The 2020 chapter

Hindsight is quite a funny thing. 

I ended a lengthy post on New Year's Eve 2019 with this line: "Cheers to 2020 and the next decade of work, friends!"

Looking at that now, a year later, saying cheers to 2020 seems absolutely ridiculous. Who would want to toast to the year that gave us a pandemic? As my dad has said for months, 2020 will go down as the year where nothing happened. 

I guess it's true that the world didn't completely shut down, but what a whirlwind of differences. I think many of us can agree that time played tricks on us this past year, or some would say that time means nothing in 2020. Working from home, what day is it? A 60-game baseball season ended this fall but made me think it was June. I felt like I got my weekends back, without work/sports, while many friends felt the opposite and more overwhelmed. 

Baseball returned... eventually
Reflecting at year's end is quite common, and I'm proud of what I wrote last year encompassing my work over the decade. As for this year, I'd also direct readers to my post from July titled Pandemic Projects where I detailed many of the things that occupied my time, work-wise and otherwise, throughout the spring and early summer before baseball started. 

The only real sense of normalcy since the pandemic started came with that 60-game baseball season from the end of July through September. Covering games again was so nice, even if it was all from the comforts of home instead of only the road games from home. It was odd watching games played at Target Field on TV, and even in the final week of the season I always had to remind myself when a new homestand or road trip started so my pregame work routine wouldn't get messed up. 

The Minnesota Twins finished with back-to-back American League Central Division Championships, getting another stellar year from designated hitter Nelson Cruz, phenomenal pitching from Kenta Maeda (including a near no-hitter) and a few Bombas thrown in, too. Max Kepler started the season with a home run on the first pitch he saw, after all. We don't need to get into the postseason, except to mention that the playoff format changed a bit and teams played in bubbles in California and Texas. 

A busy, pre-pandemic winter
When it comes to my writing this year, let me back up to pre-pandemic times. One of the first things I covered in 2020 was a Minnesota Wild outdoor practice in St. Louis Park. It came right after the announcement that the Wild were *finally* going to host a Winter Classic, scheduled for Jan. 1, 2021 at Target Field. Oh man, I haven't thought about that in a while. My baseball and hockey worlds were going to collide, and I was so ready for it. Of course, the pandemic canceled that fun. 

Also in January, I filled in covering a few Gopher men's basketball games, including an upset of No. 19 Michigan. I continued my work with Minnesota Hockey Magazine as a Wild beat writer and a contributor to NBC SportsEngine covering high school hockey games. 

Since Hockey Day Minnesota stayed local in Minneapolis this year, I covered my first HDM. Fun fact: It's more than one day. Despite the very cold, snowy and windy weather at the outdoor rink, I covered two high school games Thursday night, featuring local schools Holy Angels and Blake girls' hockey teams each hosting an opponent. On Friday, I watched the women's all-star game with Minnesota Whitecaps, NWHL and former Gophers players. Saturday, the Gopher women hosted a game. Each of those brought features for the spring 2020 issues of Minnesota Hockey Magazine. 

The main events on the sunny, but chilly, Saturday were great match-ups between boys' high school hockey powerhouses. I covered Blaine versus Blake. Conditions weren't ideal, but I had a great time running around the rink, talking to players and watching outdoor hockey. 

Hockey, hockey, hockey 
Among the bigger stories on the Wild beat last winter, top forward Jason Zucker got traded to Pittsburgh and coach Bruce Boudreau was fired on Valentine's Day. That's still an interesting move to ponder. I also wrote a story on the 40th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, jumping on a conference call with other media and Al Michaels, who had the famous call. 

As the prep hockey season wound down, I covered section finals for the Star Tribune, then put on my Minnesota Hockey Magazine cap to cover the boys' and girls' state tournaments. Breck won yet another Class 1A championship, while Andover knocked off three-time champs Edina in Class 2A on the girls' side. The Andover boys' team finally made the tourney, only to be upset as the top seed in the quarterfinals by St. Thomas Academy; Hill-Murray won it all in Class 2A, and Mahtomedi finally broke through for a championship.

I followed the Minnesota Whitecaps for their second season in the NWHL, covering their 1-0, overtime, semifinal victory in March. They were supposed to play the title game a week later. A title game that never happened. 

I kept somewhat busy during the pandemic with feature stories for USAHockey.com and SportsEngine. Then there were winter preview stories for Breakdown Sports. Throughout the year, and especially this fall, I put together a couple dozen feature stories for the Otter Tail Lakes Country Magazine, focusing on communities throughout Otter Tail County. 

A few of the most fun projects for me this year came out of some pandemic creativity as I strived to determine how to keep busy, keep writing and keep focused on sports. I had so much fun writing the 14-part series for three sports movies: A League of Their Own, The Rookie and Angels in the Outfield. I turned them into a combination of summary, sarcasm and asking questions about why certain things were done in the movies. 

Finding the good in 2020
So, those were some highlights of my year. Was it fantastic? No. Was it terrible? Also no. I'm blessed to continue writing. I've seen a lot of takes on social media lately as the year 2020 wraps up. Some people want to make it clear that just because the calendar flips to 2021 doesn't mean everything goes back to whatever normal will be. Others don't want to hear about good things that happened to people, because the year was so bad for many; others have the opposite view and want positive vibes.

For me, I wanted to share some of the good things. Part of it is a way to look back and realize what I've accomplished, especially when work is slower and motivation can be light. I'll also admit that I've felt the pandemic fatigue lately. It can be tough missing traditions we used to have, missing sports seasons that are normally in full swing, missing friends, missing simple things like getting together in-person, wondering when things will return to whatever definition of normal. 

But there's always hope. For whatever is going on in your life, clinging to hope and faith is huge. And if there's one thing a new year can bring, it's hope for good things. 

Thanks, as always, for reading. Let's connect on Twitter and Instagram; I'm @hlrule. 

Writer, journalist, blogger, author, social media: It's been a great decade

When I worked as a daily news reporter a few years ago, the time in between Christmas and New Year's was always tricky for getting work done. We still had an empty paper to fill six days a week, but it was often a slow time for news. Plus, any ideas that might come up didn't always result in a story because it was a question of being able to reach sources - everyone burns vacation time at the end of the year, you know.

So, we often put together year-end pieces, recapping things that happened on our beats throughout the past 12 months. I always enjoyed these stories when they pop up on the TV news. You forget about some of the things that were such big stories, and it's fun to reminisce.

As we approach the end of another year, I've seen plenty of stuff already circling the social media world about "best ____ of the decade." Whether it's the best local sports moment, best song or the best athlete, just to name a couple. Naturally, as I often do as a writer, this is made me reflect on all that I've done and accomplished over the past decade.

Just getting started 
First of all, the decade basically encompasses my entire career so far. At the end of 2009, I wrapped up an internship at a magazine group. It was a great experience, but the economic times didn't allow me to become a full-time hire, so I decided to test the waters elsewhere. That started with a part-time job as a sports copy aide with the Star Tribune. I still remember walking the halls of the now-torn-down building on a tour during my first night.

My first byline came in October 2010, covering the high school girls' state tennis tournament. It's kind of fitting since that, as I always tell people, was the one sport I played in high school. What was cool about that story as I talked to the singles champion was the little tidbit she gave me. After victories, she loves to eat frosting from a can. Hey, whatever works.

I plugged away and finally found my first full-time reporting job with the Post-Bulletin, working out of the Austin, Minn. office for the Austin Post-Bulletin. First jobs can be filled with nerves, and this was no exception. It was a news reporting job, but I had a desire for sports. I was going to chalk this up to earning some great experience and learning a bunch of new stuff.

First stop: Austin, Minn. 
When you're a young journalist trying to break into the business, you hear about going to a small-town newspaper (or TV station, for the broadcast folks) to get your feet wet and learn as much as you can. That's certainly what I tried to do. In our two-reporter newsroom, I had the education and city beats, plus listening to the scanner for breaking news opportunities and covering any other community events or feature stories.

