Minnesota Muskies

Hockey?  Already?  Yup, the Blizzard have already begun.  On Sunday, Sue Justice (above) invited me to cover the opening of the Minnesota Muskies try-outs at the RCC.  She and Teddy Hockey, and it appeared lots of other volunteers, are putting together the first outstate team to join Minnesota Special Hockey.  It’s open to anyone of any age with special needs.

I was chauffeured over by Basketball Dan, who had just arrived for a special one-day visit to Vacationland USA.  While we were there, a trailer full of hockey equipment arrived from Cowing-Robards – the kids dove into it, eager to hit the ice.  One of my all-timers, Andrea Toft, showed up to help.  She was standing with Sue when I walked up and announced I had a 50-50 chance.  I guessed Sara – it was Andrea.  Sue was wondering what I was talking about – at one time I could tell the identical twins apart when they were together.  Andrea and Sara played hockey for the Cards, graduated in ’06, and went on to play four years at Augsberg.  And honest, that same day, for the first time as I recall, I noticed the lollipop from their high school graduation party that the supervisor had put on display in a tall glass on a downstairs shelf.

[These are bantams, who were practicing before the Muskies.]

[Andrea on the right – never got a chance to ask what she and Sara are up to now?]

The Toft sisters in 2006:

We were going to take Basketball Dan to Main Street Brewery for his heading back to The Cities lunch – but it was closed.  So, we went to Bella’s – he had never been there before.  We did not take any photos – not that he isn’t photogenic, but he is camera shy.  In lieu thereof, we just received photos from Aunt Mary Kay and Uncle Tom from Scottsdale who were here a month ago – we also took them to Bella’s and Frankie, the singing waitress, took the photos.

Go Muskies!

Thank you! I love how you ended with the Toft sisters – it warms my heart! 🙂  ~ Sue

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. *********************************************************************************** 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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