Ah, the Quince and the Paperwhites

Lorlee writes:

Well, I know it's cold and there are whiteout conditions in Minnesota, according to the Cub, but here in Texas the Quince and the Paperwhites are blooming.

Boys hockey falls a smidge short

Stan,

Despite an early lead on a goal by Luke Markstrom (Tyler Resch, Kirby Nelson), the Alexandria Cardinal boys hockey team fell one game short of their own trip to the state tournament. They lost to the Little Falls Flyers 5-2 in a game in St. Cloud on Thursday night. The Flyers, who have a story amazingly like the Alexandria Girls team advance to their fourth straight state tourney berth. The tournament opens next Wednesday at the X-cel Energy Center in St. Paul. Seeding for the tournament will be held this Saturday after all participants have been decided. The first entry to the tournament was gained by St. Cloud Cathedral (Go Crusaders!) in a 2-1 victory over Duluth Denfeld Wednesday night in Cloquet. My presence has been requested as pep band director despite the fact we are on spring break. Watch your TV to see if I really do it.

And for those of you who remember JazzDotCombo from the Lake Wobegon Trail dedication, we have a big gig coming up. We will be playing the "Jazz Brunch" at Famous Dave's in Calhoun Square in Minneapolis on Sunday, March 9th. Calhoun Square is located at the intersection of Hennipin Avenue and Lake Street. We will be playing from 10:00 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. At that point my son's band "The B Team All-Stars" will be taking over and playing from 12:30 to 2:00. Come join us for good food and good music.

John Herdan

Mike Bolin's Dad dies

News today that Mike Bolin's father, who must be about 98 or 99, has died. Floyd was an original: an inventor, entrepreneur, a business leader. Most of us know him as the owner of the Dutch Girl Dairy, but he was much more than that.
His obituary will be posted soon. In the meantime, our condolences to Mike and others. Paul Strandberg sent a link to a fascinating interview with Floyd that was conducted in 2005. It is a great read about a great man.

http://www.freemap.com/Floyd%20Bolin%20his%20whole%20life01.htm

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.)

Exhausted by three exciting hockey games, faithful cub reporter Tom Obert files final update from State High School League Media Center.

We are the State Hockey Champions!

Alex 2, Breck 1

The darlings of this blog, the Alexandria Cardinal Girls Hockey Team took it all today, winning the Minnesota State High School Girls Hockey Championship. This is the first time they've taken it all, they have appeared in the tournament numerous times.

Our man on the job, Tom Obert, has faithfully reported the comings and goings and even managed a few photos.

Perhaps overcome by this momentous event, nothing has yet been heard from the Cub Reporter, although we expect copious commentary soon.

Standby, Alexandria Boomer Bloggers!

Here's the Startribune report:

Senior goalie Danielle Justice made 30 saves as Alexandria beat Breck 2-1 for the Minnesota Class 1A girls' hockey championship Saturday.
The Cardinals were outshot 31-13, but Justice gave up only one goal late in the third period as Alexandria hung on for the win.
The game capped a remarkable state tournament for Justice, who made 40 saves in the Cardinals' 2-1 semifinal win. A finalist for the Minnesota Senior Goalie Award, she allowed less than one goal per game this season and had a .960 save percentage.
Alexandria scored both of their goals in the second period, even though Breck had twice as many shots in the period (14).
The first came on a top-shelf wrist shot from Kathryn Del Zoppo.
The deciding goal came on a flukier play. Alexandria's Michelle Anez was bringing the puck to the net when a Breck defender made a diving poke check and the puck slid between Mustang goalie Courtney Nygard's legs.
Breck is one of the higher scoring teams in the tournament, averaging 4.8 goals per game coming in and scored a state tournament-record 12 goals in the semifinal.
It is the first state title for Alexandria, which was playing in its fifth straight state tournament.


Personal comment from John Herdan
I only got to watch parts of the championship game but my observation is
this: "Nothing else matters without Danielle Justice. What a clutch goalie. She is by far the "Most Valuable" "Most Valuable Player" I have ever watched. Wow!!!!!!!!"

