Francisco leads ‘Southern’ team to Great 8 title
At first, Jon Francisco, Jay Dardis and J.R. Bradley, Up North guys, weren’t too excited about playing with the Twin Cities players in the “Great Eight” hockey tournament for seniors. But when it was all over, and the combined team from Section 3AA and 2A had won the statewide championship, it wasn’t so bad.
Several pro and college scouts among the gathered multitude at Schwan’s SuperRink in Blaine and Columbia Arena where the final game was held, insisted that Francisco was the top performer in the three-day tournament.
In the final game, playing the team from Sections 4AA and 4A, the 3AA/2A team was behind 2-1 after two periods, but Francisco scored his second goal amid a three-goal third-period rally and the 3AA/2A team captured the championship game 4-2.
For the three games, Francisco, Hermantown’s star center, had five goals and three assists for a tournament-leading eight points.
“It was really a lot of fun,” Francisco said, after the game. “At first, I wasn’t too happy being on the southern team. But the team bonded real well.”
Co-coaches of the team, which had several players from both Hill-Murray and Roseville, were Bruce Plante of Hermantown and Bill Lechner of Hill-Murray, both of whom coached their teams to the state tournament, only to lose in first-round games. They made up for it with the statewide all-star tournament.
“I thought Jon was the best player in the tournament,” said Plante. “He got eight points, and he was only on the ice for one goal against. What he did was impressive, but he also did it at high speed. J.R. was only on for one against, too. He’s just starting to get there, and with a year of junior, I think he can play college hockey.”
Bradley, a 6-3 Hermantown defenseman, has no available offers to play junior, although some might be forthcoming off the tournament. Francisco and Dardis, who is from Proctor, both have commitments to college, Francisco to UMD and Dardis to St. Cloud State. Francisco and Dardis both expect to play a year of junior hockey.
“I’m going to play at Waterloo next year, and then go to St. Cloud,” said Dardis, who recorded only one assist in the tournament, but, he said, “I hit about seven pipes.”
Francisco was more flexible.
“I’ve signed a tender to play at Omaha,” Francisco said. “UMD’s coaches told me they’d like me to play a year or maybe two down there, but if they wanted me to come to school right now, that would be fine as well.
“There are a lot of different things to consider at this point. If I could play at UMD right away, that would be great, but Omaha is a great place to play, and if I go there, it might help me be more of an impact player as a freshman.”
Based on Francisco’s play in both the CCM Iron Range-Duluth area all-star game and the Great Eight tournament, however, indicate he might be an impact player right now, too.
UMD loses only three seniors — goaltender Tony Gasparini, defenseman Bert Gilling, and forward Curtis Bois. With several recruits already committed, the question is how many scholarships are available in the fall. The Bulldogs have a large need to find some goal-scoring punch, and Francisco’s post-season play has put his potential on display.
TOURNAMENT NOTES: The SuperRink has four Olympic-width ice sheets fanned out for a central gathering place. Four games can be conducted simultaneously…Former Greenway of Coleraine goaltender Frank Serratore, now head coach at Air Force Academy, got a commitment from Stillwater’s Andy Berg at the tournament.
The Section 7AA/7A team was loaded with talent and coached by Elk River’s Tony Sarsland and Silver Bay’s Mike Guzzo, twice lost after building 3-0 leads…The Section 8AA/8A team was co-coached by Roseau’s Bruce Olson and Warroad’s Cary Eades. “Can you believe we’re not only coaching together, but rooming together, too?” asked Eades, joking about the long-standing rivalry that is unexcelled in state high school ranks and carries far beyond hockey. The 8AA/8A team won two games and lost one.
Officials of Minnesota Hockey (formerly known as Minnesota Amateur Hockey Association, or MAHA) Ted Brill and Dave Hendrickson will choose a team from the uncommitted seniors on the eight teams to participate in a nationwide high school tournament in Chicago. The Minnesota team won the tournament last year.
UND, CC, Denver all have shots at NCAA finals
The NCAA hockey tournament field is set, and there are no surprises: The CCHA got four teams in, and the ECAC got only two. That’s no surprise, because every year, even though all four major NCAA conferences appear to be quite even, the ECAC gets shafted when it comes to the NCAA tournament.
