Points & Prattle (Oct. 15, 2010)

Good morning sportsfans,

After a short hiatus for the sake of… being way too busy, Points & Prattle returns to the Voice of the Saints blog! My apologies to anyone who was looking forward to it (Mom?), and I’ll do my best to be more diligent about getting these blogs to you weekly. So, without further ado…

Cross Country
The Saints men and women both ran well in Iowa last week at the Wartburg Invite. This week, they’ll be competing at two meets – half of the team at the Brooks Invitational hosted by the University of Wis.-Oshkosh while the other goes to St. Bonifacius for the Crown Invitational. Now, the points:

• While we were out, Jessie Lovering won the Northland Invite. We never got a chance to properly congratulate here, so congrats, Jessie! She also paced the Saints with a top-10 finish at last week’s Wartburg Invite.
• On the men’s side, Nick Mangan has paced the men for two straight weeks, finishing third at Northland and 12th at Wartburg.
• This week will be the first time that the Saints will score as a team at the Brooks Invitational. Last season, they had six runners run four personal bests and two season-bests at the race. All in a days work…

Football
Saints football stumbled at home for the first time this season last week, but they were tripped up by a powerful Greenville squad, who remain undefeated in the UMAC with the victory. This week, the Saints are on a bye, so there’s not much to say, but let’s do a little house-cleaning from the past two weeks:

• Defensive end Chas Lemon was named to the D3Football.com Team of the Week for Week 5, making five tackles including one TFL and a batted pass. He also made an athletic tip-ball interception which he returned for a program-record 55 yards.
• Alex Thiry and Justin Trautmiller were named UMAC Players of the Week last week. Thiry was 20-26 for 265 yards while throwing four TDs while Trautmiller collected a program-record three interceptions against Crown.
• Next week, the Saints return to action against Minn.-Morris in Cougar country. The Cougars stumbled against Martin Luther last week, but will get a chance to rebound before they face the Saints, taking on Northwestern this week.

Men’s Soccer
It was a roller coaster of emotions for the Saints’ men last weekend, beginning Friday with breaking six offensive program records and ending Sunday with a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to the nationally-ranked University of Wis.-Oshkosh. Here’s the points:

• Cody Sveiven was named UMAC Player of the Week, and rightfully so. He scored 10 points last Friday against Northland, including four assists. Both are program records.
• His accomplishments somehow overshadowed Jermaine Dacres’ five-minute, 57-second natural hat trick, the seventh-fastest in NCAA history, and (obviously) the fastest in program history.
• Altogether, the Saints scored 13 goals in the win, as well as 20 assists, for 46 points. All of those statistics are also program records.
• Sunday, the Saints were forced to play a man-down for 30 minutes after a pair of yellow cards sent a player to the showers early, but played outstanding against a nationally-ranked Wis.-Oshkosh team. I’d argue that the Saints are beyond moral victories at this point, but at the very least, they definitely gained the Titans’ respect in that game.

Volleyball
I had the opportunity to watch last Friday’s volleyball match with Northwestern as a fan, and I must say, the Burns Wellness Commons was pumped up to see the Saints down the dreaded Eagles, and in three sets! The Saints are still at home this weekend, so be sure to head out to the BWC for more action tonight and tomorrow.

• After sweeping the UMAC awards for several straight weeks, the Saints volleyball team has gone a couple weeks without an honor from the conference, and I say: what gives? They just earned two sweeps last weekend, and they’re undefeated in the UMAC… But I’m just saying.
• CSS has not been undefeated through seven conference games since the 1999 season, when they were 8-0. They will look to match that tonight and extend it on Saturday.
• CSS will play Minn.-Morris this evening, and take on Presentation and Wis.-Oshkosh tomorrow afternoon. The CSS Saints are a combined 34-2 all-time against their conference opponents this weekend, including a perfect 19-0 against Presentation. It will be no cake walk, but the Saints definitely have a couple of victories within their grasp.

Women’s Hockey
We’re just 21 days from the start of the CSS women’s hockey season, and the Saints held their first tryout/practice this morning. You can see a photo gallery here.

Women’s Soccer
Since I didn’t link to it in the men’s section, the Saints men and women will both be on the road this weekend against Morris and Presentation (I’m noticing a theme here…), and may lock themselves into a high seed in the UMAC tournament with a pair of victories this weekend. It won’t be easy, but there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic.

• The Saints goalkeepers Bailey Mahlum (four) and Molly Bergmann (two) have shutout opponents for six straight contests, including last week’s 3-0 defeat of Northland College.
• The youth movement continues a-rolling as the Saints have eight first- or second-year players leading the team in scoring this season, none moreso than Shannon Carlson, who leads the team with 15 points via six goals and three assists. Right behind her are Rainee Eby (5 G, 3 A, 13 pts), and Taylor Cunningham (5 G, 1 A, 11 pts).
• The Saints will return home on Tuesday for a game against Augsburg.

