Fraters Libertas

A Great Day (or two) For Hockey

Last weekend I had the pleasure of watching two highly entertaining (and one rather humdrum) WCHA Final Five hockey games at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. I love the game of hockey at all levels of play, but there's something about the fans, the bands, and the rivalries that makes college hockey my favorite. Especially at tournament time when fans from various schools (some playing in the tournament, some not) come together to catch the action, converse with others who share their passion, and most of all have a hell of a good time.

On Friday afternoon my wife and I watched the University of North Dakota Sioux knock off the Alaska-Anchorage Sea Wolves, who, up to that point, had been the Cinderella story of the tournament. After the game we hurried out of the arena and made a beeline to a local St. Paul watering hole for some vittles and liquid refreshment. Unfortunately, every such establishment within a ten block radius of the Xcel Energy Center was already packed with thirsty hockey fans. We wandered around downtown St. Paul for what seemed like forty years before coming upon the land of milk and honey; a bar that wasn't standing room only.

Granted it was a dive, smoking appeared to be mandatory, the regulars could have appeared as extras in the movie 'Barfly', and the closest we could come to food was a frozen pizza. But the Summit was flowing freely and we had a premo location at the bar. Life was good. And surprisingly so was the pizza. Either that or we were already half in the bag and so hungry that the cardboard packaging would have tasted like a gourmet feast.

We chatted with a couple of Sioux fans seated next to us. They were quite knowledgeable about hockey with a good sense of humor as well. By the time we finished our pizza and had a last round before the next game, it was only ten minutes to the opening face off and we still had a lengthy walk back to the arena ahead of us. The NoDak boys had wisely called a cab and offered to let us tag along. We gladly took them up on it and soon were motoring our way to the rink. After my wife noted the presence of a butcher knife in the front seat, the cabbie regaled us with his tale of being stabbed eight times while on duty in his second month on the job. He assured us that it would not happen again, hence the knife. And if he did have to defend himself, he wasn't going to be bothered by any unnecessary paperwork or hassles (he had the notion that if you killed someone, whether justified or not you had to pay their burial expenses) either:

"I'm just going to chop 'em up in little pieces and put 'em in my trunk."

Okaaaay then. Oh look there's the arena. My time flies when you're having fun. Well we hate to chat and run but we really do have to be going. Here's your fare. No, no change. You just keep it. Yeah, take care of yourself now. Whew.

Friday night's contest featured the University of Minnesota facing off against their upstate rivals from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. When the Dawgs jumped out to an early 3-1 lead on the Gophers, the UMD fans around us were quite full of themselves and didn't hesitate to let those of us cheering for the Maroon and Gold know it. But when the Danny Irmen show kicked into high gear (two goals-one short handed), and the Gophers rallied to take control en route to a 7-4 victory, the Bulldog faithful became awfully quiet.

If I may be so bold as to offer a little advice to Duluth fans: Win something (in the last fifteen years) that counts and then you can talk. Those four regular season victories over the U of M don't mean nothin' now. It's not a fluke that the Gophers are two time defending national champions. They find a way to win when it matters. Probably more so this year than ever. Your Dogs may well get another shot at the Gophers in the Midwest Regional. If they can get it done then, more power to you. Until then please stifle.

Saturday I was at the Dickensian workhouse known as AM 1280- The Patriot (I must say that their gruel is quite tasty though ) to slog through another long, hard afternoon of radio. Then church. Then back to the Xcel for the championship game between the Gophers and Fightin' Sioux.

Nineteen thousand plus on hand. The atmosphere was electric and the place was a buzzin'. Two teams and schools that live up to the "they don't like each other" billing. Despite the fact that both teams had already secured #1 seeds in the upcoming NCAA tourney and that the outcome wasn't going to impact the seedings, the game still mattered. The WCHA playoff title, pride, and the pain of losing to a bitter rival were all on the line. And the result was a whale of a hockey game.

The Gophers came out of the chutes strong and definitely held the edge in play throughout the first period. But when the buzzer sounded it was not reflected on the scoreboard. Despite a two to one edge in shot for the Gophers, the score was knotted at one with the teams trading power play tallies. Danny Irmen netted the Gopher goal, his third of the weekend after getting ten the entire regular season.

The second period belonged mostly to the Sioux. The Gophers did strike first to take a 2-1 lead, and it looked like they then made it 3-1. But after review, the goal was disallowed which seemed to change the momentum. The Sioux tied the score and were on the power play play when the Gophers Troy Riddle had a short handed breakaway. He tried to fake the Sioux keeper and get him to go down, but ended up not even getting a shot on net. Mere seconds later, just after the power play expired, Zach Parise scored to give North Dakota their first lead of the game. Two turning points in the period. Both went the way of the Sioux.

Between periods I was ranting about the failures of the Gophers big guns to deliver. Through two period the only place on the score sheet where Riddle and Thomas Vanek had appeared was in the penalty column. Riddle had been in the sin bin twice and Vanek once again demonstrated his lack of maturity and control by taking an incredibly stupid penalty, when he high sticked Zach Parise behind the play. He was fortunate to only be sent off for two minutes.

Vanek is the Randy Moss of college hockey. Loads of talent and the ability to make spectacular plays are offset by a lack of effort at times and a penchant for losing his cool. The only thing preventing this kid from being the best player in college hockey is his approach to the game. If you put Jake Fleming's attitude in Thomas Vanek's body you would have a sure fire Hobey Baker winner.

Meanwhile, the pair of Hobey Baker finalists from North Dakota were doing their part. Parise had a goal and two assists through two, while Brandon Bochenski had a tally and a helper. The reason for the North Dakota lead was that their top players were getting it done, while the Gophers were not.

But in hockey, as in life, things can change quickly. Early in the third Vanek picked off a pass, broke in on the Sioux net, and showed ridiculous patience before finally putting the puck behind the goalie. Vintage Vanek. Less than three minutes later the other heretofore quiet Gopher star, Troy Riddle stuffed one past Jake Brandt and suddenly the Gophers were up 4-3.

The Sioux were not so easily finished however, and when Bochenski scored his second goal of the game on a shorthanded breakaway midway through the period, I began readying myself for the rigors of sudden death overtime. It's nerve wracking, heart pounding, agony for the hard core hockey fan. It's the worst of times and the best of times, rolled into one hypertensive, stomach churning bundle of emotion. You love it AND you hate it at the same time, and when you end up on the losing end it's a miserable feeling.

One that I was able to avoid when the heart and soul of the Gophers delivered once again.

Gophers captain Grant Potulny is likely to never play in the NHL. He's not a great skater, his shot is average, and he doesn't have much finesse. But he's the kind of player that every coach would love to have on their team. He's the guy who makes it happen. Somehow, someway, he finds a way to win.

Two years ago he scored the OT game winner against Maine to give the Gophers their first national title in twenty one years. Last year his return from injury was the spark that propelled the Gophers to the second consecutive national championship.

And with less than six minutes remaining on Saturday night, he kept the Gophers post season roll going when he popped up from behind the North Dakota net, and jammed the puck in. Sure, there were some nervous moments down the stretch as the Sioux pressed the attack, pulling their goalie to gain a six on four advantage with over four minutes left, but the Gophers refused to relinquish the lead. When the buzzer sounded they had claimed the WCHA playoff title with a 5-4 win. Another great game in a great weekend of hockey.

If the NCAA regional playoffs and Frozen Four are anywhere near as good as this, it's gonna be a fun coupla of weeks. Let the real March Madness begin.