5 QUESTIONS ...with Men's Basketball Coach David Staniger!

Voice of: Joe Hansen

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Good morning, St. Scholastica!

We're a day late, but that's never stopped me before. It's time for the newest edition of 5 Questions on VOTS, and today's guest is head men's basketball coach David Staniger! We had a good chat about championship games, leadership, and new players. He seems excited about the time, set to make their home debut this Sunday against Wis.-Eau Claire -- so be there! Without further adu...



Enjoy, and I'll see you Friday for Points & Prattle!

Go Saints!
-jh

5 QUESTIONS ...with Men's Hockey Coach Mark Wick!

Voice of: Joe Hansen

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Good morning, St. Scholastica!

Happy Friday to everyone! It's time for another exciting edition of 5 Questions on VOTS. Today, we begin the series of interviews with winter sport coaches, starting with men's hockey's Mark Wick. Coach Wick and I talk about youth, blackouts, and bosses. Very interesting stuff.



A quick programming note, directly involving hockey: Starting this weekend, Saints home games will not only be heard, locally and online, on ESPN Radio 560AM-WEBC, but will also be broadcast on the iFan Sports Network, so you can WATCH the game online here. And even more exciting, the local crowd will get to enjoy Saturday night's game on the local MyNetworkTV, channel 9 in Duluth, thanks to iFan and the Northland's Newscenter. You have plenty of venues to follow the Saints, so tune in and root them on this weekend!

Win Saints!
-jh

Points and Prattle Playoff Preview (Vol. 7) – Nov. 3, 2009

Voice of: Joe Hansen

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Good morning St. Scholastica,

It’s time for a special Tuesday edition of Points and Prattle, and not just because we missed it last week. We’ll have 5 Questions this Friday, and then return to our normal programming schedule next week. Today is an important day for the Saints because it’s the semifinals of the UMAC Tournament for three of our Fall sports. So, this is a Playoff Preview edition of Points & Prattle (gotta love that alliteration!)

Men’s Soccer

• Finishing second in the UMAC, the Saints men’s soccer team will play host to Northwestern College this morning at 11:30 a.m. In their two regular season meetings, the Saints swept the Eagles by scores of 5-1 on the road at 2-0 at home.
• The Saints come in on a four-game undefeated streak while the Eagles come off a loss to Crown College last Friday night.
• The Saints men have not lost a UMAC first round match since the 1998 season.

Women’s Soccer

• The women’s team, who won their sixth straight UMAC regular season title this season, will play host to the University of Minnesota, Morris at 2 p.m. on Saints Field. CSS shut out the Cougars in each of their two meetings this season by scores of 1-0 and 4-0.
• Sophomore goalkeepers Bailey Mahlum and Erin Olejnicak each have two shutouts of the Cougars during their careers at CSS.
• The Saints women won the UMAC tournament in each of the past two seasons

Volleyball

• After getting the chance to watch the women’s volleyball team for the first time this past weekend, I can assure you that they can win any game against any opponent. They are extremely talented, but more importantly, they have a lot of fight in them.
• The Saints finished second to three-time defending champion Northwestern in this year’s regular season and will host Northland College on Tuesday evening (7 p.m. – Reif Gym in the BWC on campus). CSS swept the season series against the LumberJills, beating Northland in straight sets when they hosted them last week, but took five games in Ashland on Oct. 14 to earn the win.
• The Saints have not faced Northland in the postseason since the 2002 season, when the Saints swept the ’Jills 3-0.

Best of luck to each of our three teams playing today, and we hope that you will be able to get out to the games (despite the inconvenient timing of the soccer matches) to cheer on the Saints!

Enjoy your week,
-jh
Go Saints!

Presenting the VOTS All-Time Best Men's Hockey Name Team!

Voice of: Joe Hansen

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Good morning St. Scholastica!

I promised something new and exciting this week, so here it is. In honor of the Saints men’s hockey team opening their season tonight against Wis.-Stevens Point, I give to you the presentation of the VOTS “All-Time Best Men’s Hockey Names Team.” But before we get started, one necessary note that would have been in P&P this week had I not planned this. Be sure to check out this video of the women’s soccer team hanging with first graders. It’s adorable and it’s on the front page of our site. But anyways, without further adu…

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Part of my job in the Sports Information department is updating all our archives for use in media guides as well as online. For hockey, this includes the Saints’ all-time roster. If there’s one thing I know from growing up in the “State of Hockey,” it’s that the sport produces a lot of great names, and St. Scholastica’s program has been no different through the years.

