The Frozen Four is coming. Sounds like a Beatles reunion.
College hockey’s final four reaches Verizon Center on Thursday, which given there is no college hockey around Washington is like bringing spear fishing to Phoenix. The Washington Capitals finally gained a following after a generation, but there’s no lust for the college game around town.
Puck heads in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Denver or Boston should be pretty steamed over a southern city with zero connection to the sport getting the championship. Then again, not a lot of local fans will see the games.
Half of the 18,277 tickets were sold through a national lottery so maybe a few lucky Washingtonians snagged tickets. The other half was split between participating teams and the local organizing committee. At best, a few thousand locals will attend. Let’s just say there won’t be a lot of Alex Ovechkin jerseys in the stands.
A good ticket contest would make radio callers name the teams. The problem is nobody would win. Miami is the one in Ohio, not the ACC team. Boston and Vermont are at least fair guesses, but if you’ve even heard of Bemidji State, much less know where it is, you deserve seats on the team bench. Bemidji is a town of 14,000 in upstate Minnesota where polar bears probably outnumber locals. Their rival is supposedly two hours north, which would be Siberia. Bemidji fans will be pretty mad when they discover there’s no ice fishing on the Potomac on the off day.
Maybe this is the coolest event we’ve never seen. Given the Caps are the only local team worth watching lately, college hockey can’t be too different. There’s even an open skate for the public on Saturday hours before the title game. Fans get arrested for stepping onto FedEx Field, much less being allowed to play a game before the Super Bowl.
If you really want a betting interest, take Boston. The Terriers haven’t been to a Frozen Four in 12 years, but their four national titles are four more than the others combined. Miami and Bemidji State make their first appearance while Vermont last played in 1996. This is like Hoosiers on ice.
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event for Washingtonians because the Frozen Four surely won’t return anytime soon. Not unless Dan Snyder buys the rights, floods FedEx and moves the game to January as the Redskins postseason ticket package.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected]
