Moore to Say

Detroit dazzles with Frozen Four

-By Mike Moore-

Detroit - If a picture can tell a thousand words, Mike Hoffman had quite the story for his friends and family when he got back to Milwaukee.

Part of a dozen or so fans creating their own standing room section, Hoffman leaned forward, armed with his digital camera and determined to capture every angle of this spectacle that he could.

First he aimed forward, then to the side, then up, and once more at the view in front of him.

“This is pretty cool,” he uttered, his expression already saying the same thing.  “I’ll never forget any of this.”

And with that another picture was snapped, another piece of history recorded.

-World record twice over-

Hoffman certainly wasn’t alone setting off the flashbulbs, nor will he be in rare company of those who took home a ticket stub of history. But by the time this April 10 NCAA hockey championship game concluded — a 5-0 victory for Boston College over the University of Wisconsin — the official attendance of 37,592 at Ford Field would set a world-indoor record for a hockey game, breaking the old record of 34,954, set all of two nights before.

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 Photo taken by C&G photographer Patricia O’Blenes

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The three-game attendance of 72,546 was the most ever for the Frozen Four, which played in a non-hockey arena for the first time ever in 2010.

“I love how it looks and the atmosphere it creates,” Hoffman, donning a Wisconsin jacket added about the layout of the rink, which sat in the west end zone and ran from one sideline to the other. “I left Milwaukee around 5:30 a.m. (April 8) in order to beat Chicago traffic and I’ve been down here ever since. It’s been great.”

Teddy McGourthy, also from Milwaukee, dealt with the interesting dilemma of traveling from Badger Country but rooting for the Eagles.

“My father played football at Boston College. My brother played baseball, my sister went there, and my nephew is there now,” he said with a laugh, defending his allegiances.

But asked about the Frozen Four, which he attended all three games, and the city of Detroit as a host, McGourthy couldn’t lay out his praise quick enough.

“I’ve been to a lot of sports towns, Boston and Chicago for example, but I learned very quickly the people of Detroit are very passionate about their sports,” McGourthy explained. The Frozen Four was a perfect excuse for his first trip to the Motor City. “I’m not surprised at all at the turnout here. I mean, it’s Hockeytown after all, isn’t it?”

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Photo taken by C&G photographer Patricia O’Blenes
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McGourthy considered going to the Tigers’ game on the afternoon of April 10, but instead took part in a Boston College pre-game party at one of the local bars downtown.

“This whole experience,” he continued, “being down here and seeing this city and everything has been great.”

-Near perfect-

While official numbers weren’t released at press time, organizers expected the Frozen Four to generate anywhere from $7-10 million dollars of revenue in the downtown area.

Coupled with the Tigers home opener on April 9, the city, needless to say, was alive and well.

“We went to the Tigers game (April 10), stayed down here and then came to this,” Roseville resident Gary Fleming said while watching the championship. “I’m not surprised with the amount of people that have been down here, but the number of out-of-towners has been crazy. We saw a ton of Wisconsin and Boston College people at the (Tigers) game and at the bars and everywhere we’ve been.”

And while most comments in regards to the Frozen Four were positive, it’d be tough to be entirely perfect.

Fleming, who was at the final with his brother Paul, bought tickets more than a year ago and spent $200 each to sit in the risers that were installed on the east side of the rink.

“We should have gotten the 40-dollar package,” Gary Fleming said. “The seats in the risers were way too low. There was too much of the ice that you simply couldn’t see from where we were sitting. For the Final Four (2009) they had the court off the ground some. I wish there was a way they could have down the same here.”

“I was hardly impressed with all of this,” Minnesota resident James Sterly said, with a smile. “The seating is too far from the ice, no matter where you are. The stadium is too big for hockey and that takes away from the atmosphere. I’ve been impressed with the whole downtown experience, but as far as the stadium setup is concerned, I didn’t like it.”

-Frozen forever-

With nearly 40,000 people buying into the event — 30,000 tickets were sold prior to the teams even reaching the semifinals — seeing the typical hockey venue in the typical hockey atmosphere was never the chief concern.

