Monthly Archives: December 2015
The X
St Paul, Minnesota
St Paul’s Xcel Energy Center
Hockey returned to the schedule Tuesday night. This time for an NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and the Vancouver Canucks at the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul.
Warmups at The X
Ryan Miller would be starting in goal for Vancouver. I have watched Miller play since he was a Spartan, in fact I’ve been at more games when he was in net for Michigan State, than I have seen him play as a pro.
It would be a tough night for Miller, as his teammates seemed to do a lot of standing around and watching the Wild skate.
Thomas Vanek, the former Golden Gopher, opened the scoring with a power play goal. Jason Zucker followed with an even strength goal to go up 2-0 after one period.
The second period was all Minnesota, as the Wild scored four more goals, throwing a total of 36 shots at Miller. Vancouver did get one behind Darcy Kuemper, who started his fifth consecutive game in place of the injured Devan Dubnyk. The score was 6-1 after two.
Players taking the ice for third period
Ryan Miller was mercifully pulled for the third period, and the Canucks managed to get one more behind Kuemper. However, at this point, both teams seemed to just be trying to wind down the clock and get out of the arena.
Final score: 6-2 Wild win. Vanek had his first 4 point night as a member of the Wild. Captain Mikko Koivu also had a 4 point night, with Zach Parise picking up 3 points. Those were the three stars of the game. Attendance was 18,804.
Glen Sonmor
Courtesy of The Daily Gopher
Minnesota hockey legend Glen Sonmor passed away on Monday at the age of 86. Sonmor, a native of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, had a pro career in the AHL and played 28 games with the NY Rangers before his career was cut short when he was hit in the eye by a snapshot from teammate Steve Kraftcheck.
Glen Sonmor as a New York Ranger
After Sonmor lost his left eye, John Mariucci hired Sonmor to coach the freshman hockey team at the University of Minnesota, eventually becoming the Golden Gophers’ varsity head coach in 1966 after Mariucci left the program. Sonmor led Minnesota to the WCHA title in 1970, becoming the conference coach of the year that season. In 1971, despite a 14-17-2 record, Coach Sonmor led Minnesota to a runner up finish in the NCAA Tournament.
In 1972, Herb Brooks took over the Minnesota program, when Sonmor left the Golden Gophers to become the coach & GM of the new Minnesota Fighting Saints.
Sonmor as the North Stars’ head coach. Photo credit: Minneapolis Tribune
In 1978 Sonmor took over as coach of the Minnesota North Stars, leading the team to their first Stanley Cup finals in 1981 against the NY Islanders.
In the late 1990’s, Glen Sonmor returned to the Golden Gophers, when he teamed up with Wally Shaver for radio broadcasts of Gopher hockey. Sonmor was 81 when he retired from the airwaves in 2011 after 15 seasons of broadcasting.
Miles Canyon, Yukon River
The steamer Clifford Sifton shooting Miles Canyon circa 1900. Photo credit: Major James Skitt Matthews
“Through this narrow chute of corrugated rock the wild waters of the great river rush in a perfect mass of milk-like foam, with a reverberation that is audible for a considerable distance, the roar being intensified by the rocky walls which act like so many sounding boards. Huge spruce trees in sombre files overshadow the dark canyon, and it resembles a black thoroughfare paved with the whitest of marble.”
— Frederick Schwatka
“I demand that neither hardship, suffering, privation, nor fear of death should move you by a hair’s breadth from carrying out your duties.”
— Inspector George French … Royal North-West Mounted Police
Lions Tap
I took my Dad down County Road 4 to “Flying Cloud Drive” and the Lions Tap last week.
The Lions Tap started out in 1933 as a vegetable stand. Heroically, they started to sell beer at the little stand soon after, and by the end of the decade gasoline, bootlegged whiskey, and slot machines were added. In the early 1950’s the bar started to grill its famous hamburgers.
My Dad delivered Grain Belt beer to the Lions Tap in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. It was a job that gave him many stories to tell, and he shared them with anyone that would listen when we stopped by the little roadhouse last week. Quite a few farmers would buy him a beer when he was done unloading his kegs, and his boss would often stop by the bar and order him to have a Grain Belt or two before continuing on with his route. It was a different world.
Back then, the hamburgers sold for a quarter and the glass of Hamm’s or Grain Belt sold for a nickel. Today, the Lions Tap is still grilling up their famous burgers and they have their own line of craft beers on tap, although the prices have changed a bit.
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