At Madison’s Dane County Coliseum, North Dakota is No. 1 seed, and will play the winner between Northern Michigan and Boston College and Northern Michigan; Michigan State is the No. 2 seed, and will play the winner of Colorado College vs. St. Lawrence. At Worcester, New Hampshire is seeded No. 1 and faces the winner between Denver and Michigan; Clarkson is No. 2 seed and plays the winner of the Maine-Ohio State game.
Good match-ups, all. No quarrel there.
But this was a breakthrough year for the ECAC. In most seasons, the ECAC starts later and its teams usually lose early games to teams from conferences that start a couple weeks earlier. But this season, St. Lawrence and then Princeton came out West and smacked Minnesota, while Colgate came out and beat UMD 5-4 and 2-1. Clarkson, St. Lawrence, RPI, Colgate and Princeton were all capable of competing with anybody, but only Clarkson and St. Lawrence got picked.
North Dakota and Colorado College the class of the league although CC dropped off the pace when it ran into serious injury trouble, and Denver came on strong at the end to finish third. Hockey East had UNH, Maine and Boston College at the top. The CCHA had Michigan State, and then a scramble that included Northern Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame. But that scramble doesn’t mean the CCHA teams deserve four teams to bump the ECAC down to two. I like both Ohio State and Northern Michigan, but pick one.
The criteria are constantly adjusted to update the power ratings, but they still can be skewed toward one conference, such as the CCHA. If the information fed into the computer might indicate that its teams are stronger, for whatever reason, then all teams in that league would benefit in strength of schedule and in opponents’ strength of schedule. The fairest way would be to start out assuming all four conferences are equal, and only an extreme case should prevent three teams from each league in the tournament.
As it is, the WCHA has a good chance to get a couple teams to Anaheim for the final four. North Dakota should beat Boston College for one spot, and Colorado College could beat St. Lawrence and then have a good chance to beat defense-minded Michigan State for another. Denver, the hottest team in the country, has the tough road — having to knock out defending NCAA champ Michigan and then Hockey East champ New Hampshire. In the fourth bracket, I like Maine to beat Ohio State and have a great game against Clarkson to gain the fourth spot.
In other NCAA tournament news:
* North Dakota coach Dean Blais kept his mind on hockey last weekend, even though he also met with North Dakota benefactor Ralph Engelstad, the former Sioux player from Thief River Falls who is now a multi-millionaire in Las Vegas and recently gave his alma mater $100 million, half to build a new arena and half to the school’s other needs. They huddled after Friday night’s 6-2 Sioux victory over Minnesota in the semifinals, and while no official word was forthcoming, best estimates might be that Blais, an International Falls native, was offered a total package worth nearly $200,000 a year. Speculation is that terms of the contract are for five years, but could contain a rollover clause that renews itself to always stay at a five-year arrangement.
* The most intriguing rumor in college hockey is that people aligned with Minnesota have extended feelers to Blais and Colorado College coach Don Lucia to see if they’d be interested if Minnesota decided to dismiss coach Doug Woog. The juicy part of that rumor is that the contacts supposedly were made before athletic director Mark Dienhart was quoted in a Twin Cities newspaper saying that other schools would be scouting around for potential replacements, but that Minnesota hadn’t done that, out of respect for Woog.
* Denver won the WCHA Final Five and who can question the Pioneers merit? They are on the nation’s longest win streak, at nine, they finished third in the league, and they knocked off No. 2 CC and No. 1 North Dakota in the tournament. At that, they had to come from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Fighting Sioux 4-3 in the final.
* Beware North Dakota and CC in the NCAA, however. The Sioux played without 25-goal scorer Lee Goren, who will play this week after being given an extra week to recover from a serious skate cut. And CC’s injuries have had an extra chance to heal, which means Superior’s Darren Clark (broken arm) could be ready to go, and Jon Austin (sprained ankle) also should be 100 percent. That would leave only Toby Petersen (broken leg) out.
* The WCHA Final Five ended with a big day for Colorado teams, with Denver winning the final and Colorado College beating Minnesota in the third-place game.
