Tag Archives: hockey

10 April 2016

Amalie Arena

By icefogger

2016 Frozen Four
Tampa, Florida

Amalie Arena
Amalie Arena: The Frozen Four

In Tampa for the Frozen Four. The second time this city has hosted the Division 1 Hockey Championship game in four years. Tampa has quickly become a hockey town, and once again we have received an enthusiastic reception.

QU vs BC FF
Quinnipiac and Boston College line up for the National Anthem

Thursday held the two semi final games. The east faced off with the Quinnipiac Bobcats facing the Boston College Eagles. Quinnipiac started quickly, taking a 2-0 lead into the first intermission on goals by Kevin McKernan and Andrew Taverne.
Alex Tuch put BC on the board, but the Bobcats responded right away on a goal by Landon Smith to keep a two goal lead.
Ryan Fitzgerald of the Eagles scored in the third to make things very interesting. I was pulling for Quinnipiac, but admit I wanted BC to score on that power play.
In a great game one, Quinnipiac held on to the 3-2 win.

Attendance was 17,816.

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NoDak vs DU
North Dakota and Denver in warmups

In the second semifinal, old foes Denver and North Dakota would go to battle. The first period was tight, and scoreless. In the second, Drake Caggiula would open things up for the Fighting Hawks, with two goals. Denver would rally to start the third and tie things up at two, but the Hawks would come back with two more goals, including an empty-netter.

The Fighting Hawks would win 4-2, with Caggiula getting a goal and an assist.

Attendance was 18,037.

Two great semifinal games.

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Hawks vs Bobcats
Hawks and Bobcats during warmups

The Championship game was held on Saturday, with Quinnipiac facing the Fighting Hawks. The Hawks would score first, with a goal by Shane Gersich.
Quinnipiac would go on a power play, but would have a costly error allowing Brock Boeser to come in on goal alone. Bobcat goaltender Michael Garteig came out of his crease to play the puck away from Boeser, but ended up hitting the forward from Minnesota in the thigh. With Garteig completely out of position, and the net empty, Boeser easily put the puck in the net for a two goal lead. QU would be chasing their tails out on the ice for much of what remained in the period; they were in complete disarray after falling behind 2-0. Luckily, the Hawks helped them out by taking two penalties. With the two man advantage, QU score to make it 2-1.
The second period was scoreless, but Drake Caggiula would take over the third period with two goals in the first four minutes. The Hawks added one more in the 5-1 killing, and their 8th National Championship.

Caggiula had the two goals and Boeser had a 4 point night.

Attendance was 19,358, good for the third highest in Frozen Four history, although most of us fans do not count that year held in a football stadium.

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3 April 2016

James “Sloppy” Floyd State Park

By icefogger

Camping in Georgia

Camping in Georgia was open for business, and it was much appreciated. A nice, little, park northwest of Atlanta, and the drive down US Hwy 27 was beautiful once again.

The camp host was a Hockey Mom from Ontario, so we hit it off right away.

Leaves!
OMG! The trees have leaves down here!

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28 March 2016

Step Two:

By icefogger

Knoxville, IA to Champaign, IL

Fairfield Mansion
There are some beautiful homes in Fairfield, Iowa, including this 1896 mansion.

A quick run across Illinois in the rain. The plan was to camp at Turkey Run State Park, just across the border in Indiana, but the non-stop rain forced a change of plans.

On the plus side, an earlier stop gave me time to catch some playoff hockey on ESPN.

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19 March 2016

B1G Tournament

By icefogger

Back at The X,
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Minnesota Hockey

The Big Ten Hockey Tournament started on Thursday at The X in St Paul. Ohio State prevailed over Michigan State in OT, and Penn State beat Wisconsin 5-2 to advance to the semifinals.

Michigan vs PSU
Michigan takes on Penn State

In the Friday afternoon game, Michigan faced Penn State, and the Wolverines have lit the lamp against the Lions this season.
Michigan led 2-0 after one period on goals by Max Shuart and Alex Kile. In the third period, Kyle Connor scored three in a row for the pure hat trick. JT Compher assisted on all of Connor’s scores. Kevin Kerr finally put one behind Wolverine GT Steve Racine, which put the score at 5–1 after two.
Michigan would tally two more in the third, with one being from Connor, and PSU sandwiched a goal in there for a 7-2 Michigan win.

Kyle Connor, the B1G Freshman & Player of the Year, scored 4. Connor now leads the nation in scoring with 34 goals and 65 points.
Compher had 5 assists.

In their five games against PSU this season, Michigan has scored 33 goals, with ten of those being scored by the freshman Connor.

