And so the fight ends…

Missed the first and second period attending the Current’s excellence Fakebook series at the Fitzgerald, but I’ll probably go back and watch the DVR recording later.

Not much to say about the third period–didn’t see the killer desire needed to get that last goal and the Avs played great shut-down defense. Disappointing end to the season, but I get to shave the scratchy playoff beard and save some serious money on additional playoff tickets.

Congratulations to the Colorado Avalanche–good luck against the Red Wings (most likely).

Hockey in Minnesota will go into off-season mode shortly, but I’ll have a few more posts about the Wild season and maybe track a few former Wild players still in the Stanley Cup playoffs (hello Dufus!). My golf site, Golfing in Minnesota, will return from off-season mode this week, so please subscribe to that RSS feed if you are a Minnesota hockey and golf fan.

“Save by Theodore”

Wow, I hate those three words. What an outstanding game by Jose, though. Other thoughts from this game:

• Thoroughly enjoyed the first and second period, despite the 1-1 tie at the end of two.
• Finally got a new video intro before the game, which even had the Ginger Boy and his chipmunk taunt.
• EDGE internet access at the X is definitely broken – heard others talking about it too.
• If we can’t get free wireless or internet access, how about more live stats on the various scoreboards? No shot totals, ice time or anything during the intermissions (which we did get during the regular season).
• No cute marketing events tonight at all – they actually played part of the Caps-Flyers OT live during the second intermission. LOVED that.
• The Wild came out very strong at the start and basically dominated all aspects of this game, except for blocked shots (15 to 4) and the all-important final score.
• Mr. Reitz looked pretty decent in his season premiere 5:47 of ice time in the big show.
• Both Koivu and Gaborik looked off tonight. I remember a few mis-cues from Burns too.
• Thank goodness there were only 3 penalties per team tonight.
• Such a shame that Benny was quick on the draw when Demo let that slapper fly. Totally different game if that counted.

Next game: 9pm Saturday in Colorado on FSN North (HD). Bring it back home for one more…

Just finished watching the DVR recording of game four. Jacques blamed the D for the loss and while the 7 give-aways were critical, the Avs had 11 and I thought two of the first three goals should have been stopped by Backstrom. A few other thoughts:

• Didn’t like the officiating, but not because it was unbalanced. Just hate to see playoff games called so close.
• “Attendance 18,007 at Pepsi Center” – they did manage to sell out.
• Bad face-off night for Koivu – only 38% (60/40 overall in favor of the Avs).
• The bright side of no OT – top minutes were only 23:45 (Skoula).
• Ginger Boy mocking McLeod in the penalty box was classic.
• Jose is really playing well – need to keep rattling him and putting people in front of the net.
• Johnsson, the $4.8 million dollar man, was a -3.
• There is a delicate balance between playing gritty and playing stupid.

Up next: game five back at the X tomorrow night. The best revenge is a W…

Way to go Butch!

Watched on Versus in Seattle tonight and I thought I was going to have a heart attack in my hotel room…

Great win for the Wild–just hope they have some gas left in the tank tomorrow (Burns – 32:21, Johnnson – 31:36, Skoula – 30:12). Of course, the old men Avs should be just as tired, but we’ll see tomorrow night.

I’ll be in the air during the game, but the DVR is set to record. Go Wild!

What an emotionally draining game! So glad that the team was able to shake off the effects of the emotional roller coaster at the end of the third to get that game winning goal early in the OT and head to Colorado with the series tied 1-1. Other thoughts from section 216:

• The marketing people must be slipping–same exact video montage from game one? What are we paying you people for?
• Never been so happy to see Skoula during warm-ups. He was a -1 tonight, but had 2 hits and covered 26+ minutes.
• What the hell is Jacked and why is the NHL promoting it so prominently on the scores page?
• Speaking of Internet stuff, access at the X needs to improve. The MSE wireless network is still password protected and AT&T’s EDGE network seems to get overloaded during games (and they are a freakin’ Wild sponsor).
• The Wild really seemed off the first two periods–lots of missed passes, players out of position, etc. Better legs at the end compared to game one, though.
• Overall face-off wins almost even, but that was mostly Demitra’s fault, winning only 2 of 8. Good night for Belanger (62%).
• Not Gabby’s best night–whatever Colorado is doing defensively is working.
• Burns had 7 hits, but didn’t seem to play the smartest game–passes to nowhere, a couple of turnovers, etc.
• So glad Koivu’s leg is better. Way to go franchise!
• The crowd leaving the building was extremely pumped up. The chants in the foyer were almost louder than during the game.

