alexandriacardinals

So now it’s the next day, Sunday.  We went to Williams Arena to see the Gopher women’s basketball team play Northwestern.  I have to be honest here – the Gophers are having an average year.  I went to see Rachel Banham play.  Rachel (1) is a 5’9″ sophomore guard from Lakeville and she leads the Big Ten in scoring.  All the years Lindsay Whelan was starring for the Gophers, we always said we were going to gone down to see her play.  We never did.  I did not want to miss the next Lindsay Whelan.

[Of local interest, Kayla (20) is a 6’2″ sophomore (a freshman for eligibility purposes because she missed all of last season with an injury) from Bemidji, so we saw her play against our Cardinals.]

[After Saturday’s hockey game, we spent the night with Cam and Karen in Mounds View and thought it a good omen when we saw a Cardinal on their bird feeder that morning.]

[Probably taken somewhere on the Williams Arena concourse.]

[The classic arena.]

[The far left entry in the 2nd deck is where Uncle Dick sat lo those many years as a Gopher fan.  He sat at the top of the rail overlooking the entry – “best seat in the house” was his description.]

[The famous raised floor.  I loved to play intra-mural basketball on it.]

[Famous Gophers]

[More famous Gophers]

[Famous band]

[Famous pink warm-ups for this game.]

[The main focus of my attentions, the redoubtable Ms. Banham.]

[Nice looking jumper.]

[Another player of local interest.  Sari Noga (21), center, is a 5’10” junior from Parkers Prairie.  She has a sister on the current Parkers Prairie team who is attracting interest as a point guard.]

[Sari and Rachel, top, in dribbling drills.]

[Following Banham]

[Head Coach Pam Borton]

[I’m starting a fund drive to have Uncle Dick’s (“World’s Greatest Fan”) seat bronzed for posterity (or for my posterior, whichever occurs first.]

[And introducing . . .]

[Kionna Kellogg (5), 6’1″ junior from Ames, Iowa (how’d the Cyclones let her get away?)]

[Sari]

[Micaella Riche’ (15), 6’2″ junior from Ontarioi.]

[Shayne Mullaney (3), 5’10” freshman from Eden Prairie.]

[And Rachel]

[LET’S PLAY BASKETBALL!]

[Rachel sinks a free throw, as I recall the completion of a 3-point play.]

[Sari to Micaella]

[Maggie Lyon (25), 6’1″ freshman from Wilmette was a “player” for the Wildcats – nice lefty shooter who could get her own shots.]

[I decided I couldn’t edit out the “fuzzy head” in the left foreground without losing the photo.  So here’s Rachel defending Lyon.]

[The Parkers Prairie Panther hits a 3!]

[In fact, Sari made three 3’s in the early going.  Then the Wildcats decided they better defend her better – she made one more three in the game.]

[Rachel looking good on a jumper.]

[And bringing the ball upcourt.]

[Something I didn’t realize (or had forgotten) – Joe McKeown is the Wildcats coach.  When we lived in Arlington, we were basically just across the river from Foggy Bottom and George Washington University.  We “adopted” the Buff and Blue as our home team, and during that time Joe was the head coach of the Colonials and perennially had teams ranked in the Top 25.  Mike Jarvis also had some good men’s teams at the time so the Smith Center would often see the likes of Wolf Blitzer in the stands (every game) and Bill Clinton (once).]

[Micaella]

[So, where is post-game dining?]

[Rachel walks it up.  I’m not sure if she’s considered the point guard or the shooting guard.  Probably whatever fits the occasion.  She is a terrific talent.]

[Lauren Douglas (11), is a 6’2″ freshmen and reflects what became the telling point in the game.  The Wildcats were bigger at every position.  McKeown knows how to take advantage of that – the Wildcats pounded it inside all game for easy lay-ups.]

[Kendall Hackney (4), senior, another 6’2″ for the Wildcats was also a player.]

[Where the ‘Cats had an advantage.]

[The Gophers go back on defense.]

[The ball is in the air – but who shot it?]

[All the Wildcats were 6’2″, the height of the Gophers’ center, or taller.]

[Micaella could find her way to the line on occasion.]

[Could you text that to me?]

[Douglas shoots over Micaella.]

[Somebody launched a long one?]

[I’m not eating dorm food after the game!]

[Rachel makes one . . .]

[Then two.]

[Then other athletes wrested the floor.]