* The WCHA Final Five all-tournament team had goalie and most valuable player Stephen Wagner from Denver; defensemen Erik Westrum from Minnesota and Joe Ritson of Denver; and forwards Justin Morrison of Colorado College, Jeff Panzer of North Dakota, and Paul Veres of Denver. Interestingly enough, Gopher forwards Dave Spehar of Duluth East and Reggie Berg of Anoka were left off the team, even though they led the tournament in scoring with three goals and three assists each. After Spehar got two goals and an assist in the 5-3 victory over St. Cloud State, his line got very little ice time in the 6-2 loss to Colorado College in the semifinals because linemate Aaron Miskovich was used on the frequent penalty kills, yet Spehar assisted on both goals, then added another goal in the 7-4 loss to Colorado College in the third-place game. Berg had two goals and two assists in the first game, got his 20th goal in the second, and added an assist in the third. Westrum appeared to be a token pick for the Gophers, after getting four assists, all on power plays, and three of them in the 7-4 loss. Westrum played quite well, but it’s rare to see a defenseman picked from a team that gave up 13 goals in the last two tournament games, while CC’s Scott Swanson — the best defenseman in the country — was also left off the team.
* MSC is going to carry the games from both NCAA regional sites. The Gopher-oriented cable channel had to do some fancy stepping last weekend, starting out with the announcement it would do all Gopher games, plus the championship game. When the Gophers lost in the semifinals, however, MSC pulled the plug on doing the third-place game. But with the Worcester games Friday and Saturday, and the Madison games Saturday and Sunday, college puck fans should get their fill.
* Word is that Shawn Roed, a Gopher recruit from the Twin Cities Vulcans, should be rested and ready to join the club next fall. The Vulcans had to win one of their last two games to qualify for the USHL playoffs, but they had to play the weekend without Roed, who reportedly skipped the games to go to Mexico on a family vacation.
* Best quote of the Final Five came from Denver defenseman Shawn Kurulak, who scored the winning goal for Denver in the 4-3 title game, and it was his first goal of the season. Coach George Gwozdecky said he would have been the last player he picked to score the goal. Kurulak, apprised of that, said: “It was just a matter of time till I erupted offensively.”
‘Dogs miss NCAA party, reload for next season
[Rick–Here is the revised form of the UMD season wrapup/forecast, updated for use. And here are the cutlines you can use for the photos…Hopefully you can still use them in a four-square box, or something…]
UMD’s hockey season ended in a spectacular 4-second turnaround, beginning when Ryan Homstol (27) broke through the defense for a point-blank shot that was stopped by Colorado College goaltender Jeff Sanger. Next, Jeff Scissons fired a backhander on the rebound, but Sanger kicked it out to Jesse Heerema, who immediately passed to Brian Swanson (27), who raced to the other end to score a breakaway goal at 6:17 of sudden-death overtime. UMD goalie Brant Nicklin slumped to the ice in despair.
The NCAA hockey tournament gets underway this weekend, with games at two regional sites, Madison, Wis., and Worcester, Mass. Quite a party, with six teams at each site playing down to two, and those two advancing to the final four at the Pond in Anaheim, next weekend, UMD wasn’t invited to the NCAA’s postseason party this year, after struggling through an amazing season of playing hard, playing exciting hockey in all but about a half-dozen games, but finding enough ways to lose enough games to finish last at 4-20-4 in the WCHA.
With the Bulldogs, the cry “Wait till next year!” is more than just hyperbole, however.
Coach Mike Sertich admitted he was baffled a few times this season as his team went down a 4-20-4 path to last place in the WCHA. He never stopped trying tactical methods to prod the team, it was simply stymied by a lack of goal-scoring. In 13 of those losses, the Bulldogs either lost by one goal, or pulled their goaltender, only to yield an empty-net goal.
“We had such high expectations, and we had to readjust our goals once reality set in,” said Sertich. “We went from hoping to contend at the top, to going for home ice, then to avoid the basement. Each segment, we had to readjust, and it seemed like we spent so much energy battling from behind, we never really got going.
“One of the surprises this season is that some of our strengths turned out to be weaknesses, and some of our weaknesses turned out to be strengths. We thought we might have trouble with such a young defense, but the young defensemen played so well, that became our strength.”
