Maybe the Wings should have let Phoenix win a game or two? (photo by Norm Hall and from Redwings.nhl.com)

I know this is not stadium-related, but I wanted to share a sports theory. We’ll call this the Rowland-Fabrizio theory as my friend Tony and I thought about this several years back. Out of the four major sports, the NHL playoffs are the most exciting in my eyes. Two months of intensity poured into the second season, the games are exciting, the atmosphere is awesome and the sheer grit and determination to win the Cup makes April-June a wonderful time (I write this a few hours before the Sabres play Game 7, so I’m a little tense right now).

Anyway, a few years back, we noticed a disturbing trend of teams that swept their season and sat out for an extended period of time…they lost in the next round. I think that constant grind every other day gets players and teams into an “intensity” grove and my thought is that after six or seven plus days off, it’s impossible to recover that feel and chemistry. The only stipulation to this theory is that the team they play in the next round has to go six or seven games in their prior series. The whole sweep-then-lose opportunity never happened in the 2010 playoffs (Chicago over San Jose in the Western Final was the only sweep, then they played Philly who won their last series in five).

So looking back from 2003 – 2009, teams that swept were only 2-4 in the next round when facing a team that played six or seven games. Take that a step further and when you add in teams that swept or won in five games, they were 7-12 in the next round against teams that had the longer series. Yes, I know it’s a small sample size and the numbers aren’t dramatic….but maybe a team on fire and extended rest is not all that its made out to be. Fear the sweep.

One of my favorite minor-league arenas visited so far came from Wilkes-Barre, PA as I loved everything there during my visit to Wachovia Arena (now called Mohegan Sun Arena). My rankings of Stadium experiences even have them tied at the top with Hershey. I can’t believe its been seven years since I made the three hour trek South to see the Baby Pens play and with no new nearby facilities available for me to visit this weekend, I’ll make an eagerly anticipated return visit. Once again, Wilkes-Barre is dominating the AHL and they will take on Norfolk in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Playoffs (Round 1). With a little more stadium tripping experience under my belt, we’ll see if everything still matches up nicely with the arena. Of course, going to this game puts me in a tough spot as the Sabres are playing Game 2 at 5:00 PM. Thanks to XM, I’ll listen to Rick Jeanneret call the first and some of the second period on the way to the game. Then, I will try extremely hard to look away from any NHL score updates in the arena as I DVR the rest of the game. You might be wondering why not head to Philly and watch the Sabres in the  playoffs (instead of AHL playoff hockey). Part of the reasoning is money, but its mainly because I fear walking into a Philly sporting facility wearing the jersey of the visiting team.

Hockey is back!!! The List has been updated to reflect changes and there are not many to speak of in the Arena world. Of course, the biggest change is at the Pro level with the Pittsburgh Penguins moving into the Consol Energy Center, but I’ve gone over that before. In the minor leagues, probably the biggest switching around came in the AHL, but again no real building changes. Lowell is gone as that franchise shifted to Charlotte, but they’ll be playing in the Bobcats’ NBA arena. The affiliation went to Carolina (makes sense), with the Devils taking Albany back. This is another reason I don’t like the Devils, as they have to stick their “brand” on everything. After nearly 15 years as the River Rats, Albany now is known as the Devils. Jersey did the same thing to Trenton in the ECHL a few years ago as they went from Thunder to Devils. I understand the whole organizational mentality, but don’t take that identity away from each city, though Albany never really seems to support their AHL facility well, as they play in an atmosphere-less, bland building. As much as I rail on Rochester for not being affiliated with Buffalo, I’m proud on how much they market and keep that Amerks name.

Anyway, luckily for us, Tsongas Arena in Lowell will still be in use as the UMass-Lowell D1 Hockey team will continue play there. The other good news of the AHL is they now have a balanced 30 teams, with Oklahoma City joining and continuing play in the Cox Convention Center (where they’re CHL franchise played). Glad to see OKC in the league as they have been a great hockey market and support their teams really well.

At the AA level, the biggest change is the Johnstown Chiefs moving South to Greenville, SC as the support for the Chiefs was dwindling and they simply weren’t able to make money. The Bi-Lo Center brings back hockey for the umpteenth time, while the historic Cambria County War Memorial will see several dark nights this winter. Remember, this is the building where much of the movie “Slap Shot” was filmed. Luckily, the Wheeling Nailers are actually going to play several games in Johnstown this year, so at least some hockey will be played there.

Two leagues merged in the offseason with the IHL (formerly the UHL) being absorbed by the CHL, where most of the IHL’s former teams will play. The only two buildings that left and returned from The List came from the Deep South. Let’s welcome James Brown Arena in Augusta back as they now have a primarily tenant again with the expansion Augusta Riverhawks in the SPHL. In the same league, the team in Lafayette, LA decided to play their games in the CajunDome instead of Blackham Coliseum. Both of these buildings are on the campus of Louisiana-Lafayette.

With the start of hockey, I’ll be heading to a few games this weekend as my brother will be coming down to Jersey for a hockey doubleheader. We’ll start with my first visit to the Prudential Center in Newark to root on the Sabres against New Jersey. Then the next night, it’s off to one of the best places for hockey: MSG as the Rangers play the Devils. Should be fun!