[Rachel tries a 3.  Some times her shot selection is forced.  I think she feels it’s on her when the game is close.]

[Shayne at the line.]

[The other athletes again.]

[They seem to get more playing time as the game is winding down.]

[With their stackability, I think they could dunk!]

[But it’s a long way coming back down again.  😉 ]

[Their baseline numbers are good.]

[So, we’re agreed – not dorm food?]

[Rachel hands off to Mikayla Bailey (24), 5’9″ freshman from Maple Grove.  How many different spellings are they for “Mikayla”?]

[Another 3 attempt from Rachel.]

[Please drop!]

[Arrrghhhhhhh!]

[You may have noticed we switched positions at the half.  We had a loud-mouthed Gopher fan behind us in the first half so we decided to seek asylum in the corner for the 2nd.  Minnesota may be the State of Hockey, but basketball is still the bigger draw.  I can’t understand how an average basketball team with one star player can attract more fans than the possibly best college hockey team of all-time with several Olympians to be on the team?]

[The final was 70 – 63.]

The following article from the StarTribune was the object of much discussion around the state:

http://www.mngirlsbasketballhub.com/news_article/show/226036

How it was decided that a 6’9″ player would “not be a good fit at the ‘U'” struck all as a tad puzzling.  Are all the doors at the ‘U’ only 6’7″?  The Gophers biggest problem all year has been their interior defense because of their lack of height.  A  6’9″ player would have totally changed how the Northwestern game was played – most of their points came from lobs in to taller players underneath.  The player in question has a sister who is a 6’5″ high school sophomore.  I hope she’ll fit at the ‘U’?

[Top, l-r:  Katie Frischmann (6), Rochester; Mira Jalosuo (7), Finland; Sam Downey (3), Silver Bay; Front, l-r: Megan Bozek (19), Chicago; Noora Raty (41), Finland; Becky Kortum (4), Minnetonka]

Well, it’s my alma mater.  And they are having a season for the ages.  I had to go see them.  The last weekend home series (Feb. 15 – 16) set up perfectly for a doubleheader – the women’s basketball team had a home game on Sunday (Feb. 17).  Saturday was the last regular season home game for the hockey team – it was senior day (photo above).  Plus, there was the added bonus of having them play Bemidji State and our own Abby Williams.  This would be the last time we would see Abby play, and she and her Alex teammates are totally responsible for making women’s hockey our favorite spectator sport!!  🙂

[We followed brother Cam, from Mounds View, downtown where we would meet with his wife, Karen, for lunch before the game.  Cam would not join us for the game (girls, you know?) because he was helping emcee some big plant show in St. Paul.]

[When you get to the Stinson cut-off, stop, cut off your Stinson!]

[The ‘U.’  The plan was to park our car and ride with Cam back to the other end of University Avenue for lunch.]

[The ‘U’s’ alumni center – as an alum, I have to assume it was built in my honor.]

[“The Bank.”  We’re still waiting for our deposits to earn dividends.]

[Mariucci, where hockey fans go to worship.]

[For the locals, this is where Alexandria’s new high school is continuing to be designed even as it’s being constructed.]

[It’s Cuningham Group, an architectural firm, and Karen (entering here with the supervisor) is its CFO!  🙂  She has recently returned from trips to California and Beijing, places where Cuningham is opening new offices.]

[Cam and the supervisor walk down the hall of current Cuningham projects.]

[And here, in a place of obvious honor, is the new Alex high school.]

[The wall of projects.]

[The supervisor seeks out Karen’s office, the financial heart of the business.  😉 ]

[Cam poses in the CEO’s “office” – they believe in the minimalist approach to work space.]

[The view out their window of Main Avenue, the Mississippi, and downtown.]

[Where we noshed just a couple blocks away.  It has been featured on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.”]

[Ridder Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota.  Since its inception, it has taken a lot of abuse – mostly from those opposed to women’s sports in general and particularly from those who don’t think the Gopher women’s hockey program deserved its own arena.  Poppycock!!  (OK, I was being nice.)  We love the place.  A perfect venue for what it’s suppose to be.  We think the girls’ state high school tournament should be held here – but understand the attraction of wanting to play at the Xcel Center.  But Ridder is convenient to ramp parking, convenient to other sports venues on campus, and convenient to Dinkytown.  It’s still a beautiful, new facility without a bad seat in the house.  It will host this year’s WCHA tournament and the NCAA’s Frozen Four.  Try it!  You’ll like it!]

