In an effort to ward off the angst of yet another washed out weekend, blog staff decided to wade into the archives – back to the early years of Superfandom. From 2008 on . . . the top photo, again, is of the seniors on the 2008 state championship hockey team – the inspiration for what ultimately became this blog.
[John Herdan, fellow Alexandria, class of ’65, alum and teacher at St. Cloud Cathedral, filed this report on January 30, 2008.] The St. Cloud Icebreakers riding their own 6 game winning streak gave the Alexandria Cardinals all they could handle all the way into the third period Tuesday night in St. Cloud. The Icebreakers outshot the Cardinals 18-8 in the first two periods before Michelle Anez tipped in a Kathryn DelZoppo shot from the point with Abby Williams assisting 13:18 into the second period. The Icebreakers quickly tied the game as World 18 and under champion Annie Schleper drew a Cardinal penalty near the end of the third period. As the third period opened Annie found my next door neighbor Michelle Bunnell near the corner of the net and she buried the puck past Danielle Justice at 1:06 of the period. However, the Cardinals quickly put the game out of reach with back to back goals by Abby Williams (Holmes and DelZoppo) at 4:01 and by DelZoppo (Anez and Williams) at 6:02. It was a great game and according to Cardinal coach Mitch Loch a good test for the Cardinals as they prepare for the playoffs. Icebreaker coach Mark Chamernick says the Cardinal have as good a chance as anybody to go all the way this year. Good luck to a tremendous bunch of young ladies several of whom I had a chance to talk to at the concession stand after the game. They represent Alexandria well!
Ashley Holmes, Annie Schleper, and Abby Williams pause for a picture after the game. All three girls attended tryouts for the under 18 national team in Lake Placid, New York. Annie made the team and helped win the world championship for the US earlier this month in Calgary. [Ashley now plays for North Dakota, Annie plays for Minnesota, and Abby plays for Bemidji State.]
John also took the following terrific photo in that same game – Alex goalie Danielle Justice on the ice with her dad, Ted, in the foreground:
[February 16, 2008] The supervisor with Boog Powell at Camden Yards in Baltimore – 1992. As I’m typing this, she is totally on her own watching the boys’ state hockey tournament. She must be becoming a real fan!
[February 18, 2008] The state champion hockey team doesn’t look quite as tough in Midwinter attire.
[February 29, 2008] Angela Christianson’s 54-point night.
[Photo courtesy Monte Draper, Bemidji Pioneer: Alexandria’s Angela Christianson scored 54 points for the Cardinals in their opening round game of the Section 8AAAA playoffs, but it wasn’t enough as they fell 67-64, ending their season.]
[March 20, 2008] A little photo (from the Echo” about why everybody loves Abby Williams. Here she is – all-state hockey player, over 300 points in her career – a senior leading a bunch of 5th-graders in her role on the Cardinal Leadership Team. You can see why all the little girls look to her as a hockey mentor and want to play the sport – they’re all already as big as she is!
[March 25, 2008] Tonight was the annual hockey banquet, and the Super Fans were once again delighted to be invited. The hosts of this year’s event were Kyle and Deb Hvezda, parents of 8th-grade defenseman, Heather, at the building on their property known as “The Barn.” On our way in, we were intercepted by the cheerleading squad – and Doctor Colonel Professor Kiehne had the audacity tonight, after receiving my photo today of the first hole at the Alex Golf Club, to ask why we live in this god-forsaken place!
All-state, all-tournament, all-world goalie, Danielle “Roadblock” Justice, displays the cake with the names of the players for the state champion Cardinals. Oh, and did I mention all seven seniors are members of the National Honor Society (GPA’s above 3.5)?
[April 15, 2008] After much searching, checking with professional model agencies, we finally found a gal worthy to display the girls hockey state championship sweatshirt Unfortunately, we had no luck finding an appropriate guy.
[Sue Justice writing about her hammock-habitating daughter Danielle on April 17, 2008.] I think she wants MY job! Or is she dreaming of the perfect job….? This was taken today around 3:30 pm. It’s 56 degrees outside. Notice the completely frozen lake in the background.