“It was about the experience,” McGourthy said. “I think a lot of people are here to support the sport of hockey and the NCAA and to be a part of history. After seeing this, I honestly believe Detroit should host more of these. It’s like the perfect city for things like this.”

Hoffman may not have gotten the result he was looking for on the final night of his stay. Yet, even with his beloved Badgers struggling to keep pace with Boston College, the picture taking continued.

“I can’t be too upset,” he joked. “I’ve got friends at both schools.”

He’s also got a part of history, captured one photo after another, a story to tell a thousand times over without a single word.

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This story was originally published on the C&G Web site. To view it, Click Here.

Mike Moore can be reached at mjm12@albion.edu.

Craig Transforms Ford Field to Hockey Palace

-By Mike Moore-

DETROIT — Hockey would be played here in a little over a week, but on this March 30 afternoon, Ford Field was a construction zone occupied by sheets of plywood, rubber flooring and a silver panel covering the west end zone that stretched from one sideline to the next.

To the casual onlooker, the eight full days left before the 2010 Frozen Four officially began would hardly be enough time to transform this football gridiron into a sheet of playable ice to crown college hockey’s king.

Someone, somewhere had to be stressed out.

Surely, whoever was in charge of this operation had to have the panic button in hand?

“I never get nervous,” Dan Craig quipped, hands empty, by the way. “We’ve had years to think about and plan for this. We’re ready.”

His confidence and his smile were interchangeable as he spoke to a group of media in the stands at Ford Field, his master puzzle being constructed behind him. There was no stress, no tension, just a contagious ease and comfort.

You see, Dan Craig knows ice; it’s as simple and complicated as that.

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Dan Craig talks with the media March 30 about the process of
putting an ice rink on the turf at Ford Field.

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And the results of his knowledge will be on full display from April 8-10.

“This time of year, I don’t have a home,” Craig laughed when asked where he resides, adding a quick rundown of his itinerary during a typical month in early spring, covering every corner of the country and back, twice.

His official job is NHL Facility Operations Manager, meaning, more or less, he’s the ice man for each and every rink in the NHL.

If something isn’t right, he’s summoned.

If things are perfect, he’s there to make sure.

Transforming a field into a hockey rink is a delicate and complicated process, and when that’s the case, Craig is usually the man for the job.

He was there, in charge at Wrigley Field for the NHL’s 2009 Winter Classic between Detroit and Chicago. When Boston hosted Philadelphia at Fenway Park for the 2010 Classic, and when Vancouver hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics, the ice was under his careful watch.

“Everything I do is a big event,” Craig said when asked about the 2010 Frozen Four. “If it were a high school game down the street, it’d be a big event and a big deal to me. Whether it’s 8-year-old kids or guys making $18 million a season, we want them to have the best of the best.”

He talked about the process as if it were no different than building a house. One step at a time, certain things required for others to fall in place.

Still, as standard an operation it is to him, Ford Field certainly presented its fair share of obstacles.

Due to its size, the refrigeration trailer, which tips the scales at roughly 300 tons and freezes and keeps frozen the ice surface, will remained parked outside the stadium, some 400 feet from the ice, which, in turn, requires some 400 feet of piping to supply the 3,000 gallons of coolant.

“Normally it’s about 200 to 225 feet away,” Craig laughed.

On top of that, the trailer will sit 40 feet above ice level, another first for Craig and his crew.

“We did a rink in Japan once and it was about 8 feet above, that’s the most we’ve ever done,” Craig added, still smiling. “Again, we’re not worried. These machines and these systems are designed to do what they do.”

Craig and his NHL staff arrived in Detroit March 28 and began rink construction — set in the west end zone and running from sideline to sideline with risers for additional seating on two sides — on March 29. There were 112 sections of boards installed March 30, while the glass went up March 31 and the four-day process of pouring the ice was scheduled to begin April 1.

“Ice making is patience,” Craig said. “We’ll spray the first layer, let it sit, go have a beer and steak and come back later. We’ll check things, do the next layer and so on.”