Next up: back-to-backs in Denver on Monday and Tuesday (channel 45 on Monday and FSN North HD on Tuesday). I’ll be in Seattle those days, but both games are supposed to be on Versus nationally. Go Wild!

Disappointing start to the playoffs. Some thoughts:

• Late starts on weeknights are really bad–way too late for kids.
• I want to shoot the Wild marketing people: 1) same [losing] slogan as last year and 2) same white [surrender] towels again. How about red or green towels with a new slogan?
• Speaking of marketing, what do you do when the product on the ice can’t meet the hype you are trying to generate? Depressing…
• The crowd was really into it at the beginning and at the end. When it was 2-0? Could have heard a pin drop.
• Laperriere’s medicine turned out not to be Boogaard’s fist, but Rolston’s slapper.
• No points for Forsberg.
• Johnsson and Burns got to be the 30 minute men thanks to Schultz.
• Skoula was Good Marty until he got tired at the end. Stats only say 2 hits, but I thought I saw three.
• What was Rolston thinking at the end? Open on a break-away and he puts away the slapshot to pass to Boogey? What?!?

We were only one Burnsie move away from a win, so all is not lost. And way to go Calgary – Flames in 4! Flames in 4!

Heading back to the X on Friday to see what happens next.

Average Age of Roster:

• Minnesota Wild = 27.6
• Colorado Avalanche = 28.2

Five Oldest Wild Players:

• Keith Carney – 38 (Feb 3, 1970)
• Sean Hill – 38 (Feb 14, 1970)
• Chris Simon – 36 (Jan 30, 1972)
• Brian Rolston – 35 (Feb 21, 1973)
• Petteri Nummelin – 35 (Nov 25, 1972)

Five Oldest Avs:

• Joe Sakic – 38 (Jul 7, 1969)
• Adam Foote – 36 (Jul 10, 1971)
• Peter Forsberg – 34 (Jul 20, 1973)
• Andrew Brunette – 34 (Aug 24, 1973)
• Ian Laperriere – 34 (Jan 19, 1974)

Wild Players Who Have Won the Cup:

• Sean Hill (1993 – Montreal)
• Brian Rolston (1995 – New Jersey)
• Chris Simon (1996 – Colorado)
• Steve Kelly (2000 – New Jersey)
• Martin Škoula (2001 – Colorado)

Colorado Players Who Have Won the Cup:

• Adam Foote (1996, 2001 – Colorado)
• Peter Forsberg (1996, 2001 – Colorado)
• Milan Hejduk (2001 – Colorado)
• Scott Parker (2001 – Colorado)
• Joe Sakic (1996, 2001 – Colorado)

All stats compiled from nhl.com and Wikipedia – please let me know if I missed anything…

Finally, big props to whoever it was on the Russo blog who came up with the nickname Inglewood Jack for Burnsie. Classic.

While it’s a big hit to our blue line, I’m just glad they figured out what it was before he got hit during a game and burst that sucker.

Time for the troll to come in and showcase that speed and stick-handling. Oh, and paging Good Marty…

With Chicago beating Nashville last night, that leaves only two options for the Wild’s first round match-up: Colorado or Calgary. According to the newspaper reports, if the Wild beat Colorado in regulation and Calgary beats Vancouver, we’d play Calgary. Any other combination means Colorado in the first round.

Jacques said he won’t sit any of the regulars and is playing to win tomorrow, so hopefully the Canucks will be playing for honor tonight. Although nothing would be sweeter than beating Calgary in the first round (well, OK, maybe beating the Ducks in the first round).

I have my single seat for all of the playoff games, but checked for tickets via the pre-sale for warming house members. There were two lower-level seats together around row 20 in the corner, but the price scared me off (almost $250 including all the fees). I’ll just keep my spot for now and be happy to get in as the quest for the cup begins.

Oh yeah, started the playoff beard too. Hopefully it will be the longest beard I’ve ever had…

UPDATE: Calgary thrashes the Canucks 7-1, so Wild win = Flames, loss = Avs. I think an OT win by the Wild would = Avs too.

