alexandriacardinals

The hockey team was at Benson for a semi-final match-up with the Morris-Benson Area Storm. The Storm came in as the No. 2 seed in section 6A by virtue of their gaudy 21-3 regular season record (the Cards were the 3rd seed). They feature some very good players – Dani Schultz lead the state in scoring for the second straight year with 117 points, and her teammate, Sara Rajewski, had 91 points. We heard the game report on the radio on the way home from the girls’ basketball game (where reports on the hockey game were announced periodically).

Less than three minutes into the game, the Storm lead 2-0 on goals by Schultz and Rajewski. Coach Mitch Loch called a time-out. Dave Harris and Bob Cunniff on KXRA noted that may have been the turning point. The Cards started to click and tied it up, 3-3, by the end of the first period. From then on, it was all Cards, particularly in the 3rd, where the team’s depth was too much for the Storm to handle. An 8-3 victory moves the Cards on to the section finals against Fergus Falls, Friday night @ 6:00, in Detroit Lakes. This is the match-up we predicted at the start of the season. We’ll try rounding up the Super Fans for the trip.

Dave and Bob were positively giddy during their post-game report – it was fun to listen to them. They said it was the Cards best game of the year. Maybe their tortuous regular season schedule is paying dividends at just the right time. I don’t recall all the scoring, but Rachel Finley and Shelby Iverson each had two goals (Shelby’s line with the Illies sisters apparently had a great all-around game), I believe Brooke Aaberg had three points from her defense position, and Shanee’ Herd had another goal. The announcers noted the three experienced defensemen (though all still under-classmen) – Brooke, Shanee’, and Heather Hvezda – all played very well.

We lost both regular season games to Fergus – but outshot them both games. Cunniff, in his giddiness, predicted if the Cards play as they did last night, they will be off to the Xcel Center again the following week.

In the absence of photographic evidence from last night, staff ventured deep into the archives and discovered videos so old they weren’t even on YouTube. Here are three videos, on Google’s YouTube equivalent of the time, from a Detroit Lakes game in 2008 where we actually captured some goals – one by Michelle Anez, another by Beth Rindy, and the third just features a beautiful skating exhibition by Michelle:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3695664662113605219

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9141855567063567465

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1852951242633362872

We went to the basketball game against Rocori. Ruthie was “bribed” (see photo above) and thus felt obligated to make an appearance (she does not like to go to basketball games because “the gym’s too hot.”) [Note to “bribers”: It worked. That was sweet. And the “thank you” note is in the mail!] We were joined by Barb and Roger Riley – it was Barb’s first game of the year, though she admitted having the Alexandria Aces perform at halftime was a contributing factor.

I advised everyone beforehand this would not be a close game.  Ruthie, the dark cloud, thought I was jinxing the team.  Five minutes into the game she asked if she should leave because she was bad luck – the Cards were struggling mightily on the offensive end, a continuation of their 2^nd half play against Bemidji.  But I had no qualms – they’re just too good, and they slowly started to find their groove and built a nice lead by halftime.  They started the 2^nd half with all motors running and totally overwhelmed the Spartans.  Wendy was soon able to substitute five players at a time, everybody played, and the highlight was whenever the subs scored (and they almost all did), the starters on the bench led the cheering.  The final score was 59-30.  Free throw shooting, however, continues to be an issue.  It doesn’t help that the crowd moans with each miss (I admit to moaning, too – it’s an inadvertent reflex), but the team just has to regain its confidence from the line and remember they shot them well in mid-season.  Joie and Amanda shot well throughout the game.  I thought this was Amanda’s best all around game – her best shooting game and she handled the point guard position well when Cara had some foul issues.  Next up, hosting DL on Thursday.

[El “Mr. Pasty” Holm]

Oh yeah – and the Aces did perform at halftime.  They will also be performing at the ACC men’s championship game in Greensboro, North Carolina – I have no doubt Basketball Dan and Rooogggg will be there for the festivities(?).

Finally, I am delighted to be reporting this morning.  Monday morning I returned from the gym, now two days into the BIG Melt (to continue for the rest of the week), to discover snow had fallen from the roof piling up in front of the garage door.  I parked the car, got a shovel, and as I was clearing the mess, an avalanche from 20 feet above me showered off the roof.  I was struck with a glancing blow – and then muttered about all the additional shoveling I would have to do.  As I began, I noticed my glasses in the snow – I hadn’t realized they had been knocked off during the “attack.”  I’m probably pretty lucky I didn’t get hit by a direct shot!

