouyn-noranda-huskies_arena-iamgold_2016-qmjhl-champions_h_.gif
Photo and Image credits above -
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies jersey, illustration by sportslogos.net/Rouyn-Noranda. Huskies Aerial shot of Rouyn-Noranda, photo by Point du Jour Avaiation, here via gigi461.canalblog.com. Shot of Northern Lights above Rouyn-Noranda, photo by Charles Schiele Photography at coolnaturephotos.com/aurora-borealis-at-rouyn-noranda-qc-canada-by-charles-schiele-photography. Shot of interior of Aréna Iamgold, photo by François Fortin at stationnation.blogspot.com.
Standout Huskies players in 2016 QMJHL playoffs…
Timo Meier, photo unattributed, here, at sportsnet.ca. Francis Perron, after scoring in 2nd game of 2016 Presidents Cup finals (4-1 to Huskies), photo by Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at huskies.qc.ca/article/24-h-plus-tard-victoire-des-huskies. Chase Marchand, photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images via sportsnet.ca. Anthony-John Greer, after scoring in 2nd game of 2016 Presidents Cup finals (4-1 to Huskies), photo by Jean-François Vachon/TC Media via lafrontiere.ca/sports/hockey/2016/5/7/huskies-shawinigan. Jean-Christophe-Beaudin, photo by Agencie QMI via bsndenver.com/nhl-draft-prospect-profile-jean-christophe-beaudin. Title celebration photo, by Vincent Éthier/QMJHL Media at theqmjhl.ca/2016-president-cup-huskies-win-first-ever-president-cup-title.
___
-Thanks to the contributors at Western Hockey League;
Ontario Hockey League;
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).

Thanks to the fine site known as Elite Prospects.com (Hockey Prospects), for player info…eliteprospects.com.

April 25, 2016

Ontario Hockey League (OHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, OHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 6 OHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (Oshawa Generals, London Knights, Kitchener Rangers, Barrie Colts, Guelph Storm, Niagara IceDogs).

Filed under: Canada,Canada>OHL,Hockey — admin @ 12:01 pm

Brand-new post…2017 Memorial Cup, here:
2017 CHL Memorial Cup tournament (in Windsor, Ontario/ May 19 to May 28) – the 4 teams: Windsor Spitfires (host team), Erie Otters (OHL), Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL), Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL): photo-illustrations with standout players in 2016-17.

…

ontario-hockey-league_ohl_map_2016_w-2015-16-attendances_arena-capacities_percent-caps_chl-ohl-titles_post_f_.gif
Ontario Hockey League (OHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, OHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed
…


…
By Bill Turianski on 25 April 2016; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-Teams, etc…Ontario Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).
-Official site…ontariohockeyleague.com.
-2016 CHL Memorial Cup tournament… 2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).

-2015-16 OHL attendances…Ontario Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com).

-My recently-posted map-and-post on the Western Hockey League…Western Hockey League (WHL): location-map with: 2015-16 attendance data, WHL titles & CHL/Memorial Cup titles listed/+ illustrations for the 4 WHL teams with the best attendance in 2015-16 (Calgary Hitmen, Portland Winterhawks, Edmonton Oil Kings, Spokane Chiefs), and the 3 WHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16 (Kelowna Rockets, Red Deer Rebels, Prince Albert Raiders).

(Note: QMJHL map-and-post to be posted on May 21 2016.)

-My 2012 map-&-post on major junior hockey in Canada (CHL) from Nov.2012…Canadian Hockey League: location maps for WHL, OHL, and QMJHL teams (60 teams) and 2011-12 attendance data. Plus the top 3 highest drawing teams, the top 10-highest percent-capacities….

….

The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) is one of three Canadian major junior hockey leagues, along with the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Since 1971-72, the 3 leagues have sent their league-champion to compete for the Memorial Cup title. Since 1975-76, the 3 leagues together comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The 3 CHL leagues are for players aged 16 to 20 – there are no restrictions for the amount of USA-born players on each team; however, non-Canadian-&-American players (ie, European and Russian players) are restricted to 2 per team roster. The 3 leagues of the CHL are quite a big deal, because approximately 54% of all NHL players, currently, were drafted from either the OHL, the WHL, or the QMJHL. {Citation: see 2nd paragraph, here [Ontario Hockey League page at en.wikipedia.org].}

Click on image below for:
Location-map of all the teams in the 3 leagues which comprise the Canadian Hockey League (CHL/60 teams)…
chl_canadian-hockey-league_2016_location-map_60-teams_whl_ohl_qmjhl_post_d_.gif

The CHL is an umbrella-organization for the 3 leagues; there is no inter-league play except for the post-season tournament…the CHL has a four-team playoff tournament – the Memorial Cup, which is played at a different host-city each May. (Note: see 3 paragraphs below for more info about the Memorial Cup.)
…

On the map page…
The map page shows the locations (and the logos) of the 20 OHL teams – 17 of which are in the Canadian province of Ontario, and 3 of which are USA-based: 2 from Michigan and 1 from Pennsylvania. The locations of all the NHL teams (from the region) are also shown on the map.