Enjoy Pittsburgh home games during the 2010 NHL playoffs because the days of the old Pittsburgh Civic Arena are numbered. Now called Mellon Arena (but better known in my mind as The Igloo), it looks pretty likely that it will meet the wrecking ball this summer as the Penguins move into their new digs, the Consol Energy Center. I’m sure you’ve started to figure out there are times when I’m glad a team moves into a new facility (the Twins and Target Field being a recent example) and there are other times I’m not. This is one of them. Part of what I love about stadiums is there uniqueness and this was certainly one of them. I don’t think you will see any built like this with the Igloo shaped top and the interesting interior design. The roof is actually retractable and the first one ever made. It’s amazing that this building was actually created for the Pittsburgh Opera and ended up playing host to quite a wide range of sporting events. But it will most be known for as being home to the Penguins. No NHL buildings are close to looking like The Igloo and I don’t think any will ever be…it’s a shame that it could not make it past it’s 50th birthday.

So that leaves us with five NHL arenas not built during the 90s or 2000s. Out of the five, the only one I would not mind losing is the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island. I greatly appreciate history and what happened there in the 80s and I also appreciate when it was absolutely rocking in 2002 when the Islanders faced the Leafs in the playoffs. But unless they can get that atmosphere consistently (which they can’t, since they did return to the playoffs in 2006-2007 and the intensity/loudness just wasn’t there), it’s time for it to go. I’ve been to that arena and it really is not much more than a glorified minor league arena. The other arenas: Joe Louis Arena (Detroit), MSG (New York), Saddledome (Calgary) and Rexall Place (Edmonton). We’ve lost too many of the classics and I really, really hope the rest of these are with us for awhile longer (especially the last three).

This is a little late as the all-star games sneak up on me, but here’s a list of the respective league’s host arenas. Remember, the NHL does not have an all-star game this year because of Olympic Hockey Tournament (eagerly anticipated by me). Also, not all of the minor leagues have a game:

AHL: Cumberland County Civic Center……Portland, ME……January 19
ECHL: Citizens Buisness Bank Arena……Ontario, CA……..January 20
OHL/QMJHL/WHL: WFCU Center………Windsor, ON…….January 20
USHL: Pepsi Coliseum………Indianapolis, IN…………January 26

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday. We’re back from a brief break at work to see family and friends in Rochester and while there, we saw the AHL Amerks play Hamilton at Blue Cross Arena. The old barn otherwise known as the War Memorial (it’s former name) has to be considered my ‘home’ stadium. I’ve never taken the time to figure out how many games I’ve been to here, but it surely is a lot. It such a quirky arena with quite a contrast of old and new. The more hockey arenas I visit, the more I realize how special it is as so many of the other (mainly newer) arenas are just sterile. There are so many goofy traditions here that I love: The accordian guy playing tunes as you walk into the arena, how the lights have to be ‘warmed up’ because of their age while the anthem is playing, the Moose, the off-center scoreboard, the old horn and score-o between the first and second period.

After a few down years, it was nice to see a holiday crowd of 7,000+ at the game. A completely new management team came in and made sweeping changes on and off the nice, mostly for the good. As for the arena/team nuances, I do like how they brought back the home white uniforms. But I find it horrible they let go the organist for decades, Fred Costello. Hearing the organ was a staple at Amerks games and now it has been replaced by awful, loud and constant pop music. To all these minor league teams who think they need loud music to energize or excite the crowd: please stop. As for the game, the Amerks withstood 47 shots and came out with a 4-2 win. So we say goodbye to Blue Cross Arena….till next year (or sooner if the Calder Cup Finals come calling).

As for the next new stadium trip, those plans are up in there as usual. If we get a real nice weather break, I’ve been toying with the idea of spending the weekend in Rhode Island for a couple venues. In reality, we’ll probably sneak away to a nearby facility, but it probably will not be until that week that I decide. Also, if you look at the schedule page, you’ll notice a Texas trip in April…more on that to come!

I was back in Rochester for the four-day holiday and went to go see the Sabres play Carolina on Saturday Night in Buffalo. They played rather awful as they could not get anything going the first two periods and then just exploded with five goals in the third to win 5-1. Ryan Miller (USA! USA!) was awesome making some great saves to keep them in it and then probably made one of the saves of the year towards the end of the second. This led to a DOUBLE standing O by our crowd. It was great to get back to see the Sabres play as it had been almost four years since my last game there.

HSBC is still one of my favorite arena experiences in the league as it truly is a great place. A couple of the new features I saw included “The Aud” bar in one of the concourses. Really cool, nostalgic hang-out area to drink and relax during the intermissions. The scoreboard was new to me as well and I honestly did not like the design of it. I find the circular scores around the board unappealing. The video is spectacular and crystal-clear, but man has it become a distraction. It seems any dead-time during the game, they fill the board with fan shots and everybody in the arena is fixated with the scoreboard. Also the pricing structure is annoying with four levels of prices based on the day and game, plus the Sabres have added pre-paid parking along with prices for how close you are to the arena. Booo. I know everyone is going this route, but its still sad to see. Lastly, it was nice to see a few of the new banners in the building. The 2007 division/presidents trophy banners and a couple new retired numbers (Gare, LaFontaine).

HSBC Arena is at the top of my list, but we are tentatively planning a New Jersey Devils game December 12, so we will see how the relatively new Prudential Center stacks up.