In a unique scenario, our office was very small with all the editors, designers, etc. over in Rochester. I was extremely lucky to have a very experienced reporter by my side in Kay Fate. After all the struggles and rejections of trying to land a full-time job for two-plus years after graduation, it all made sense to me when I landed in Austin; Kay and I were meant to find each other as colleagues and friends. I'm so grateful to her for being patient with me, helping me along the way and making me laugh every day.

I covered city council and school board meetings and work sessions. Kay told me I'd be the most informed person in the city, and she was right. I got to see how the local entities worked, then find a way to break down the important information for the readers in my stories. The city council was particularly interesting because of the divided opinions. Getting a 4-3 vote on an issue after lengthy debates on the seven-member council was not uncommon.

Along with the annual budget discussions came other issues like opening a dog park in the city and then declaring dogs "dangerous dogs" after incidents at the park. I also covered the HRA, even catching it in an open-meeting law violation dealing with the future of the organization's executive director.

Elections were another fun thing to cover, with a very diverse pool of mayoral candidates. But I really enjoyed the education beat. Along with the school board elections, the district looked into building a new intermediate school because of the growth in the area led to overcrowding in the schools. As the board looked to pass a referendum to build the school, I reported on a bunch of features relating to the specifics of the overcrowding, like kids holding class in a section of a media center. The referendum passed and I followed up with more coverage as construction for the school got underway.

Among other stories, the Minnesota Wild Road Tour stopped in Austin, I covered events and activities at the local library and had the chance to cover breaking news. My very first fire call I went on will not be topped. I was alone in the office after an evening meeting, and I heard a call on the scanner for a garage fire. I grabbed the newsroom camera and headed to the destination. When I got there, I snapped a bunch of photos of the garage fully engulfed in flames.

I didn't realize at the time how abnormal this was. Most of the fire calls we hear aren't serious, are false alarms or don't amount to much visual damage, maybe a little smoke here or there. I'm still the proudest of this photo that landed on the front page the next day.

At the end of the 2012 calendar year, the Austin Post-Bulletin shut its doors. It was a sad time, but I found some part-time work down the interstate as a sports stringer for the Albert Lea Tribune. Getting some prep sports action again was a lot of fun. With a talented high school wrestling team, I learned about a new sport, too.

From SE to NW Minnesota
From there, I moved to Fergus Falls (a sister paper with Albert Lea) to take another news reporting job. I once again had the city beat and added crime/public safety to my resume. Covering the cops/courts was another great learning experience on how to objectively and safely report on crime. It's not as easy as one might think.

Fergus Falls had a similar feel to me as Austin - a small town just big enough to feel like a small suburb. In a county filled with lakes, Fergus Falls was also home to the Regional Treatment Center. Like the Austin school district growth, the RTC took up a lot of my coverage space in Fergus Falls. The old building on the list of historic places in the state of Minnesota was still standing and was once used as a mental hospital. There was an ongoing debate among the community as to whether it should be torn down or repurposed.

A couple of developers presented their plans to the city council but nothing panned out. There were even some closed-door meetings among council members regarding the RTC, which again seemed to speak toward violations of the state's open meeting law. In the everyday grind of covering stories to fill the paper six days a week, I was glad for the opportunity to take some time reporting on such a major story like this one.

The city's library needed more space, so I also followed that process of getting things approved to start construction on a new facility addition.

Back home for a fresh start
When I came back to the metro area a few years ago, I tell people I just kind of fell into freelancing. I wanted to meet with a lot of different people in the journalism and communications business to see what my next step might look like. But I still had the itch to get back into sports.

It all started with covering one football game. That started my relationship with the Star Tribune once again. I got connected on the preps beat and helped out the full-time writers with the extra coverage they needed during section and state tournament time for sports like football, volleyball, tennis, swimming, hockey, adapted floor hockey and soccer, and basketball. Thanks to David La Vaque for making this happen and for Paul Klauda for keeping me in the fold.

Over the past few years, I've had the chance to tell some great feature stories about prep athletes, starting with a weekly feature piece in the Star Tribune. I've also continued to cover playoff action on the preps beat, plus I spent some time covering Gophers men's hockey games and Gophers women's basketball. This coverage spilled over into working for SportsEngine to cover regular-season games during the winter season for preps.

Also in 2015, I connected with Gregg Litman, a former journalist who works for StoryTeller Media + Communications, during my quest to talk with folks in the communications industry. That meeting led to some freelance work, writing blog posts for Hazeltine National Golf Club.

Target Field has been a blessing in more ways than one 
After a winter season getting my feet wet with some freelancing, I found myself applying for a social media job with Major League Baseball, working with the Minnesota Twins, that I heard about after one of my networking meetings at the Twins offices. By the end of May, when my parents and I had taken a quick trip to Indianapolis to watch Carb Day ahead of the Indy 500, I found out I got the job: In-game social media coordinator with MLB/@twins.

Working in sports on a daily basis, finding my niche in social media and calling a major-league ballpark my office has been an amazing experience. After five seasons with the Twins, I've said that the team has seemed to go the opposite direction of expectations, which has been good (see 101 wins and the MLB home-run record in 2019) and bad (see 103 losses in 2016).

Along the way, I've developed many more working relationships and friendships with the writers and media members I've met in the press box, especially at Target Field. I don't take these ball games for granted, and I don't take these relationships for granted. I'm also thankful because more opportunities have come my way because of some of these great people.

That freelance hustle, though 
While my baseball work is basically in-season, I still hustled on the freelance side of things in the baseball offseason, building up more freelance clips, hours and outlets. I covered a couple seasons of Gophers men's basketball (shout-out to Derek Wetmore at 1500 ESPN, now SKOR North). I dabbled a bit with USA Hockey stories thanks to a friend-of-a-friend connection.

I also became a children's author through the friends I met at Target Field. We were sitting at dinner before the game one night in 2017 when Dan Myers (current digital content coordinator for the Minnesota Wild) was talking to Pat Donnelly about his next book; Donnelly is an editor at Red Line Editorial who assigns the books. The next series coming up was Women in Sports. I believe it was Dan who essentially suggested to Pat, "why not Heather?" as someone to join the author ranks.

My first two books in 2017 were Women in Sports Media and Women in the Olympics. As of early 2020, I'll have seven published titles. They go out to school libraries; I know for certain they're at Crooked Lake Elementary School. ;-)

In 2016, I had the chance to cover the WNBA Finals in Minneapolis for USA Today. I've also covered NCAA regional volleyball at the University of Minnesota a few times. Thanks to Pat Borzi and Rachel Blount, plus the Star Tribune sports department, for thinking of me.

I also got to know Michael Russo, formerly the Wild beat writer for the Star Tribune and currently The Athletic. When the new site got going in 2017, he approached me to write some stories for The Athletic as a freelancer. I've written college hockey season previews, wrote some features on Krissy Wendall and Rob McClanahan, and covered the Minnesota Whitecaps in their first season in the National Women's Hockey League. The freedom to tell stories without the hindrance of tight deadlines and word counts is a blessing.

How else did networking lead to other work for me? I've stayed in touch with an editor I worked with briefly at the Red Wing paper. As he moved on to other places, he called upon me for freelance work. I wrote prep features, previews and some other feature stories on tennis players and a hockey player named JT Compher for the Chicago Tribune/Pioneer Press (suburban editions). Everything was done over phone interviews and internet research.

One interview for a basic boys' swimming preview led to one of the most in-depth stories I've had the chance to tell: "Glenbrook North swimmer learns to walk again after beach accident." Thanks to Ryan Nilsson for encouraging me to dig deeper and for providing consistent freelance assignments. When Ryan moved on to a paper in Indiana, the Times of Northwest Indiana, he tasked me with writing weekly notebooks on local athletes as they continued to excel in collegiate athletics.

