USHL Arena Impressions #3 - Sioux City, IA - RW77

Tyson Events Center - Sioux City, IA

The Tyson Events Center is home of the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers.  It's not very easy to spot, even though it is adjacent to the northbound lane of I-29.  Why?  Because that big, brick monstrosity actually mostly obscures it.  The brick monstrosity is actually the former Sioux City Auditorium, which (for an outdated and obsolete structure) is actually quite nice looking for its time.  Luckily for everyone's sanity, though, the Tyson Events Center actually houses the hockey team.  Tyson opened in 2003 and seats 10,000 per the website.

The facility is pretty nice.  I believe it is a bit nicer than Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, but it should be, as it is also home to concerts, events, and the NAIA basketball team for Morningside College.  The seats are about the same as Cedar Rapids as well.

It's got a pretty unusual format in that the seating is almost U-shaped.  There isn't much for seating at the side of the arena that the visitor defends twice a game.  Very odd.

Though of no fault to Tyson, Tyson is hurt by the fact that almost every path to the arena is under massive construction (not just the indefinite perpetual construction that I29 is going through... that project is going on beyond the 6 year mark... it was ongoing when I moved to Omaha in 2008).

Nevertheless, I have to admit that the facility is very good for the size of the town.

Grade:  A

Food

Big points from me for the fact that they serve Coke products, but the real sale is their drink policy itself:  Free refills with the purchase of a large beverage.  If you refill the cup once, you've cost the Tyson Event Center almost $5.00 in lost sales.  I doubt I'll ever see that at the Ralph.

Otherwise it is typical arena food.  Ok but massively overpriced.  Oh yeah, the mini-donuts are a huge hit at the arena.  So huge that if you don't buy them before approximately half way through the second intermission, they usually run out.... or they did when I was there.

There is a lot of variety of food.  I didn't try it all.

Grade:  A-

Entertainment

Believe it or not, there wasn't a whole lot I remember in between periods.  Maybe that's because it was during the playoffs.

The PA guy and the music choices were ok, though.

Grade:  B*  (Guesstimate)

Fans

These fans are just as passionate as UND fans, in my opinion.  However, they are a lot like me (to be brutally honest).  They complain A LOT about the refs.  And, I can't blame them.  USHL officiating is, on average, bad if not terrible.  To make a point of it:  I'd take Todd Anderson or the Shepherds over the USHL refs.

Nevertheless, it's all we heard, to the point of openly mocking them back.  They'd yell a penalty and we'd yell back idiotic combinations of penalties like "Interference roughing slashing!" or my personal favorite:  "Contact to the head tripping!"

All in all a fun time.  And they tend to be like their team:  They leave it on the ice.  After the game, many Sioux City fans made it a point to come over to me (I was in my Omaha jersey) and shake my hand and say good game and thanks for coming.  Drive Safe.

Funny, though, I do not recall getting hit by Sioux City's reputation:  Foul smelling air.

Oh well.

Grade:  A

Overall:  If not for Lincoln, Sioux City might very well be the premier road destination to see a USHL team.

Grade:  A

Arena Impressions - Cedar Rapids - RW77

Ok, Part II so far.

The Cedar Rapids Ice Arena -- Cedar Rapids, IA

Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, home of the USHL's Cedar Rapids Roughriders, is a modern arena opened in 2000.  It seats 4,000 people and has two sheets of ice, as well as a small store that sells Roughtriders merchandise and a decent sized open area that could be used for many different kinds of events.

Though this arena only holds about 600 more than Des Moines, the age of the building isn't the only stark difference between it and Buccaneer's Arena.  This arena is adorned with modern seating, projector screens behind both goals, great lighting, and a great feel around the upper walkway.

The walls were festooned with Cedar Rapids alumni like UND forward Michael Parks and LA Kings hero Alec Martinez.

The facility looked very well cared for.  Aside for a few random dents in the steel siding (most probably from VERY stray pucks), this arena looked new despite its 14 year old age.

If I were to build a USHL facility on a limited budget, I'd start in Cedar Rapids, IA (knowing full well what palaces Ralston Arena is and what the new rink in Sioux Falls seems to suggest).

Facility Grade:  A-.  Would be an A+ with an updated scoreboard.

Ice:

Not unlike the facilities, the ice was great.  The boards seemed not to be as lively as Des Moines.  I think this helped Omaha because the boards seemed to react very similarly to Ralston Arena.