[The Bemidji State Beavers]

[The Minnesota Golden Gophers]

[And here come the Gophers (though “Weakie” will insist to his dying breath that they aren’t gophers but ground squirrels!)  The crowd looks light here, but as the game began I’d say they had a sell-out crowd.]

[And her comes Abby (3) – same as her high school number.]

[Warm-ups]

[Rachel Ramsey (5), 6-foot sophomore defenseman from Minnetonka, discusses the benefits of pre-game carb loading with the coaches.]

[Hey!  Abby!]

[We’ll put her in whenever she pops up!  😉 ]

[Three of the four refs were women.  The guy ref will be a local surprise.]

[Freshman Hanna Brandt (22), Hill-Murray, the 2nd-leading scorer in the country this year.]

[Senior Becky Kortum (4), Minnetonka.  We stood in line to buy tickets for the game with her aunt.  The first guy in line apparently wanted a complete history of every seat in the house.  The other lines were moving.  Finally, we all got a little grumpy and tried to advise the guy there were other people in line.  We never did register with him?]

[Amanda Kessel (8), junior, Madison, WI, is the leading scorer in the country; Maryanne Menefee (14) is a freshman from Lansing, MI.]

[Noora Raty (41), senior goalie from Finland and goalie for their national team.]

[Our Abster.]

[It seemed her task was to shadow Kessel whenver they were on the ice together.]

[Her role with the Beavers is mostly defensive – so I’m sure she enjoys firing off a few practice slappers.]

[“Goldy”]

[Recently voted best mascot in the country!  🙂 ]

[The seniors are introduced.  In this game, Megan set the Gopher all-time record for points by a defenseman.  Her slapshot is not something to be trifled with!]

[With family]

[The competition . . . and she has a bigger camera!]

[Sam]

[Katie]

[Mira]

[Becky]

[Noora]

[The Flying Finns]

[Congrats to all for a great year!]

[Go Gophers!]

[The wheels on the bus go round and round . . .]

[and round and round.]

[Meet the band.]

[Meet the Beavers!]

[LET’S PLAY HOCKEY!]

[Kessel in the zone.  She is impressive – incredibly fast.]

[Go, Abby!]

[The Beavers lost 8 – 0 to the Gophers the night before.  You could tell in this game that did sit well with them – they played their hearts out.]

[I’d like to see a race between Amanda and Kelly Terry (10).  🙂 ]

[Maryanne (14?) with a shot on goal.  This reflects the tone of the game.  The Gophers size and speed advantage is overwhelming – so the Beavers threw themselves in front of every shot and their goalie played a great game.]

[It may be a no checking sport but it’s still physically punishing.]

[Abby mixes it up on a face-off.]

[Then with her teammates gets ready to face a barrage of Gopher slapshots.]

[Beavers try to clear their zone with all 6-feet of Mira getting the way.]

[TV timeout?  Fat chance in women’s hockey – blecccchhh!]

[The game was consistently played in the Beavers end – and in that end they played as hard as they good to keep the puck out of their net.]

[Hannah shoots.]

[Abby battles Meghan Lorence (20), a sophomore from Irondale high, where Cam and Karen’s kids went to school.  Cam will actually admit to seeing Meghan play in high school.]

[Oops, maybe that was Hannah above too.  Here she gives Abby a little forearm shiver to the back.  ;-0 ]

[Abby shadows Hannah.]

[And sticks with her.]

[Another local fan favorite – Erika Wheelhouse (14), senior from Crookston.  A truly excellent player.  With her older sister, Marlee (who graduated last year and is Abby’s age), the Wheelhouses led their Crookston team into Alex to play during the holiday break, in I believe their senior years.  Great game.  1 – 1 tie in OT and even the Alex fans didn’t want to see either team lose.]

[The Beavers’ Emily Erickson (10), senior, Coleraine, tested Noora.]

[If you’ve been paying attention, you can tell we’re in the 2nd period now.  0 – 0 after one.]

[Kessel surrounded by three Beavers.]

[Amanda and Hannah v. 6 Beavers!]

[Gophers’ Milica McMillen (13) marks a Beaver.  You read all about Milica in the previous post.]

[Milica heading back toward her goal.  Trouble for the Gophers?]

[Sadie Lundquist (17) is a senior forward from Cloquet for the Beavers.]

[The Beavers score first!  Kaitlyn Tougas (9), a freshman from Thunder Bay.  Ridder is dazed!]