Let's do that hockey 

On the hockey side, I started writing for Minnesota Hockey Magazine a little bit in 2015, even writing a profile story on goaltender Maddie Rooney when she played with the Andover boys' team before she became famous for her shootout save to win the gold medal in the 2018 Olympics. I also covered some state tournaments. My editor, Brian Halverson, has always been a great guy to work with in coordinating feature coverage.

Starting with the 2018-19 season, I became the main Minnesota Wild beat writer for Minnesota Hockey Magazine. I don't cover every game or write "gamers," necessarily. But it's been a great opportunity for me to explore having a beat with a professional sports team as a sports writer. I've enjoyed taking it all in and writing some fun feature stories on the team and its players.

My other hockey writing started with a now-defunct site called WildXtra.com. It was a chance to get writing about sports again and even write some columns about the Wild. When that site folded, I joined the ZoneCoverage.com (then Cold Omaha) team as a Wild writer in early 2017.

It was another press-box connection that helped me get to know one of the site's founders, Tom Schreier. I produced weekly Wild content with stats, columns and game stories. Throughout the 2017-18 Wild season, I produced game preview and recap stories for nearly every Wild game. I've also filled in some with Gophers basketball coverage, written stories about the Indy 500 and covered the state hockey tournaments for Zone Coverage.

In 2018, I started contributing to the Breakdown Sports preview magazines put out by Tim Kolehmainen and his team. I've written about baseball, softball, volleyball and hockey, focusing on big-picture feature stories previewing some of the top programs in the state in their respective sports.

Wrapping up the decade 
This past year was filled with one of the best baseball seasons in Twins history. The Bomba Squad won the AL Central Division and set the MLB home-run record. I covered the same smattering of tournaments on the prep side, covered my first full season on the Wild beat and watched the Whitecaps make history by winning the Isobel Cup.

Thanks to my parents, friends and colleagues who've been with me along the way throughout my work journey the past decade. It's been fun to explore so many different types of work as I try to establish my career. I didn't mean to leave anybody out by name, but if I did, you know who you are and I hope you know what you mean to me.

Cheers to 2020 and the next decade of work, friends!

Best of my freelance life in 2019

I thought I'd put together a list of a few of my memorable stories from the past year. It was another eventual trip around the sun covering the Minnesota Wild, prep tournaments and the Minnesota Whitecaps. Throw in a couple of extra assignments, plus another book or two, and it was another fun year of freelance sports writing to go along with a successful Minnesota Twins season.

Here are some of my favorites, presented in chronological order. The stories are linked in the headlines, and I wrote a brief summary about each below.

Husky Highs: Andover managed expectations ahead of Hockey Day Minnesota debut - Minnesota Hockey Magazine, February 2019 

Last year's Hockey Day Minnesota may have been one of the coldest days around, but it's still always a fun experience for the prep hockey teams that get to be a part of it. This time, it was two of the top boys' teams with Andover against Minnetonka. I talked with Andover defenseman Wyatt Kaiser and his grandpa, Blaine Comstock, who played for Bemidji State.

Breck's Ally Qualley comes up big again in Section 5 championship - Star Tribune, Feb. 15, 2019 

Breck has a solid girls' hockey program, which is evident by its back-to-back Class 1A championships. But there's something about the pressure and the spotlight that attracts forward Ally Qualley and brings her game to another level. The year before, she won the section title with a goal in overtime against Orono. This year, the end result wasn't in doubt. Qualley scored a pure hat trick in the first period on the way to a Breck 7-0 shutout.

In another twist, the co-head coaches of Breck, Steve Persian and Keith Radloff, coached Orono in 2018. It was much better to have Qualley on their side this time.

Hero's Welcome: OT winner caps off Donato's dynamite home debut - Minnesota Hockey Magazine, Feb. 24, 2019

Last season for the Minnesota Wild was marked by trades from then-GM Paul Fenton as he dealt parts of the "young core" away (Nino Niederreiter, Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund) for players like Victor Rask, Kevin Fiala and Ryan Donato. It was a Boston-for-Boston trade when Coyle, a Boston native, was dealt back home in exchange for the youngster Donato. How was Donato going to do with the Wild? Well, he came in with a bang.

Donato's first home game with the Wild came in late February against the St. Louis Blues, the eventual Stanley Cup Champions. Donato got the nod during overtime in a 1-1 game and scored the game-winner. It earned him the Hero of the Game honors bestowed on him by his new teammates.

Totino-Grace alum Matt Olson recalls high school memories - Star Tribune/Hockey Hub, March 2, 2019 

Boys' high school hockey section finals are what makes Minnesota the "state of hockey," in my book. The venues are packed, competition is fierce and a trip to the coveted state tournament is on the line. I've covered a few at the Roseville arena the past few years, including the Class 1A, Section 4 championship. Last year, it was between Mahtomedi and Totino-Grace, with Mahtomedi once again returning to state.

As I was set up with my laptop, I noticed a young man near me taking in the game. He looked familiar, though we had never met: It was Matt Olson, a former Totino-Grace hockey star who played with the team in 2014. He was there to support his high-school team, watching from his wheelchair; he suffered a severe injury to his neck and spinal cord after he fell headfirst into the boards during a junior-league game three years earlier in Chicago.

I enjoyed meeting Matt and talking with him about hockey, his memories playing for Totino-Grace and what he's been up to in the time since his injury.

'We made it': The Whitecaps' rise to the model of success for the NWHL - The Athletic, March 5, 2019 

Winny Brodt Brown and Brooke White-Lancette are still playing professional hockey. Not only that, but I'm amazed to hear their stories about how much adversity they had to overcome as female hockey players growing up, when girls really didn't play hockey. For Brooke, it's obvious how much the sport means to her. Finally getting to play in a professional hockey league was a big deal, as it should be.

Winny and Brooke are the two original Whitecaps from 2004, when Winny's dad Jack and Dwayne Schmidgall started the team as a way for their post-college daughters to continue to play hockey. It really came full circle to see all the success and fan support the Whitecaps had in 2018-19 during their first NWHL season.

'On a cloud': Isobel Cup win is a dream years in the making for Whitecaps - The Athletic, March 18, 2019 

It was pretty fun to follow the first season of professional women's hockey in Minnesota. Sure, the Whitecaps had been around for years, but 2018-19 was the first season they joined the National Women's Hockey League, becoming the fifth team and the first outside of the east coast. This story was actually a bit challenging for me to piece together, simply because of how storybook it was. I wanted to make sure I did the moment justice.

Lee Stecklein scored the overtime winner for the Whitecaps to give them the NWHL championship - the Isobel Cup - in their first NWHL season. It was quite the scene to take in during the celebration and trophy presentation out on the ice. And the sold-out crowds at TRIA rink loved it, too.

SCSU falls to UMD in double OT, finishes as NCHC Frozen Faceoff runner-up - St. Cloud Times, March 24, 2019

Take opportunities when they come to you. I wore my freelance hat to cover the NCHC Frozen Faceoff final between defending national champion University of Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud State. With a double-overtime ending at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, this one was fun to watch and cover between two very talented teams.

Energized Mounds View freshman wins 2A singles title with sisterly inspiration - Star Tribune, June 8, 2019

Covering state tennis is one of the tournaments I enjoy quite a bit, especially in spring because it's really the only preps coverage I can do in between the MLB season. This time around, freshman Bjorn Swenson won the Class 2A singles title. He won in straight sets, but the other part of the story was that there was a missing face from his cheering section. His sister Marit died in August 2017 from an aggressive pediatric brain tumor. She and Bjorn grew up playing tennis together.

I talked with their mother, Jennifer, as well, who was very willing to talk about her daughter and the tennis connection she shared with Bjorn.