After senior and captain Bert Gilling, a steady if unspectacular defenseman, the next most experienced defensemen were sophomores Ryan Coole and Jesse Fibiger. They played well, but a freshman corps of Mark Carlson, Andy Reierson and Kent Sauer all had good-to-exceptional rookie years. Sophomore Craig Pierce played well at the finish, in limited duty. Carlson and Fibiger, particularly, showed signs of being potential leaders. The Bulldogs have freshman Ryan Tessier and new recruit John Conboy from Silver Bay to add to the crew on defense.
“We thought one of our strengths would be that our veteran forwards would score,” added Sertich, “but that turned out to be a big weakness. Other than Jeff Scissons, our forwards were inconsistent at best. We’d show flashes, all through the season, but you have to learn to be an every-nighter, to play with that urgency all the time. A mature team does that, so we’re anxious to see if the year of maturity will help right away.”
UMD will lose only three seniors — Gilling on defense, backup goaltender Tony Gasparini, and winger Curtis Bois, a frustrated scorer who got just six goals this season, and three of those in one weekend. If the pros get insistent, they might come after goaltender Brant Nicklin and Scissons.
“I’m not planning on going anywhere but back to school,” said Nicklin. And his parents are hopeful that he finishes school.
“I’m not looking to get out,” said Scissons, whose brother, Scott, played briefly for the Minnesota Moose, and who watched enough players take a chance on pro hockey with minimal success that he became convinced college was the better choice. “Vancouver drafted me, and I don’t think they’re anxious to have me leave school. I’m still pretty skinny. I usually start the season at about 190, but I’m 182 now, after the long season. I have to work on getting stronger.”
Scissons recalled being a freshman. “When Brant and I came in, we talked about when we’re seniors, how we could have a great team,” Scissons said. “I don’t even see the possibility of me leaving, and assuming everybody stays, we lose less than the other teams. The top teams, like North Dakota, CC and Denver, lose all their best players.”
Scissons was the best UMD forward in almost every game, and he wound up as the top-scoring junior in the entire WCHA. He was tormented, however, by failing to score with a Ryan Homstol rebound in sudden-death overtime in the final playoff game last Saturday night, after which Colorado College countered immediately for a breakaway goal by Brian Swanson at the other end.
Junior goaltender Brant Nicklin will carry the torment of that goal, even though it was a great shot by arguably the league’s best player. Nicklin, however, was brilliant all season, despite the record, and CC coach Don Lucia was only one opposing coach who suggested Nicklin probably was the “best goalie in the league” this season.
The only other Bulldog who might be tempted to turn pro would be Sauer, because he was drafted by the new Nashville franchise. That would seem to be a mistake, because as a big but raw defenseman, Sauer improved as he got more comfortable with the caliber of college hockey, and he undoubtedly would develop more in the fast-paced college game than turning pro, where he might be asked to become the franchise’s fighter.
Without any defections, the Bulldogs could jump all the way from last to WCHA contention next season.
North Dakota and CC finished 1-2, with Denver third. UMD was 0-3-1 against North Dakota, with two games in overtime and a third with an empty-net clincher; the Bulldogs ended their season with four consecutive losses at CC, three by one goal, the other with an empty netter, and two in overtime. UMD split two games with Denver, winning 4-3 and losing 4-2. But while the ‘Dogs proved they could play the best teams evenly, they also sagged to inconsistency against the middle teams, which caused their final record to be a paltry 4-20-4 in the cellar.
Returnees like Homstol, Colin Anderson, Shawn Pogreba, Richie Anderson, Derek Derow, Mark Gunderson, Ryan Nosan and freshmen Tommy Nelson, Judd Medak, Nate Anderson and Eric Ness have scoring potential in their resumes, and if the year’s experience helps them put some pucks away, the future looks bright — possibly extremely bright as soon as next season.
Of the teams in the Final Five: North Dakota, the runaway league champ, loses eight seniors, including scoring stars Jason Blake, Adam Calder, David Hoogsteen, Jay Panzer, Jeff Ulmer, Jesse Bull, and Tom Philion — all forwards — and star defenseman Brad Williamson. Runner-up Colorado College loses six seniors, including top guns Brian Swanson, Darren Clark (from Superior), Jon Austin (from International Falls), plus the nation’s top-scoring defenseman, Scott Swanson (from Cottage Grove), and backup goaltender Todd Gustin (from Hibbing).