[The Gophers didn’t like that at all, obviously.  Shortly thereafter Amanda tied it at one.]

[And Megan got an assist.]

[And here’s our Alex connection.]

[His folks, Sue and Jay, live on Lake Carlos.]

[Showing a little Lake Carlos two-step to Abby!  😉 ]

[Ms. Terry.  Thought it would be blurred.  Appears to be as speedy as Ms. Kessel.]

[Ms. Kortum]

[Two 5’11″‘s mix it up.  Baylee Gillanders (27), junior for the Gophs from Saskatchewan, and Natasha Kostenko (64), sophomore for the Beavers from Manitoba.]

[Mr. Diebold probably questioning his decision to become a hockey referee?  😉 ]

[Erika trying to cover Kessel, Brandt, and Jalosuo.]

[A fluttering puck – like trying to capture a butterfly.]

[911?  I’d like to report a multi-player pile-up just outside the Bemidji crease.]

[Here comes Abby!]

[The Beavers struck again!  Ms. Tougas for a second time.]

[Uffda, they’re pesky!]

[Meghan]

[But, as before, the Gophers tied it up again almost immediately – Rachel from Becky!]

[Gopher fans are delighted!]

[Gophers try a final flurry in regulation.]

[We’re going to OT folks.  With two of the last three Cardinal games going into OT, that meant I was present for three overtime games in the space of less than a week.  That puts a lot of stress on a 65-year old heart!!]

[Do we get time-and-a-half for overtime?]

[OT begins.]

[The Gophers won on a goal by Mira shortly into the extra period on a power play.  Bemidji was not happy about how the game ended – they thought the penalty was a questionable call.  It was a hard, fast-paced game that was great from a fan standpoint.]

[The winning goal – the Gophers’ 40th consecutive win.  For the life of me, I can’t understand why this team does not sell out every game?]

During the game we were visited by a couple of famous Alex alums:

[Nikki Ecklund and Kat DelZoppo from our 2008 state championship team.]

[Then Abby came up after the game to join her old teammates.  She and her Beaver teammates were still quite upset, however, about the game ending penalty call.]

[It was great to see them all again.  Nikki is getting married this summer and, as I understand such things, Del and Abby are going to be bridesmaids?]

[* Or Is This a Great Job or What?]

I thought of that as I looked back on yesterday – Saturday.  I was up at my usual what were you doing up at that hour? working on the previous post, senior night for the Cardinal girls’ basketball team.  I completed that post just in time to meet up with fellow Super Fans “Weakie” and Roger and head for the National Hockey Center to catch the final game of the regular season for the Minnesota Gopher women’s hockey team v. St. Cloud State.  The ride home was delayed a tad by a rather longish game . . . and “Weakie’s” desire to hit the White Castle for some “sliders.”  By the time we reached home, I had to immediately sweep up the supervisor and bolt to SAWA for our monthly “date” with Lisa Lynn.

And that was just one day.  I’m so far behind, I decided to jump ahead to at least be momentarily timely while falling further off the pace chronologically.  As I recall, I have yet to post last weekend’s visit to the Cities for a Gopher women’s hockey game and  basketball game as well as the Cardinal girls’ hockey team’s 2-game foray into the state high school tournament last week (and the Boston/DC trip, and the completion of “Victoria Heights”).  I need a raise . . . and a nap!

A more complete overview of the Gopher women’s hockey team will follow (at some point) concerning last weekend’s game with Bemidji State.  But as I was really determined to see what is undoubtedly the best women’s college team of all time, one more time, I made the convenient trip to St. Cloud to watch them complete the first ever undefeated regular season.  The 3 – 0 victory over the Huskies, though far from a masterpiece, extended their all-time record winning streak to 42 games!  Probably the most impressive aspect of the team is the size of their defense!  I believe their average height is greater than that of our boys’ high school basketball team my senior  year.  Above we have Mira Jalosuo (7), a 6-foot senior from Finland, playing catch with Milica McMillen (13), a 5’10” freshman from Breck (I believe I have mentioned this before, but if you look at the upper left border of this blog, you will see Milica as an 8th-grader playing for Breck against our Cardinal championship team in 2008).  In the team photo at the top, Mira is joined by fellow 6-footer, Rachel Ramsey (5), sophomore from Minnetonka and daughter of NHL All-Star, Mike.  They are joined by fellow elevated blue-liners, Lee Stecklein (2), 5’11” freshman, Roseville; Baylee Gillanders (27), 5’11” junior, Saskatchewan; and Megan Bozek (19), a relatively smallish 5’9″ senior from Chicago and the Gopher’s all-time leading scorer on defense.  Shortly into the game, an OSHA inspector came in and momentarily stopped play long enough to distribute ear protection for all the fans as the sound of the slap shots rifled from the blue line by this group was ear shattering!