In all, more than 20,000 gallons of water will be used to create an ice surface two-inches deep. The total process takes four days.

“On (April 5) I’ll put the skates on and see how things are,” Craig said.

The four teams in the Frozen Four take the ice for the first time April 7 for practice.

By then, Craig expects his ice, as it always is, to be perfect.

You can reach Mike Moore at mjm12@albion.edu

Shamrocks win D-1 title

-By Mike Moore-

PLYMOUTH — There’s a certain passion for Catholic Central hockey some may not understand, but on March 13 was pretty clear for all to see.

Whether it was the fans lined up outside Compuware Arena more than an hour before the Division 1 state final began or the standing-room only crowd that eventually packed into the game, it got to coach Todd Johnson.

“When we took the ice, I had a tear in my eye,” Johnson said after his team captured its second straight Division 1 state title “The support we get and the kids we have is so incredible. It’s an honor to be a part of this.”

Catholic Central, the No. 1-ranked team in D-1 all season, capped the 2009-10 campaign with a 6-1 victory against Howell High, wrapping the season with a 28-1-1 overall record and the 14th state title in program history.

The Shamrocks did, in all reality, what many had expected them to do since last year ended — in the exact same game with nearly the same result against the exact same team.

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Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
Members of the Catholic Central hockey team celebrate a goal during a 2-1 semifinal victory against St. Mary’s. The Shamrocks celebrated even more the following night after defeating Howell High 6-1 in the D-1 final.

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After all, that team, which beat Howell 7-0 in the final last March, graduated just six seniors, returned 14 varsity players and brought back 12 seniors.

For opponents, it was reason enough to shiver in their skates.

For Johnson, it was cause for concern.

“It sounds crazy, but I was a little worried we’d be full of ourselves or have some poor attitudes and feel that entitlement,” Johnson admitted. “Some of it is human nature with kids this age, but truthfully, we had the exact opposite. We had guys out here working harder than ever. We had guys doing the little things at school or supporting the other athletic teams, or doing volunteer work and so on. They wanted to earn that support and that following we had last year, again. They didn’t take anything for granted.”

The results speak for themselves.

Catholic Central began the year with 14 consecutive wins and didn’t lose a game until Feb. 3, a 1-0 setback to Trenton High. The guys rebounded well, winning the final six games of the regular season before beginning their playoff run.

After surviving an early scare from Livonia Stevenson in the regional final, a 2-0 win, CC rolled past Ann Arbor Huron 8-0 in the quarterfinals and earned a trip to Compuware against Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.

“Of all the hockey games I’ve coached, not including the state finals games, that St. Mary’s game probably ranks No. 1 for me,” Johnson said of a 2-1 win March 12 that was as physical a game many had ever seen. “They did some things to take us off our game, and we suffered some tough injuries early that we had to adjust to. But to find a way to win that one was pretty special.”

When asked about the final victory, Johnson laughed.

“Honestly, if that wasn’t for a state championship, I would have been very worried,” he said. “We were up late Friday night. We were banged up, and we were playing a much better Howell team than we saw a year ago. For our guys to do what they did was pretty special.”

Johnson said the key was striking first — a Ryan Keller goal 6:17 into the first period. Howell kept things close, trailing just 2-1 with less than five minutes remaining in the second period before the Shamrocks blew the doors off with four straight goals, and their crowd nearly blew the roof off the arena.

“Again, it’s an honor to be a part of this,” Johnson added. “I was a little surprised with the outcome being as it was. We just played a great game.”

A state title was, obviously, a goal for CC entering the season, but as Johnson explained, it was anything but goal No. 1.

“When the guys set our 10 goals for the season, finishing as state champs was actually No. 10 on the list,” he explained. “The way we see it, you can only win a state title one day out of the whole year. That leaves four others months of hockey. So if that is your top and only goal, and you don’t do it, what does that say about your season?”

Maybe it was that attitude that carried the Shamrocks to 28 wins, including a perfect 11-0-0 record in the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League. Maybe it was their talent or experience or 12 seniors, or that passion for success.

Whatever it was, it worked.

Again.

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