Denver loses 10 seniors, including the elusive Paul Comrie, James Patterson and Paul Veres up front, and Shawn Kurulak, Todd Kidd and Ryan Hacker on defense. Minnesota loses only four seniors, but they are pivotal — Wyatt Smith, Reggie Berg, Mike Anderson and defenseman Bill Kohn — and there have been rumblings that a couple underclassmen might leave early. St. Cloud State loses five, including offensive stars George Awada, Jason Goulet, Brad Goulet and Ryan Frisch, and defenseman Kyle McLaughlin.
Elsewhere, Wisconsin loses five players, including defensemen Craig Anderson, Luke Gruden and Tim Rothering; surprising Alaska-Anchorage loses only five seniors, and the Seawolves best players were underclassmen; Michigan Tech, in the process of rebuilding, loses only senior goaltender David Weninger.
UMD will miss its three departing seniors, but other teams will have more trouble filling the gaps left by the magnitude of the players they’re losing.
“Sertie has won four WCHA championships in 17 years. I think that’s pretty outstanding,” said Lucia. “His teams are always very well coached, and they do some unconventional things that other teams are afraid to try. They’ll catch you by surprise doing things like getting their defense involved in the offense, or flying a guy in the neutral zone. Sertie is a tremendous coach who lets his guys play, and play creatively, and when he has top talent, he wins”
Sertich looks at it more modestly.
“We have to look at where we’re headed, and what it is we want, and what kind of players will make us successful again,” Sertich said.
For the first time in 20 years, the Bulldog recruits are all regional. Goaltender Rob Anderson from Superior is set to step in and support Nicklin, and Conboy should help the defense. Forwards Jon Francisco of Hermantown, Andy Sacchetti of Eveleth, and Josh Miskovich of Greenway of Coleraine, all have committed to UMD, although some or all of the three might play a year in the USHL. There are a couple more, still being sought. Because the Bulldogs have only enough scholarships to replace the departing players, most of the recruits will play a year in the USHL, and the challenge will be to decide which players could best benefit from joining the team right now, or coming in as redshirt freshmen to learn Sertich’s systems.
“I don’t fault the effort we gave this year,” said Sertich. “The team was never boring, we never backed off into the trapping defensive style. It’s an an-lib game, and we always want to be creative. Having a successful team is a lot like trying to paint. We don’t want to ever get to the point where we’re just trying to make sure we keep all the paint on the canvas; we say don’t worry about that, just paint the picture.”
And next season, the frustrations of this season may serve to give UMD all the proper colors for a masterpiece.
Former brawling puck star turns his life around
The annual Two Harbors Youth Hockey banquet, downstairs at the American Legion Club in Two Harbors last Tuesday night, brought together youngsters from 5 to 15, who played Minimite, Mite, A-Squirt, B-Squirt, Peewee and Bantam. Every hockey association has such post-season get-togethers, to send the kids off with a good feeling for next season.
But this one was different. This one had, as guest speaker, Bill Butters, a former tough, nasty hockey player who battled his way up from White Bear Lake to the University of Minnesota, then to pro hockey with the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the old World Hockey Association, and the Minnesota North Stars.
Butters was legendary, even in high school. One legend was that as captain of the White Bear Lake football team, Butters summoned three teammates, who had been careless about team rules, to join him outside. He lined them up against the wall, told them that if they ran, he’d catch up to them, then he proceeded to punch out each one, one at a time, while the other two waited, terrified. No more violations, and the Bears went undefeated.
Did it really happen, or is it just legend? You could ask Forrest Johnson, the editor of the Up North Newspaper Network’s Lake County Chronicle in Two Harbors, because he was a White Bear Lake freshman when Butters was a senior. Johnson got a chance to play hockey as a sophomore, the year after Butters graduated, and was given Butters’ jersey. Butters came into the locker room once, walked right up to Johnson and told him that he’d better give everything he had, just to live up to the effort that had previously gone into that jersey.
In college, Butters was captain of the Gopher hockey team. In one game against Colorado College at the old Williams Arena, the refs hustled Butters off toward the penalty box after a scrap in the corner. They left him at center ice, though, because another scrap had broken out. Standing there all alone, facing the Colorado College bench, Butters stared as all the CC players were standing on the bench, shouting taunts at him.