UPDATE 2: They finally released the schedule -

Western Conference Quarterfinals

Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 9, Colorado at Minnesota, 8 p.m. (CDT)
Game 2 – Fri, Apr. 11, Colorado at Minnesota, 8 p.m. (CDT)
Game 3 – Monday, Apr. 14, Minnesota at Colorado, 9 p.m. (CDT)
Game 4 – Tuesday, Apr. 15, Minnesota at Colorado, 9 p.m. (CDT)
*Game 5 – Thursday, Apr. 17, Colorado at Minnesota, 8 p.m. (CDT)
*Game 6 – Saturday, Apr. 19, Minnesota at Colorado, (start time TBD)
*Game 7 – Tuesday, Apr. 22, Colorado at Minnesota, (start time TBD)
* – if necessary

I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Wild game that I wanted them to win so badly. It would have been just too depressing to have the players all stick around after the game to give away their jerseys after a loss. Glad that didn’t happen…

Some thoughts:

• What was up with the waved-off goal call? Russo’s story said the official quote was “This is not a reviewable play. The play is considered dead once [Lee] thinks about blowing his whistle.” Thinks about blowing his whistle? Give me a break.
• The scratch-off cards given to fans were a nice idea, as was the team of 18,000 patch.
• Calgary didn’t seem to play their usual physical game – our guys even got to poke at Kipper without getting knocked flat.
• I took my camera with and took more than 900 shots (updates to the photo gallery coming soon).
• Don’t agree with Jacques – I was happy to see Burns fight Phaneuf (see above).
• Pavol beat Mikko in face offs last night, 59% vs. 56%.
• Stats show zero hits for Skoula, but he did actually knock a guy down in front of the net.

Next game: At Colorado on Sunday (KSTP, supposedly in HD)

Here’s the poster that was handed out after the Calgary game.

Congrats to the Wild for winning their first ever Northwest Division title. More on the game and playoff situation tomorrow…

Josh is thinking Arby’s (after he has a Wild burger at Wendy’s, I’m sure).

That was the poster the Wild handed out to fans leaving the X last night after the 3-2 overtime thriller versus Colorado. I caught the game in person after getting back from spring break on the train in the morning.

Some observations:

• We got to see all five goals at our end of the rink.
• Three shots on goal in the second was pathetic.
• Why can’t Skoula be physically more aggressive when he plays? So tentative…
• Koivu face-off wins top 70% tonight (Shep was 80% and Demitra over 50% too).
• Butch’s fight from the last game must have rattled him a little – he seemed to lose his puck-handling touch most of the night.
• Loved the starting line – Boogey with Gabby and Demo.
• It was hard to tell if Voros was playing at the start – under 7 minutes of total ice time.
• Johnsson almost hit 30 minutes with 34 shifts. Bet he misses Foster the most.

Next game: Thursday night versus Calgary at home for fan appreciation night.

Just got off the train from my spring break trip and watched the DVR recording of the 4-0 shutout from Friday. Why do I keep missing the best games of the year?

A few thoughts:

• So happy to see the Wild get a big lead and hold it.
• The score could have easily been 7-0 with Gabby’s two break-aways and Kimmy’s post in the third.
• How about that Burnsie kid? I think he got one penalty minute for each of his rapid-fire punches. Classic.
• The Hill check of Cowan into the bench was classic too.
• That hardly qualified as a fight for Butch, but if it gets another Canucks player suspended by the league, I’ll call it a fight.
• I almost felt bad for Luongo – he should have stayed with his wife.
• Another awesome face-off night for Koivu – 65% (starting to sound like a broken record).
• Good Marty likes shutouts – no chance of a minus night (he played even with one hit in 19:18 of ice time).

Up next: the Avs play the Wild at the X later this afternoon in a game where one point gets the Wild into the playoffs (per Russo).

Still out of town, but got to “watch” the play-by-play on my iPhone using the NHL’s cool real-time scoring option.

Not much to add to all of the commentary I read online, just glad they are back in first place for the time being.

Bring on the Sedin sisters!

This week I am on the road for spring break and will have limited posts, as the only Internet access I have is on my phone (I sound like Russo).

One quick note, though. I was riding the train west just south of Edmonton yesterday night and I could just feel the bad vibes coming from Canada when I read Butch and Demitra were out.

The final score didn’t surprise me, but it’s still disappointing…

All times central, the way the State of Hockey likes it…

Is it the cool fire effect that shoots down from the ceiling? How about the fire that seems to fly from Jerome Iginla’s stick? I’d trade just about anyone on the team to get that particular Wild-Killer wearing Iron Range Red.

