Hockey makes a starring appearance on this week’s Sports Media Podcast, as co-hosts Austin Karp and Mollie Cahillane speak with ESPN’s John Buccigross about the Frozen Four, which is making its first visit to St. Louis since 2007 (SBJ’s Alex Silverman looks at the Blues’ yearslong effort to bring it back to the Gateway to the West). Buccigross has been broadcasting the event since 2013, and he discusses how important it is for his NHL coverage to get a look at these college athletes and why St. Louis is a good city for hosting big hockey events like the Frozen Four, which begins tonight.
These excerpts have been lightly edited for clarity.
On St. Louis as the Frozen Four host: “It’s got good history. Obviously, they got their NHL team in the late ‘60s. They were one of the first original six expansion teams when the league doubled from six to 12, and they had instant success. This will be its third Frozen Four. It’s been a long time [since St. Louis hosted], but it’s a good market, centrally located. It’s slowly getting some D-I hockey involved with Lindenwood. It hosted an NCAA regional last year to get ready for tonight and for this weekend. ... For hockey to grow there, it makes sense, right? No NFL team and no NBA team, just the Cardinals and the Blues, and so I like it. A World Juniors would be a great get for them. They probably need some big improvements in their arena. It’s probably time for a nice little spruce up there. But overall, St. Louis is a great sports city with a great hockey tradition.”
Best place to watch a college hockey game: “I love Yost [Ice Arena] in Michigan. They did a great job when they refurbished it. It’s an old-house feel, which I like. I’m a traditionalist, so I like old things. I like that old sporting feel of intimacy, and that’s a wonderful, wonderful place that I really enjoy. I’ve heard about North Dakota’s Ralph Engelstad Arena. I can’t believe I haven’t gotten there yet, but they say the Ralph is just absolutely sold out and it’s a crazy atmosphere. Amazingly, Penn State became a top five, top 10 student section very, very quickly. The Roar Zone, they built that place so intelligently. It’s a big, big steep end where the students are. And, of course, the opposing goalie is there twice. They bring signs along the glass. It’s really amazing how quickly Penn State caught on as a great student section. So those old rinks are slowly dying off. They’re building a little bit bigger ones, little shinier ones, the little nicer ones. College hockey had the antique car feel, the ‘67 Camaro, the ‘70 Trans Am, and now they’re all like that sedan that we see that all look the same now.”
Favorite Frozen Four moment: “I’ve called one overtime winning goal. That’s the one you like to call, because when the puck drops at overtime, someone’s going to score a goal they remember for the rest of their life and win a national championship for their school. The only bad part was mine is that it lasted 11 seconds [Quinnipiac beating Minnesota 2-1 in 2023]. Quinnipiac dropped the puck, they won the face-off, threw it down the wall, passed in front -- a gorgeous designed play, like a football-designed play that you don’t often see in hockey because hockey is much more about intuition and randomness. But that was a perfectly executed football play, off a face-off and overtime and that was great. But like I said, I just wish it lasted longer because those are the audiences that we get big ratings for.”
