The following article appeared in the Minnesota Daily today.  I didn't make
up any of it.  This actually happened.  The article was accompanied by a
picture with this caption:
 
  RAINOUT: Say, have you ever been to a baseball tournament and a hockey
  game broke out?  Well, it happened Sunday at C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle
  Creek, Mich., where Minnesota's Bryce Darnell took it to the boards with
  Ohio State catcher Tony Khoury during their improptu game.
 
Headline: Gophers, Buckeyes face off for title
Publish Date: 05/25/1993
 
!RM138PT!By Juan C. Rodriguez
 
Staff Reporter
 
While Big Ten bureaucrats debated the fate of Sunday's final playoff
game between Minnesota and Ohio State, a collection of players from
each team met behind home plate at C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle
Creek, Mich., to resolve the dispute.
 
However, they did not bring briefcases and rule books. The players
came equipped with helmets, bats and a puck.
 
Representatives from both squads squared off in a makeshift game of
hockey using gloves for goal posts and a baseball for a puck.
 
"We were going to settle the score one way or another on the field
and we did," Gopher winger Mark Vandersall said following Minnesota's
9-2 pasting.
 
The teams engaged in hockey while waiting for the winner-take-all
baseball game to be cancelled because of poor weather and sloppy
field conditions.
 
It did not take long for Ohio State to dirty its white uniforms.
Although they appeared seasoned after the event, the Armstrong High
School (Plymouth, Minn.) duo of Vandersall and Mark Merila dominated
the game. The juniors combined for six goals and three assists.
 
"We thought we'd go out with a two-one-two fore-check because we
didn't think they'd handle the puck well," said Merila, an
all-conference hockey standout at Armstrong. "The wings went in first
to force the puck."
 
Merila used his cunning tactics to lure the Buckeyes away from the
goal and clear the crease for his teammates.
 
"You could really see the roots of hockey," Vandersall said. "The
East is trying to claim they can play but we put all those reports to
rest."
 
The Buckeyes lacked continuity and missed scoring opportunities early
in the game. Ohio State's Jonathan Sweet was credited with two goals
but missed a pair of point-blank chip-ins.
 
"They all tended to run to the ball and leave their areas,"
Vandersall said. "We've always been a wide open, explosive team."
 
Ohio State resorted to physical intimidation once they realized
Minnesota's finesse tactics were dominating the field.
 
Gopher catcher Darren Grass and Buckeye designated hitter Brian
Mannino -- who have a combined weight of 430 pounds -- resembled a
pair of WWF wrestlers in one of two impromptu brawls.
 
Self-appointed referee Ryan Lefebvre put an end to the fisticuffs by
slapping Merila and Buckeye catcher Tony Khoury with five minute
penalties for roughing.
 
"We're not afraid to mix it up," Vandersall said. "We work on that
part of it too. Sweaters were getting pulled over but we have (Gopher
hockey player) Joe Diedzic and that group teaching us the moves."
 
Goalie Mike Oster sparked Minnesota with phenomenal blocks between
the pipes. Oster rejected 23 shots on goal.
 
"I've got to give the MVP to Otter (Oster)," Vandersall said. "He
played a gem in the net and got the offense going with his outlet
passes."
 
Said Merila: "We came ready to play and adjusted well to the rink."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Erik Biever                                                     Ski-U-Mah!
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********  MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS - 1993 WCHA PLAYOFF CHAMPIONS  ********