First up was the MSU-LSSU game and the crowds for both were comparable. I had
the MSU fans to my right and the LSSU fans to my left. There was also a large
Wisconsin section at the other end of the arena. The crowd was pretty sparse
at first, but kept filling in as the game wore on. It was a boring first
period but after the first period...all the Hockey-L folks were set to meet.
As usual I went the wrong way in the arena looking for the 101/130 meeting
place where we were to assemble/gather together. After I found the group, I
met a few folks and handed out the buttons. Unlike Mike, I have a pretty good
memory (both long and short), but I was really testing myself by trying to
remember so many faces and names in such a short time! It helped having met
Beth, Tony, Garrett, and Mike before the mass-meeting. As we were standing
around chatting, I spied a familiar face walking by...it was Ben (BIG Ben)
Hankinson, another former Gopher player. I went over and got another big hug!
I felt guilty deserting the H-l crowd, but I hadn't seen Ben in a year. We
talked for a few minutes, ben is now playing with the Utica minor team under
Herb Brooks and they had driven down to see some quality hockey. I would have
liked to see Herbie again, but didn't run into him unfortunately.
Back to the game...the action picked up in the second and third periods which
was good. Kevin and Michael were doing a players critique on the game and
players and letting me know how good or bad they thought certain guys were
doing. I purchased the souveniers I wanted after the next intermission. I am
glad that I didn't wait, because the enamel pins sold like hotcakes. This is
the prettiest pin since the Lake Placid pin! I was getting a big kick out of
the MSU band playing their school song...but for all the wrong reasons. Two
very dear friends of mine who played in the U of Minn Marching Band taught me
the X-rated version of the MSU fight song and everytime I hear the tune...well
you can imagine! There is also an X-rated version of the Michigan fight song
which I also know. Don't worry though, I have to be extremely inebriated to
sing either version, so you're not likely to hear either one anytime soon!
Also in the second period break I met up with two of my Minnesota hockey
friends who were there albeit incognito (no Gopher gear). By this point in the
day, I had been "badgered" by several people in red and white and it was
really getting old. I was almost sorry that I hadn't brought along a plain
sweatshirt or sweater to wear. Kevin and Michael continued to entertain me
with their comments. You should have seen their faces though when I told them
that the bars were open till 4:00am! Too funny. It was a shame that MSU had to
lose the game as their fans were really great at keeping the cheering going. I
enjoyed seeing Bill and Virginia Krebs all decked out (head to toe) in green
and white! They were also VERY enthusiastic in cheering on the team even
though they were several sections over from the MSU crowd.
After the game some of us met again at the 101/130 area to walk over to the
dinner together. Since James and I knew how to get there, we led the way. The
dinner was great fun! We really could have used a bigger room, but it was nice
and cozy. More buttons were passed around and it was a very congenial crowd to
say the least. Most disappointed were Bill and Virginia Krebs who are diehard
MSU fans and put on a good face in spite of the MSU loss.
Here are all the folks that I remember who were there: James Bradshaw, Pam and
Lisa Sweeney, Garrett Lanzy, Jim Love, Bill and Virginia Krebs, Beth Weise,
Mike Machnik, Steve Kaptanakis (sp?), Larry Haag, Cindy Hood and husband, Jon
Finke, David Parter, Erik and Alison Einset, Ryan Stone, Derek Snyder, and
last but certainly NOT least Tony Hejna. Tony did a fabulous job of finding
just the right place, for the right price and making all the arrangements for
the group. I know that everyone had a great time and I really appreciate the
time he took to help us out. Tony also told me that he had invited both Bob
Croce and Keith Marder to the dinner and although neither one showed up, he
took a couple of extra buttons for them. This of course resulted in our party
being mentioned in the Times Union on Friday and that ABSOLUTELY made my day!
Thanks again Tony!
We adjourned briefly to the pavement outside for a quick group photo which
Mike missed, had to go see a man about a horse I believe. Mike did get a big
kick out of his "Ceramic Dalmation" trophy or Pongo-on-a-puck as it's
affectionately known now. Unfortunately in transit from Minneapolis to Albany,
Pongo became unglued from the puck so he was just placed on top of it.
However, when anyone came over to see it they naturally picked it up and Pongo
fell off! Those in the immediate area would say: "OOHHHHH, you broke it!!"
Good joke. Another amusing moment was when several people were discussing what
kind of a job the afternoon Ref had done, namely Greg Shepherd (of the WCHA).
He was being dragged through the muck (so what else is new?) and I piped up in
his defense: "Well you know, he IS blind in one eye." Hilarity abounded! The
dinner/camraderie was great but altogether much much too short!
We all adjourned back to the Knick for game two. The Wisconsin contingent was
very large and loud as always. The BEST sign they had was a sheet on which was
written: "It's a great day for Hockey!" I liked it so much I even took a photo
of it. The Wisconsin band was smaller than usual but still very loud and I am
glad I was at the other end of the rink!
After the first period I saw where Louie and his buddies were sitting and went
over to say hello. Louie put a Wisconsin sticker on my sweatshirt so I could
cheer for the Badgers. I was hoping that the Badgers would win the first game,
after all they are in the WCHA. I even cheered for them a little. It was too
bad that the real Michigan team didn't show up to play, it would have been a
much more interesting game then. In the third period Kevin decided that the
Wisconsin crowd was much too quiet and since he had a red shirt on under his
jacket he went over to the Wisconsin section to get them all riled up. He
swears that he got them going...but Michael and I didn't notice too much noise
coming from the area when he was over there! ;-)
At the end of the game all the Hockey-Ler's adjorned for their respective
hotels/parties. Pam, Lisa and I went back out to Wolf Road on the CDTA shuttle
bus and then went over to "Playfields" a sports bar at the Holiday Inn. We
understand that the really hot spot was "The Scoreboard" bar, but we couldn't
figure out how to get there. Well, there were alot of LSSU fans at the bar and
we were enjoying some Nachos and drinks and watching a replay of the afternoon
game. It was after 2:00 when Dave Espe appeared upstairs as he had heard that
there were a few Minnesota fans upstairs. He was pretty trashed and when he
saw the little Wisconsin sticker on my sweatshirt, well, he had a fit! Told me
to take it off and to root for the Lakers on Saturday as he was going to do!
Well, I had very little choice...if an ex-Gopher could cheer for a different
conference, so could I.
(end of part three)
Carol
U of M
GO Gophers!!!
|