Thoughts from the game:

• Our goaltenders concern me more than the lack of depth at center. Backs still lets in the softies and Harding isn’t a reliable backup this year.
• I like the physical presence the enforcers bring to the game. We are now tougher, but need to get some help in net (the offensive problems seem to be getting better).
• Congrats to Benny for number 1 and number 2. Too bad he couldn’t pull off the trick too. Same for Kimmy.
• Good face off night for Koivu (61%), but the rest of the team was horrible.
• Marty, Marty, Marty. Not one of his better recent games. Only -1 in a 5 goal game, though.
• He may be a jerk, but what a night for Phaneuf–one goal, two assists, +4 with 31:02 of ice time. Impressive. Any other night and that would get you the first star.

Next up: Wild versus the Oilers in Edmonton, Monday at 8:30pm (local TV – FSN North)

Congratulations to the Denver Pioneers for stopping the Gophers improbable streak to take the WCHA Final Five title.

What a game Denver goalie Peter Mannino played–thank goodness he’s a senior.

Anxious to see the NCAA seeds tomorrow. Also noticed the Frozen Four will be at the X in 2011. Wouldn’t it be great if Kangas was still here to play his senior year and win a national championship in St. Paul? Yeah, right…

Nice to have TV hockey overload for Friday’s snow day. I watched the surprising UND loss to Denver in the afternoon game, followed by the Gopher’s overtime win versus the regular-season champs, Colorado College. Turning the channel to KSTC, I watched the first part of the Wild game in Vancouver before setting the DVR to record the second and third periods. And it starts all over again today too!

A few notes from Friday:

• The Gophers seem to have endless energy. The Wild should hire their strength trainer.
• Anxious to see how the NCAA hockey seedings shake out.
• While watching the Wild recording, I kept waiting for the late tying goal. Nice to shake off that monkey.
• Simon tops Gaborik in faceoff wins stat: Simon – 100% (1-1), Gabby 0% (0-1).
• Demitra needs to get better at face-offs down the stretch (Bennie – 67%, Koivu – 52%, Shep – 45%, Pavol – 27%).
• Benny played well, 19 shifts for 9:47, including key late shifts again.
• Johnsson got to play workhorse for the missing Foster – 31 shifts for 25:18.
• A plus game for Skoula, who only had 17:40 of ice time.

Today: Gophers play Denver for the WCHA title and Wild at Calgary.

What a start to the Final Five, eh? With 54 seconds left in regulation and the face-off in the Gophers end, I figured it would be yet another OT and went to tuck my kids into bed.

Oops!

The Gophers quick early goal seemed to take the excitement out of this game early–at least compared to last weekend in Mankato. I was only half-watching most of the first two periods, but things really seemed to pick up in the third. That poke check by Kangas on the breakaway was sweet, as was the winning goal (that I missed when it happened live).

You have to wonder when the Gophers will run out of gas, but that wasn’t a problem tonight. I now wish I had purchased the WCHA ticket package this year. Tomorrow’s games will be fun: UND vs. Denver at 2:07pm and the Gophers vs. CC at 7:07pm.

Tough to stay up for these late games, eh? Thoughts on this non-HD game with my very favorite announcers:

• Mr. Leopold’s first act as new owner should be to re-sign Gabby for the rest of his career.
• Great fight between Boogey and Shelley – although it didn’t seem to pump up the Wild.
• Lots of falling by Skoula tonight (although the 4-on-1 seemed like a trip to me).
• Quit with the softies, Backs, it’s killing us.
• Always hated the icing touch-up rule in the pros. Get well Fozzie!
• Three on three was sweet – how about 20 minutes of that for OT instead of the shoot out?

On to beautiful Vancouver…

I sent our little leprechauns with my wife for the St. Patrick’s Day showdown between the Wild and the Avs yesterday, so I watched the game on Versus in HD (the way hockey was meant to be watched when you can’t be there).

Thoughts from this game:

• Koivu was 68% on face offs, followed by Demitra at 62%, Shep at 50% and Benny at 43%.
• Welcome back Boogey! Six shifts for 2:29 of ice time.
• Skoula’s keep at the blue line led to the Branko goal from Burns. You go Good Marty!
• Glad Branko finally scored–I was beginning to think he didn’t know where the net was.
• 30 hits by the Wild, including some decent ones by Gabby.
• Benny played 14 shifts for 8:05, including some very late in the game.

Calgary at Columbus tonight should be interesting. Hopefully the Kings can tire out the Sharks enough tonight before the Wild play them tomorrow. Go Lubo!