Minnesota and OSU during warm ups
Minnesota and Ohio State during warm ups

In game two, the Minnesota Gophers faced The Ohio State Buckeyes. Minnesota had great tempo in the first, but OSU did a good job of boxing the Gophers to the outside. Still, the Buckeyes took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission on a goal by Kevin Miller.
The second period had some great defensive hockey, and the period was scoreless, although the natives were getting restless.
Tyler Sheehy opened the scoring for Minnesota on a great shot from the left circle to tie the game up, 1:36 into period three. Vinnie Lettieri, would score the go-ahead 4 minutes later and the small crowd at The X exploded. Taylor Cammarata would score two more for the Gophers, both assisted by Sheehy, and Minnesota would go on to win 4-2.

Minnesota had 45 SOG to OSU’s 29. Attendance was 5423.

Hockey hats
They gave away hats! Notice anything odd about them though?

Minnesota will face Michigan on Saturday night for the B1G Championship, and the Gophers will have their hands full. Michigan is already in the national tourney, but Minnesota needs the win to get the automatic bid. The teams split 2-2 during the regular season.

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Congrats to the Minnesota Gopher Women’s Team in their overtime win over the Wisconsin Badgers. Minnesota will now face Boston College for the National Championship. It will be the Gopher Women’s fifth straight appearance in the title game.

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6 March 2016

Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament

By icefogger

The X, Saint Paul Minnesota:

the_tourney_medium-1

2016 marks the 72nd annual Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament, one of the largest such events in the country. I was in St Paul on Wednesday, the first day of the tournament, so I ventured over to The X for some first round action.

Litchfield & Germantown during warmups
Litchfield & Hermantown during warm ups

The Litchfield Dragons were taking on the Hermantown Hawks in the third game of the day. The Hawks had been state runners-up the previous six years in a row, and they played like they were on a mission. Cole Koepke would score 4 goals in an 11-3 romp. Kopek’s 4th goal was, to use the high school vernacular, sick. He took the puck at the top of the circles, skated in on the goal, a couple of stick handling moves put the goal tender on his rear end, then Koepke calmly put the puck into the back of the net.

Hermantown would go on to win the Class A Championship with a 5-0 win over Breck, behind a strong performance by their goaltender Luke Olson.

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Wayzata celebrates
Wayzata celebrates first title, Photo credit: AARON LAVINSKY – STAR TRIBUNE

The Class AA Championship was between the Wayzata Trojans and the Eden Prairie Eagles on Saturday night. Eden Prairie was the obvious favorite, although Wayzata would take an early 1-0 lead behind some very physical play and sound defense.

Eden Prairie would score the next three and led 3-1 midway through the second period. That is when things took a turn for the interesting. Wayzata was called for a 5 minute major penalty, their second of the night. Trojan coach Pat O’Leary called a time out. Coming out of the time out, Billy Duma scored a short handed goal. Then Wayzata drew a penalty, and the teams were skating 4 on 4 when Matt Nelson scored to tie it up at 3.

Defenseman Logan Lindstrand scored from near the point in the third for what would be the game winning goal. The Trojans would add an empty netter with .8 seconds left for a 5-3 win, and the program’s first state title.

Clyde The Lucky Frog
Wayzata’s MVP: Clyde the Lucky Frog

Attendance for the Class AA session was 19,655. Over 22,000 attended Friday’s session for a new tourney single session record.

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27 February 2016

Herb Brooks National Hockey Center

By icefogger

Saint Cloud, Minnesota

Brooks Center - exterior

The home of the St Cloud State University Huskies was the final D-1 rink in Minnesota for me to catch a game in. The facility is named after Coach Herb Brooks, who was instrumental in the St Cloud program moving up to Division One. The main rink is named after late university President Brendan J. McDonald, who was also a huge advocate for the D-1 move.

Completed in 1989, the Brooks Center is a no-frills kind of ice rink, seating 5159 for hockey; there is minimal seating at the ends and a low ceiling. It also has the worst PA system of any rink I’ve been in. But it’s a loud arena for the home town Huskies, and the student section: The Dog Pound, is as raucous as they get.

UMD and SCSU during warm ups
UMD and SCSU during pre-game warm ups

The Duluth Bulldogs were in St Cloud to try to keep their home ice in the first round of the playoffs. St Cloud would be trying to stay tied at the top of the NCHC with North Dakota.

The Bulldogs set the tone early, with a goal in the first 39 seconds. Both teams were flying, but it was UMD that would expand their early lead. UMD worked a delayed penalty to perfection, keeping the puck away from St Cloud until Brenden Kotyk buried the puck behind Husky goaltender Charlie Lindgren. Then UMD went on the power play, and Karson Kuhlman scored unassisted to give Duluth a very sudden 3-0 lead.

