#ThruwayPuck Season 3, Episode 1

We're back! In the first episode of the season, Dan and Otto catch up on the season for far, All Star Games, The World Cup of Hockey, AHL re-location and more. Check it out here or download it on Itunes, Just search #thruwaypuck. Find the guys on twitter at @oisen25 and @dpron1.

Thoughts about the Frozen Dome Classic

I start this first and foremost by thanking Howard Dolgon and the Syracuse Crunch for choosing to put on this event. It was an event of a lifetime and while I do have some issues with it, none of it could have happened without their efforts.

The first missed opportunity for the game was the marketing of merchandise. I understand this wasn’t an AHL event so they were able to do whatever they wanted. However, as a Comets fan, I had no interest in any of the t-shirts which all had the Crunch logo on them. Even using both logos would have at least made me consider buying something related to the game.

I had seats in section 303, which fell right behind the net. For the price, the tickets were a good value, I can’t complain in the least about our view of the game. I did notice that after the first period that on the bench side, the ice level seats were empty for about the first 15. I wasn't sure why until a couple days later when I talked to someone who had seats there. Apparently the seats were below ice level, so once players were on the bench, there was no view from those seats. Fans in those areas had to be moved to locations where they could see. You would imagine that this would be one of the first things to be considered before setting up seating arrangements. However, the need to sell tickets at the higher price was the priority.

There was no re-entry policy for the event. This was probably the biggest complaint I had about the event. If you wanted to see all of the games, it would have been about an eleven hour day. Eight dollar beers and food prices in the same range made it a ridiculous day out if you were to have brought a whole family had had to feed them one meal, if not two. As a rebellion, not that those in charge care about 5 people, my family and I avoided buying anything from the concessions. Another issue I had was that there was the time taken to plan out the Utica Strong get together as well as one for Syracuse fans. Those who wanted to see the college game were unable to get out to take part in any of them. There is no doubt that there could have been a much larger crowd for the Pioneers versus Lakers game had people been able to leave for the three hour layover between games. I have a hard time believing that a hand stamp and retaining the ticket is that hard of a policy to enforce to allow re-entry into the game.

The ice was a major issue in terms of the actual game play. It appeared to be very soft ice and was definitely slow; the water from the Zamboni took until halfway through the period to set up. Holes were constantly being patched, I’m sure the head referee would have appreciated it, as he found himself on the ice multiple times during the course of the game. I’m not sure I've been a puck bounce around as much as I have in both of the games on the big day. A big part of this I associate with the timeline of the event, which was mostly out of the control of the organizing committee. Another couple days to monitor the conditions would have allowed them to set the temperatures to the idea levels. I just hope the soft ice wasn't an intentional result of knowing it needed to be broken up right after the game. Another good idea would have been to keep the Crunch off the ice on Thursday before the game. They held a skate, even though they had to have cones on the ice to keep players away from problem areas. Getting the ice to idea conditions should have been the priority. Overall, there were 5 games in about 24 hours, while this will take its toll on any ice surface, I do believe that there was an opportunity to have better conditions.

As for the game lineup, it was a very pleasant day of hockey. Both games that I watched were great games considering the circumstances listed above. There was a solid contingent of both UC and Comets fans which helped make the games more fun since we weren't outnumbered as bad as it could have been.

This was my first time at a major event at the Dome. I had attended the Iowa-Syracuse football game years ago, but to say the environment for that was underwhelming would be kind. This event had a buzz from the beginning, even if it did take Comets fans starting chants to get the Syracuse fans going during the AHL game (all but once as far as I could tell). This wasn't all that surprising though given the similar situation at the War Memorial for the one game I attended last year. It was nice though to not experience any disrespectful fans. I’m sure there are situations contrary to mine, but when the biggest insult that I heard from a noisy Syracuse fan near us was “you’re from Utica” I can deal with that. It also made me realize that I need to attend an Oswego hockey game in Oswego. While I couldn't always understand what they were saying, The couple hundred Oswego fan were constantly chanting things, which is exactly how a student section should be. Overall the fan experience was the best part of the day, 30,000+ people watching a local hockey game was awesome!

For the entertainment that the hockey products provided, the rest was lacking a bit. The honorary puck drop was ok, I’m glad they honored the hockey players and the military member as well. However, this was not a Syracuse University event, the basketball and football was irrelevant to anything happening that day. I would have rather seen the owners of the Comets and Crunch if they insisted on filling all of the carpet that they rolled out. I would assume I am in the minority on this given my lack of caring about anything Syracuse sports but that’s the way I see it. Intermission entertainment was pretty weak as well. The Steve-O bit had potential but should have been planned out before the game. Syracuse has plenty of ice rinks around, figuring out the logistics of getting someone past centre ice on a sled (should have been a saucer) wouldn't be that difficult. The Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit was beneficial; it allowed me to kill a few minutes between games and gave me the desire to return to Toronto so that I can actually visit the hall again. I didn't have the patience to push through the lines of people to get to read all of the available information.

