A couple weeks ago, I had a very exciting and busy week. March 3, I covered the Wild vs. Ottawa Senators game for Minnesota Hockey Magazine. Yeah, it was pretty much a blast and a half. It helped that the Wild won 3-2 in a shootout.
From the team standpoint, the game was special for a couple reasons. It was the first game since the Wild acquired a couple players just before the NHL trade deadline the day before. They got Chris Stewart, who’s already proven to help out with the “tough guy” role on the team, and fan-favorite Jordan Leopold, a Minnesota product who played for the Gophers.
Leopold’s return home drew attention, but the bigger star was his daughter, Jordyn, for her letter she wrote addressing the Wild coaches. The letter was for a school assignment and ultimately had nothing to do with her dad’s trade to Minnesota. But it went viral on social media as everyone ate up the feel-good story of a daughter asking for her daddy to be close to home.
Watching the boys
Anyway, those storylines aside, I just sat back in the Xcel Energy Center press box and enjoyed the view during the game. Young defenseman Matt Dumba scored twice for his first multi-goal game, and goalie Devan Dubnyk set a franchise record for the Wild as he started his 21st consecutive game.
After the game, I joined the herd of reporters and headed downstairs for the postgame interviews. That part went quickly and was kind of a blur. I did my best to be part of the huddle around players like Zach Parise, Dubnyk, Leopold and Dumba. I think I asked Dumba about the possibility of getting a hat trick that night, since he had plenty of time in the game to get one.
Then it was off to another room to wait for coach Mike Yeo’s presser. I sat back and scribbled my notes, trying, as always, to listen for some of the best quotes to use with my story. I went back up to the press box to file my story. The zamboni had finished and the lights were low when I left.
What a fun night.
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| Wild skating vs. the Senators. |
On to The Tourney
I briefly thought about finding a corner and sleeping at the X. I returned less than 12 hours later for the start of the best high school state tournament in the country: The boys’ hockey tourney.
Each year, I look forward to watching The Tourney, usually on TV. I've attended a couple games here and there the past few years, but this was the first time I've been there to cover it as a reporter. The state should really just shut down for four days so everyone can do nothing but watch hockey. Sounds like a good plan, right?
The atmosphere was amazing. What other high school tournament brings out so many fans that don't have a school in the fight? I know there are lots of people that attend part of The Tourney every year no matter who's playing. They come for the love of hockey. That's pretty awesome.
Setting attendance records
This tournament in particular was well attended. It set an all-time tournament record, drawing more than 135,000 people throughout the four-day, two-class tournament. That broke the record of 129,643 set in 2008. During Friday's Class 1A semifinals, they even opened up the upper bowl seats early in the first game. I heard that just doesn't happen.
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| Hermantown coach Bruce Plante and his players after the semis. |
Anyway, I covered the Class 1A afternoon quarterfinals, semifinals and the first Class 2A semifinal. I had a 14-hour day Friday, but it flew by and I loved it. Yes, time really does fly when you're having fun.
I loved watching hockey, I loved meeting a few new people and I loved writing about the games.
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