**CONTENT WARNING**
This note is more about our HOCKEY-L-related experiences than about the
hockey games this weekend. If not of interest, please delete now.
Still with me? OK.
Paula and I travelled to the Phinal Phour, though we live just a few miles
from downtown St. Paul. We decided to get a room at the Radisson St. Paul
(Carol and Pam were right next door) so we could be in the middle of all the
action and spend more time with our HOCKEY-L friends.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: THE WEEKEND BEGINS
Pam picked up Charlie Shub at the airport, and Paula and I met them at Stub
and Herb's for some dinner.
THURSDAY: WE SEE LOTS OF HOCKEY AND HOCKEY-Lers
Paula and I checked in at lunchtime on Thursday, and had lunch with Pam,
Carol, Bob Gilreath and son Robert. We then walked over to the arena in
time for the Harvard vs. LSSU game. We met between periods with a bunch of
HOCKEY-Lers and had our first opportunities to match up names with faces and
renew acquaintances. Paula and I were cheering for Harvard in hopes of
seeing a Minnesota vs. Harvard final (well, it seemed conceivable at the
time), but the game ended in yet another LSSU overtime win. It was time to
walk to Shannon Kelly's bar and restaurant for the HOCKEY-L between-games
dinner.
I want to stop at this point and put in a plug for our 1994 Phinal Phour
cruise director, Carol White. Carol knocked herself out arranging the
weekend's HOCKEY-L events, and maintained good humor thoroughout. Next
year's cruise director in Providence will have a tough act to follow.
Volunteers?
Dinner at Shannon Kelly's included the now-traditional (two years in a row,
anyway) introduction of the HOCKEY-Lers. There were about fifty people
there, only a few of whom Paula and I had met before. This was enormous
fun. Fans from all over the country, from Maine to Alaska, were there. I
traded a Gopher hockey pin for an Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves pin from Ryan
Kingry. We had a room in the basement reserved, and a limited menu arranged
in advance in hopes of fairly quick service. The kitchen was unable to keep
up with the demand, so some folks had to wait pretty long for their food.
Somehow, though, we managed to eat and get the bill settled just in time to
zip back to the Civic Center for the Minnesota vs. Boston University game.
A large, loud, crowd of mostly Minnesota fans saw the Gophers drop a tough
game to BU. It was hard to see the season end one game too soon, but the
Gophers played a respectable game against a team that was at the top of its
form. The BU fans, at least, were happy. ;-) Several of us went back to
the Radisson and had a party in our room, talking about hockey and
consuming Pig's Eye Pilsner and various other drinkables.
FRIDAY: ERIK ON SKATES!
Friday could have been dull, but our cruise director had a full slate of
activities planned. At 10:00 about 40 or 50 of us had a tour of Mariucci
Arena, led by Gopher assistant coach Bill Butters. The tour ended at 11:00,
just in time for Open Skating. Several people had brought skates along, and
some more of us rented skates. I hadn't been on skates since I outgrew my
last pair in about 1971 at age 14, so I was a bit apprehensive. Still, what
could I lose but what little dignity I might have left after years of
attending hockey games wearing a hat with Gopher ears? Anyway, I laced 'em
up and stepped cautiously onto the ice. I took a couple of careful strides
and discovered that, YES! I CAN STILL DO THIS! I managed to skate for about
ninety minutes without falling down (OK, I did have a close call which ended
in a sort of half-axel with a two-foot landing, but I didn't fall). I had
such a great time that I plan go out and buy some skates if I can still find
some at this time of year. While we were skating, somebody suggested having
a HOCKEY-L hockey game next year in Providence. David and Wendy seemed
enthusiastic enough about the idea that it could happen.
Once the skating was done, we went to Stub & Herb's for a late lunch and
returned to downtown St. Paul just in time for the Hobey Baker award
announcement. It's possible that the media people there were outnumbered by
HOCKEY-Lers. After the Hobey presentation, a bunch of us went back to
Mariucci Arena for a USHL playoff game between the St. Paul Vulcans and the
Des Moines Buccaneers (Carol got free tickets for us). After seeing some of
the best college hockey teams in the country, the USHL wasn't quite as
appealing but we had fun anyway. As Glen Keeney said, the sideshow was more
entertaining than the game. After the game we went back to Stub & Herb's
for more food and conversation, then headed back to downtown St Paul for
what was left of the evening.
SATURDAY: MORE HOCKEY!
Pam, Paula, and I took a short break from hockey, and spent part of the
afternoon at the Minnesota History Center while another bunch of people
headed to the Metrodome for the Twins vs. Cubs exhibition. After a dinner
expedition with Carol, Pam, David, and Wendy we returned to the Civic Center
for the big game. Most of us expected another close one, but we were amazed
along with everyone else. Wow! LSSU could counter anything that BU could
throw at them. It had to be a tough game for the BU fans to watch, but they
stuck with their team to the end. I was reminded of listening to the West
Regional on the radio two years ago as the Lakers dissasembled the Gophers
the same way. Ouch. We walked back to the Radisson, trying to avoid being
trampled by the LSSU band on the way, and had a repeat of Thursday night's
party with a few more people. Non-stop hockey conversation for hours.
Losing an hour to Daylight Saving Time, we finally called it a night at
about 3:30. A few too-short hours of sleep, and it was time to pack up and
go home and look forward to next year.
I won't try to list the names of all the people we spent time with this
weekend, for fear of leaving some out. You know who you are. Paula and I
were happy to see all of you, and are looking forward to meeting you again
at Providence or wherever else.
-- Erik
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