Feature Story
A hockey nut goes north
By Tony Thompson
It all started playing knee hockey in the
basement with my brother Nate while watching the State
Tournament and continued through my playing days. But it wasn’t until I met
Mike Anderson and KJ, two of the biggest hockey nuts I know, that my enjoyment
of high school hockey grew to fanatic levels. For 10 years now, the four of us
have been donning Gopher jerseys down at the tournament, making Top 5 lists of
everything imaginable, and searching the high school ranks for future talents
who’d look good in Maroon and Gold.
Last year, after witnessing Roseau celebrate
their seventh state championship, the plans were put
into motion for the trip of a lifetime. A Northern Minnesota high school
hockey blitz – three games in three nights at three historic venues, centered around the greatest rivalry in hockey – Roseau vs. Warroad.
True to form, Nate
and KJ backed out at the last minute, leaving Mike and I bound and determined
to make them regret it. So to our pals and countless others who’ve yet to see
the history and tradition of high school hockey in Northern Minnesota, the
following is a diary of our pilgrimage –
may it free the hockey nut inside you to make a journey of your own someday.
Tuesday, Jan. 8
11:48 a.m. – I e-mail Mike my Top 5 goals of the weekend:
1. Have an experience of a lifetime.
2. Make memories that will forever leave Nate and KJ bitter.
3. Be
unforgettable superfans.
4. Wave to the boys on FSN.
5. Accomplish all of the above by being
the biggest hockey dorks we can be!
4:29 p.m. – After a three-hour drive, we arrive at the IRA Civic Center in Grand
Rapids and bust out the
grill. That’s right, tailgating at a high school hockey game. While matching in
our orange Rapids No. 6’s, we determine that Patrick White should join the
likes of Johnny Pohl, Paul Martin and Gino Guyer on
our list of Top 5 tourney greats.
Achieving goal No. 5 will not be a problem.
4:43 p.m. – The smoke rising from the grill resembles that of the Blandin Paper Company.
This makes us an easy target for the Hermantown bus driver.
7:01 p.m. – We walk up into the IRA from under the bleachers. The band
is playing; the teams are going through warm-ups all under a rich, wood-beamed
canopy draped with orange and black banners from the great teams of the past. I
can’t help but think what a thrill that must be for those kids to play beneath
and upon all that tradition.
8:49 p.m. – Mike and I embarrass ourselves at chuck-a-puck.
9:45 p.m. – After watching Sam Rendle notch
three assists in leading Grand Rapids to a 5-2 victory, we’re on our way to
Grandma T’s for a hot bowl of her sauerkraut soup and a good night’s sleep.
Somewhere near Warba it hits us that tomorrow we’re
going to witness the 100th anniversary of the greatest little high school
rivalry in the nation. We are all fired
up.
Wednesday, Jan. 9
10:25 a.m. – Check the speedometer and take my foot off the gas pedal.
It’s easy to go fast with a soon-to-be-realized dream and the open road lying
in front of you.
11:21 a.m. – Hadn’t checked my speed for a while as evidenced by the
flashing lights behind me. I made the mistake of telling the officer from
Baudette that I was going to the Warroad/Roseau hockey game. No warning for me.
We press on in agony. Not over the speeding ticket, but at how slow 55 mph now
feels.
12:24 p.m. – There it is – the sign commemorating the 2005 State
Champion Warroad Warriors – No. 1 on our list of Top 5 hockey games we’ve seen
(and another time KJ and Nate embittered themselves
by not going). We soon pass by the double hockey sticks on the water tower and
see the Marvin Windows building. It’s hard to miss it.
12:31 p.m. – We’re still driving by the Marvin building. At last we
come to the end of it and find Christian Brothers across the street. Judy,
who’s worked there for 35 years, is kind enough to give us a tour.
12:49 p.m. – Stop off at The Gardens arena for lunch in “the house that
Cal (Marvin) built” and get permission to go for a skate. We are stoked! A dad and his two-year-old are practicing together.
The two-year-old handles the puck better than Mike. Look out for a kid named Shaugabay in 14 years.
1:09 p.m. – We are out on the ice like little kids, now sporting our
Warroad Jerseys. KJ wondered if my old Easton (notorious
for hitting pipes and bouncing out in my playing days) would cut it up here.
Sure enough, my first shot hits the pipe and echoes through an empty arena as
it flies off into the boards. Turning now to the Christian stick I just bought,
my second shot again hits the pipe, but this time goes in. There’s something
magical about Hockeytown, USA. (Somewhere in downtown Minneapolis KJ sits in his cubicle
buried in paperwork).
2:15 p.m. – Enter into Roseau, population
2,756. Like Blandin Paper and Marvin Windows, the
presence of Polaris is lost on no one.