Girls move forward, defeat Roseau 2-1

From the StarTribune web site, via John Herdan
Recap: Danielle Justice made 40 saves, and Alexandria used a pair of power-play goals in the third period for a comeback victory over Roseau and a berth in the Class 1A championship game at noon today against Breck.
Turning point: A power play starting about 5 minutes into the third period gave Alexandria new life, and it carried through with an Abby Williams goal just before the penalty expired. That tied the score and gave the Cardinals the momentum they used for Michelle Anez's power-play winner with 5:34 left.
The quote: "It's the most nervous I've ever been in a hockey game before." -- Justice, talking about surviving a Roseau flurry in the final minutes.
Unsung standout: Justice was really the story. With Roseau leading 1-0 on a first-period goal by Abby Ness (she's the younger sister of boys' standout Aaron Ness), the Rams buzzed Alexandria for much of the second period. They held a 16-3 shots advantage but couldn't build on the lead.
Noteworthy: Alexandria survived a minor bus scare Thursday, losing a mirror during a turn lane mishap with a van on the way to practice at Highland Arena. "It delayed us by about half an hour," coach Mitch Loch said. "We got to meet a couple of St. Paul's finest."

Alex girls win first round at state tourney

Story and photo, above, from the StarTribune website
Alexandria 5, South St. Paul 2
Recap: Alexandria jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two periods but had to hold on through a wild third period to defeat the four-time state champion Packers. The Cardinals killed off three penalties in the final 10 minutes, including a 5-on-3.
Turning point: Senior forward Abby Williams scored on a breakaway 9:15 into the third period, splitting two defenders at the blue line and stuffing the puck in at the right post. The goal restored a three-goal lead for Alexandria, but more importantly, killed South St. Paul's momentum.
The quote: "Can I burn that monkey now?" -- Alexandria coach Mitch Loch, referring to a small stuffed monkey that the Cardinals coaching staff used to remind the team of four consecutive first-round losses in the tournament.
Unsung standout: Alexandria goalie Danielle Justice made 16 saves in the third period, including six on power plays in the final 10 minutes.
Noteworthy: Loch stressed that, while Alexandria came to St. Paul with the goal of winning the tournament, the Cardinals were going to enjoy their first opening-game victory in five years. "You have to celebrate things like this," he said.
Alexandria 2 1 2 - 5
South St. Paul 0 0 2 - 2
First: A-Paulzine (Ecklund), 4:16; A-Nielsen (Ecklund), 12:44, pp.
Second: A-DelZoppo (Anez) 13:57, pp.
Third: S-Simones (Kraus, LaShomb), 5:23 pp; A-Williams, 9:15; S-Anderson (Simones, Brisson), 12:43; A-Rindy 16:36, en, sh.
Saves: A-Justice 4-7-16-27; S-Engelmeier 8-6-3-17.
JON MARTHALER


Here's the cub's take:

Tom Obert
Cub Reporter
As the Diehard Fans drove away from Alexandria this morning, we were constantly reminded by Patty Wicken on KXRA that the temperature was 26 degrees below zero. The wind chill was such that it could make certain body parts crack and fall off - but we were heading south, to the Cities, where the temperature was rumored to be a balmy minus 10.

We were going to see the Alexandria Cardinals play the first game in the girls state hockey tournament against South St. Paul at the XCel Energy Center. We arrived at 10:00 am and parked (mostly out of habit) at the across the street Science Museum of Minnesota [pic1]. We walked into the arena in time to watch the Cards warm-up [pic2], greet our neighbors in the stands [pic3], spill my coke so we were wading in "sticky" the whole game, and settle in for team introductions [pic4] and the opening face-off [pic5].

The game started - we Diehards, and Stacey Paulzine's folks sitting immediately behind us, said, "$%^**^^$, we've got soft ice again!" Last year the ice at both the XCel and Ridder Arena were noticeably "softer" than what the team prefers - harder ice is better for a small, fast team like ours. Again this year, it appeared like the girls, and the puck, were moving through molasses. But they got through the early stages and we able to pick up the pace.

Then Stacey scored the first goal of the tournament. Her linemate, Ally Nielsen, also scored in the 1st period and the Cards led 2 - 0 at the break. Kat DelZoppo scored in the 2nd period and the Cards led 3 - 0. At this point, the Cards seemed to be in total control of the game. In the 3rd period, the Cards got a "too many men on the ice" penalty - we seem to be the only team that is ever called on, although it seems it could be called every time there is a line change.

On the power play, the Packers were able to get a rebound past Roadblock. That seemed to change the whole pace of the game - the Cards had to kill off several penalties the rest of the game (they would not, and did not, after the game mention anything about the illnesses that have been plaguing the school and the team for the last couple of weeks - but they were obviously pooped).