Well, that’s all for this week. Thanks for reading.

Points & Prattle (Sept. 24, 2010)

Good morning sportsfans,

Time for an abbreviated edition of Points & Prattle for this week. We'll be back with plenty for next week's Homecoming spectacular, but I've been out of the office so much this week that I should probably get down to business on some actual work around here. So, without further adu, the points:

• Football will look to bounce back from its first loss of the season last week. The trip to Chicago was not as successful as hoped, but it’s a non-conference loss – since we’re heading into conference play this week, it’s time to look forward rather than back.
• Cross Country returns to action this week, as they will run the Roy Griak Invitational. It’s probably the biggest race they’ll run of the year in terms of volume, and probably second in terms of importance to the Conference Championship. It even has its own Facebook page.
• Men’s Soccer continues to roll, earning an overtime win off the foot of Jermaine Dacres on Tuesday afternoon over St. Thomas, their first victory over the Tommies since 1994. The Saints finally return to Saints Field for a six-game homestand starting this weekend.
• Congrats to Rob Johnson for being named UMAC Player of the Week. He was also the St. Scholastica student newspaper’s (The Cable) Athlete of the Week. Congrats, Rob!
• The Saints volleyball team is still off to their hot start, despite going 2-2 last weekend, and open UMAC play this week. The Saints start on the road, but they are road-tested, with no better proof than the fact that Paige Hardy, Nikki Hughes, and Sarah Kurtovich swept the UMAC Player of the Week honors this week.
• Women’s Soccer remained undefeated in conference play last weekend, going 1-0-1 on the weekend. They, too, return home this weekend for an extended stay. While the Saints have lacked offensive firepower, they have still been able to stay off the losing end the past couple of weeks, so things are looking up for the young Saints. We’ll see if they can start a winning streak back home.
• A reminder that I’ll be on the iFan Sports Network this weekend, lending my voice to the Saints soccer broadcasts, provided the weather holds up. You can listen/watch live here.

Well, that is it. I told you it would be abbreviated. I confined all my ramblings into a few short paragraphs. Good job, Joe! Thanks for reading. We’ll see you next week.

Points & Prattle (Sept. 17, 2010)

Good morning sportsfans,

Seems like this week just flew by, and I was barely in the office all week, but I’m here now, which means a delicious new serving of Points and Prattle.

Football
I own a shirt from when football was first announced at CSS which reads “Undefeated since 1912.” Of course, we hadn’t played a game yet either, but as of this writing, they need to re-christen those shirts with “Undefeated in 2010.” That 2-0 record looks pretty good, but CSS has a pretty big test ahead of them. The points:

• I said 2-0, but the Saints are actually 3-0 in 2010 including that victory in the Can-Am Bowl against the Canadian All Stars in May.
• Defensive lineman Chas Lemon was named UMAC Player of the Week on Tuesday after a 2.5-sack performance on Saturday with a forced fumble. Congrats Chas!
• CSS had to come from behind to beat Eureka last week, but they did so handily, scoring 28 unanswered points after being down 21-10. Jake Olson led the offense primarily, but Alex Thiry did get the Saints on the board first with a 31-yard-lob to Travis Nehowig.
• The Concordia-Chicago Cougars are led by NAC co-offensive player of the year Mike Marotta, a senior who had 3,000 yards passing and 26 TDs last season. He already has 5 TDs this season.
• Don’t forget that the Saints can be heard on ESPN Radio 560-WEBC with Charlie Johnson on the call.

Men’s Soccer
What to say about the Saints men? They finally broke through and got their goalie a cushioned lead on Tuesday night, but they continued with the nailbiters on the weekend. It will be interesting to see how the team reacts entering tough conference play this weekend. The points:

• Last Saturday, the Saints held on for a road victory over Carleton, 1-0. Rob Johnson had the lone goal. On Tuesday, CSS fell behind early and then exploded for four goals by four different players to down Northland. Cody Sveiven, Greg Doornink, Jermaine Dacres, and Erik Trochimchuk had the honors.
• Goalkeeper Sam Reed finally got a much-deserved break in the waning minutes of that victory over Northland, as freshman Bryan Nyberg saw his first action of the season. He saw no shots on goal in 20 minutes, but his GAA is a pristine 0.00 for his career now.
• Doornink scored his goal on a penalty kick, so CSS is now 1-1 in that category after being simply diseased when it came to free kicks last season.
• The next test for the Saints will be another road trip, taking on Martin Luther and Bethany Lutheran in conference action this week. The Vikings are off to a hot 3-1-0 start while the Knights are at .500 (1-1-0) so far this season.

