Blame Game: Where does the real blame lie when it comes to attendance?

By Jessi Pierce

Another tournament has come and gone. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for the fans. Empty seats once again lined the rows at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. As I watched from home I couldn't help but notice the emptiness. It was almost a glaring distraction from the on-ice action.

It's sad when the topic of conversation switches from the hard work of the teams to the attendance -- or lack thereof. Players worked hard all season to be celebrated at a conference tournament, only to have few more than mom and dad in the crowd.

"You get to this time of the year, and you want to play in front of good crowds," Gopher head coach Don Lucia told the Detroit Free Press. "Doesn't matter if they're cheering for you or against you. It's kind of what you're used to all season long."

But the more pressing issue isn't just the lack of attendance, it's the question of why. Why do fans continue to remove themselves from conference tournaments? Where has the passion gone and will it come back?

B1G Has Higher Hopes in Hockeytown

By Mike Hinrichs

It's still a little less than two months away, but it's never too early to start looking forward to the second annual B1G tournament, set to take place March 19-21. This year's tourney heads to the heart of Hockeytown, hosted at the infamous Joe Louis Arena.

Last year's inaugural B1G conference tournament called the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul home. Looking at the attendance numbers, you can bet the Big Ten is hoping for a better turnout the second time around.

Badgers Capture Inaugural Tournament Title

Wisconsin was the prediction at the beginning of the year to win the Big Ten Championship Tournament.

Though they wavered at the beginning of the season, for the second straight year the Badgers hoisted a conference tournament championship trophy around the Xcel Energy Arena.

Ohio State didn't make it easy for them. The Buckeyes had pushed past Michigan State in a 2-1 overtime victory and out-muscled top-seed Minnesota to earn their spot in Saturday's championship bout. Wisconsin earned a bye from the first round and topped Penn State for a shot at the title.

It was anyone's game.

Wrapping Up The Inaugural Season...Finally

I have to admit, the word 'inaugural' has found itself blacklisted from my vocabulary. The redundancy and overuse of 'the-word-that-shall-not-be-said' this season has taken its toll.

So hang it from the rafters, applaud its retirement, starting next year there will be no more firsts in the Big Ten hockey conference.

That being said, we can now look back on what was accomplished in 'Year One' of Big Ten hockey.

More opinions will of course be decided this weekend. The Big Ten Conference Championship Tournament invades the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., providing one final measuring stick before we find out where our Big Ten teams land on the national stage.

B1G Media Day: Preseason Polls, Players To Watch & What The Coaches Are Saying

Photo courtesy of Big Ten Hockey

By Jessi Pierce

Lots of action starting early this morning at the Xcel Energy Center as the St. Paul building hosted the inaugural Big Ten Media Day Thursday. And what a day of events it is as we get a peek at preseason favorites, hear from our favorite coaches and players and see what the B1G revealed as the playoff trophy.