Abby Williams scored to make it 4 - 1 - then the Packers scored again, another rebound on a power-play situation. In the hectic final minutes, Beth Rindy scored for the Cards on a length of the ice shot into an empty net to wrap up the win. Nikki Ecklund was named player of the game with 3 assists - we were happy for the 2nd line, as Nikki, Stacey, and Ally all had terrific games. And, of course, Roadblock was great in net.

Photos: Kathryn DelZoppo (No. 27) received a marriage proposal from a smitten fan; left, Danielle and Abby on the concourse after the game - Abby has a similarly neat hat, lilac in color, Tom thinks. Below, our girls in their Mid-winter gowns.

Photo below courtesy of Paige Scarborough.

Flash from Lorlee: Our girls win!

Lorlee writes: Since the Cub is probably at the game, cheering them on, I can report that he apparently did a good job. Our girls won their quarter final game 5-2 over So. St. Paul.

No posting from LA

The Trailboss and Mrs. Trailboss drove into LA yesterday to stay with a friend and play poker in his garage poker palace.
The poker is going well, but our host just has a dial-up connection so we aren't able to load photos or check trailboss mail efficiently.
With any luck we'll be back to our own computer on Tuesday, we'll check for your mail and post it. That is if Mrs. Trailboss can win enough of our money back to pay for the gas to get there.
Signed,
Busted in LA

Final home game for 7 seniors

By Tom Obert

Cub Reporter

Last night was the final home game, ever, for the 7 seniors on the Cardinal girls hockey team. It was their first game in the section play-offs, and they beat LPGEWDC (for those of you keeping score at home, that's Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Wadena-Deer Creek) 5 - 0. This was not expected to be a close game, and it really wasn't. The Blue Devils only suit 11 players, but their goalie played a great game in facing over 50 shots. The Cards had a first round bye, so they hadn't played in a week, and since then several players missed practice with what apparently was the flu - but they won and move on. Friday night they will play Fergus Falls, in Willmar (the Diehard Fans will have an evening of fine dining at the Blue Heron before the game), for the section 6A championship and the right to go to the state tournament next week. This was the predicted championship match-up from the beginning of the season - the Cards have beaten the Otters twice already, so here's hoping the 3rd time is still a charm.

It was a long day/night at the Runestone Community Center. The RCC also hosted both section 8AA (the BIG schools) semi-finals - so, beginning at 4:30 until the Cardinal game ended at 11:00, there was continuous hockey. And being the connoisseurs of fine girls hockey that we are, we wanted to see as much of it as we could. Bemidji opened with a 5 - 1 win over Moorhead - good game, closer that the final score indicates. The Diehard Fans especially wanted to see Sarah Erickson of Bemidji - she is a Top Ten finalist for Ms. Minnesota Hockey and a Gopher recruit. She did not disappoint. Before the St. Cloud Tech - Elk River game began, the Diehard Fans headed out for a night of fine dining at Bella on Broadway (note the importance of food in all Diehard endeavors). We returned to the RCC in time to catch the last period of the Elks 5 - 1 win over Tech. The Elks feature Top Ten finalist for Ms. Minnesota Hockey, Monique Weber. We also noticed Anne Schleper in the stands - she is a Top Ten finalist for Ms. Minnesota Hockey for the St. Cloud Icebreakers, who lost to Tech in the quarter-finals. Then, of course, came the Alex game with Top Ten finalist for Ms. Minnesota Hockey, Ashley Holmes, and Top Five finalist for Ms. Minnesota Goalie, Danielle Justice. Oh, and we wouldn't trade Abby for any of the other forwards on the finalist list!

So, last night, Alexandria's hockey arena hosted four of the top ten finalists for Ms. Hockey, and one of the five finalists for Ms. Goalie. Gotta give us bragging rights for somethin'! And Alex's record this year against the four AA schools in the building - 4-0-1!

Finally, when you reach one of those slow moments one occasionally comes across in mid-February, you may want to visit the KXRA website at http://kxra.com/. Click on "sports," then click on "Cardinal sports report with Dave Harris," then click on his "Tuesday" report - he talks with Danielle "Roadblock" Justice, who talks about the "Super (a/k/a Diehard) Fans" and her nickname given by those fans.

The Winter of 2008 continues. . .

