Here's Tom's story. . .
Al and Deb Paulzine, parents of sophomore forward, Stacey, sat behind the Diehard Fans for all three games at state. It's very important for each game of a winning streak that you sit in exactly the same place for every game and wear the same clothes. Al told Stacey he would dye a pink Mohawk into his hair if the team won the 1st game -- a man of his word.-----
We're State Hockey Champs!!!!
By Tom Obert
Cub Reporter
The Alexandria girls hockey team are the class A state champions! They beat Roseau in the semi-final, 2-1; then, deciding that was a pretty good score, replicated it in the championship game against Breck. We cheered, we cursed, we laughed, we cried, we chugged antacids - the last couple of minutes of back-to-back 2-1 games register off the charts on the "omigosh" scale. Looking back to the beginning of the season, the initial blog story on November 16 about the 8-1 win against Sartell, the state championship was considered an attainable goal - and the 7 seniors who led the team to the state tournament for 5 consecutive years were not about to be satisfied with anything less.
Beating Roseau and Breck proved the Cardinals worthiness -
they were the two best teams we played all season, and we ended with a 3-0-1 record in the four games against them. The Cards played Roseau to a 1-1 tie at home earlier this year, and beat Breck 2-0 at their arena just before Christmas.
In the semi-final, Roseau scored in the 1st period and held that 1-0 lead into the 3rd period - the Cardinals then got two power-play goals from Abby Williams and Michelle Anez and hung on for the win. The Diehard Fans were all of the opinion it was the best game we'd seen since the double OT win against Totino-Grace in the section finals two years ago.
(Photo courtesy John and Marnee' Herd )
The championship game against Breck was almost identical in terms of the play - except this time the Cards scored first. Kat DelZoppo and Michelle Anez scored in the 2nd period, and Breck scored in the 3rd to get within one goal. Of course, Breck pulled their goalie at the end to try to tie the game, and the Cardinal fans didn't start breathing again until the final whistle finally blew.
The common thread through all three wins in the tournament was the superstar play of goalie Danielle "Roadblock" Justice - she had 97 saves in the three games. The Breck coach said before the game there would be little scoring (Breck beat Austin in their semi-final 12-1, without taking a shot on goal in the third period!) - and after the game he said Danielle was the best goalie they faced all year. If there had to be one downer in an otherwise perfect weekend, it was that Danielle was not named Ms. Minnesota Goalie. Those of us who have watched her play the last three years know she's the best - she is THE Ms. Minnesota Goalie.
Danielle was named to the all-tournament team, of course, along with Abby, Del, Michelle, and Ashley Holmes. And then a real bonus occurred when Ashley was also named recipient of the Herb Brooks Award - congratulations Ashley! Abby won that award last year, so Alex pulled off a rare double! After watching them for 5 years, we're really going to miss the seniors next season - but we wish them all well as they move on to college.
And hooray for the Cardinal fans. Seven buses went down for the semi-final game - and they had to turn people away. There weren't as many buses for the championship game (hard to get them lined up on one-day notice), but we think even more fans showed up. The Diehards spent Friday and Saturday in the Cities (that's another story!). The Cub Reporter took 47 pictures over the two days - the cub reporter-in-training took several as well. We'll do some editing and send them out in small groups. (We've been having computer troubles - hope we can get these out.)
By Tom Obert
Cub Reporter
The Alexandria girls hockey team are the class A state champions! They beat Roseau in the semi-final, 2-1; then, deciding that was a pretty good score, replicated it in the championship game against Breck. We cheered, we cursed, we laughed, we cried, we chugged antacids - the last couple of minutes of back-to-back 2-1 games register off the charts on the "omigosh" scale. Looking back to the beginning of the season, the initial blog story on November 16 about the 8-1 win against Sartell, the state championship was considered an attainable goal - and the 7 seniors who led the team to the state tournament for 5 consecutive years were not about to be satisfied with anything less.
Beating Roseau and Breck proved the Cardinals worthiness -
they were the two best teams we played all season, and we ended with a 3-0-1 record in the four games against them. The Cards played Roseau to a 1-1 tie at home earlier this year, and beat Breck 2-0 at their arena just before Christmas.In the semi-final, Roseau scored in the 1st period and held that 1-0 lead into the 3rd period - the Cardinals then got two power-play goals from Abby Williams and Michelle Anez and hung on for the win. The Diehard Fans were all of the opinion it was the best game we'd seen since the double OT win against Totino-Grace in the section finals two years ago.
(Photo courtesy John and Marnee' Herd )
The championship game against Breck was almost identical in terms of the play - except this time the Cards scored first. Kat DelZoppo and Michelle Anez scored in the 2nd period, and Breck scored in the 3rd to get within one goal. Of course, Breck pulled their goalie at the end to try to tie the game, and the Cardinal fans didn't start breathing again until the final whistle finally blew.
The common thread through all three wins in the tournament was the superstar play of goalie Danielle "Roadblock" Justice - she had 97 saves in the three games. The Breck coach said before the game there would be little scoring (Breck beat Austin in their semi-final 12-1, without taking a shot on goal in the third period!) - and after the game he said Danielle was the best goalie they faced all year. If there had to be one downer in an otherwise perfect weekend, it was that Danielle was not named Ms. Minnesota Goalie. Those of us who have watched her play the last three years know she's the best - she is THE Ms. Minnesota Goalie.
Danielle was named to the all-tournament team, of course, along with Abby, Del, Michelle, and Ashley Holmes. And then a real bonus occurred when Ashley was also named recipient of the Herb Brooks Award - congratulations Ashley! Abby won that award last year, so Alex pulled off a rare double! After watching them for 5 years, we're really going to miss the seniors next season - but we wish them all well as they move on to college.
And hooray for the Cardinal fans. Seven buses went down for the semi-final game - and they had to turn people away. There weren't as many buses for the championship game (hard to get them lined up on one-day notice), but we think even more fans showed up. The Diehards spent Friday and Saturday in the Cities (that's another story!). The Cub Reporter took 47 pictures over the two days - the cub reporter-in-training took several as well. We'll do some editing and send them out in small groups. (We've been having computer troubles - hope we can get these out.)
Exhausted by three exciting hockey games, faithful cub reporter Tom Obert files final update from State High School League Media Center.