Rocky Mountain Rival: Walz, Stalock reflect on Avs rivalry from diverse perspectives - Minnesota Hockey Magazine, Nov. 21, 2019 

The Minnesota Wild got off to a rough start for the 2019-20 season. They lost their first four games, including the home opener. Top players couldn't get on the scoresheet. So, I decided to get creative with some of my feature-story ideas on the beat.

With the Wild set to face the Colorado Avalanche, it got me thinking about the long history between these two teams. Colorado is the only team that's been in Minnesota's division since the Wild joined the NHL as an expansion team in 2000. And with a few playoff series along the way, there's always been a rivalry there.

Specifically, I was thinking of the 2003 playoff run, when the Wild won their first playoff series in Colorado in Game 7 with that pretty goal from Andrew Brunette. I talked to current Wild goaltender and St. Paul native Alex Stalock about it. I also interviewed former Wild player and current FSNorth Wild analyst Wes Walz, asking him about the Colorado rivalry and NHL rivalries in general. It was a very interesting conversation.

Court Storm: Gophers Upset No. 3 Ohio State - Zone Coverage, Dec. 15, 2019

I've been off the Gophers men's basketball beat for a couple of seasons now. But when my friend Sam Ekstrom asked if I would fill-in for him while he covered a road Vikings game, I agreed. I, like I'm sure many people out there, prepared for a blowout game. The Gophers were hosting Ohio State, ranked No. 3 in the country. And the Gophers were coming off a pretty bad loss in Iowa.

Instead, the evening ended with a court storming. The Gophers took control of the game with a lead in the first half. They kept their foot on the gas in the second half and never let Ohio State get close, even though I kept waiting for a second-half surge from a team that had a No. 3 next to its name. The Gophers got a stunning performance from Marcus Carr, who put up a career-high 35 points. His moves to the basket and the shots he took were simply dazzling.

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Thanks, as always, to anyone who's read my content or interacted with me on social media (@hlrule on Twitter and Instagram). See you in 2020!

Hockey Day Minnesota 2019

Hockey Day Minnesota has become an annual tradition for puck fans across the state. The wall-to-wall hockey coverage of outdoor high school games, college games finished off with a home Minnesota Wild game put on by Fox Sports North every year can be a pretty easy choice for couch potatoes who also enjoy watching hockey.

That's especially true on days when the temperature is well below zero.

2017 Twins Winter Caravan.

The 13th annual festivities, which have spilled over to the Thursday and Friday prior as well, was headquartered in Bemidji this year. No, I wasn't up there in person, although I did share a photo on social media from two years ago when I was up there for work with the Minnesota Twins Caravan. I took some selfies with Paul Bunyan and his blue ox.

Blake v. Edina girls' hockey 
Anyway, my hockey weekend started on Friday night covering a premier matchup in high school girls' hockey: Blake v. Edina. For years, Blake was a powerhouse in Class 1A girls' hockey, winning seven state championships, including back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017 before the program opted to move up to Class 2A last season. They're now in the same section as Edina, winners of the past two Class 2A state titles.

Though it's only the second year of a section rivalry between the two teams, they played each other plenty when Blake was a Class 1A squad. Being in the same section as Edina now changes the rivalry a bit, according to Blake coach Shawn Reid.

"Truthfully, I don't think they took us as seriously as they do now," Reid said. "So now I think it is a true rivalry. The games are close."

Tonight: No. 2 Blake v. No. 1 Edina. Heavyweight Class 2A girls' hockey matchup. https://t.co/PfrTJDwdvL #mshsl pic.twitter.com/L3aHXKuFw0

— Heather Rule, SMS (@hlrule) January 19, 2019

The teams split their regular-season series 1-1, with the road team winning. Edina defeated Blake in the second game of the season in November, thanks to a hat trick from top scorer CC Bowlby. Friday night, Blake took care of business at Braemar Arena with a 2-1 win thanks to a solid penalty kill, tons of blocked shots and a goal from an eighth grader who only had a couple to her name this season among the roster of offensive weapons for the Bears.

Edina and Blake were last ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in Class 2A in the coaches poll. Another section rival, Wayzata, was ranked No. 4. So it looks to be a three-horse race for a trip to the state tournament.

HDM from the couch
I didn't envy some of my friends and colleagues up covering all the Hockey Day festivities in Bemidji in the below-zero cold. I'm sure it was memorable and fun though. Instead, I watched some of the action at home, starting with the boys' hockey game between No. 2-ranked Andover and No. 1 Minnetonka in a battle of undefeated teams.

Andover scored a shorthanded goal near the end of the first period for a 1-0 lead but the Skippers quickly tied the game 1-1 before the period was over. Andover had to kill a major penalty in the second period and gave up another goal for a 2-1 deficit. The penalty kill was commonplace for the Huskies in that period, and they never fully got back into the game, losing 5-2.

One of my contributions to the HDM program put together by the Minnesota Hockey Magazine staff was a feature about Andover hockey and defenseman Wyatt Kaiser who's grandpa Blane Comstock played for Bemidji State and a 1976 Olympian.

I talked with Andover coach Mark Manney after Andover's game at Elk River in December, a 3-2 win that ended up being a lot closer than it could have been. The Huskies didn't have their A-game that night, according to Manney.

"This is exactly how we've practiced for the last two weeks, just with 80 percent effort," Manney said. "Closer than I wanted, but probably what we deserved."

Shifting gears, I asked Manney about Andover playing on HDM for the first time.

"It's really going to be neat for our guys to play the defending state champs," Manney said. "And they're No. 1 and maybe we'll be No. 2 at the time, which I think would get a lot of other people's interest.

"I'm hoping we can just get out there and have a great experience, create some memories to take. If we win, that'd be great. If we don't, we're still going to make memories."

True to that sentiment, Manney made a goaltender switch to start the third period on Hockey Day down just 2-1. He told FSN during an in-game, audio interview that he wanted to give both goaltenders a chance to play in this game. A few months down the road, no one will remember the score but they'll remember the experience, according to Manney.

Whitecaps back in town
Hockey Day Minnesota features outdoor high school games, college games, the Gophers usually have home games and it all finishes with the Wild at the X. For the first time ever, Minnesota had a professional women's team playing on Hockey Day as the Minnesota Whitecaps hosted the Connecticut Whale.

The Whitecaps finished their regular-season home schedule with the weekend series and sold out all eight games at TRIA Rink (1,200 capacity). In its first year as part of the National Women's Hockey League, the Whitecaps started the season undefeated for six games and have been near the top of the standings. They beat the last-place Whale with back-to-back shutouts 2-0 and then 9-0 on Sunday.

"I think we all take so much pride in hockey in Minnesota, so to have a whole day dedicated to it is pretty cool," said Hannah Brandt, Whitecaps forward, former Gophers player, Olympic gold medalist and Minnesotan. "You obviously want to play on Hockey Day Minnesota, even if it's not a game that's necessarily being featured."

7 players with goals
13 players with points
6 players with multi-point games https://t.co/gU0EzdUgS9

— Heather Rule, SMS (@hlrule) January 20, 2019

It's been fun to take in the Whitecaps games this season, and it's been especially fun to see the support from all the Minnesota hockey fans. There were plenty of youth/high school girls' hockey teams there to watch every game. And the Whitecaps line up to sign autographs for fans after every home game, too.

Let's go Wild
To finish things off on Saturday, I took the brisk (very brisk) walk from TRIA Rink over to Xcel Energy Center just in time for most of the second period and third-period action as the Wild played Columbus. I missed both of the Wild goals, coming from Jordan Greenway (who just loves to score the first goal of the game) and Zach Parise in the first period but saw the Blue Jackets get within one on a goal from Panarin 3 minutes, 7 seconds into the second.

The 2-1 score held up, and the Wild defeated an Eastern Conference team with more points and wins. The schedule has been a bit of a role reversal for the Wild, losing to teams they shouldn't and then sometimes finding a way to beat teams better than them according to the standings.