By Tom Obert
C-c-c-cub Reporter
I-94 between Fergus Falls and North Dakota is closed right now - think of the opening scenes of "Fargo." We're anticipating wind gusts to 50 MPH today and windchills of 50 below zero. It could go on all weekend. So . . . what do hearty Minnesotans do? Ruthie is making a big pot of cabbage soup, and I think I'll take a nice nap.

The Cardinal boys and girls basketball teams were scheduled to play in Bemidji today - but since dog sleds aren't a real option anymore, the games were cancelled. The girls won at home last night against Rocori, 71 - 54 - so a day off today is probably appreciated. I went to the game to see how Angela Christianson would do after her 48-point performance in the previous game - a more mundane 30-point night.

The Polar Plunge on Lake Minnewaska in Glenwood was postponed today (and I was so looking for to it!), but, to my knowledge, the big ice fishing contest on Lake Le Homme Dieu was still a go - 6,000 participants and $100,000 in prizes (including free frost bite care!) All-in-all, our biggest concern is that 8 of our hockey girls missed practice on Friday because of illness - they have a sectional semi-final game here on Tuesday.

Dave Serie in Slowpitch Big Time

Dave Serie's son, Chris, proudly reports that his father has been inducted into the United States Slowpitch Softball Association Hall of Fame.

Two of his sisters, Judy from San Jose, and Pat from Seattle, flew in for the Brooklyn Center ceremony. They joined his brother Pete and other family members and friends. The group took up two tables at the event, Chris reports, "A lot of support for the ol' man!"

Dave and all the kids are in the photo, above, Chris, Mike, Sarah, Matt, and Dave.

Here's the writeup from the company newsletter:

Long-time BAE Systems employee Dave Serie was recently selected for induction into the United States Slowpitch Softball Association (USSSA) Hall of Fame. Dave played softball for 22 years, 15 of those with the FMC Industrial Team.
During that time, the team, which was a perennial state powerhouse, was coached by Darrell “Bozo” Wincek and was ranked first in the State in the Industrial AA Division for seven years. The team also won seven State Championships and played in nine National Tournaments, finishing as high as second in 1985. Dave was named to the All State Team three times and amassed nearly 500 home runs with a lifetime batting average of .600.
The induction will be on Saturday, January 26, at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Brooklyn
Center. There will also be an “all FMC” softball reunion that afternoon at the Crown Plaza Hotel. Congratulations, Dave!

Posse hunts down Dave Aldous

"Mama Don't Let Your Babies
Grow Up to be Cowboys"
JHS Boomer correspondent Rick Beresford has tracked down Dave Aldous. He reports that Dave, JHS Class of '65, has been in the Nashville area since 1980. Dave hasn't been in contact with anyone from Alex and, he says, that's not because he's been hiding from the law or anything.

Dave runs a building and remodeling business, and has learned the trade well.

His two sons are also both self-employed in the construction business. Troy, 36, builds sunrooms and cell phone towers around Nashville, and has one of Dave's grandchildren; his son Nicholas, 34, runs a company that builds residential swimming pools in San Diego, and has Dave's other two grandkids.

Rick and Dave talked horses. Dave has not only done a fair bit of riding through the years, but is a sharpshooter, which means he fires at targets while at a gallop. Here's a photograph of Dave.

Turns out Dave Aldous grew up to be a cowboy!

50 years ago Vienna Boys Choir sang here

John Herdan writes:
Marge Van Gorp's history review column in the Echo Press had this headline today:
Column - 1958: Vienna Boys Choir performed at Lincoln School.
The celebrated Vienna Boys Choir "sang like angels and performed like cherubim" at Lincoln School this week.

I know of at least two people that were there that night. One of them was me. The other was Axel Theimer, who is now the choral director at St. John's University. I was in the audience, Axel was in the choir.
We have been teaching in the same area for the last 28 years. I'm not sure at what point we figured out that we were both there but that has created a strong bond between the two of us for a long time.
The really crazy part is that 26 years later our kids started to go to school together at the St. Joe Lab School in St. Joseph. His daughter, Natalia, was in my son Michael's class and his son Stefan was in my son Stephen's class. We still see each other frequently at music events and just exchanged e-mails about the article.
John
(Trailboss says: I distinctly remember seeing the Vienna Boys choir. Must have been that very performance at Lincoln School. Don't remember seeing you, though. Ha)
Sara was there too!
Sara Sevey writes:
I was there too!! We were in Vienna last year and I would have loved to have seen them again but they, and the Lipizzaner stallions, were not performing then.

