Why is Minnesota called the "State of Hockey" when the State of Colorado has won 9 NCAA Championships in Men' Ice Hockey compared to Minnesota's 5? Even if you count Women's Ice Hockey the count is only 10 to 9 in favor of Minnesota. Its downright embarassing.The Scorecard:
DU 7
CC 2
MN-Mens 5
MN-Women's 2
UMD-Women's 3
3 comments:
Uh, we're called the State of Hockey for other reasons beyond college hockey or even professional leagues.
It was a marketing ploy by the MN Wild. Kinda lame, but meant to represent the mulitiple levels of hockey played in the state. From the pond hockey in northern minnesota, to youth leagues, to the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament, which is the biggest draw in the state. For decades, the best of the best have competed in St. Paul to sell out crowds. And after HS, the Minnesota Gophers have been atop college hockey rankings since college hockey began, and that was without 25 year-old canadiens like DU and UND!
We may not win a lot, but we compete at every level, and for 100 years we've been playing the sport, some from age 3 to 100.
Thanks for asking though!
Oh, and good luck this weekend. It should be a great weekend of college hockey, with the two teams that have won each of the last four titles!
Go Gophers!
Few reasons:
1. Minnesota produces the most D1 hockey players in the country (roughly 38% of all D1 players are from MN).
2. Minnesota has produced the most NHL players (currently leads all others states with 30).
3. Minnesota has been prominent in US Olympic hockey (12 of 20 players and coach from 1980 team were Minnesotans).
4. US Hockey Hall of Fame is in Minnesota.
5. Our State Hockey Tournament is the biggest state highschool tournament (of any sport) in the country, and draws over 100,000 people each year and tickets are handed down generation-to-generation.
6. First American elected to Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame was a Minnesotan (Moose Goheen).
7. Minnesota has a deep, rich hockey history that dates back to the 1880's and dominated American hockey in the early days.
8. Minnesota has the highest enrollment of youth hockey in the country. In fact, roughly 1\113 MN residents is on a hockey team of some sort.
Here are some cool examples of just how seriously we take hockey in MN...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRjupjFl_aw
http://www.minnesotanationalguard.org/press_room/e-zine/articles/index.php?item=1706
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