During small group last week, we discussed our weekend plans. When I mentioned all the hockey I was going to take in, this was a response: "Wow, you must like hockey."

Yes. Yes, I do.

I still have thoughts

Someone recently mentioned they'd taken a look at my blog. That's always appreciated, of course, but it got me thinking about what I've written on this platform as of late. I say aloud something like: "It's turned into an IndyCar blog lately."

That was just off the top of my head. It's certainly true, though. My last seven blog posts here (except for the most recent one) have been related to IndyCar racing. The post before that - after I got done covering everything for March Madness - was written in early April. 

You know how sometimes you realize you say you're going to do something, mark an item on your to-do list or just make a note to get to it later? Then you realize months have gone by and you have no idea how? That's kind of what happens to me from time to time. 

Let me just say that I'm definitely still writing. For those that follow me on social media or know me personally, I would hope that doesn't come as a surprise. It's just that this isn't my only platform to share my work anymore. I also didn't make a format change to IndyCar-only for this blog.

I've shared my thoughts on the Minnesota Wild via stories and podcasts at ZoneCoverage.com. There was a lot to cover this season with some success, a disappointing playoff run and then all the excitement with the Expansion Draft for the new NHL team in Las Vegas. With the only true part of the hockey offseason right now, there hasn't been much on that front for a while, but I hope to start back up again strong in the fall.

Baseball is still the main gig 
As for the Twins, I guess I really haven't written much about them lately - in more than 140 characters at a time. See, I still watch all the games and comment on what's happening. I just use Twitter as my platform.

After losing 103 games last season, this year has been a refreshing change of pace. They've been a winning ball club (this last week aside) and managed to stay in the division/wild card races.

It's weird how the Twins have fared the past few seasons. After reaching the postseason in 2010, the inaugural season at Target Field, the Twins had some losing seasons. It looked like they were going on the upswing in 2015 though, with a bit of a surprising season in which they were in contention for a division title until the last weekend of the regular season. Instead, the Kansas City Royals won it and the World Series. Still, no one expected the Twins to have that kind of success. They overachieved.

That was why the results of 2016 were so disappointing. It seemed going in  that the losing seasons were going to be behind the Twins as they looked to build on the 2015 surprise. A far cry from what happened. The Twins started out 0-9 - with a bad omen of multiple rain delays in Baltimore on Opening Day - never recovered and stumbled to the worst record in baseball at 59-103.

After that performance, and a similar roster, the expectations weren't too high for 2017. But again, the Twins have surprised everyone. They spent a bulk of time before the All-Star Break in first place, or in second just behind the AL Champion Cleveland Indians. Part of this can be attributed to the weak division and an overall weak American League.

The Twins have played better, too. Byron Buxton is outstanding in center field, Miguel Sano nearly won the Home Run Derby in his first All-Star Game selection, Jose Berrios has figured it out, Ervin Santana has pitched extremely well. The Twins have won games this year with much better defense and clutch hitting. When they get a lead, they know how to hang onto it.

Anyway, the Twins season keeps me pretty busy, but I'm still working as a freelance writer. I write high school and general human interest features for the local suburban papers under the Chicago Tribune/Chicago Pioneer Press umbrella. All my work is done over the phone talking to sources before I write my stories.

Plenty of other stuff, too 
Plus, there are other odds and ends projects that come up with various outlets. I'm still involved with the Minneapolis Star Tribune as a freelance reporter for high school sports, which mostly include section and state tournaments.

I'll still continue to use this platform for whatever I see fit to write about that's timely. I didn't intentionally turn it into an IndyCar blog, but that's just what I've wanted to write about. The Indy 500 is always a big deal, whether I'm there in person or not, and we took another family trip to Road America this June, too.

I started this blog to keep writing after I graduated college. I knew I could always have this forum as a place to put my thoughts. That's what I'll continue to do.

So, that's a little bit of catch-up with me and what I've worked on over the past few months. As always, thanks for reading, following, retweeting and sharing. 

March was definitely madness

Time to catch my breath. I know that may sound a little weird now that the 162-game baseball grind just started this week. I guess that shows how busy I was for the past six weeks or so during tournament time, probably the busiest time of year in the sports world, especially if you keep up with prep sports.

As a result, I haven't blogged in a while. That doesn't mean I haven't been writing; I just haven't been writing on this platform. I covered girls' section hockey, a couple boys' and girls' section basketball games, all four days of the girls' state hockey tournament for the Star Tribune, all four days of the boys' state hockey tournament for Cold Omaha/Zone Coverage, followed the Gophers men's basketball team through the end of their season in the NCAA tournament for 1500ESPN.com, watched Wild games and wrote weekly columns about the team for Cold Omaha, covered two full days of boys' state swimming for the Star Tribune and along the way wrote a few feature stories for various other outlets.

It was a very busy month of March, but it's great at the same time. There's nothing better than covering some of these state tournaments, especially boys' hockey. It's the best state tournament in the country. Still, it's also nice to be done and get a little break, too. Working 80+ hours in one week is kind of a lot.

I had two weeks in between tournaments and the Twins season, so I headed to Fort Myers for a few days in the sun (OK, so I worked a game, too.) Then last week, I still did some Spring Training game work from home. I really felt like I took it easy, almost that feeling of not knowing what to do with yourself when you get some down time. I still worked 40 hours, which felt like about 20. It's easy when so many "work" hours are spent watching sports and writing/Tweeting about them.

All the sports 
Anyway, for those that keep up with me on social media, I kept my networks updated with Tweets and story links for all the work I was doing. The boys' hockey tournament didn't offer any dud games this year, which can often happen with quarterfinal blowouts. It was a great tournament from start to finish with plenty of upsets right away, an overtime thriller in the Class 1A championship and just lots of good hockey.

Section final hockey is also fun. The atmospheres are often better than the state tournament, because playing to get there is such a big deal to these high school kids. Swimming isn't one of the most popular sports around, but thanks to my brother's time on his high school swim team, I have no problem getting excited about the meets. The Gophers went on a great winning streak this season before fizzling out at the end in the Big Ten Tournament, then losing in the first game of the NCAA Tournament as the No. 5 seed. I selfishly say it wasn't all bad because if they would have advanced, that meant I was going to have to watch and write about them on my vacation.

Nothing beats a break in The Fort
Fort Myers was great. We really hit the jackpot with the weather. Sure, the winter here wasn't dreadful, but it's hard to be temps in the 80s and sunny skies every day. I got to take in a Twins game from the stands, a rarity for me the past couple seasons. If you don't need to be close to the action, go for the drink rail seats in the outfield. That's the best way to watch the ball game.

The Twins lost that game to the Phillies after a bullpen meltdown. I returned at the end of the week to work a game in the press box doing social media. The result against the Orioles was a tie, something the Twins did four times this spring. Ties in spring training make complete sense, but it's still a little weird and anticlimactic to see the teams just walk off the field at the end of the 9th (sometimes 10th) inning without a winner.

Now that the calendar has turned to April, it's time for the 2017 Minnesota Twins season. It's really hard to believe another season is here already. This past offseason went by much quicker than the year before, mostly because I had a lot more sports reporting freelance work. That's definitely a good thing.

A new season, a fresh start for the Twins 
It's no secret last year left much to be desired for the Twins, a team that lost 103 games. The good news? That's a pretty tough task to repeat again, so there's nowhere to go but up from there. The Twins have new bosses Derek Falvey and Thad Levine in the front office looking to turn the ball club around.

There's already been some uneasiness from fans that the duo didn't do enough in the offseason. Brian Dozier is back with the Twins when many thought he'd be gone in a trade. The price must not have been right for him. With catcher Kurt Suzuki gone as a free agent (with the Atlanta Braves now), the Twins signed Jason Castro, known for his pitch framing and likely a better choice for throwing out runners trying to steal. Through three games, Castro is known for taking walks; he walked four times in one game the other day.