[The Huskies played the Gophers tough all game.]

[Milica (13); Becky Kortum (4), senior, Minnetonka; Meghan Lorence (20), sophomore, Irondale (home of brother Cam, who actually swallowed his troglodyte pride long enough to see her play in high school); Maryanne Menefee (14), freshman, Lansing, Michigan.]

[Mira (7) leads a charge with Hannah Brandt (22), freshman, Hill-Murray.  Sharp guy that I am, it took me several shifts to realize the nation’s leading scorer, Amanda Kessel (8), junior, Madison, Wisconsin, was not playing this day – that was disappointing.  And maybe because of that, it took a while before Hannah, Amanda’s center and the nation’s 2nd-leading scorer, took the ice.  And here I’ll give a shoutout to an old Department of Labor colleague whose neice, Casey Pickett, is the nation’s 17th-leading scorer for Northeastern.]

[When I finally spotted Ms. Brandt between Maryanne and Meghan.]

[Huskies threaten Gopher’s All-American Finnish senior goalie, Noora Raty (41).]

[Hannah on the face-off.]

[New to the scene is Kelly Terry (10), junior, Whitby, Ontario.  You need a radar gun to track her speed!]

[I caught Kelly!]

[Rachael Bona (15), sophomore, Coon Rapids, joins Kelly in the offensive zone.]

[Gophers threatening.]

[Hannah scored giving the Gophers a 1 – 0 lead.]

[Rachel – her physical presence is such you don’t need to see her number.]

[Becky – I stood in the ticket line with her aunt for the Bemidji game.  Must be worth something on sister Gretch’s celebrity-sighting scale?]

[Becky and Kelly storm in.]

[Megan at a position from which she must have fired 50 slap shots during the game.  You would not want to be on the receiving end of one of them!]

[1 – 0 after two.  The Gophers had lots of shots – little to show for them.]

[Start the 3rd.]

[They are great fun to watch because of their size and speed.  But they were a little out of sync on this day.]

[Becky and Milica scored in the 3rd for the final result.]

[The Gophers last score came on a 4-on-3 situation.  The Huskies also had a player in the box on a 5-minute major penalty.  The referees could not figure out who, if anyone, could come out of the penalty box after the goal.  It went on for many minutes, discussions among the refs, between the refs and the coaches, and all the while the Husky fans are letting them have it!  They ultimately decided no one was coming out – never figured that one out and the Husky fans were . . . not delighted?]

[Noora tried to stay loose during the delay.]

 [Then the other leg.]

[42 in a row!]

[The Husky fan in front of us was absolutely right.  I don’t know if it was by design, but the Gophers would just fire slap shots from the blue line on every power play?]

[On to SAWA where Lisa had a young lady do a 2-song stand-in.]

[BFF Lisa Lynn.  We decided it would be a good night to shoot some videos because it was initially rather quiet in SAWA.  Of course, by the time we got around to it, the regular crowd had shuffled in!  Nevertheless, here are 8 videos of some of Ms. Lynn’s favorites.]

“Tiny Dancer”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfdRENVS23M

[Thanks again, El!*  February is, after all, National Pasty Month, and they are terrific for warding off those arrow-through-the-head migraines!  (* The product was hand-delivered on Senior Night by fellow Cardinal Super Fan, a/k/a/, The Pasty King.)  😉 ]

As we know from the previous posting, the Cards beat Detroit Lakes on this night.  It was not an insignificant win.  The Lakers had a come-from-behind victory against us early in the year, and in their previous game had taken still undefeated and No.1-ranked Fergus Falls down to the wire.  They actually match-up well with Fergus with big bodies and 3-point shooting.  Of course, DL then went on to also lose to Class AA power, Staples-Motley (fortunately, there is a state-wide hue-and-cry to break up the Staples-Motley juggernaut!  😉  ).