The newspaper story said: “Butters sized up the odds. Fifteen to one. Pretty even.” Sure enough, Butters ran full speed on his skates, directly at the CC bench, and hurtled over it onto the bench to take on the entire CC team.
Admittedly not a good fighter, he was definitely willing. Butters brawled his way to the top in pro hockey, relentlessly and without compromise. He paused to engage in assorted bits of bizarre behavior, and he earned a reputation for being pretty crazy. He also encountered the three Carlson Brothers from Virginia, and became best friends with the middle one — Jack Carlson, his teammate with the Fighting Saints and with the North Stars. Unlike the stocky Butters, Carlson was 6-3 and 215 pounds, and became “probably the best fighter who ever played pro hockey,” Butters said.
Jack Carlson was with Butters on Tuesday night at the Two Harbors Legion Club. It was interesting, because the approxmately 100 youthful hockey players weren’t even born when those two last played, although their parents knew their accomplishments well.
After every player had eaten well, and been called up front by their respective coaches, it was time for Butters to speak. He opened by saying Carlson used to jump in to back him up whenever he got in trouble on the ice. Carlson, after hockey, turned to Butters for help to get his life straightened out after his career was over.
“Jack and I have both had some problems in our lives,” Butters said. “My mom and dad divorced when I was 4. My mom went on to get married and divorced six times. I lived in 32 different houses, growing up.”
Sports was an escape for Butters. He loved baseball best, and then football, where he was fullback, linebacker, kicker, and never on the bench. “I loved the game, because I loved running people over, smashing them,” said Butters. “Then a friend said I should try hockey. I enjoyed it, right away, even though I could hardly skate. Forwards would come in, look down at the puck, and I’d blast them off their feet. All the way through high school, I could barely skate, but I could hit, and all of a sudden, the University of Minnesota offered me a scholarship.”
Butters explained how Herb Brooks taught him to skate as freshman coach at Minnesota, but he kept hitting, urged on by the roar of the crowds and the fame. When the time came, he signed a pro contract.
“Jack and I played with Gordie Howe, and in 1980, when Howe was 48 years old, he scored 101 points in the WHA,” Butters said. “I figured I’d play that long, too, but I’m 48 right now. My hockey career ended in 1980, when I was 30.”
Another ex-North Star, Tom Reid, asked Butters to come and coach as a volunteer at a Christian hockey school. “I told him I was the farthest thing from a Christian,” said Butters, “and that I didn’t know anything about God and didn’t want to. But he kept calling, and I finally agreed. I still don’t know why.”
At the camp, Butters found 222 young boys, being coached by various pros. But while Butters thought that cussing and rowdy behavior was simply a part of hockey, he found that nobody swore at the camp, and everybody seemed so straight as they gathered for little prayer sessions. He went to an evening session, and was embarrassed when a singer singled him out for an anticipated exchange of phrases from a song about his faith. “I didn’t know what to say,” recalled Butters. “All these kids were waiting to hear this big, tough hockey player respond to the song, and I didn’t know what to do. For some reason, tears started running down my face.”
A bit shaken, Butters attended another group session, and at the end of it, all the youngsters and Butters were asked to stand and hold hands for random prayers. Butters said he noted how many 11-year-olds there would be before he would be forced to offer a prayer, and he was terrified.
“But then, a calming came over me,” Butters said. “I think it was the Holy Spirit. I started listening to what these 11-year-olds were saying. One prayed that I’d find a job, another that I might find peace…They all were praying for me.”
Butters was moved to tears, and he went home after the camp and had a memorable session with his wife, Debbie. “I confessed everything I had ever done, and told her if she wanted to leave me, I’d understand,” said Butters. “But she stayed, and we just celebrated our 25th anniversary.”
The changeover in Butters’ life is complete. He now blends coaching White Bear Lake High School and speaking for Hockey Ministries. The young players may get wide-eyed at the talk of his rough and tumble antics in hockey, but the change in his life underscores his point.