Now, I could have done this using anyone whose name was the least bit suggestive, but I won’t. I’d like to think the sense of humor here at the VOTS is a bit more high-brow than that (if only just a bit). So, we’ll stay away from the adolescent humor (for the most part) and keep it clean. Here are some of the highlights, followed by the “Voice of the Saints All-Time Best Names Team.”

From the “Same Name” Department…
Rolf Flaig (1981-82)
G-Fridley, Minn
It’s not spelled the same, but it’s still basically the same name. Rolf’s a good guy; I met him at the athletics golf outing a few years back, but let’s face it: he shares his name with a Muppet. But if we’re going to fault somebody for that, we’ll have to get after every Sam, George, Clifford, and Sweetums we encounter, and that would be just silly.
Brad Johnson (1984-87)
F- Silver Bay, Minn
Any Minnesota Vikings fan knows who this is referring to, but what you may not know is that he also shares his name with a former Marlboro Man and a Civil War general. While our Brad may have never caught a touchdown pass from himself, he is the 1986-87 Saints Team MVP and captain as well as being an All-NCHA selection that season.
Jim Johnson (1979-83)
F-Virginia, Minn.
For this one, I could go with a NASCAR driver, one of three football coaches, a cornerback, a quarterback, a tight end, a right-handed pitcher, a left-handed pitcher, and two other Minnesota-based hockey players. Take your pick. This one is a former captain for the Saints in the 1982-83 season.
Guy LeBlanc (1980-84)
F-Silver Bay, Minn.
I suppose no one would REALLY mistake the 1980-81 Saints Rookie of the Year for the Canadian composer, but they still share a name. For some reason, I thought there was a more famous Guy LeBlanc out there, but when the only other option is this guy, I guess I was wrong. Either way, our Guy LeBlanc is 9th on the list of all-time scorers for the Saints, so he deserves some recognition.
John Miller (1980-84)
C-Minneapolis, Minn.
Here’s another name with options, but I had originally intended for this one to refer to the voice of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, alongside Joe Morgan. While Jon Miller may have called the most infamous home run of our generation, John Miller is a former captain at CSS.
Rick Royal (1986-90)
G - Pengilly, Minn.
It’s not THAT close, but will I ever have another legitimate reason to post this on the blog? It may only be funny to me, but the internet meme is close enough to the 1989-90 NAIA All-American’s name for me to include him.

From the “Gotta be a Nickname” Department…
Buzzy LaFond (1974-78)
F - International Falls, Minn.
After scouring the records, I have found out that Buzzy’s real name is Robert LaFond, but several of our records have him as just “Buzzy,” so this stays. His name seems more fitting to be attached to a member of the Superior Yellowjackets, but luckily for CSS, the 1976-77 NAIA All-American was on the blue-and-gold side of the bridge, as he racked up 155 points in his career, good for 7th all-time in Saints program history.
Bun Carlson (1974-78)
G - Cloquet, Minn.
Bun’s only referred to as “Bun” in the record books once, usually appearing by his full name, Warren Carlson, but once is enough for me. It’s difficult to say where the nickname might have come from: perhaps he was the first-born, his mother’s first “bun in the oven.” Nonetheless, what his nickname lacks in intimidation, it makes up for in fun.
Rocky Maas (1989-90)
F - Duluth, Minn.
I don’t know if Rocky was Mr. Maas’s real name, but what I can tell you is that the time frame is a bit too close to say that he was named after this guy. The movie came out in November 1976, so he would have to be only 13 or 14 when he played for the Saints. Despite the fact that the ’89-90 team was 3-23-2 on the season, I doubt they skated a middle schooler, no matter how skilled he may have been.
Carney Miller (1982-83)
F - Minneapolis, Minn.
Carney could be short for something cool like Carnell, and if it was, he probably should have stuck with that. He could also have gone with Cadillac. Although, it’s probably best that he didn’t, because his career would have been injury plagued after a good rookie campaign. At any rate, carnies are pretty scary, so I guess this name has the intimidation that Buzzy and Bun lack, but it comes up short in the ‘fun’ category, unless you consider this fun.

From the “Fun to Say” Department…
James Boots (1995-98)
G - Eden Prairie, Minn.
I could have put him in the “same name” category, but no one wants to be compared to an anthromorphic monkey in red galoshes. So, I won’t go there. “Boots” is a fun word to say (almost as fun as galoshes, coincidentally), so “James Boots” is automatically a fun name.
Bill Hoolihan (1977-79)
D - Grand Rapids, Minn.
The name “Hoolihan” may only be fun to say because of this movie, particularly this man, and because of this scene. Although, it’s spelled and pronounced very similarly to “hooligan,” which is an excellent word. So, Hoolihan gets the nod as one of the most fun names to say in CSS history.
Joey Martini (2004-09)
F- Calgary, Alta.
I’d be remised if I didn’t include the man with the best name in Division-III hockey the past four seasons. On top of being an All-Academic NCHA team member and a two-time All-NCHA Honorable Mention, Joey was a stand-up guy, and had a great name.
Ralph Throckmorton (1979-80)
F - Bloomington, Minn.
What else is there to say, really? “Throckmorton.” Just say it out loud, and you’ll know why it’s here. Also, Ralph. That’s all I’m going to say.

