Locals said to me weather was fine on Friday though

and the announced "attendance" was even smaller. The high school tournament has ALWAYS been a big deal and has for years gone up against Gopher playoff hockey. During the last year of the WCHA, Minnesota played before full houses during the opening round and even in bad seasons, like 2011, Minnesota managed to attract 18,600 people to Mariucci to watch them get swept on home ice. I think it is quite possible the formation of the Big Ten hockey conference has knocked the Minnesota program for a loop it will be difficult to recover from.