[May 2, 2008] As coverer of Cardinal Girls Sports Beat, it is my honor to announce that freshman Rosey Erickson this week set a new school record for the long jump at 18’3″ – that is also the longest jump in the state this year! This is not a surprise. Rosey has been competing on the national level since she was a 7th-grader. I believe she is undefeated this year in the 200-meter dash, and she anchors the relay teams. Cardinal football fans may remember her brother Jason was the starting halfback on the last Cardinal team to reach the Final 4 in the Metrodome (2003?) and finished 2nd in the state in the 100 meter dash his senior year – Jason, I believe, is still a 400 meter runner for the “U.”
(* The photo of Rosey was pilfered from the Bluebird Today website and was taken in ’06. Hey, I can’t be everywhere!)
[May 3, 2008] After following Brittney, the oldest Bruzek daughter, through her career as a Cardinal sports star in hockey and softball; Gracie is the next in line. She is the point guard for the basketball team and the shortstop for the softball team. The photo was taken today behind the dugout- the Cards were hosting a four team tournament (results by separate e-mail) on a bright sunny day, but with wind chills probably in the 20’s. Nice serape, Bud!
[From Sue Justice on May 21, 2oo8 – Prom photo of Abby, Danielle, and Kathryn.] As promised!
May 26, 2008: On behalf of all the Super Fans, we’d just like to thank you again for the Memories Book – and, of course, the Cub Reporter plaque! Those were beautiful notes, and photos, from all of you in the Memories Book – and we were able to scan copies for all the Super Fans. Here is a photo of Ruthie proudly showing off the Memories Book to Mom Obert over Memorial Day weekend. And as an added bonus, we have included photos of rare solo performances at the RCC by Kristi Yamaguchi and Marian Gaborik – someday these photos could be worth thousands of . . . well, OK, a buck and a quarter.
Best wishes, Ruthie & Tom
p.s. The term “super seniors” in this context does not, of course, mean that you appear to be octogenarians!
And more to come . . .
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About tomobert63
The Journey Begins
Thanks for joining me! This is the follow-up to the original, “alexandriacardinals.wordpress.com,” which overwhelmed the system’s ability to handle it any more. Thus, this is “Part 2.” As the original was initially described:
10-26-07-4
“It all began in a 5,000 watt radio station in Fresno, California” . . . wait a minute, that was Ted Baxter on the Mary Tyler Moore Show! Let’s see . . . oh yeah, it all began in 2003 when retirees, i.e., old people, in Alexandria, Minnesota, who had no desire to become snow birds, went looking for mid-winter entertainment here in the frozen tundra of West Central Minnesota. We discovered girls’ high school hockey, fell in love immediately, and it remains our favorite spectator sport to this day. Initially, and for several years, reports on these games were e-mailed to those who were actually snowbirds but wanted to keep abreast of things “back home.” It was ultimately decided a blog would be more efficient, and it evolved into a personal diary of many things that attracts tens of readers on occasion. It remains a source of personal mental therapy and has yet to elicit any lawsuits.
~ The Editor, May 9, 2014
p.s. The photo border around the blog is the Cardinal girls’ hockey team after just beating Breck for the state championship in 2008. It’s of the all-tournament team. The visible Breck player on the left is Milica McMillen, then an 8th-grader – she is now an All-American for the Gophers. The Roseau player in the stocking cap I believe is Mary Loken, who went on to play for UND; and the Cardinal player on the right, No. 3, is Abby Williams, the player we blame most for making us girls’ hockey fans who went on to play for Bemidji State.
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Photos contained herein are available for personal use. All you have to do is double click on any of the photos and they will become full screen size. You can then save them into your personal “My Pictures” file. They make lovely parting or hostess gifts, or holiday gifts for such as Uncle Ernie who wants to see how his grand niece is doing on the hockey team. If any are sold for personal profit, however, to, for example, the Audubon Society, National Geographic, Sven’s Home Workshop Monthly, Curling By The Numbers, or the World Wrestling Federation, I only request that you make a donation to the charitable organization of your choice. You have two hours and fifteen minutes. Pencils ready? Begin!
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In an effort to ward off the angst of yet another washed out weekend, blog staff decided to wade into the archives – back to the early years of Superfandom. From 2008 on . . . the top photo, again, is of the seniors on the 2008 state championship hockey team – the inspiration for what ultimately became this blog.
And more to come . . . 
alexandriacardinals 