The ECAC Hockey tournament final four has been at the Times Union Center since 2003. Next year is the final year of a three-year deal between the two sides.
ECACH commissioner Steve Hagwell said he hasn't had formal discussions with TU Center general manager Bob Belber to extend the deal.
"I have [discussions] with Bob that [the deal] is up in 2010," Hagwell said in a meeting with reporters Saturday. "In April, the [ECACH] administrators and coaches will talk about that very situation, from a good business practice. We're going to go through the exercise of doing that. We'll talk about all facets of this championship. Bob will come down and review it with the league members."
Belber is looking forward negotiating a new deal.
"We're hoping that they extend our contract, and accept our bid," Belber said. "We've submitted a bid to their specifications that came out. We love the tournament. We enjoy the tournament here. I think being centrally located is a good scenario for all the fans from all the schools."
Hagwell said everyone in the league seems happy with having the championships in Albany after being in Lake Placid from 1993-2002. However, Hagwell will go through the process of seeing if any other venues are interested in hosting the event.
"We have received inquiries in the past," Hagwell said. "And we have some on the table now. Some people have approached us."
Hagwell wouldn't reveal what other venues have approached him. Belber said he had heard that Lake Placid and The Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn., have submitted bids.
Attendance has always been an issue at the TU Center. Friday's semifinals drew just 3,517, the lowest in tournament history. Saturday's session drew 4,587, although it looked like more than that.
"We've explored this year after year, in good years and in bad years," Hagwell said. "Unless you're sitting here with the place packed and people demanding tickets, you never reach your goal. We need to sit down, cover the landscape again and see what we've done right from our perspective, and maybe ask people in the community what we haven't done."
All-tournament team
Tournament-champion Yale placed four players on the all-tournament team. They are forwards Sean Backman and Broc Little, defenseman Ryan Donald and goalie Alec Richards.
The other members are Princeton forward Dan Bartlett, and Cornell defenseman Jared Seminoff.
Backman was named the Most Outstanding Player.
Shootouts comes to tourney
For the first time in ECACH tournament history, a shootout was used to determine third place. St. Lawrence won the shootout, 2-1, and got a 3-2 "victory" over Princeton.
However, since the NCAA doesn't recognize the shootout as a method of determining a game's outcome, the result is a 2-2 tie.
That is good news for Princeton. The Tigers possibly punched their ticket to the NCAA tournament with the tie.
Ironically, it was the first tie for the Tigers (22-11-1) in 81 games. Their last tie game was a 1-1 contest against Brown on Feb. 2, 2007.
"On the bench, that's what [assistant coach] Keith Fisher said," Princeton coach Guy Gadowsky said. "For our first one, not a bad one."
The tie is also good news for Princeton goalie Zane Kalemba.
"We're still going," he said. "We don't have to shave yet."
The last tie in a third-place game was a 4-4 deadlock between RPI and Yale March 14, 1987.
Dan Bartlett scored twice for the Tigers. Matt Generous and Derek Keller scored for the Saints.
Reporter at heart
TSN hockey analyst Bob McKenzie was at the tournament, watching his son Mike play for St. Lawrence.
Even though he was rooting for his son and the Saints, McKenzie can't help but feel like a reporter.
"I act like a reporter a lot of the time. Sometimes, a dad," McKenzie said. "You watch so much hockey, and you're always analyzing it. I watch it as if I were doing a game for TSN."
Big goal
The most important goal in Cornell's 4-3 double-overtime victory over Princeton in Friday's second semifinal wasn't Riley Nash's game-tying goal with 24.5 seconds left in regulation, or Colin Greening's game-winner at 9:56 of the second OT.
Big Red coach Mike Schafer pointed to Evan Barlow's goal with 2:52 left in the third that helped Cornell pull to within 3-2.
Barlow scored during a four-on-four situation. He got the puck in his own zone, skated down the right wing and flew past the Princeton defense. As Barlow got to the right circle, he cut to his left. Barlow got Tigers goalie Zane Kalemba to commit early, and then he fired a shot into the open net.
"It was an absolutely outstanding play by Evan Barlow," Schafer said. "We had shifted him back to play defense at the time. He went on an end-to-end rush. It's a play that should be on 'SportsCenter,' but it probably won't because of all the basketball. It was a tremendous play by him."
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That's all from the TU Center. I will have a blog Monday looking back at the tournament and looking ahead to NCAA tournament.
And thanks to everyone who read my stories and blogs this season. I look forward to doing it again next season.
I will be back at the TU Center on Sunday. I'm filling in for Phil Janack, covering the Albany River Rats' game against the Philadelphia Phantoms.
Good Night! Good Hockey!
