The drive to downtown St. Paul notwithstanding, nary a complaint was heard about the new Xcel Energy Center not leaking Gopher ghosts at the seams. The facility is amazing. There's a restaurant on the club level that serves a good prime rib sandwich and where a scribe can even sneak a cigarette if so inclined. The very rich still get the best seats. The luxury suites are lushly carpeted and paneled in oak.
Fans sipping complimentary cocktails can see every on-ice grimace.
The participants were just as impressed. Players and coaches alike praised everything from the locker rooms to the ice. It's a great building. Lucia was the architect of much tradition-breaking last weekend. He started Grant Potulny, the first non-Minnesotan to play for the Gophers since goaltender John Blue at the beginning of Doug Woog's tenure.