Annual white elephant party

WARM greetings Stan,
I know you and fellow blog watchers have been eagerly awaiting another year's photo of our annual lunch.
Lynn, Robin and I all agreed that at our tender age, there will be no more pictures of us on the blog unless done in candle light, vaseline smeared on the camera lens OR sunlight in the background (tom).
So here is a picture of our girls.... well, seven of them. Lynn's daughter, Cindy, was busy with her four kids so was not able to attend.
Left to right are Julie (Lynn's), Jessie (Robin's ), Nancy (L), Katie (L), Jenny (Kathy's), Stacey (R), and Stephanie (K)
Not pictured, besides Cindy, are 14 grandchildren!
Thanks for all you do!
Kathy Sherry Skadsberg
-
(Trailboss says: Thanks for the great photo! We do enjoy receiving everything we can from the blog watchers, although lately it has been mostly Tom's Fantastic Hockey Team. Your photo service accidentally emailed the entire batch of photos from your recent white elephant party, so the blog has unintended access to ALL of the latest photos of you and your classmates. However, out of an abundance of respect for your wishes, we have carefully smeared vaseline on our digital lens and present only these two images, one of you and one of Lynn, for public viewing. Your white elephants look great. You can't have too many stuffed snowmen these days. :)

Girls finish season with win

Tonight was the last game of the regular season, and senior night, for the Alex girls hockey team. Led by the 7 seniors, the team finished with a terrific 22 - 1 - 2 record, won the Central Lakes Conference with an undefeated record, and obtained the No. 1 seed for the sectional tournaments beginning this weekend. The Cards will draw a bye on the first round, and then will have a home game next Tuesday against the winner of the 4th-5th seed game, most likely to be Detroit Lakes.

Tonight the Cards got a hat trick from Michelle Anez, and goals from Ashley Holmes and Kathryn DelZoppo. I believe Abby Williams had an assist on all 5 goals. Danielle Justice had her usual stellar game in goal with 29 stops.

Prior to the start of the game, each of the 7 seniors skated to center ice and had their bios, written by their parents, read over the P/A system. The cub reporter-in-training took videos of the event. I'm waiting to hear about his results, because, unfortunately, my still photos bombed out - something to do with the "mood" lighting during the event. We're hoping Danielle's mom, Sue, who was down on the ice, got some good shots.

Franken at the Daily Grind

Ruth Obert and Merry Donley pose with U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken before an overflow crowd at the Daily Grind in Alexandria this afternoon. The candidate amused and inspired for 45 minutes before the largest crowd Obert has ever seen at this venue.

Big Ole Invitational at Jefferson High gym

Update: The Cards did indeed win the 38th annual Big Ole Wrestling Invitational, and in a domineering fashion. The Cards had 232 team points to 166 for the 2nd place team in the eight team event. That is the first time the Cards have won their own tournament since 1988!! And the JV team also won -JV's first Big Ole win, as noted, "in a long time." Could this be the start of something big on the mats of Big Jeff?

Obert writes: OK, it's not girls hockey. But the cub reporter-in-training has been angling all year to see a wrestling match. You see, as a product of the parochial school system, he had never been to a high school wrestling meet - wrestling wasn't a part of the curriculum. The good sisters of New Ulm Cathedral did, however, box his ears on several occasions during his tenure as a student there!

Alex has been ranked in the top 10 of the state wrestling rankings all year - and Bob was particularly intrigued with John Amundson, our undefeated wrestler at 135 pounds. At last notice his record was something like 26 - 0, but as Bob noted, the kid never wrestles. Just about every team Alex faces forfeits in that weight class. But with today's Big Ole Invitational, eight teams were participating so it figured Amundson would get a chance to wrestle. It was a big crowd - we were in the nose bleed seats as evidenced by the photo - and it took us a while to figure out what was going on with four matches taking place at the same time. It was obvious Alex did very well in the first round - but still, Amundson had a bye. When the semi-finals began, it was obvious Alex was going to win the event - all their wrestlers were winning, most by pins. When Amundson did get to wrestle, he pinned his opponent in less than a minute. I had to leave then, secure in the knowledge the Cards had the situation well in hand. Bob, however, was really getting into it and continued on for further coverage. I'm sure he'll provide a report as time permits.

Oh yes, forgot to mention the highlight of Cardinal wrestling in our day was watching Gary Ekdahl wrestle heavyweight at about 170 pounds. Ol' Ek was quite the showman and could get the crowd worked into quite a tizzy!