On the right-hand-side of the map page is a chart which shows 7 things…
1). 2015-16 average attendance {source: Ontario Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com)}.
2). Home arena seated capacity.
3). Percent-capacity [average-attendance divided by arena-seated-capacity] (ie, how well the team fills its arena).
4). Metropolitan-area population of each team’s home-city; or, as with the Owen Sound Attack, the team’s home-town)…the metro-area population of Owen Sound, Ontario is 32,000. {Sources: List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada [2011 census figures] (en.wikipedia.org) ; USA-based-teams: List of metropolitan areas of the United States (en.wikipedia.org).}
5). Season the team began play in its home-city. [Note: see boxes under the chart (on the map-page), pertaining to the Oshawa and Mississauga franchises, on this subject.]
6). OHL titles (and the year of last title). {OHL titles: J. Ross Robertson Cup (en.wikipedia.org).}
7). CHL/Memorial Cup titles (and the year of last title) [/ see notes below]. {Memorial Cup/CHL titles: List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).}

Notes on the Memorial Cup title / CHL title…
The Memorial Cup was instituted in 1919, and was named in remembrance of the Canadians who died in the Great War (World War I). From 1919 to 1971, the Cup was contested between 2 teams: the best junior team each season from Eastern Canada versus the best junior team from Western Canada. (The winner won that season’s Memorial Cup title.) The current format of the Memorial Cup tournament dates to 1971-72, when a 3-team playoff tournament was created. The tournament at that point [1972] involved the champion from each of the 3 leagues:
•The-long-established-[1933]-and-now-20-team OHL.
•The-established-in-1966-and-now-22-team-WHL.
•The-then-newly-established-[1971]-and-now-18-team-QMJHL.

4 years later [1975], the arrangement was formalized with the institution of the Canadian Hockey League – which, again, is the governing body of the OHL/WHL/QMJHL. In 1982-83, the Memorial Cup tournament was expanded to a 4th team, with the host-city’s team given a place in the competition. (There is a different host-city for the Memorial Cup each May/ see next paragraph.) Currently, the 60 teams in the CHL (from the 3 member-leagues), which hail from 9 Canadian provinces and 4 American states, compete for the chance to qualify for the Memorial Cup tournament and win the Memorial Cup title/CHL title.

Red Deer, Alberta will host the 2016 Memorial Cup…
2016 Memorial Cup (en.wikipedia.org).
The 2016 Memorial Cup tournament will be held at the 6,000-capacity ENMAX Centrium in Red Deer, Alberta, with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels the host-team. The tournament will run from May 19th to May 29th, 2016.

List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).

OHL teams that have won Memorial Cup/CHL titles (1972-2016)
1973: Toronto Marlboros
1975: Toronto Marlboros (note: franchise is now the Guelph Storm [since 1991-92])
1976: Hamilton Fincups (note: franchise is now the Erie Otters [since 1996-97])
1979: Peterborough Petes
1982: Kitchener Rangers
1984: Ottawa 67′s
1986: Guelph Platers (note: franchise moved to Owen Sound in 1989-90; are now the Owen Sound Attack [since 2000-01])
1990: Oshawa Generals
1993: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
1999: Ottawa 67′s
2003: Kitchener Rangers
2005: London Knights
2009: Windsor Spitfires
2010: Windsor Spitfires
2015: Oshawa Generals

…

    The 6 OHL teams with the best-percent-capacity figures in 2015-16
    (Oshawa Generals, London Knights, Kitchener Rangers, Barrie Colts, Guelph Storm, Niagara IceDogs)

Oshawa Generals: 2015 CHL/Memorial Cup champions & best at filling their arena in OHL in 2015-16 (103.3 percent-capacity/standing-room-only)
oshawa-generals_general-motors-centre_2015-chl-memorial-cup-champions_k_.gif
Photo credits above –
Jersey front illustration by sportslogos.net/Oshawa Generals. General Motors plant in Oshawa, photo by Dave Thomas/QMI Agency via thepeterboroughexaminer.com. Exterior of General motors Centre, photo by thesportsroadtrip.com/ontariohockeyleague. Oshawa Generals’ banners hung from rafters at General Motors Centre, photo by The Creamer, uploaded at boards.sportslogos.net/[topic: Arena rafters banners]. 2015 title banners raised, image from screenshot of video uploadedby DRL Productiona at youtube.com. Oshawa FW Andrew Cirelli scores against Kelowna Rockets in overtime to win the 2015 Memorial Cup trophy (Oshawa 2, Kelowna 1 OT) and Oshawa players celebrate their title-win, 3 photos by Francis Vachon Photographie at francisvachon.com/blog/gallerie-de-photos-final-de-la-coupe-memorial-cup-2015.