Patience has been the key for the Twins lineup so far, with 23 walks in the opening series. I mean, Eddie Rosario walked twice Thursday. That's a big deal. Patience will also be the theme for the Twins organization as Falvey and Levine work toward bringing the club back to its winning ways that fans grew accustomed to in the early 2000s.

As you know by now, the Twins started off with a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals at Target Field. It's the first time they've had such a good start since 2007. They also broke a streak of eight consecutive Opening Day losses. They've had clutch hitting, strong starting pitching and the bullpen is tossed 10 scoreless innings. The only hiccup so far through the small sample size is Byron Buxton at the plate with plenty of strikeouts. But perhaps he made up for it with his center field defense.

It was a pretty fun opening series; much better than the 0-9 start of 2016. After all the stories, sports and busy tournament-time schedules, I'm definitely ready to turn the page to baseball for the summer. Play ball!

Mumps are back for Wild, but it'll be OK

As if the bye week wasn't bad enough. The Minnesota Wild took the ice against Los Angeles Monday after the new mandatory bye week that each NHL team takes. Before game time, however, there was this little announcement: Zach Parise and Jason Pominville were out of the lineup because they have the mumps.

The hot takes came flying in across the social media channels, most notably the Twitter machine. They ranged from panic, anger, the classic "we can't have nice things," Minnesota sports always get screwed, to even some people going on about the vaccines.

Then there was a "here we go again" vibe, since the mumps made the NHL and Wild rounds in 2014. Ryan Suter, Marco Scandella, Jonas Brodin, Christian Folin and Keith Ballard.

The Wild have had a phenomenal regular season under new coach Bruce Boudreau. They kept winning, didn't collapse in January and knew how to score a ton of goals. Still, call me a jaded Minnesota sports fan, but I just had trouble committing to this team too much and getting all excited. You're always waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know?

It dropped into a big pile of mumps. Not long after I finally started to fully buy in to this team.

What a blow for this team that now has 16 games in the month of March, with a few back-to-backs. Sure, they traded for Martin Hanzal and Ryan White from the Coyotes, which will help. But the lineups are probably going to get pretty interesting the next few weeks.

First hearing this mumps news, it's easy to just throw your hands up in confusing frustration. The mumps? Again? It's something teams are susceptible to, but why just the NHL? Not that I really care. I'm not going to dig deep into some medical journal to try and find out.

It's also understandable to have the reaction "we can't have nice things." It happens with a lot of things in life. Everything is sailing along until the train comes and hits you. That's kind of what it feels like here with the mumps.

But just wait a minute. Even with Parise and Pominville out against the Kings, even with two new players on the roster who were no doubt tired mentally and physically from their recent trade, even with being off for the five-day bye week, the Wild still won the game.

Yes, they kept getting behind and needed overtime for a 5-4 victory, but they won. Just like they've done all season. They've found a way. That's what makes this team so special this year. Even if the defense isn't particularly great on a given night or the offense needs Devan Dubynk to steal a game for them, they still find ways to win.

Last night was victory No. 40 when Mikael Granlund put on a clinic for a goal 12 seconds into overtime, reminiscent of his sliding OT winner in the playoffs against Colorado. Coming off the bye week, NHL teams this season were 3-12-4. The Wild beat those odds and became the fourth team to get a win.

So, the mumps have hit at a tough time in the schedule for the Wild. First off all, let's hope for a speedy return back to health for Parise, Pommer and assistant coach Scott Stevens, plus cross the fingers that no one else from the organization comes down with the symptoms. That is what's most important.

The Wild still sit atop the Western Conference in a great position for the playoffs. They already proved last night that they won't let the mumps stop them.

A good run, despite the Wild losing the game of the century

Dad said he couldn't feel the electricity in the building with less than an hour before game time. He's really only felt it once before at a hockey game, when he went to see the North Stars play the Philadelphia Flyers with Philly in the middle of a 35-game unbeaten streak in the 1979-80 season.

Saturday's New Year's Eve game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild had to rank right up there though. At least it did for me.

These two teams faced off in the game of the century (maybe that's too dramatic, but I don't care), a battle of two teams that hadn't lost in weeks. The Blue Jackets came in riding a 14-game winning streak. The Wild had a 12-game winning streak, plus a 13-game points streak. According to Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time two major teams (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) had met when each had a win streak of at least 12 games. The other cool storyline is that these two teams are forever linked together because they both joined the league in 2000 as expansion teams.

Quick sidebar here. It still would have been pretty cool to have the Wild on their franchise-record winning streak all by themselves in the spotlight. Although, history has sometimes shown that once the Wild are under the naitonal microscrope, they falter and stumble.

Much-anticipated game... recently
Anyway, this was going to be a great game. Looking at the schedule, the Wild usually play on New Year's Eve. Seeing Columbus as the opponent probably didn't grab a lot of excitement, even a few weeks ago. What a difference a couple of streaks make. The game was packed with 19,307 fans, and I heard tickets were going for as much as $600 on some markets.

Luckily, my mom went and got tickets for us on Thursday - before Columbus and Minnesota won their games to extend their streaks and setup the historic matchup. It was the first time we didn't get seats together as a family, but it really didn't matter. We were in the building.

Maybe it's corny, but I always love watching the, as I call them, "pump-up videos" before the game. This was counted to 12 and showed each opposing logo for the teams the Wild beat along the way. Then of course, there were plenty of highlights to show. I was tapping my fingers on my knee with anticipation. Call it pent-up energy since this was my season debut at the Xcel Energy Center.

Since it's a few days later, I'll spoil the ending for you: The Wild lost 4-2.

What went wrong for the Wild
I'll tell you the turning point for me in that game. It was early in the first period when Zach Parise partially fanned on a shot with a wide-open net staring him directly in the face. It should have been 1-0 Wild right there. Not a typical miss from Parise, but there it was. I knew it would come back to haunt the Wild, and it did.

Not long after that, Cam Atkinson scored his first of two goals in the game after a bad neutral zone turnover. It stunned and quieted the crowd. Heading into the intermission down 1-0 wasn't great, but not terrible either. It was the dreadful second period that was the killer.

A couple minutes in, Chris Stewart and Josh Anderson dropped the gloves before a faceoff for the typical five-for-fighting penalties. They went to the box, then Matt Dumba and Matt Calvert went at it. They were sent to the dressing rooms, however, since there's a rule that you can't start a fight right after another fight. This isn't old-school hockey anymore.

So, that left the Wild without a core defenseman for the rest of the game. That wasn't the worst part. A minute after the fights, the Blue Jackets took a 2-0 lead on Jack Johnson's goal. OK, so 2-0. But 15 seconds later, the game became out of reach with Atkinson's second goal to make it 3-0.

Too little, too late for the Wild
Mikael Granlund scored to make it 3-1, but the Wild couldn't get out of the period fast enough. It was 4-1 at the second break with a late-period goal from the Blue Jackets. Jason Zucker scored his ninth of the season just 24 seconds into the third with a fun-to-watch breakaway, which was exactly what his team needed. But they couldn't find a way to get another goal and took the 4-2 loss.

It was a frustrating game because there were so many little things, like passing, that the Wild needed to do better. They were back to not capitalizing on chances they had; I think Jared Spurgeon hit the outside of the post with a shot. Plus that sharp, crisp passing game just wasn't there.

Mom, Dad (in his Fighting Saints hoodie) and me.

Devan Dubnyk gave up four goals in each of the last two games, which is a little concerning, too. Not that I'm pointing a finger at him, for the type of season he's already had.

Perhaps even worse than the loss was seeing the dreaded Wave go around the lower bowl a couple times in the third period. Not surprisingly to those that know me or follow me on Twitter, I did not participate in this outdated act. Instead, I more appropriately put my head in my hands until it went by my section.