This weekend I left town to attend a concert in Lutsen, but wow was there some great Minnesota hockey played:

• Gophers vs. Mavericks goes three games (three OT games–two go to double OT)
• WCHA Frozen Five set: Gophers vs. Huskies Thursday night, Denver, CC and UND
• Wild snap the losing streak beating the Kings on Saturday night
• UMD women advance to Frozen Four (with Harvard, Wisconsin and New Hampshire)

Speaking of the women’s Frozen Four, why has this not been promoted more? It will be held this Thursday and Saturday (March 20 and 22) at the DECC in Duluth. If you are in the area, get tickets and check out an exciting NCAA championship in person.

Let’s see, what else…

The hockey coverage in the Duluth newspaper was awesome–stories all over the sports section. Got home in time to watch most of the very exciting Gophers game. Kangas looked great all weekend. The NHL’s Northwest Division is everything we expected–Calgary wins to pull even with the Wild and the Avs. Looks like Foppa and Foote will participate in the St. Patrick’s Day showdown tomorrow. Fun times for Minnesota hockey fans.

Wow, what a game in Mankato! Too bad my DVR cut off the second overtime…

To be honest, I haven’t watched the Gophers much this year. The last game I went to was the Frozen Five final versus North Dakota last year (one for the ages) and we passed up on tickets this year. Congrats to Minnesota State Mankato for overcoming the long losing streak. Can’t wait for the game tomorrow–I’ll make sure to record at least an extra hour this time.

My wife’s first college, St. Cloud State, beat her second school, Wisconsin, 3-0 in St. Cloud. And the Bulldogs lost in Denver 6-3. Not sure who I’m rooting for this year, but I’m guessing my first college, UND, will probably avenge that OT loss from last year…

Got to the game late tonight due to a family event, so I missed the first period and the Wild’s two goals. The Devils came storming back and tied it before Brodeur gave up a pretty goal from Koivu to Gaborik right at the end of the second period. Devils tie it in the third, Brodeur stands on his head and the Wild lose again in a shootout.

My intent with this site is not to summarize the game in detail or write long opinions (there are plenty of other places for that). I plan to just write short, concise thoughts or observations from each game that I hope people will find interesting to read. So, without further ado, here are my thoughts from this game:

• Like Coach Lemaire said after the game, the difference was Brodeur–he was a lot of fun to watch.
• Didn’t know said wonder-goalie’s wife divorced him after he had an affair with his sister-in-law. Ouch.
• Burns looked awful at the start of overtime when we had 1:08 of 4 on 3.
• Lots of Devils jerseys in the stands tonight supporting the players from Minnesota (Parise, Langenbrunner and Martin)
• Still a wide-open division with Atlanta’s surprise third period over Calgary, the lowly Kings beating Nashville and Phoenix winning over the Canucks. Colorado is the new kid to worry about (even without Foppa and Ryan “Cry Me A River” Smyth).
• Wild get two points out of two tough playoff-bound teams when I expected zero.
• Don’t know how to solve the shoot-out problem with Backstrom, although he got no help from our shooters tonight either. Facing Brodeur in a shoot-out, though, is almost like an automatic forfeit anyway.
• Our newest center from Houston, Steve Kelly, got hurt in the second and didn’t return. Benny is on his way to Minnesota now–that should be interesting to watch.
• Tonight was the fourth and final puck giveaway (pictured above).

Next game: Los Angeles Kings here on Saturday night, no local TV (HD Net only)

Finally decided to just launch the damn thing tonight. Hockey posts I used to write here will now be on the new site (just like what happened with golf before).

Thoughts and opinions on Minnesota high school, collegiate and Wild hockey, plus whatever else I find time for before the season ends…

The issues the Wild have at center have been discussed ad nauseum around the web. Here are some interesting stats, though, regarding centers and face-off percentages (through today):

• Walz, 135 face-offs, 45.92% win percentage
• Sheppard, 559, 41.86%
• Demitra, 757, 45.04%
• Koivu, 784, 50.76%
• Belanger, 1116, 49.19%

With the first and last now out, I guess Koivu needs to play about 30 minutes a game, eh?

Oh, and Wild/NHL management–why is it so hard to find stats like this?

How cool is this? Purchased on eBay last week and now a part of the office hockey shrine. Now I need to get the McDonald’s Canada mini hockey stick collection for 2007-08…

Viva La Canada!

Finally got out to a Wild player appearance this season. Brent Burns was at the Lunds grocery store in Highland Park–just down the road from my office. The weather was really cold, but the crowd waiting was still a decent size (maybe a 15 minute wait). Too bad the girls were not feeling good…

Last night was our first visit this season to the Xcel Energy Center to see the Wild play the St. Louis Blues. Pre-season games aren’t usually the greatest, but the Wild won 7-0 and it was great fun to be back in that atmosphere.