Duluth gave a clinic on how to take the early lead and then just hang on. St Cloud is a very fast team, and their puck movement is impressive. They peppered Duluth goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo with 14 SOG in the second, but only put one past him. Kaskisuo turned away another 21 SOG in the third, but did not allow a goal. UMD’s Kuhlman added his second goal of the game, an empty netter, for the 4-1 Duluth win.

Kaskisuo faced 50 shots total, and Lindgren faced 35. Attendance was 4861.

Second period entertainment
Second period entertainment: “Too Tall Ike” skates around on 4′ high stilts, dressed as one of the Hanson bros.

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7 February 2016

Verizon Wireless Center

By icefogger

Mankato, Minnesota

Verizon Center
Verizon Wireless Center, photo credit: wcha.com

With 3/5th of the Twin Cities population feeling under the weather, I figured that Friday night would be a good time to visit Mankato for some hockey. The Minnesota State Mavericks were hosting the Bowling Green Falcons. A meeting of the top two teams in the WCHA.

Verizon Center rink
The Verizon Center ice sheet

The Verizon Center was built in 1995 and seats 5280. It’s a nice rink for college hockey, and the locals are really into their Mavericks.

MSU Mavs during warmups
The MSU Mavericks during warmups

The first period was pretty evenly played, with MSU taking a 1-0 lead into intermission on a goal by Michael Huntebrinker. SOG favored MSU 9-8.
The second period was all Minnesota State, as they extended their lead to 3-0.
In the third period, the Falcon’s John Schilling scored short handed & unassisted on a very pretty shot on a break-away. Not to be outdone, Bryce Gervais scored short-handed seven minutes later on an equally pretty shot. Gervais added another shorty just over a minute later to round out the scoring. Teddy Blueger assisted on both Gervais goals, as Gervais broke the school record for career SHG with 9.

A 5-1 Maverick win. Cole Huggins was rock solid in net for MSU and had 18 saves. Chris Nell had 16 for BGSU. The three stars of the game: Blueger with two assists; Max Coatta (MSU) a freshman from Minnetonka, MN with a goal and an assist; and Gervais with his three point night. Attendance was 3724.

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5 February 2016

You know you’re in Wisconsin…

By icefogger

Supper Club @ Kohl

… when you go to a hockey game, and they serve up a pregame fish fry.

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3 February 2016

LaBahn Arena

By icefogger

Madison, Wisconsin

LaBahn Arena
LaBahn Arena

The original plan was to take in a women’s game at LaBahn Arena Saturday afternoon, but the game was sold out, and we were forced to run with a makeshift brewery tour instead.

On Sunday, the Badger Women were once again hosting the SCSU Huskies, so we were able to take in another hockey game. The first time either of us had been to a women’s game.

Inside LaBan Arena
Inside LaBahn Arena

LaBahn seats 2273, and the Badgers have 9 sell outs this year at the rink. The game was all Wisconsin, with the Badgers dominating the entire game. Emily Clark scored twice, and Ann-Renee Desbiens had her 14th shutout of the year, as Wisconsin won easily 3-0. It was Destines’ 31st career shutout.

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1 February 2016

Kohl Center

By icefogger

Madison, Wisconsin

Kohl Center - exterior
Kohl Center – exterior

The Alaska Nanooks were flying down to Madison to play the Wisconsin Badgers, so The Curator & I ventured northeast to take in a weekend of hockey.

The Kohl Center, one of the top rinks in college hockey, opened in 1998. The Kohl is also one of the largest arenas in D-1, seating over 15,300 for hockey. Badger fans are some of the most active in the college ranks, and the atmosphere at any Badger sporting event is high octane. The UW Band rarely stops to take a breath.

UA Nanooks @ UW Badgers
UA Nanooks vs UW Badgers

Friday was the night for the Nanooks to get an upset. During period one, Alaska could have easily scored 3 goals, but instead they trailed Wisconsin 1-0 on a goal by Corbin McGuire. Missed opportunities would haunt Alaska, and Wisconsin would pounce the ones that came their way.

Badgers vs Nanooks

In the second period, Tyler Morley struck first with a short-handed goal, but Ryan Wagner responded immediately with a PPG to keep the Badger lead at one. Wisconsin would score two more in the period and Alaska one for a 4-2 Badger lead. Tyler Morley would score his second on the night, but that was all the Nooks could muster and Wisconsin held on for a 4-3 win.

Saturday night from the 2nd deck
Saturday night from the second deck

On Saturday we were joined by another member of the Frozen Foursome. The first two periods showcased some really even-played hockey between the two teams, and the score was 1-1 after two. In the third period, the Badgers had Alaska on their heels, and the damage came quickly. The Badgers would score four in the first 11:43, with the Nanooks managing to get one past Matt Jurusik in the period. A 5-2 Badger win.

Saturday attendance: 9604

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