Open memo to Abby Williams:  I suspect your mother has every intention of joining you on the Beavers forward line next year.  I see her everyday at the gym – but while I wander the lap track munching glazed doughnuts, she goes into the “Torture Room,” from whence some never return.  She’s starting to look like an Olympic sprinter!  🙂

[Intended to pay homage to Dad’s Somewhat Personal columns for the Park Region Echo. Sometimes “homages” are a little light in the “pay” department]:

Last night the supervisor and I celebrated our 10^th wedding anniversary!  Yes, on Valentine’s Day – so I wouldn’t forget the date (though to this day, I can never remember whether it’s the 12^th or the 14^th?).  Over the last several years, this celebration has either taken place at SAWA – or at a girls’ hockey tournament game.  Last night – SAWA (the hockey tournament game is tonight).  Surrounded by dozens of our closest friends, we enjoyed a four-course meal from Chef Matthew – and poetry and song from Dave and Marilyn Bengston, who for the 3^rd year in a row came all the way from Long Prairie to provide the entertainment.  Yes, we enjoyed it all.

[The books are from her sister, Rita 🙂 – the chocolates from me.]

[Chef Matthew]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzWeN-bVDUc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFqoPfP1KHc

In keeping with the completely personal aspects of this column, in doing “deep” research I ran across this short bio from a few years ago, a questionaire either from Ladies Home Journal or Cosmo, I would assume:

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? 
    “Peeping” Tom 

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? 

    Every time George W. Bush opens his mouth 

3. Do you like your handwriting? 

    What’s “handwriting”? 
         
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? 

    Bebe Neuwirth (Oh, I thought it said lunch “meet”)

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

     Puh-leeze!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?

     Is that a trick question?
 
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM ALOT? 

    My life’s blood . . .

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS 

     . . . and 3 wisdom teeth.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?

     I only jump to conclusions. 

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? 

     Eggos 
 
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?

      I can’t bend over to tie them in the first place. 

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?

      I have been known to lift a fork to mouth many times in succession.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?

      Cold and frozen

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT  PEOPLE? 

      Whether they have hair. 

15. RED OR PINK? 

      My goal in life is to have a pink Vespa, with full black leathers.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?

      See answer to No. 11.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST 
     

      Paul Lynde 

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? 

      With luck, it will get lost in cyber space. 

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? 
      

       I type naked. 

20.  WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? 

       Chocolate chip cookies – a dietary staple!

21.  WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO NOW?

        I live on Lake Darling, in Alexandria – so it’s always . . . the wind!

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?

      I would prefer to be a Magic Marker.

23.  FAVORITE SMELLS?

       See answer to No. 20.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? 
 

      I’m still waiting for a call. 

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?

       😉

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?

      Eating contests

27. HAIR COLOR?

      OK, who put that one in here?

28. EYE COLOR?

       Blood shot (the Wine & Ale last night)

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?

      See answer to preceding question. 

30. FAVORITE FOODS?

       Redundant

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? 

      Jack Nicholson – so, either one.

 32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?

       I don’t know – I was too scared!

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? 

      See answer to No. 19.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? 

      Fall (OK, I’m a smartass.) 

35. HUGS OR KISSES? 
     

       Nibbles 

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? 

      Again, redundant 

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? 

      The CIA!  

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?

      See answer to No. 17

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?        

      “(Not that You Asked)”  

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? 

      Whatever it was, I just washed it off (eee-yew!) 

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? 

       [Deleted – this is a family oriented publication.] 

42. FAVORITE SOUND? 
     Terry and Al sang “Harvest Moon” again for us last night at the Wine & Ale

 43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? 

      Beatles (is that a straight answer?) 

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? 

      As yet, undiscovered. 

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? 

      The hospital has long since been razed! 

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?

      Oh, you guys . . . 

48. WHAT TIME IS IT NOW? 

       Time for a nap.

The following photos are from the Minneapolis Tribune Parade Magazine article Dad wrote about in his above Somewhat Personal column:

[Dad overlooking 6th and Broadway in Alex.]

[Dad and Keith Wallace with the bogus string of fish noted in his column.]

[Dad at his desk at the Park Region Echo.]

WEDOART! OK, that’s a ripoff of the interstate billboards around Melrose. But, we do. So today, as the finale of legacy weekend, we went to the matinee performance of The Dixie Swim Club at the AAAA theater.