My aunt and uncle moved their season ticket seats to the upper level (section 216) and I really like the location. Much more reasonable price too.

Bring on the regular season!

On our way back from Fortune Bay, we drove through Eveleth past the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. With all of the talk about it closing or moving, we weren’t sure if it was still open. Their website says it’s closed and the parking lot only had one car in it. Good thing we actually stopped to check–they are open and will apparently stay in that location.

We paid our admission fees ($8 for adults?) and had the place to ourselves. There was a ton of great stuff to see there for hockey fans–I’ve uploaded some pictures to the photo gallery here.

My favorite thing was the mock rink and goal they had on the third floor with real sticks and pucks. I’m pretty sure I’ve never shot a real puck before–makes me want to take skating lessons all the more now.

If you are in the area and like hockey, stop in and support this great museum.

About a week ago, my oldest child received a mailing from the Minnesota Wild Kids Club. One sheet was an ad for an upcoming ice show, while the other had a trivia contest promising prizes for the first 50 kids to respond with the correct answers. We went through the ten questions right away (with the help of wild.com) and mailed it in the next day.

Today a package arrived with an autographed copy of the 2006-07 Wild Yearbook! We hadn’t purchased one of those this year, so it was a double treat. Brent Burns and Manny Fernandez hand-signed the cover…too cool!

Well, at least we got to see the best game of the series. My daughter and I attended game four of the first round series between the Wild and the Ducks. My voice was hoarse from yelling at the refs, but the team did a great job of overcoming those obstacles and getting the 4-1 win.

Unfortunately, they did themselves in last night in Anaheim. It was too bad they didn’t have the services of Johnsson and White, but the Ducks were just the better team this year. The vastly superior power play was too much for them to overcome.

The Wild had a great year and we are proud of them. Every player and representative from the organization that we met this year was fantastic–friendly and very kind to my daughters. They are a first-class operation and we can’t wait until next season. We are still in the warming house and are anxious for the next select-a-seat event to see if we can get those upper level seats for next season.

Cheers to the men in red, white and green. Go Wild!

Top Row (l to r): Bobby Smith, Curt Giles, Dino Ciccarelli, Jack Carlson
Bottom Row (l to r): Mike Eaves, Neal Broten, Steve Christoff, Steve Payne

In a promotion sponsored by S&S Tree and Horticultural Specialists, two kids are selected to sit on the bench during each Wild pre-game warm-up. On Tuesday this week, my kids were picked!

The night was a total blast (apart from the Wild losing in a shoot-out). We arrived a little before six and picked up four will-call tickets for the game (last row of club level, center ice). A friendly Wild representative met us at the security desk next to gate one and brought us down to arena level. After signing release forms, the kids each picked out helmets to wear.

We all took a quick tour around the entire lower level–past the media interview room, both locker rooms, down the hallway the Wild take to get on the ice (which had new, large, signed photos of game highlights on the wall), through the Fishing Lodge (and the Kevin Falness studio), past the media dining room, officials lounge and the Zamboni garage. I stayed in the Zamboni tunnel while the kids were on the bench, while my wife stayed in the stands next to them (only the kids got to be on the bench).

It was hard to get good photos of them from where I was behind the goal, but I did get a shot of the scoreboard when they were on the videoscreen. I also got a few good action shots of the players. Josh Harding was the only player to talk to the girls, but Keith Carney gave them a big smile. The kids both got pucks from the practice afterwards–what a great experience.

Thanks to S&S and the Wild for the great prize!

My wife and I were cleaning out the garage and came across a box her mother had brought over. It was full of old North Stars memorabilia–this autograph of Neal Broten next to Chexx Hockey is my favorite. There are also some cool postcards that I will scan later this week…

Tonight my oldest daughter and I went to the last Wild Unplugged player appearance, featuring Keith Carney and Wes Walz at Major’s Sports Bar in Bloomington. This was the last one of the year and, as usual, was very crowded.

We elected to get a table after the Q&A and wait for the line to die down. It never really did and we were lucky to get our autographs before the cutoff. I talked with host Kevin Falness after the broadcast and thanked him for the wonderful job he does at these events and on the Pondcasts. We chatted for about five minutes about different things–including how great all of the players have been to my daughter at these player appearances. He said the whole locker room is full of truly nice guys.

We don’t have any more game tickets right now, but hope to get one or two playoff games from my relatives. Go Wild!

Headed to the Xcel in a few minutes to catch the semifinals of the WCHA Final Five tournament.