This list may seem that it wasn't enjoyable, but I want to clarify that it was a great time and I would certainly do it again. I just feel that there were many things that could have been modified slightly to increase the experience for all involved. A Comets win certainly would have been among those things, but redemption on Wednesday took care of that for me. I’m looking forward now to see how the Comets staff and the AUD do hosting the All-Star game in the near future.

The Utica Comets Experience

As the season begins to wind down and slim playoff hopes becoming even slimmer, I have decided to take a look at what has been good and some things that could be done to increase the home town advantage. Yes, I know some of these would be expensive and there may be restrictions on how business works, but they are just some thoughts that would increase the atmosphere in the AUD.
I'll start with some of the things that have been good so far in the first year of having professional hockey back in the Mohawk Valley. First, we have hockey and people are coming out in full force to watch it. Nine games so far this year have sold the maximum 3,815 tickets for admission. It is a very telling number of the support for hockey in the area. By ticket sales, Utica College has continued their stretch of being tops in NCAA D3 attendance. Through the regular season, they averaged 3,779 tickets sold per game, according to USCHO.com. The Utica Memorial Auditorium is also turning back into a modern arena. The fresh coat of paint(and vinyl wrap) provided the initial face lift. The season ticket holder bars, The Horton Room and Kilfoils, have added a new experience for those who have been going to the AUD for years. More changes are still in the work, I personally cannot wait to see them continue. The Comets have done an excellent job of using promotions to sell tickets as well. Teaming up with other local and national businesses, there has been a giveaway of some sort for around half of the home weekend games. As well, weekday games have featured discounted tickets and discounted beer. Lets be honest, what brings Utica hockey fans out more than $2 beers? The Comets have stayed very connected to the community as well, as would be expected with their ownership group. They have featured several local groups with pregame ceremonies, had local celebrities such as now Olympic goal medalist Erin Hamlin and America's got talent celebrity Leon Etienne drop the opening puck. Local youth teams have played between periods and been honored during games. Of course, they have also added the "hall of fame" for the past Comets, honoring the history of the game in the area. There has been lots to love so far this year, with still more to come in the remaining games and into the future.

The first change I would like to see made applies to both the Comets and Utica College. Both teams have excellent season ticket sales which is great but limits tickets available to the general public. I believe there needs to be a way for season ticket holders to surrender their tickets if they are not attending a game. This would allow the AUD to come closer to filling up on games which they are technically "sold out". Utica hasn't been in this scenario in a long time, before the invention of stub hub to be sure, so people don't think about or want to go online to sell their tickets. Facebook can work for some but only if people are going to be in the area to physically exchange them. An option on the Comets website to surrender them for resale (maybe with reimbursement to the original ticket holder) would benefit both the Comets an their fans.

The second change I would make is creating a sponsored "energy section." The premise would be that fans could buy specific tickets with the intention being that they will bring energy to the game. Utica has always had "The Chicken Man" and years ago it was his section that led all the cheers at The AUD. Needless to say he isn't in his prime to do so any more and The AUD lacks the energy he used to bring. I personally would try to get a radio station to but out one of the stage end sections and resell them to the fans who are interested. Utica College has a general student section area that occasionally provides the passion and leadership to the crowd. We've heard how loud The AUD can get in the closing seconds of the game, why not more often when the team could use a lift?

The third change I would make would be using the downstairs pub to its maximum potential. Opening the pub for game where the Comets are away from The AUD could be a big draw, especially against local teams where the rivalries are growing. I know the games are available on the radio and AHL Live, but for some streaming isn't worth the money. If the Comets streamed the games in the pub it would allow fans to get together to support their team, not to mention additional revenue from beer sales, maybe even partnering with The AUD concessions to make it food available. Another idea would be selling tickets to just the pub for Comets home games which are sold out. While this one would hurt season ticket holders, it would increase the number of people able to be in the building for the big games.

The Comets have been extremely successful so far this season on and off the ice. These ideas could add a bit more to the atmosphere at the games to help them continue. What do you think? Any other ideas? Feel free to share them on here or with me on twitter at @oisen25

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#ThruwayPuck - Episode 10

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