There were several reasons for this. We consider ourselves to be arty (I sip wine with pinkie extended). We knew Jamie Sandberg and Mary Pohl were involved in the production. We love the Outer Banks.

The Dixie Swim Club is a poignant and funny story of five women who were members of a college swim team who get together annually at a cottage on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It follows their get-togethers at ages 44, 49, 54, and 77, as they discuss their lives, their husbands, their kids, men (all good, of course), food and beverage, fashion . . . well, pretty much everything. We thought it terrific. Mary, a native North Carolinian, coached the cast in “native speak” and Jamie was the 2nd member of the Sandberg family to entertain us this week – her son, Craig, played bass with Funky Gumbo on Thursday night.

So hockey moms and basketball moms, and women of all ages who have had the experience of being an athlete and a teammate. You will enjoy this play – and undoubtedly recognize the lifetime of relationships expressed.

And, of course, the Outer Banks. As a longtime resident of the Washington, D.C. area, I would join “the boys” for twice-a-year treks to that wisp of land in the Altantic Ocean. We would make the 6-hour trip every spring and fall always in hopes of hitting the bluefish run. In our later years, we succumbed to bringing along our missuses, or other significant others, in what would become more like eating and shopping expeditions. But always, we just enjoyed being there – and this gives me an opportunity to display some of the photos taken through the years:

Finally, you may recall our first venture into the land of the senior matinee movie hosted by Midway Cinema 9 on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. Well, we went again – along with thousands of our closest friends from the previous such spectacle. This time we had a legitimate movie to see – The King’s Speech.  It was in the big theater and it was packed. You know it was a really, really good movie and worthy of its Oscar nominations by the fact that in a theater of the elderly, including yours truly, we did not nod off in a dark room in the middle of the day.

And finally, finally, a note from Terry Lang:  I hope you two can have a nice, quiet day together. Happy 10th. If I  didn’t have a doctor’s appointment at noon tomorrow, I would be on the  golf course. The Space Needle shot I took in July, 2 years ago after teaching that night. On the way to the college, if I can see Mt. Rainier from the highway, I know I will have good sky to  shoot time-exposures.  And, this day, the full moon was out and I waited about 40 minutes for it to get to this point. I can’t sell this shot because everyone accuses me of “Photoshopping” the moon into the photo. Nope…I did it myself,  in camera, on a tripod, with a lot of patience.   Again, Rita and I appreciate the news that we get through your emails and both of us wish you a very happy 10th.

The day began, as usual, with an early morning trip to the gym. It was considerably balmier than it had been . . . since July? (The temperature would hit 38 for the day, and with forecasts of similar weather all next week, we’re thinking of putting the dock in next weekend.) After an hour and a half of strenuous exercise, the supervisor and I immediately undid any positive benefits by heading to the Kiwanis pancake feed at the Senior Center. It was the beginning of Legacy Weekend, and we needed to be cloned to cover all events.

As we went home to rest (and digest the pancakes) before heading out again, we noted that because of scheduling conflicts we would be unable to: enter the ice fishing contest, go to the clay workshop and reception, stay for the boys’ basketball game (with the Alexandria Aces performing at halftime), participate in the candle light cross-country ski/snowshoe through Carlos State Park, or see Lisa Lynn’s debut performance at SAWA.

It began at the winery. The Salty Dogs were performing – and the winery was featuring Legacy/Valentine’s Day specials, including port shots in chocolate cups. Dee-lish! We could only stay for a little over an hour – but the cast serenaded Ruthie (for our 10th anniversary is Valentine’s Day) with her favorite song, What’ll I Do?, as we headed for the next event. Thanks again to Annie, Bruce, Erik, and Tom for putting a twinkle in Ruthie’s eye. We were off to SAWA, which was hosting a wine and chocolate tasting – what’s not to like? Four different wines paired with four different chocolates – needless to say, we liked them all. And it was here we heard our first report on the ice fishing contest. It was subsequently independently confirmed. It seems so preposterous, that an errata will be issued later if not true. The report was – although something like 4,000 anglers participated on Lake Agnes, NOT A SINGLE FISH WAS CAUGHT(?)