Afternoon Game: UND vs. St. Cloud State
Evening Game: Gophers vs. Badgers

Third place game is tomorrow at 2, followed by the championship at 7. Go Gophers!

My daughter and I had a great time at the final session of the state boys hockey tournament tonight. Congrats to Roseau for taking home “all the marbles” for the seventh time.

Roseau about to take down Woodbury

Today was quarterfinal day for Class AA boys hockey at the Minnesota State High School League tournament in St. Paul. We bought a ticket package this year to thank clients and get prepared for the new hockey.mn site. The seats were very nice: upper level, row two, center ice.

The first session had two games: Roseau vs. Woodbury and Hill-Murray vs. Rochester Century. I thought the Woodbury students in the stands were very rude (booing the Roseau players as they were being introduced) and I was glad to see them get spanked, 7-2. This was Roseau’s 31st appearance at state–show no respect, lose big.

The second game was great. The private Catholic school Hill-Murray is always a powerhouse, but Rochester played them tough and had the best 3-on-2 goal I’ve seen in a long time (behind the back, centering pass, goal). The chants during that game made me smile:

• “Pub-lic-Scho-ols”
• “We-Can’t-Hear-You”
• “Je-sus-Loves-Us”
• “Da-ddies-Mon-ey”
• “Good-Bye-Rich-Kids”

Despite being more than twice as old as all of them, I didn’t feel as old this year as in past years. Lots and lots of youthful excitement and school spirit. Nothing else like it…

Speaking of youth, my oldest daughter wrote me a hockey poem tonight:

I have the puck
I’m skating down, down, down
Soon the goalie sees me, I see him
My stick goes up -
and BAM!
Soon the puck is in the net.
Shootout

Tomorrow night: Class AA semifinals.

I bet Backstrom is glad he doesn’t have to face this coming at him (pictured above: Gaborik and Demitra attacking during pre-game warmup).

My daughter and I had a Girl Scout hockey outing today to see the Wild play the Oilers. I’m getting spoiled–this was the first time I’ve been on the upper level all season. There really aren’t any bad seats at the X and it was fun seeing the game from a new angle.

We took the camera down by the glass for the practice skate. I’m slowly learning some of the secrets to taking better action shots indoors, but I still have a lot to learn. I’ve uploaded a number of un-corrected images to the Wild photo album (the new ones start on page 11).

The game itself was a blast and they played a solid game. It was great to see Burns score the eventual game winner. The back-and-forth with Demitra and Gaborik was a thing of beauty and we think PMB scored that empty-netter for my daughter. We don’t have any more tickets for games this season, but I may try to pick up a few more. Fingers crossed for the playoffs too…

Today we battled the freezing rain and snow to see if there really was a player appearance by the Wild’s Pierre-Marc Bouchard at a car dealership near our house. I heard about it during the last TV broadcast, but it wasn’t listed on wild.com and I wasn’t sure he’d be there.

We pulled into the dealership (after passing several cars in the ditch and one 3-car accident) and saw some green, gold and red balloons inside. There were about 30 people waiting, but the table was empty. About ten minutes after the scheduled starting time, PMB arrived in a nice Range Rover and started signing shortly after that.

Mr. Bouchard was extremely friendly to everyone and seemed like a truly nice guy. At a reported five foot nine, 162 pounds, a lot of people seemed surprised by his size. I’ve posted a few pictures in the private photos section of PMB and my daughter, who had her jersey signed. They were using different 5×7 photos today, so I elected to have him sign a “To DK” hockey card instead.

Tomorrow we will fight the snow for a home game against the Edmonton Oilers and Rollie the Goalie.

Never thought I’d meet a Wild player at the golf show, but Wes Walz was doing a presentation with Mike Barge from Hazeltine. He was kind enough to pose for a picture afterwards.

More on the golf show coming soon on the Golfing in Minnesota site.

Little did we know last night was the final game in a Wild jersey for Pascal Dupuis (or as we affectionately called him, Dufus). My daughter is actually a little sad, so in his honor, I present my fake commemorative Dufus puck above.

The first ten minutes of the game were awful, but the Wild escaped the first period tied 0-0. We had lots of action in front of our net in the second, when the Wild took a 2-0 lead. The third period was full of suspense, as the Panthers made a game of it at the end. I’m not sure what they were reviewing with Demitra’s goal, but who cares as long as it counted. Burns’ shot to seal the victory was a thing of beauty. The final two minutes of the game were strange–it seemed like both teams just wanted to get off the ice.