Obviously, somebody's streak had to end that night. It was too bad it was the Wild, while the Blue Jackets went to 15 games in a row with a win. But it's really been such a fun thing to watch. There's all this fear about the mid-season swoon, the after-Christmas hangover. Instead, the Wild just kept on winning. January still looms, and the history of swoons there isn't good, but for now, it's been a great ride for the Wild.

What a run.

Wild keep on rolling – at the moment

The Wild have won eight games in a row, ranking second in franchise history as far as these streaks go. A 2-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at home Tuesday night was the latest in this string. Their last regulation loss was Nov. 29, and they’re 10-1-3 in their past 14 games, earning points in 13-of-14.

There’s depth to this success, too. Mikko Koivu (12 points in his last 14 games), Jason Zucker, Eric Staal (team points leader with 25 in 31 games) Ryan Suter (18 points, team leader at +22), Charlie Coyle (leads the team with 11 goals). Add your favorite guy to the list. They’re all playing some solid hockey right now.

Devan Dubnyk is playing some kind of amazing hockey in between the pipes, earning his fifth shutout of the season Tuesday when he really wasn’t even tested a ton.

The great thing about the two goals the Wild scored was the positioning of the goal scorers. On Coyle’s goal, it was Matt Dumba with the initial shot from the point, which bounced around Staal’s feet before kicking out to Coyle who easily scored on the doorstep of the crease.

Dumba grabbed a second assist on the second goal, which was credited to Koivu after he was right in front to pound home the rebound. Zucker was right there, too, sprawled on the ice trying to get his stick in there.

I just have a better feeling watching some of these plays develop. These were two goals that were finished off; they weren’t missed opportunities.

But back to the overall success of this team right now. They’re second in the Central Division with 42 points through 31 games, a mark that is second in franchise history by just a point. They started 20-8-3 in 2011-12. They’ve got the longest active winning streak in the league. Darn those Blue Jackets hogging some of the glory.

The home-win streak for the Wild has reached seven games, and they’ve outscored opponents 26-8.

This is all fine and good – and great hockey to watch – but there’s something else nagging me about it all.

Here’s the part in this post where I wave the yellow caution flag. I can’t help it. I’ve grown up around Minnesota sports, so this is what I do.

The holidays are coming up this week, and then January is just around the corner. This team has had a swoon for a few years now, including last year when the team performed with such a lackluster effort that it got its coach fired. A swoon should almost be expected, until the Wild prove they can get through a season without it.

The day after Christmas last year, the Wild faced the Pittsburgh Penguins at home. The Pens scored three in the second period for a 3-1 victory over a Wild team that appeared to have a holiday hangover. I was there with my family for one of the biggest crowds at the Xcel Energy Center last season, announced at 19,234. My dad still uses this loss as a benchmark for how much time he’ll invest into this team. It was a game where the Wild really didn’t show up to play, failing to execute passes, possess the puck or get any offense going.

The year before, the Wild lost the post-Christmas game at the hands of the Winnipeg Jets with a 4-3 overtime game. The Wild are 1-7-1 in their past nine games right after Christmas.

Looking ahead to the schedule coming up here, it’s not exactly full of easier customers like the Avs. There’s Montreal and the New York Rangers for road back-to-backs this week. Then they head to Nashville for that hold-your-breath after-Christmas game Dec. 27. New Years Eve is the setting for what could be a matchup of the league’s hottest teams with the Columbus Blue Jackets (won 10 in a row) coming to town.

We’ll see what happens in the next couple weeks and how the Wild will handle some stiff competition from the Eastern Conference.

The Wild players have proven they can play good hockey. This team has also proven it’s a master at limping into the playoffs after going into a midseason tailspin, then needing to play with backs against the wall. It really is fun to watch this team when it’s playing well. I mean, that’s obvious. I think the real X factor here is Bruce Boudreau. The Wild swooned with other coaches; will they do that with Bruce?

So, as I’ve cautioned in the past, let’s enjoy this Wild ride. Because at some point, it will end.

This was originally posted at WildXtra.com.

Winning makes everything better

Originally, I thought about writing a piece about high school hockey. But when the Wild win five in a row, I suppose I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t write about these suddenly red-hot men in green and red. The Minnesota Wild are 16-8-4 overall, that includes three one-goal victories in the latest winning streak, an overtime win in Edmonton and a shootout (that probably went too many rounds) against Edmonton in St. Paul.

Times are good for the Wild. We need to be more positive when these situations present themselves. The other part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop because, well, a tough schedule and the month of January are coming up. Deep breaths.

Here are a few things that are going well lately:

Devan Dubnyk
You’re welcome, captain obvious.

Duby is simply on top of his game. He leads the NHL’s goaltending regulars in save percentage at .947 and GAA at 1.60. As much as I don’t like the “DOOOOB!” chant at the X for some of those routine saves, he deserves the love. Take the game against the Maple Leafs that the Wild won 2-1. Dubnyk pretty much single-handedly won the game, with 35 saves and 17 of those in the third period alone.

Another thing that’s been refreshing is not only is he not giving up many goals, but he’s not giving up the softies, either. (Thanks to Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune for reminding me.) That was one of his major flaws last season. It was almost like the Wild were always in a 1-0 hole from the start.

One-goal wins
It’s encouraging that the Wild are winning some one-goal games, whether it’s in regulation or otherwise. The Wild came into play Tuesday 25th in the league in winning percentages for one-goal games at .389. Calgary leads the way at .769. So getting those couple victories this past week helps that mark.

This isn’t scientific, but it just seems to me like the Wild aren’t historically on the winning end of one-goal games. All those 2-1 games can be frustrating.

Racking up the points
I’m not just talking about as a team. There’s the individual efforts, too. Jason Zucker has 10 points in the past 10 games, including a two-point effort in Vancouver and an assist plus the fifth goal in the 5-1 victory over Florida that chased Roberto Luongo.

Eric Staal leads the team in points with 20. He scored on yet another breakaway versus Florida. The look on his face during the celebration was just gold. Staal went a dozen games without a goal before scoring in that Toronto game. With the goal against Florida, that gives him two goals and three points in the last four games. Nino Niederreiter also has nine points in 11 games.

Mikko being Mikko
Mikko Koivu has three goals in the past six games, adding to his season total of seven goals and eight assists for the season. That’s great to see, but his biggest and perhaps most underrated value is in the faceoff circle. He’s third in the NHL in faceoffs won, with 364. He’s a guy that seems to have very passionate fans in his favor, or those that are overly critical and want to “strip the C.” I’m glad to see he’s contributing though.

I’m sure I’m missing a few of the key elements on the recent success streak. What sticks out in your mind about this team lately?

This was originally posted at WildXtra.com

Follow WildXtra on Twitter @WildXtra

Coyle: May I have some more, please?

As the Wild head into the final game of the very lengthy Canadian road trip, I decided to take a look at the player stats sheet. At the top, there’s a tie with 17 points between Charlie Coyle and Eric Staal. Coyle leads the team in goals with nine. I’ll admit, it’s a little surprising.

Like some others out there, I’ve been critical of Coyle the past few years. It’s like we’ve been waiting for the “kid” to develop his hockey chops. Sometimes I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I’d like to see more from him.

He’s in his fifth season in the NHL, though his first season he played 37 games in the NHL and 47 in the AHL with the Houston Aeros as a 20-year-old. So alright, he played 70 games the next season for 12 goals and 30 points. The last two years he’s played all 82 in the regular season, but in 2014-15 he only scored 11 goals in that full season. Last year was better, with 21 goals and 21 assists for 42 points.

Now this year, too, he’s at the top of the team stats leaderboard. Granted, it’s not like he’s among the Blackhawks or Penguins, but it’s still worth noting. He’s done a good job so far this season contributing on the scoresheet. A bit of a quiet leader.

So why do I feel so underwhelmed?