Grade:  A

Entertainment

They had a VERY interesting way of doing things pre-game.  Even at UND, there wasn't that much to do between the end of warm ups and the opening lineup ceremony.  Not at Cedar Rapids.  From the minute the last player left the ice until roundabout 3 minutes prior to them stepping onto the ice, there was a nonstop series of montage videos featuring different songs.  Some featured highlights from last season.  Some featured behind the scenes stuff.  Others the history of the franchise.  All in all, I was VERY impressed.

Pregame Grade:  A

Intermission Entertainment:  They had a chuck a puck competition, and a slingshot bowling thing.  The chuck a puck was pretty straight forward except the prizes were a bit lame.  We did not participate.

The slingshot bowling is always a crowd favorite.  And it was done right.  Good on them.

Intermission Grade:  B+

PA:  We met this guy but really, all he had to do (like I said before) was to know the player's names and numbers and pronounce them correctly.  He did.

Grade:  A

PS:  He's a nice guy.

Fanbase:

A LOT more people came to the game in Cedar Rapids than in Des Moines, but I do not recall them announcing it during the game.  I'm fairly sure that it was between 2,000 and 3,000 people from the looks of it.  Still, there were some empty seats.  A lot in our section.

Though we had rumors that Des Moines fans were less than fun, we had no such preconcieved notions about Cedar Rapids.  For the most part, we were left alone, just like in Des Moines.

Two exceptions:  One fan came and talked to us as a fan of a former Lancer player (Gage Hough, now of UMass Lowell).  She was nice.  As for the other, these three nagging older ladies did not take too kindly to my razzing the goaltender (The old UND standard (Goalie's Name x3, you suck) and made a rather crude reference of a more homophobic nature.  Hey, I'm not sensitive, but if you are going to mock me, at least be original or creative.  She wasn't.  Sad for her.

Cowbell/Vuvuzela Factor:  This arena really pushed cowbells and they were everywhere.  Naturally, this concerned me.  I shouldn't have been concerned.  They knew when to ring the cowbells and when not to and responded to prompts accordingly.  There was no gratuitous noise.  No one rang them in anyone's ears intentionally or otherwise.  It was very well orchestrated.  That speaks a lot to a strong, loyal, and well-informed fan base.

Fanbase Grade:  A-

Overall Impression:

Omaha's fanbase doesn't travel...especially with the year Omaha's having.  However, this was an easy 4 hour drive from Omaha and one that every loyal Omaha fan should make.  I would not hesitate in the slightest to return to Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.  BTW, even the Roughrider website is cool.

Overall Grade:  A-

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• Arena Impressions - Cedar Rapids - RW77

Dubuque Fighting Saints: Defenseman Dylan Chanter hurt in fight (Video)

My thought and prayers are with Dylan Chanter. Sounded like an ugly incident, no one wants to see this happen in a hockey game. Thank God the kid is okay and if we get an update of his status I will pass it along.

From the Saints of the USHL, their official release:

The United States Hockey League has suspended Saturday night's Dubuque Fighting Saints and Cedar Rapids RoughRiders game following an injury to Dubuque defenseman Dylan Chanter. The RoughRiders held a 2-0 lead over the Fighting Saints when the injury occurred midway through the second period at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.
Chanter was injured when he fell to the ice following a fight. He was attended to by trainers and medical staff on site, and was transported to a local hospital shortly following. Chanter was conscious following the injury and when he was removed from the arena.
The Fighting Saints will provide an update on Chanter when one becomes available. Additional information about the resumption of Saturday night's game will come at a later date.

From the USHL:

The United States Hockey League announced that the game between the Dubuque Fighting Saints and Cedar Rapids RoughRiders on Saturday, October 12th has been suspended. Dubuque Fighting Saints defenseman Dylan Chanter was injured after falling to the ice at the 11:58 mark of the second period during the game, played at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
He was immediately attended to at the arena by medical personnel before being transported to a local hospital for further care. While all parties are awaiting further information, Chanter was conscious as he was transported from the arena.
The Office of the Commissioner and general management of both the Fighting Saints and the RoughRiders concurred that it was in the best interest of the players not to continue the contest.
Further details as to the player’s condition, as well as a rescheduling of the game, will be issued by the Commissioner's Office as soon as they are available.

Wanted to let everyone know I'm awake and okay. Thank you so much for all your thoughts prayers. Nothing compares to the hockey community.
— Dylan Chanter (@dylanchanter) October 13, 2013