The line to get Koivu pucks at door one was totally backed up, so we snuck out a different door. I’m trading one Koivu for a Gaborik puck with my aunt and uncle and might try to pick up a ticket for the Phoenix game (and PMB puck) on March 20th. This was our last regular season game with season ticket seats. There is one Girl Scout game at the end of the month and I still really want to find a way to attend the final home game on April 7th. Fingers crossed for playoff tickets too!

That would be the Wild player in the middle (with the broken nose).

Lame. That’s how my daughter summed up last night’s game against the Oilers. The penalty against Burns was lame. The Oilers first goal was lame. The non-stop injuries of the first period were lame. The performance of Shawn Belle was lame. 0-for-6 on the power play was lame. Out-shooting the Oilers 2-1 for most of the game and still losing was lame. A three-game home losing streak is lame.

Lemaire was right, though–they played a good game considering all of the factors. I can’t remember a recent game with so many scoring chances and none of them going in the net. Hopefully the injury situation won’t take too long to resolve itself.

This afternoon we are going to see Stephane Veilleux on Grand Avenue, then tonight it’s Hockey Unplugged in Lakeville with Emmanuel Fernandez-Lemaire and Brent Burns (who replaces trade-bait Dupuis).

Next game for us is February 8 versus Florida.

Bit of a let-down yesterday after that dominating victory against Atlanta earlier in the week. Martin St. Louis is such a small guy–I wish someone would have hit him a few times. The effort at the end of the game was impressive, but time just wasn’t on our side. All of those pipe ringings didn’t help much either.

We had a few snacks during the pre-game warm-up and wow, does Buffalo Wild Wings serve some really hot wings! I also saw my cousin and her boyfriend from long distance, but didn’t get a chance to visit.

Here’s a couple of other things Jake and I talked about during the game:

• We’d prefer Shawn Belle to Martin Skoula on D–swap them out for a few weeks and see what happens. We got ‘em both for Willie, but maybe we’ve been playing the wrong one in St. Paul.
• When Gaborik comes back (which should have been this game–just what happened in the Thursday morning skate, anyway?), place him on the Walz line and sit out Dupuis for a while.
• Jake thinks Glen Taylor should buy the Penguins, move them to Minneapolis and call them the North Stars. Target Center has a nice hockey layout and he’d probably make more money than he is now. Can the State of Hockey support two pro teams? Perhaps. And just think of all the money they’d save on travel expenses.

Next tickets: January 16 versus Rollie the Goalie and the Edmonton Oilers.

Last night my daughter and I went to see Kim Johnsson and Todd White of the Minnesota Wild at Hockey Unplugged. This edition was held at Joe Senser’s in Bloomington and was well attended by the Wild faithful. This is the second Hockey Unplugged event we’ve seen and continues the great community relations tradition of the Wild. Johnsson was especially friendly and I have two more “To DK” photos to add to the wall in the office.

The next Hockey Unplugged is close to home in Lakeville (players TBA), so we’ll probably hit that one as well. Stephane Veilleux is also scheduled to make an appearance near our office on January 17.

My officemate Jake and I scored free tickets to tonight’s game against Tampa Bay. Sounds like Gaborik won’t be back tonight as I had hoped, but if they play half the game they did against Atlanta, it should be a blast. Great seats too–row 20, section 118. Thanks Alan!

We arrived early for the game last night and brought along the Nikon to attempt some shots of the pre-game practice. I have a new appreciation for the Sports Illustrated-caliber photographers and need to read up on the techniques they use to get those great action shots indoors under artificial lighting. I took almost 500 shots and I’ve uploaded the best ones here.

As for the game, I was initially disappointed, as the Dominator had the night off (and didn’t even travel to Minnesota). On top of that, one of the refs was Mr. Magoo. If the Wild lost in addition to those things, it would have been a total waste of hard-earned money (this was an extra game I purchased). Thankfully, things turned out OK.

The first goal of the night was totally unexpected–a short-handed feed from Dupuis to Koivu. If Dupuis keeps this up, we’ll have to stop calling him Dufus. The two Detroit goals were even more painful due to the small, but vocal group of Detroit fans in attendance. Both were good goals that weren’t really Manny’s fault (more defensive breakdowns than goaltending). The Parrish tip-in to tie the game with so little time left in the third was a nice surprise and caused the X to explode (take THAT Detroit fans). PMB’s break-away in the OT sealed the deal and sent us home happy.

Next scheduled game for me: January 16 versus Rollie the Goalie and the Edmonton Oilers…DK