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NOVEMBER GAME AT THE XCEL TO BE PART OF UMD'S "HOME" HOCKEY SCHEDULE NEXT SEASON

Sunday, March 23, 2008

The Bulldogs, who have graced the Xcel Energy Center ice surface at various WCHA Final Five clashes in the past, will pay their first regular season visit to that St. Paul, Minn., facility this November.

The Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center has served as the home of University of Minnesota Duluth hockey for the past four decades, but for one game next season, the Xcel Energy will fill that role.

This afternoon, UMD and Minnesota State University-Mankato announced plans to jointly host the the inaugural WCHA State of Hockey Showcase which will be held at the downtown St. Paul facility.

The event is slated for November 1, 2008 and will feature all four men's Western Collegiate Hockey Association teams from Minnesota -- the State of Hockey. UMD will take on St. Cloud State University at 4:07 p.m. in the first end of the doubleheader followed by 7:37 p.m. faceoff between MSU and the University of Minnesota. Both of those games will count in the WCHA standings. UMD will play the Huskies at the DECC the one night earlier while Minnesota is scheduled to host MSU also on Oct. 31.

UMD has previously been involved in two other similar "home" games outside of Duluth. On Feb. 19, 1995 the Bulldogs played host to the Wisconsin in front of crowd of 14,258 at Milwaukee's Bradley Center and were the home team against the University of North Dakota in the finals of the 1984 WCHA playoffs which were contested at the old Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.

All tickets for the event will be sold as a two-game package with no single game ticket availability. Prices are set at $40 for lower bowl and club level, $35 for upper deck seating along the blue lines, and $30 for upper deck end-zone tickets, with an additional $2 facility fee charge added to the final purchase price. Each school has been allocated a block of tickets that will be made available to their season ticket holders on a priority basis. Tickets for the general public will not go on sale until October 1.



The future of the Showcase beyond this year remains uncertain at this time. League officials are optimistic that the 2010-11 schedules could be re-arranged to accommodate the event during that season, but it may not work out for the 2009-10 league campaign, according to WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod.

"That was one of our concerns when we initially started working on this." said McLeod. "We have a long association with hockey in the state of Minnesota and the fans have been clamoring for an event like this for many, many years. Now that we have something initiated, we feel a sense of responsibility to keep it going.

"I also want to commend (UMD athletic director) Bob Nielson and (MSU athletic director) Kevin Buisman for their vision, leadership, and cooperation in helping to get this off the ground. When it was first discovered that a quirk in the scheduling was already bringing the four schools together on the same weekend during the 2008-2009 season, we began devising a possible plan. To their credit, they have stayed with it and six months later we find ourselves at a point where the concept has now become a reality."

As host institutions, MSU and UMD will split the gate proceeds, in a revenue-sharing arrangement that also includes the Xcel Energy Center. The WCHA will retain broadcast and advertising rights for the event, which McLeod feels can be used to leverage exposure for the league during the entire season and for its signature postseason tournament, the Red Baron WCHA Final Five held annually each March at the Xcel Energy Center.

"There are a number of positive synergistic effects that we believe can be accomplished by tying these two together, " said McLeod. "An event of this magnitude will certainly enhance the WCHA brand, while providing a great night of hockey for fans throughout the state of Minnesota."

Nielson echoed those sentiments.

"We are thrilled about this partnership and to be involved in an event that has been a long time in coming," said Nielson. "This is a terrific opportunity for Bulldog hockey and the WCHA."

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