This weekend will mark the fourth and final North Star College Cup at Xcel Energy Center.
The announcement is buried in a release previewing this weekend’s tournament featuring the Gophers, UMD Bulldogs, MSU-Mankato Mavericks and St. Cloud State Huskies.
No reason is provided as to why this is the last Cup, but the simple eye test points to poor attendance at the first three. According to SB Nation, Day 1 of last year’s tournament brought in 12,591 fans and Day 2’s crows was smaller, with just 10,993 tickets sold.
Pulling the trigger on a tournament that was supposed to help keep in-state rivalries alive after conference realignment in 2013 probably won’t sit well with SCSU head coach Bob Motzko. After winning the Cup last season, Motzko explained that it takes time to build a popular tournament.
“Remember the old (WCHA) Final Five wasn’t that way in the beginning, and then it ended up being a destination weekend,” Motzko said, according to USCHO. “I just don’t think you can snap your fingers and it’s there in one, two or three years.”
So much for that. Now you can snap your fingers and it’ll be gone in less than a week.
No word on how any future projects to keep the in-state rivalries brewing.