“I got 244 stitches in my face when I played,” he said. “My nose was broken five times, and I lost five teeth. My shoulder has been operated on two times, and I have trauma-induced epilepsy because of all the blows to the head I’ve taken in hockey, and I have to take medication every day for the rest of my life to control the seizures.
“But the Lord has changed my life. Hockey is a wonderful, beautiful, fun, aggressive game, and you can play it to the fullest. But you don’t have to swear, fight, drink, chase around and do the things I did. That’s the message. Celebrate your hockey season because you had fun, you learned and improved and did some things you didn’t know you could do. And next year, you can do more.
“And thanks to all you parents for your participation in your kid’s life.”
This was not heavy-duty preaching, and it was not some pro jock, posing on television to praise the lord for helping him score a touchdown, or win a game. This was a good and humble man — an exceptional coach — who figures he owes something to his new-found faith as well as to the game he loves, and to youthful players who might follow a different path at a more formative time. After all, it was a group of 11-year-old hockey players who made him realize there was another way to live.
Elk River shifted out of 7AA hockey logjam
There will be a new hockey champion in Section 7AA next season. That certainty evolved from the Minnesota State High School League’s decision to move Elk River out of 7AA and into 4AA, its natural geographic location.
“You’re kidding!” said Duluth East coach Mike Randolph, when informed Thursday of the move. “You just made my day. It’s great news. Actually, they don’t belong in 7AA, and Tony Sarsland [Elks coach] knows it and said it over and over.
“In fact, it was unfortunate for Elk River last year, because they were good enough to make it to state but we played what was probably our best game of the season and beat ’em 7-1 in the 7AA final. That gave us the boost to go on and win the state.”
This year, however, East lost to Elk River in the 7AA semifinal, then the Elks went on and beat Hibbing in a spectacular 2-1, triple-overtime final in Hibbing, to make it to the state tournament. It was the first time in tournament history that no team from the actual Section 7 geographic area reached the tournament since it was one class or Class AA.
“In a way, after they beat us, I’d like to have the chance to beat them,” said Hibbing coach Mark DeCenzo. “But that’s just the stubborn side of me.
“Elk River is not a northern team, and I hate to see a representative from the northern region not be from the north. This year it was particularly frustrating, because our sixth seed in 7AA would have been a good representative at the state tournament, but none of our teams made it.”
Randolph agreed. “At our banquet, I said that I thought Section 7AA was deeper than the state tournament this year,” Randolph said.
East, Hibbing, Greenway of Coleraine, Cloquet and Grand Rapids were all left behind when Elk River won the sectional, and Sarsland came right out at the time and said it wasn’t right. “The teams from Duluth and the Iron Range deserve to be in the tournament because they are the reason the tournament has reached the level it’s at,” Sarsland said.
The high school league initially left Elk River in 7AA at its Wednesday meeting, but acted later to move the Elks as an amendment. To assure 7AA has eight Class AA teams, Brainerd was shifted into 7AA. “At least Brainerd is a northern team,” said DeCenzo.
In 4AA, Elk River will become the immediate favorite next season, while playing against natural rivals Anoka, Blaine, Champlin Park, Coon Rapids, Maple Grove, Osseo and Park Center, and the section also includes Armstrong and Cooper from the Robbinsdale school district — two teams that give the section 10 schools, and two teams which would more logically be in Section 6AA, perhaps.
Several years ago, the league moved Elk River into Section 8AA, as its eighth team, and the Elks had some top-five rated teams that ran into powerful Moorhead teams and lost in classic sectional showdowns. Ironically, Section 4AA did not have a strong representative during those years, when Elk River undoubtedly would have been an annual state tournament entry.
Just as ironically, last year, when Moorhead had one of its weakest teams in a decade, Roseau moved up from A to AA, which meant Elk River could be moved back out of Section 8 and into 4AA. But with Duluth Denfeld moving from AA to A, Section 7 was left with seven schools, so the high school league made Elk River the state’s vagabond, and sent them from 8AA to 7AA.
This year, while the Elks were a powerful enough team to be seeded No. 1 in 7AA, the luck of the draw meant they had to play East in Duluth and Hibbing in Hibbing — hardly fair treatment for a top seed.
East will play Elk River next season in a December game at the DECC, but, as Randolph said, the Elks finally and fairly are now back where they belong.
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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