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So, that about does it for the best names in the history of St. Scholastica hockey. With that out of the way, here is the starting six for our names team – the cream of the crop, the best of the best, the Voice of the Saints All-Time Best Men’s Hockey Names Team:

Name	Pos.	Hometown	Years
Buzzy LaFond	F	International Falls, Minn.	1974-78
Rocky Maas	F	Duluth, Minn.	1989-90
Joey Martini	F	Calgary, Alta.	2005-09
Bill Hoolihan	D	Grand Rapids, Minn.	1977-79
Lyle Rock	D	Duluth, Minn.	1984-86
James Boots	G	Eden Prairie, Minn.	1995-98

Hopefully, everyone enjoyed this latest offering and it brought your some amount of humor on a Friday morning. As for those on the list, I would hope you took no offense as it’s all in good fun. Besides, you’re on the list because you have a great name! What’s so wrong with that?

That’s enough for one week. Five Questions returns Tuesday. Points & Prattle returns Friday. Enjoy your weekend!

Points and Prattle, Vol. 6 - Oct. 23, 2009

Good morning, St. Scholastica!

It’s been a relatively quick week here at CSS Sports Information, but with men’s and women’s soccer home all weekend, it’s about to get busy for at least a few days. Even more importantly, we are just one week away from the start of hockey season. There’s no better feeling in the world.

• With winter sports starting next week, it’s a good thing I finished up the fall coaches in 5 Questions this week when we interviewed head women’s soccer coach Dave Reyelts. The interview went great, and it’s one of my favorites to date. (Who knew I was a poet?) So check it out.
• Dave’s lady Saints had their hands full last week with Crown and Northwestern colleges coming to town, but they escaped with a pair of wins thanks to late-game heroics and excellent goal-tending by sophomore ’keepers Bailey Mahlum and Erin Olejnicak.
• For her efforts, which included stopping three breakaway plays by the Storm in route to a shutout, Olejnicak was named the All-UMAC Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday afternoon. Congrats Erin!
• Also named All-UMAC was volleyball’s Sarah Kurtovich, her second-such honor for setting duties in her freshman campaign. She averaged nine assists per set last weekend as the Saints swept Martin Luther 3-0 and edged Bethany Lutheran 3-1. They now have six straight wins going into tonight’s match-up with Minnesota-Morris, which can be seen on the Cougar Sports Network. And that has nothing to do with this sort of Cougar either.
• Men’s soccer had an interesting night on Wednesday as tempers flared against Augsburg. I wouldn’t say the chippiness was the reason, but the Saints did fall for the first time in five games by a 2-1 final. This weekend, Presentation and Minn.-Morris will get to face a frustrated Saints team, and I don’t envy the position. Goalkeeper Sam Reed is now third in the UMAC in goals against average and save percentage, as well as first in shutouts with seven.
• Football dropped their first conference game of the year last week to perennial conference power Northwestern by a 55-28 score. Senior Chris Henagin had another 100+ yard game on the ground as well as putting a pair of touchdowns on the board.
• I must first apologize because the last time I did one of these, I left out Cross Country. That was an accident on my part, and I want to say that the CC runners are just as important to us as any other sport. That being said, cross country competed at two different events last week, and did quite well for themselves.
• At the Concordia-Moorhead Cobber Invite, senior Tara Connolly ran third for the women who finished second overall while sophomore Jim Linn led the men to a third place finish, running 13th overall.
• Meanwhile, on the complete other side of the state (and even further, I suppose), six runners competed at the Wis.-Oshkosh Brooks Invite. Pat Bigaouette, Nick Mangan, and Tony Bye each ran personal bests that were good for second, fourth, and fifth all-time on the Saints all-time list. Katelyn Meger led the women with a 22nd place finish, while Jessie Lovering and Kristin Gronbeck each ran their season-best time.
• And I don’t know why I keep putting myself through this by posting the link, but I’ve certainly never been more “proud” of my hometown than I was upon reading this story.

While, that’s all for this week. Things will get pretty busy next week as fall and winter sports start to overlap, but I have something special planned to coincide with the start of hockey season, so stay tuned for that.

Have a fabulous weekend,
-jh
Go Saints!