3:50 p.m. – We pull up to the Roseau Memorial Arena. The unassuming
green and white tin exterior seems to conceal the fact that inside lives the
legacy of one of the most storied high school hockey programs in the
country.
4:07 p.m. – Now wearing a Rams #7 jersey, I unpack our gear, fire up
the grill, and place the brats in the shape of an “N.” Though my clever “Brat
‘N’” tribute humors only myself, a lady walks by and
tells us our tailgating is a first for Roseau Hockey. Sadly, we’re proud of our
place in Rams history; but goal No. 3 is accomplished.
4:56 p.m. – After talking
hockey with Tracy, the Rams radio broadcaster and renowned sports author Ross
Bernstein, we’re being interviewed by the Roseau Times-Region. Numerous
others stop by to express their amazement/amusement.
6:02 p.m. – Heeding local advice we head in for the JV game before the
bleachers fill. Inside, the lobby is filled with the kinds of state trophies
that most towns keep in the school. We walk by pictures of past legends hanging
on the wall then step inside the arena and just look up. The arched wooden
ceiling beautifully frames in the simple banners that hang and declare decades
of dominance. Where most arenas hang a banner for every state appearance, Roseau only
displays their trips to the state championship. But those years alone fill the
open air above.
6:31 p.m. – The band is playing and people are scurrying just to find
a place to see when the varsity players follow a skating Ram out for warm-ups.
The place erupts. (In the meantime, KJ
is getting off a crowded bus back home from work).
7:04 p.m. – The puck drops. History is happening. The Roseau roster is
filled with talented sons and nephews from the great teams of the 1970’s, but
it’s easy to see that Aaron Ness is at another speed. At one point, he begins a
rush back in his own zone. I flip on the video camera and hit record. By the
time it captures, Roseau’s celebrating a goal. Hello Maroon and Gold! Mike and I
agree that he’s cracked the hallowed annals and made it into our Top 5.
8:10 p.m. – Nate calls. He sees us on TV and
groans with jealousy. Goals Nos. 2 and 4? Check.
8:37 p.m. – Some kid behind us wins chuck-a-puck. I realize I’ll have
to pay for my speeding ticket the hard way.
9:07 p.m. – Tyler Landman scores a pretty
goal, keeping the Broten tradition alive. As players
skate by high fiving the goalie, I wave to the camera
once more just to salt Nate’s wounds.
9:24 p.m. – The Roseau/Warroad handshake.
9:43 p.m. – After turning down numerous invitations to join the locals
at the Legion, we opt to go shoot around at the North Rink. All alone, a nine-year-old is flying up and
down the ice until his dad finally tells him it’s time to go. I guess skating until 10 p.m., on a school night is too late even in Roseau.
Thursday, Jan. 10
11:57 a.m. – On our way to Eveleth, we enter the town of Indus. Six seconds
later, we exit Indus.
4:22 p.m. – After a stop at Bronco Arena in International Falls, we finally arrive. Eveleth: The Birthplace of USA Hockey. All around town large signs make sure visitors don’t
miss the USA Hockey Hall of Fame, Hippodrome and Big Stick.
5:15 p.m. – At the outdoor rink in Eveleth two fourth graders convince
us to play them in a full-ice pick-up game. They can smell blood. Inspired by
our surroundings, we skated heroically to pull off the 5-2 upset. Mike scores
his first goal in “competition” and it only took him five shots…on an empty
net. Nevertheless, we celebrate like champs while the kids just look at us like
anyone would look at two 30-year-old men celebrating an empty net goal in a
shinny game against fourth graders. Somehow, we like to think we made John Mayasich proud. Goal No. 5 is solidified.
6:39 p.m. – Enter the Hippodrome. This is a must for everyone. We
could’ve spent hours just reading the history and looking at the pictures in
the lobby. How this little town spread hockey around the state as well as the
country is an amazing story. After a classic rink hot dog, we head into the
arena where less than 100 people have come for the game. Nevertheless, the white
steel trusses are dripping with maroon and gold banners documenting the
prominence of this town in the state of hockey. We stand in awe. (Back in Maple Grove, KJ is changing diapers).
8:48 p.m. – Confidence in our chuck-a-puck skills is unwarranted. Though
five of the 20 pucks on the ice are ours, we barely manage to get one within 10
feet. Sadly, Mike is proud of that one.
9:24 p.m. – The game ends with Eveleth defeating Silver Bay 7-2. It certainly wasn’t the same level of competition we’d
seen the last two days, but the kids played hard. And though it’s probably true
that their dreams of the State Tournament will most likely end prematurely,
this also is true: No one can ever take away from them, or from us, the
experience of being part of the great tradition that is Minnesota High School
Hockey. Goal No. 1 scored.
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