By @MichaelCaples –
WalletHub has released its annual ‘Best Cities for Hockey Fans’ list, and, to no one’s surprise around here, Michigan’s cities have scored well once again.
Detroit ranked No. 1 overall in the NHL rankings, while checking in at No. 2 overall in the mixed scores for both NHL and NCAA hockey.
The only city scoring higher was Boston, which checked in at No. 3 in the NHL score and No. 1 in the NCAA score with its numerous college hockey programs sprinkled around Beantown.
WalletHub ranked 73 U.S. cities based on 21 criteria pieces. The release says the “data set ranges from ticket prices to stadium capacity to the performance level of each city’s teams. Read on for the winners, commentary from a panel of sports experts and a full description of our methodology.” You can see the full list here.
The list only represents NHL and NCAA cities, thus preventing Grand Rapids, Flint and Saginaw from appearing in the rankings.
Overall Rankings
No. 2 overall – Detroit
No. 24 overall – Ann Arbor
No. 30 overall – Houghton
No. 34 overall – Big Rapids
No. 35 overall – Marquette
No. 44 overall – Sault Ste. Marie
No. 62 overall – East Lansing
No. 72 overall – Kalamazoo
NCAA Rankings
No. 2 – Ann Arbor
No. 8 – Houghton
No. 12 – Big Rapids
No. 13 – Marquette
No. 23 – Sault Ste. Marie
No. 37 – East Lansing
No. 53 – Kalamazoo