Next, we had to repair back to the house so the supervisor could determine appropriate attire for a basketball game followed immediately by a hockey game. This almost requires professional assistance. The girls’ basketball team was hosting Bemidji on “Hoops vs. Cancer” night. We found Val Trumm on the concourse, obtained our pre-ordered shirts, and entered the gym to find the Pink Shirts displayed throughout the crowd and on both teams. I videoed the warm-ups and the game’s beginning – as you can see at the opening tip, Bemidji featured a sophomore center who was listed as 6’2” though she seemed considerably bigger than that in relation to Sam:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ruthobert#p/a/u/1/y2xiRHDgZ-M

http://www.youtube.com/user/ruthobert#p/a/u/0/q3ulFS14mfE

The Cards began the game as usual – high energy, turn the other team over often, leading to a 7-0 lead through the video. Shortly, Lauren picked up her 2nd foul and sat most of the 1st half. Though that did not initially cause negative issues, it seemed to effect the Cards flow in the game. The Cards led 32-12 at half, and I commented how that reflected how good we are because we didn’t play very well. With Lauren back in at the start of the 2nd half, the Cards started pulling away even further. Then we were hit by an affliction of poor shooting that affected our entire game. If we tried to throw the ball in the ocean, it would hit a kelp bed and bounce back out. A lead that once was in the mid-20’s was cut to 7 at one point. We have to give the Lumberjacks some credit here – while their center is their only height, and she was very good both scoring and blocking shots (she must have had at least 10), they also had a 5’9” fullback who would bulldoze through everyone and was a good shooter, and their little guards started launching high-arcing 3’s that would re-enter the atmosphere with frost from the stratosphere and somehow swish right through the basket. The Cards then decided it was time to crank up the “D” again and created turnovers that led to easy baskets – so we were able to maintain the lead. But down the stretch, when we could have put the game away, we must have missed 7-8 free throws in a row. It’s hard to be picky in a 55-45 victory over a quality opponent, but that was probably the Cards worst shooting display since the Fergus game.

[Gentle men of the cloth (and sports fans and golfers):  Dave Hoyme and Rollie Halvorson.  Their significant others, Jeanne, to Dave’s right, and Alice, not in the picture, apparently are a little more camera shy.]

[I said, Martin!  So, at first he ducked.  Your snowbird friends would like to say, ‘Hi!’.]

[The Defense prepares.]

We left JHS immediately to head to the RCC. It seemed it had been months since we’d been there. The girls’ hockey team spent the last half of the regular season on the road playing Class AA consortium schools. Now we were home to open the section playoffs against someone more our own size – Long Praire/Grey Eagle/Wadena-Deer Creek. We listened to the game report on KXRA on the way over – the first period was complete with the Cards holding a 3-0 lead, on a 34-0 shot advantage! The Cards were taking out a half-season’s frustrations on a young LPGEWDC team. We found Robo at the railing and the supervisor went down to sit with Karen Meuwissen. The rest of the game was similar to the 1st period – the Cards won 10-1, on a 60-3 shot advantage. Next up, the Cards play 2nd-seed, Morris-Benson, with the state’s leading scorer, Dani Schultz, at Benson on Tuesday. Neither we, nor apparently anyone associated with the Alex program, has ever played at Benson. We heard, however, that the arena is cold with limited seating. Therefore, these senior Super Fans likely will not make that trip – and hope they can make it to the finals on Friday, likely to be played at the MAC in St. Cloud.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ruthobert#p/a/u/2/Wd5mRixpzpE

[Karen and Ruthie.]

[The pink socks are a hockey tournament tradition – back to the days when the girls wore pink laces in their skates to make them look tough!]

We received an e-mail from the McCoys, who were at the basketball games with two grandsons, that the boys’ team lost to Bemidji 61-47. They said the boys did not shoot well (a night long Cardinal affliction?), but the Lumberjacks are very good with a 17-3 record and have a player who scored over 50 points in a game this year.

Alumni report: The Gusties won again on Friday with Danielle Justice in goal, and Michelle Anez contributed an assist as Wisconsin-River Falls continued its undefeated season.

[Danielle]

[Michelle]

[Addendum:  If you notice the winery photo, the windows are wide open.  At this time of year, 38-degree weather feels warm.  But it also means our getaway weather is a month early.  It is 44 degrees here this morning.  Mud, slush, and puddles are everywhere.  Water and snow are gushing off the roofs.  This is the weather we hate – and it’s suppose to be like this all week.  In a winter of total weirdness – with snow everyday in December and January, to too cold to snow the first part of February and then immediately too warm to snow – maybe spring will be really early?  Also, did you notice in Wisconsin’s big win over undefeated Ohio State, three of their players accounted for 51 points – and they’re all Minnesota kids!  Where do we go wrong?]