Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 March 2015 15:30
By Kevin Hartzell
Let’s Play Hockey Columnist
It was certainly a great experience to attend the state tournament strictly as a fan and supporter. I have many highlights and impressions from the weekend.
First, my congratulations to Doug and Linda Johnson on the growth of the Let’s Play Hockey Expo. I had not seen the Expo in years and to see how it has grown is a real testament to Doug and Linda’s dedication to the game and its growth. The Expo is very impressive.
I was fortunate to be able to reacquaint with some of my fellow Gopher Hockey alums throughout the weekend. I was blessed to be able to spend a few minutes with longtime Gopher Hockey team doctor, Dr. Nagobads … 93 years old … wow! With him was Gary Gambucci…another legend. Dr. Nagobads is one of the kindest, gentlest souls one will ever know. I was able to spend time with Scott Bell, Lance Pitlick, Scott Bjugstad, Steve Ulseth and Jeff Teal, to name a few more. It was extra special to see one of my old coaches, Brad Buetow. Brad was about as tan as anyone in the entire state of Minnesota could be at this time of year. Brad and his wife have spent a good amount of time in Florida this past month … and it showed. Brad was in good spirits and shared several good stories.I feel lucky to be part of this Gopher Hockey fraternity.
The ice sheet brought about some highlights as well. My first thought was that Edina is so very lucky to have the coaches they do. It doesn’t take long to see the influence of Curt Giles, Dave Terwilliger and four-time Stanley Cup Champion Dave Langevin. Hockey is a simple game and Edina does the simple things very well. I suspect they rarely beat themselves. I can see why they have been as formidable as they have been in recent years.This highly experienced coaching staff has an obvious influence on these Hornet teams.
My heart goes out to St. Thomas Academy. I thought they played well against Duluth East. Sometimes, however, the hockey gods have other plans. With a two-goal lead, I thought STA was playing wonderfully. They were giving up absolutely nothing to the Duluth East Greyhounds. Then a benign-looking hold-in at the blue line, a long shot towards the net that was smothered by a STA defenseman, a puck that just squirted away through the defenseman’s body and right to a Duluth East forward, who put the puck in the net. Then a similar play led to the game-tying goal. I felt awful for this fine STA team. They did almost nothing wrong, but just like that, the game was tied. That’s hockey!
On the other side of the equation was Duluth East. To their great credit and maybe above everything else, they never quit. They kept playing and playing hard. Teams have to work to create any good fortune, and that they did. They kept after it, and while I think their two tying goals may have included a little extra good fortune from the hockey gods, once tied and into overtime, they totally ramped up their game and actually became the better team in overtime. To Coach Mike Randolph and his team, you can be rightfully proud of a great playoff and state tournament run. You were a very determined team and I think that is something you can always be proud of.
The best game of the tournament might have been East Grand Forks and Mahtomedi. The first two periods were a wonderful display of hockey. The game had pace, moving back and forth with good hockey on each end of the ice. I was impressed with both teams. The East Grand Forks/Hermantown game was right up there as well for good play but maybe more dramatic. East Grand Forks provided a lot of high-end entertainment.
In the end of course, it was a victorious East Grand Forks on the Class A side of the equation, and Lakeville North on the Class AA side. Lakeville North was clearly the best team this year.
And lastly to Hermantown, you cannot judge yourself by one game, or the championship games that have gotten away in the past several years. You have a quality team and quality program, evidenced by a consistent level of achievement. Congratulations to you as well!
Kevin Hartzell was most recently the head coach of Lillehammer in Norway’s GET-Ligaen. A St. Paul native and forward for the University of Minnesota from 1978-82, Hartzell coached in the USHL from 1983-89 with the St. Paul Vulcans and from 2005-12 with the Sioux Falls Stampede. His columns have appeared in Let’s Play Hockey since the late 1980s. His new book “Leading From the Ice” is now available at amazon.com.
