Gopher hockey (Minneapolis, St. Paul: hotels, buying, school)

[Hockeygirl063]

I was hoping to get some information about Mariucci Arena and the Gophers hockey.


Is it worth buying a standing room only ticket? Or should I try to buy a ticket with an actual seat?

Are there any hotels that are fairly close to the University that are not excessively expensive?

How far is the airport from the University area of Minneapolis?


I was thinking of flying in for a weekend and taking in a game. I was looking at the schedule and they start playing in October. It would be nice to go before winter sets in. I don't mind snow or cold but I don't want to get stuck :-)

Thanks so much

Minnesota, hats off to thee!
To thy colors true we shall ever be,
Firm and strong, united are we.
Rah, rah, rah, for Ski-U-Mah,
Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah!
Rah for the U of M.

[Repeat]

M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A!
Minnesota, Minnesota!
Yay, Gophers! RAH!

[CCbaxter]

The airport is not too far away and you can take the train right to campus. There are several hotels right on campus and some pretty near. If you come on a weekend you can even stay downtown fairly inexpensively. Get a seat.

[Oildog]

Rail system from the airport make transit sweet. Many hotels in U area.

[Hockeygirl063]

Thanks so much for the information. We have a light rail here in Portland so I am well versed in riding :-)

[Glenfield]

I would go for a seat over SRO.

[WoodburyWoody]

Light rail from the airport does not actually stop on the campus, but you can switch trains to do it if coming straight from the airport to a game at the Downtown East station.

The Blue Line runs from the south (including MSP airport) to the north(ish) and then northwest, veering to the west into downtown Minneapolis just to the southwest of the West Bank of the university. The Twin Cities campus has the West Bank and the East Bank ... the Mississippi River separates the two Banks and the East Bank is where both hockey arenas are located. The Green Line runs east from St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis, through the East Bank.

Blue Line
METRO Blue Line

Green Line
METRO Green Line

The two lines share stations to the west of the West Bank starting at the Downtown East station and four more stations continuing into downtown Minneapolis and both ending at Target Field.

Mariccui Arena (Men's Hockey) is walking distance from the Stadium Village station on the Green Line.

[PullMyFinger]

College Hockey is so much better than the NHL. I highly recommend any ticket you get get at Mariucci.

[WoodburyWoody]

And at the Ridder, for the six-time NCAA champion Women's team as well.

[Hockeygirl063]

I should go see the women but they don't allow checking which I think is a big part of hockey. I will look at the women's schedule too. Thanks for the tip.

[BillWallace]

I've split Gopher Hockey season tickets for many years.

There are a number of ways to get tickets.

- Go the the main Gopher Hockey blog and check their ticket forum. I see a couple pairs right now for dates in October and they never sell over list price there - Tickets - GPL
- Craigslist
- Stubhub
- Purchase directly from the school athletic department - gophersports.com Standing room should be fine and the rule of thumb is you can go take any vacant seat after the first period and there are always vacant seats unless it's a huge rival game like maybe Wisconsin
- Scalp ticket outside arena

You might want to check out the seating chart before hand so you know which sections are best - https://www.mygophersports.com/onlin...B-C2B5FD8C9996

In that picture the yellow sections are student sections. Seats at that end of the arena are generally more desirable because the gophers shoot at that net in both the 1st and 3rd periods.

Make sure you walk around inside the arena and check out the displays between periods. The murals showing pictures of all of the players who have been All-Americans, the team pictures, the Hobey Baker display, the Olympics display and some of our trophy cases.

Finally, my personal favorite food item is the Kemps Ice Cream booth at the end near the main entrance. Huge bowl of ice cream for $5!