He’s a little bit like Granlund in this respect: There are flashes of greatness. Why doesn’t that happen more often? There will be some great, athletic scoring play or a nice pass he makes. Something that makes you say “wow.” That’s what has me wanting more. If you can play like that sometimes, why not most of the time?

The big problem that many have acknowledged with this team is the lack of finishers. The lack of pure goal scorers. Coyle was supposed to be one of these guys, right? Maybe, maybe not. Or maybe he still could turn into something, too. Even though he’s played in the NHL for a few seasons, he’s still a young guy entering what should be the prime of his career. Sometimes that’s forgotten as the fan base gets impatient with the lack of results from the team.

I’m encouraged by Coyle’s season last year and what’s he has done so far in 2016-17. I’d like to see him continue to elevate his game and continue to put points on the board.

There’s another thing that digs at me with Coyle, too. I think I also like to point the finger at him indirectly for the lack of toughness on the Wild squad. This fella is a 6-3, 220-pound hockey player who could stand to capitalize on his size just a bit more. I’m not necessarily referring to fighting. Just a few more aggressive checks once in a while, or this concept of standing up for your teammates after the whistle might be up his alley.

Thank goodness there’s Chris Stewart to help fill that void, I suppose.

I don’t mean to be unfair to Coyle. I’m not trying to be a hater and say he’s just terrible. He isn’t. But again, there’s just something about him that I can’t put my finger on and leaves me wanting more. Maybe it’s being greedy, or maybe it’s just another nice thing we’d like to have in Minnesota sports.

What are your thoughts on Coyle? Am I being too hard on the leading goal scorer?

This was originally posted at WildXtra.com

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Wild roller coaster keeps on moving

In a bit of an odd game, the Wild lost to the lowly Canucks on Tuesday, 5-4. Each side blew that dreaded, two-goal hockey lead, and Vancouver scored the game-winner with 2:35 left to get the two points. Jason Pominville scored two goals for the Wild, Jason Zucker scored on a breakaway and neither of the Sedin twins scored (unless you count the goal that was disallowed). See, told you it was an odd night.

Pommer scored the first two goals of the night, one being quite the sniper shot and the other being in the right place at the right time in front of the net. With that 2-0 lead in the second, the Canucks got even before the period was up with a couple on the power play. Don’t worry about the Sedins; they had three of the four assists on those two goals.

Tie game going into the third period, which seemed like it would be an overtime game waiting to happen. It didn’t take long (1:09 and 2:08) for Vancouver to go up 4-2. That’s right. Four unanswered goals.

Then Zucker comes through just more than a minute later with his beautiful breakaway goal. Yes, he hit the net. Yes, it appeared he copied the page right out of the Mikko Koivu shootout book. The roller coaster continued. Later in the period with the Wild putting on the pressure, Erik Haula scored his fourth of the season to get the game tied up again. Holla, third line!

But once again the excitement was shortlived. A shot from the point was deflected past Darcy Kuemper for the winner. There were a few bounces and tips on both sides during the game. Not an excuse for anything.

Needless to say when a final score is 5-4, that’s not a great example of good defense or solid goaltending. Especially in the closing minutes, it looked like the Canucks were on some extended power play. Kuemper, obviously not in the nets every night, didn’t look sharp a few times throughout the night. He mishandled a puck that should have ended up in his glove and another time couldn’t freeze the puck leading to a goal.

Going by the ol’ on-paper scenario, the Wild had the edge with an 11-7-3 record compared to the Canucks near the bottom of the Pacific Division. But the Wild haven’t exactly done things the conventional way. Not like that should be any surprise.

This one was frustrating because the Wild were in decent shape up 2-0 and with a shot advantage, too. Then there’s the four goals. Then the high of tying it up, before the low of giving up the winner late in the game. But hey, the Wild didn’t give up an empty netter. So there’s that.

Add it to the list of weird results for the Wild. At least this one didn’t give two points to a division rival, even if a conference foe isn’t exactly great either. The Wild started November with a 2-1 loss to Buffalo, following that up with a 1-0 loss to Colorado. They also lost 3-2 to Philly, another 1-0 loss (Calgary) and another defeat at the hands of the Avs, 3-2.

This is also the same Wild team that is 2-0 against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, outscoring them 10-4.

I’ve always been curious about how teams will lose the games they shouldn’t and win the ones they shouldn’t. It’s what keeps thing interesting, really. If teams always beat up on the lowly opponents they were supposed to, it wouldn’t be as much fun and frustrating to follow them.

So, we always just come back for more.

This was originally posted at WildXtra.com

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Back to life, back to reality

A few weeks ago, I wrote about all the goals the Wild kept scoring. Four goals a game, five goals. It was a simpler time. Predictably, the goal-scoring high has come crashing down. I knew it even as I penned that piece.
Now, it's pretty hard to sustain these goal outbursts for a long period of time. Once again though, this team proves it only rides at the very top and very bottom of the roller coaster. Not much in between.

The Wild were near the top of the NHL is goal scoring. Then the schedule fairy gave the boys big gaps between games (not making excuses here) and the scoring scaled way back. They sat in 19th in the goals-for category when I checked Monday night.

Take a look at the game scores
They started November with a 2-1 loss to the buddies of Buffalo, then a 1-0 loss in Colorado. Then there was a 4-2 victory over the Penguins. Huge win there. Right back down with a 3-2 loss in Philly. A 2-1 overtime win over the Senators was a breath of fresh air, since the Wild have struggled in the 3-on-3 format.

Then another 1-0 loss, this time to Calgary at home. They went nearly two games without a goal before a 1-0 victory when Boston came to town.

Really, the 1-0 victory over the Bruins last Thursday didn't feel like much of a celebration either. The Wild scored the goal with less than a minute left in the game, and it didn't even go in from a Wild player's stick. It went in off the opposing players. Part of me thought it was refreshing, since those types of goals usually get scored against the Wild. Not the other way around.

Anyway, that game felt like an overtime loss waiting to happen. So they squeaked away with the two points. Similarly, the 3-2 overtime loss in Dallas didn’t feel like much to write home about either. Two comebacks and getting the “moral victory” point. Big deal.

Of course, things were bad (and perhaps worse) with the 3-2 loss to the Avs Saturday. At home. Against a divisional foe. Ugh. The final score wasn't really the worst part. It was the fact that the Wild were up 2-0 before apparently deciding the dreaded two-goal lead was enough to coast through most of the third period.

Who’s carrying the team?
What I really want to touch on is the shift in scoring. Coach Bruce Boudreau bluntly addressed this in his presser of frustration after Saturday's loss. "When was the last time any of us had a multi-point game?”

He's got a point. Teams won't get too far in this league without some depth and guys that can have those multi-point games. Mikko Koivu has two goals so far this season – the same tally as Zach Parise (who’s been out a few games with an injury) and tough guy Chris Stewart. Jason Pominville has three goals. Charlie Coyle and Eric Staal lead the team with five goals apiece.

I'm trying to figure out what the problem is here. And I know if we could snap our fingers and fix it, we wouldn’t be here. Is it the lackluster power play? All those shots that go wide of the net? The shots they don't take? Just being the ever-popular "snake-bit"? I don't know. Maybe it’s the same old idea that this team just doesn’t have the finishers. It seems like we talk in circles with this.

I've grown so accustomed to watching this team that I'm not sure if this is a problem that is with the Wild or is something that all teams struggle through at some point in a season.

I see a lot of the same habits. Shots going wide, guys just not being able to pull the trigger in front of the net, waiting just another split second before shooting from the point, which allows the defender to predict it and usually block or deflect it.

These things are part of the game and will happen. It's just that everything obviously gets magnified when a team has trouble scoring goals.

So it goes with the Wild’s lack of scoring. We’ll just continue to be frustrated until they figure it out for a little while.

This was originally posted at WildXtra.com

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