…

London Knights: Best OHL attendance in 2015-16 & 2nd-best at filling their arena in 2015-16 at 99.6 percent-capacity
& London Knights, 2016 OHL (Robertson Cup) champions…
london-knights_budweiser-gardens_r_.gif
Photo and illustration credits above – Jersey front illustrations by sportslogos.net/London Knights. Aerial view of London, ON in early autumn, photo by londontourism.ca via ctvnews.ca/canada. Aerial view of downtown London, ON, photo unattributed at ca.hotels.com. Rppftop view of Budweiser Gardens, photo by Craig Glover/London Free Press/QMI Agency via sunmediaphotos.photoshelter.com. Exterior shot of main entrance to Budweiser Gardens, photo unattributed at londonmoms.ca. Logos from sportslogos.net/London Knights. Team lined up on ice for national anthem in front of another full house at the JLC (aka Budweiser Gardens), photo by London Knights at londonknights.com/team-history.
Players…
Mitchell Marner, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via mapleleafshotstove.com/2015/12/06/mitch-marners-second-consecutive-hat-trick. Christian Dvorak, photo by London Free Press via londonknights.com. Matthew Tkachuk, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via gettyimages.com. Tyler Parsons, photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images via zimbio.com. Knights players celebrating after sweeping Niagara in finals, photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images via blackburnnews.com/knights-sweep-ice-dogs-claim-ohl-championship.

…

Kitchener Rangers: 2nd-best OHL attendance in 2015-16 & 3rd-best at filling their arena in 2015-16, with a 98.3 percent-capacity…
kitchener-rangers_kitchener-memorial-auditorium_i_.gif
Photo and illustration credits above –
Jersey front illustrations by sportslogos.net/Kitchener Rangers. Winter scene in downtown Kitchener, photo by Colin Butler/CBC at cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo. Summer festival in downtown Kitchener, photo by City of Kitchener via placestogrow.ca. Exterior shot of Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex, photo by SCI at stadiumci.com/sci/projects/kitchener-memorial-auditorium. Interior shot of Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex, photo by SCI at stadiumci.com/sci/projects/kitchener-memorial-auditorium. Logos from sportslogos.net/Kitchener Rangers.

…

Barrie Colts: 4th-best at filling their arena in 2015-16, at 91.2 percent-capacity…
/barrie-colts_barrie-molson-centre_h_.gif"
Photo and illustration credits above –
Jersey front illustration by sportslogos.net. Aerial shot of Barrie, photo unattributed at pratthomes.ca/barrie-ranks-3rd-ontario-best-place-invest/. View of downtown Barrie, photo unattributed at andrew-thompson.on.ca. Exterior shot of Barrie Molson Centre, photo by stadiumci.com/sci/projects. Interior shot of Barrie Molson Centre by Mark Wanzel at thebarrieexaminer.com/library-checked-out. Logos from sportslogos.net/Barrie Colts.

…

Guelph Storm: 5th-best at filling their arena in 2015-16, at 89.7 percent-capacity…
guelph-storm_sleeman-centre_h_.gif
Photo and illustration credits above –
Guelph Storm road jersey (dark jersey), photo from ebay.com. Guelph in the autumn with Church of Our lady in the distant background, photo unattributed at crbprogram.org/renting/guelph. Guelph in the winter, photo by Sir Scavenger at flickr.com. Exterior-street-view shot of Sleeman Centre front entrance, photo from rlproyalcity.com/guelph-real-estate. Interior shot of Sleeman Centre during a game [11 Dec.2015], photo by Jfvoll at Sleeman Centre (Guelph) (en.wikipedia.org). Logos from sportslogos.net/Guelph Storm.

…

Niagara IceDogs: 6th-best at filling their arena in 2015-16, at 85.9 percent-capacity…
niagara-icedogs_meridian-centre_i_.gif
Photo and illustration credits above –
Jersey front illustration by sportslogos.net/Niagara IceDogs. Shot of downtown St. Catherines, photo by John Elmslie, St Paul Street, St Catharines, Ontario at flickr.com. Niagara IceDogs dog-bone-shoulder-patch logos: black-crossed-bones logo, image from sportslogos.net/Niagara IceDogs; red crossed-bones-with-St-Catherines/S-T-C-inset logo from a photo by Vaughn Ridley at gettyimages.com. Exterior shot of Meridian Centre, photo by Bob Tymczyszyn/St. Catharines Standard/Postmedia Network at stcatharinesstandard.ca. Interior/live-action-shot of Meridian Centre, photo from stcatharines.ca/Meridian-Centre-Community-Suite.

___
Thanks to all at the following links,
Sources for titles: OHL titles: J. Ross Robertson Cup ; CHL titles: List of Memorial Cup champions (en.wikipedia.org).

-Thanks to USGS.gov for blank map of the Great Lakes – unfortunately, the map is no longer available online (well, I couldn’t find it, anyway).
-Thanks to the contributors at Ontario Hockey League (en.wikipedia.org).
-A big thank you to Hockey Database site, for the hard-to-find OHL attendance figures (nobody wants to bother hunting down and compiling them, I guess), at Ontario Hockey League 2015-16 Attendance Graph (hockeydb.com).

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