Season 5 Episodes 35 and 36 of the Chasing MacNaughton Podcast from Tech Hockey Guide; Down in Houghton and Evidence Based Opinion. This week Tim Braun, Dustin Lindstrom, Rob Gilreath and Matt Cavender were joined by Trent Singer who writes for The Rink Live. In this episode they discussed Augustana’s new arena, creating the culture with a student section, Michigan Tech’s recently completed series against Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech’s lack of team identity and Michigan Tech’s upcoming series against Northern Michigan.
New Digs
Trent recently wrote an article on Augustana’s new arena that hosted it’s first series last weekend. Trent talked about the atmosphere being electric despite Augustana losing both games. Trent didn’t think there were any huge red flags with the new arena, but he wasn’t a fan of how tight the concourse got during the sold out games. Trent talked about the design of the building including how much the fans sit above ice level. Trent also brought up the Club Level seating and some of the amenities it provides.
The guys talked about the arena size, which is the third smallest by capacity in the CCHA. They brought up possible ways that the arena could be expanded in the future. Matt talked about loving the natural light that floods the arena and Trent talked about them closing off the windows for game time. Matt asked Trent about his favorite part of the arena so far. Trent talked about liking how far off the ice the seats are, making it easier for him to shoot pictures of the on-ice play. Trent also mentioned the Gjallarhorn in the arena.
Organic everything
After covering the new arena, the guys transitioned to discussing the Augustana student section. Trent talked about wanting to compare Augustana’s student section to an established student section such as Michigan Tech’s Mitch’s Misfits. Trent listed off some of the qualities that he felt make the Misfits one of the best student sections in college hockey. The guys discussed the cheers in a student section and Matt pointed out that even fans who have less hockey experience can still bring something to the table.
The guys spent a lot of time focusing on the “organic” nature in which the Misfits were created. Trent admitted that the Augustana student section felt more forced and stressed that the school needed to let it develop naturally. Tim brought up Minnesota United FC playing “Wonderwall” after each home win and how it grew to the level that it is currently. The guys discussed the need for the school to have some involvement though in case things become too rowdy and need to be reigned in.
The guys talked about the unique position that the Augustana student section is in, given that the hockey team is brand new. They talked about many student sections being born of out a team’s success, which isn’t always sustainable. Matt thought that the student should rally around the school and the game as being a source of fun. He related it to the current batch of Misfits, who enjoy being at the game no matter what the result is.
The Laker player and the Husky player
Once the conversation about Augustana wrapped up, the guys switched gears to reviewing Michigan Tech’s recently completed series against Lake Superior State. Matt shared his experience being at both games in person. He talked about a group of kids being rude to the Misfits and the Misfits attempting to put those kids in their place. Matt thought the Friday game was frustrating and commented on the skill difference between the two teams. Matt talked about Lake Superior State bottling up the neutral zone which stymied Michigan Tech’s game plan. He thought that Saturday was a much better game for Michigan Tech and enjoyed being right on the glass for the lone Michigan Tech goal.
The other major talking point from the Lake Superior State series was the penalty shot call that turned into an awarded goal for Lake Superior State. The guys looked up the NCAA rulebook and discussed whether the referees got the call correct or not.
Who even are we?
The guys spent some time discussing Michigan Tech’s lack of identity up until this point in the season. Tim thought that there was no excuse for the team to not have an identity going into the month of February and also thought it was the biggest criticism of Joe Shawhan. Matt wondered who else would take the Michigan Tech head coaching job and do a better job than Joe.
Northern Michigan who?
The guys decided they didn’t want to give Northern Michigan any respect and kept their preview of the upcoming series very short (ok, maybe I’m reading between the lines too much). Tim thought that it was a big series to keep Michigan Tech’s home ice hope in the CCHA playoffs alive. Matt picked a split with each team winning at home. Trent picked the same result. Tim picked a Michigan Tech sweep. Dustin picked a Northern Michigan sweep. Rob picked a Michigan Tech sweep and predicted that Austen Swankler would have a big weekend.
Cut for time
This week’s cut time for Patrons is approximately 21 minutes long. Tim and Dustin talked about the Club Level seating at the Ralph. There was a conversation on driving the Tech vans to Michigan Tech hockey games. The guys discussed what league the other sports Augustana participates in might land. Tim played part of Joe Shawhan’s post game comments after Michigan Tech’s win against Lake Superior State and the guys discussed them.
Learn More
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Check out Tech Leadership 4.0: Leading in a Technologically Driven World and The Power of Deduction: Failure Modes & Effects Analysis for Design: Second Edition written by our very own Old Dog, Mike Anleitner
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