The Cards won in our usual manner – with in-your-face, pestering, pants-on-fire, take-no-prisoners defense.  I suspect a rather substantial portion of Laker points were garnered from the free throw line – when they weren’t wearing a Cardinal inside their jerseys.  It’s true we struggle offensively ourselves, but we sure are fun to watch play defense!  The Cards finished the regular season with a win at Rocori on Thursday.  We finished 2nd in the Central Lakes Conference and received the No. 1-seed on the South subsection, securing an opening round home game this Tuesday at 7:00.  And not in just casual passing, the JV team finished the season with a 23 – 1 record, winning by an average score of 48 – 24.  I believe that bodes well for the future!  🙂

[Looking out the bathroom window before leaving for the game.]

[Helpful household hint for keeping that commode seat warm during Minnesota winters.]

[Buzz Miller filled in admirably as PA announcer for the evening.]

[Round up the seniors!]

[Let the festivities begin!]

[Karla, as delivered by . . . Ms. Balloonhead?]

[Sam]

[Eventually, they all leave the nest.]

[Kalli]

[Dani]

[Accompanied by Karly.]

[Jess]

[Parting is such sweet sorrow.]

[A little pre-game jumping up and down . . .]

[And chanting something indecipherable.]

[Ladies, check this out.  Basso profundo!]

[So, we’re agreed – Zorbaz after the game?]

[Pre-game milling around – catching complete strangers wandering into the line of fire.]

[We carried the the JV to a 23 – 1!]

[So next year we’ll be covered even more by the cub reporter!]

[Amanda C and Sarah share a secret sorority handshake.]

[ 😉 ]

[Karly and Sarah – in lieu of a handshake?]

[Jess and Sarah with a different perspective.]

[Dani and Sarah with the ever popular fist bump.]

[After low-fiving in previous games, Kalli and Sarah opt for the high-five.]

[Amanda C rises to the occasion.]

[Karly begins her evening of Mass Disruption.]

[Dani joins the front court pressure . . .]

[And a leap!]

[A Laker under assault.]

[Just a guess, but the ball is apparently somewhere above the rim.]

[Kalli setting up a high post move?]

[Still setting . . .]

[Sarah]

[Emily joins the Disruptor with back court pressure.  They’re both on the cross-country team so they can run all night.]

[Kalli is the last line of defense.]

[Though she eventually anticipates company.]

[Karly spins to the current ball handler.]

[Dani awaits the inbounds.]

[Emily on the point.]

[Dani and a Laker negotiate for the pumpkin.]

[You put your right leg out and you shake it all about!]

[Guessing a Kalli score.]

[Here they come again!]

[Scoring was coming with difficulty.]

[Luella and her sister – have been coming to Cardinal games since before I arrived on the planet.  Talk about your Super Fans!]

[I believe Zorbaz specializes in pizza?]

[At least I think they do in DL?]

[The ref confirmed the pizza rumor.]

[Why does the gym get darker when we run in front of the light panel?]

[No. 1 is about to panic!!]

[And again?]

[Karly has two Lakers in her sights.]

[Karly and Sarah compare notes.]

[Yeah, really, it’s pizza.]

[As a Card shoots free throws, you get an idea of the relative size differences between the Lakers and our Cards.]

[Kalli’s shot is . . . ?]

[Macy, fresh off another JV win.]

[Amanda C’s good!]

[Just remember, pepperoni is not good right after a game!]

[Amanda C may have missed this one, contrary to what the odds makers predicted?]

[Jess displays a form that should be 100%!]

[My last shot – fitting as Karly would have been my player-of-the-game.]

[Three evenings later, i.e., last night, out the same bathroom window.  (Yes, older people do spend a lot of time in bathrooms.]

[And soon I must prepare for leftovers, as this afternoon “Weakie” and I are off to see the Gopher (my alma mater) women’s hockey team play St. Cloud State (“Weakie’s” alma mater) – because we can’t get enough of women’s hockey!  😉  And if we hadn’t already had other plans for the evening, we could have stayed down there for the Card boys’ hockey team’s section game against top-seed Little Falls.]

p.s.  No, I did not stay up until the end of last night’s (this morning’s) girls’ hockey semi-final, eventually won in the 6th overtime, 4 – 3, by Minnetonka over Lakeville North.  The game lasted 4 hours until 1:00 am.  The game was reportedly the longest girls’ game in history, though I’m not sure they looked beyond the borders of the continental 48.  It even made ESPN news this morning.  I do not like the Skippers’ chances in the championship game tonight.