Volleyball
It’s pretty easy to be a Saints volleyball fan early in this season, as they are off to a 9-2 start with a victory over the then-16th-ranked team in the country (Carleton, last weekend), but have a tough schedule ahead as they are set to face the new 16th-ranked team in St. Olaf tomorrow afternoon. The points:

• With a four-match sweep, the Saints won the Gustavus Classic last week. Paige Hardy and Anna Zyvoloski were each named to the All-Tournament Team, the second time Hardy has earned that honor this season.
• From SID extraordinaire Jesse Robinson, the Saints have not had nine victories in their first 11 games since 1999.
• Along with being named to the all-tournament team, Hardy was named the UMAC Offensive Player of the Week last week. Her setter, Sarah Kurtovich, was also named Setter of the Week. Congrats, ladies!
• Next stop for the Saints: the Holiday Inn-vitational (clever), hosted by St. Benedict. CSS takes on the Blazers, the Wildcats, the Oles, and the Cougars this weekend (that’s host-CSB, St. Catherine, St. Olaf, and Minn.-Morris). CSS is off to the hottest start at 9-2, but the Oles are the only ranked team in the bunch (Hmm…). The Saints will look to continue their hot streak this weekend.

Women’s Soccer
The Saints women finally got off the schneid on Tuesday night, and the offense appears to be rolling on all cylinders as conference play continues this weekend. Congrats to the women on their first victory of the season, and let’s hope there’s more upcoming in the next two days.

• Taylor Cunningham sparked the Saints offense on Tuesday, scoring two goals in the victory to lead the Saints. A pair of Shannons, Carlson and Lee also netted their first collegiate goals in the victory.
• Megan Marolt had her first collegiate goal taken away as it was later ruled an own-goal on Northland, but she’s still got that score in the minds of Saints fans. Hopefully, she can pick up another this weekend.
• Saints goalkeeper Bailey Mahlum again saw her GAA creep lower with the victory, now at 1.50 on the season. If the Saints can keep on the offensive this weekend, perhaps we can see her first shutout of the season and it will take an even bigger drop.
• Like the Saints men, the women’s team will take on Martin Luther and Bethany Lutheran this weekend. Bethany’s women are also off to a hot start at 4-1-0 while the lady Knights have started the season 1-2-0.

Well, that’s all I got for you on this homeless weekend (no home games, get it?). Follow the Saints on the web at csssaints.com tonight and tomorrow, and hopefully, we can have another successful weekend. Thanks for reading.

Points & Prattle (Sept. 10, 2010)

Good morning sportsfans,

The school year begins, and so does another season of VOTS Points & Prattle. We’re going to have some fun again this semester, though I believe this will be the only returning feature. I’ve got to think up a good idea to keep the video-blogging continuing. I know we never actually got through all of our “Summer Sessions” videos, so maybe we can re-christen that and finish that for the early parts of the semester.

This past week has been rather busy for me, as you can see, which, along with school starting, means I haven’t had much time to devote to the VOTS. But with just a few games on the docket this weekend, it’s time to start thinking about the blog, so without further adu, the 2010-11 debut of Points & Prattle.

Football
I did not have a chance to see the Saints’ football game last weekend, but I look forward to seeing this defensive-minded squad in action soon. It’s my understanding that the preseason billing was correct: a strong defense and an offense that will put up enough points to win, and they did just that, edging Lawrence by one score in their first season-opening victory. Points:

• Nick Thiry blocked a punt, and Don Anderson scooped it up for a touchdown in the waning seconds of the first quarter, and it’s been voted Play of the Week on D3Football.
  Kicking has long been a bane for Saints football, but they seem to have the problem solved:
• Cole Karsky put the Saints up 3-0 followed a five-play, 52-yard drive with a 35-year field goal, the first in Saints history.
• CSS will look to make it two-in-a-row against Eureka College. The Saints faced off against the Red Devils in last season’s Metrodome game, with Eureka rallying to a 21-20 victory, something the Saints will not look to let happen again.
• And please, anyone attending the game on Saturday at Malosky Stadium, I know there’s a joke here, but try to stay classy.

Men’s Soccer
The Saints’ men have started their season 1-2; since I’ve been here, I’ve been used to early season success from the men’s team (they were 8-0-1 before their first loss last season), but I’m not too worried. What I saw on the field was a team that played hard against three strong opponents, and took a couple on the chin. Dealing with adversity can only help in the long run.
Points:

• Despite a losing record, goalkeeper Sam Reed is off to a strong start, with one shutout and a goals against average of 1.00. Sure, it’s more than last season’s 0.65 GAA, but there’s still plenty of time for it to go down.
• The Saints offense did not seem to be hitting on all cylinders offensively until Sunday afternoon when Dustin James and Toby Peter each netted a header, but freshman Ben Wallace scored his first goal of the year, a nice shot, on Friday to give the Saints a chance.
• The Saints play Carleton tomorrow: a tough opponent, but one they can beat, if their veteran leaders bring lead them to victory. Coach Barry Chastey’s squad last faced off against Carleton in 2005, and his only meeting with the Knights was a 2-1 loss.

Volleyball
Despite previous reports (by me) that the Saints volleyball squad went 1-3 last weekend, they actually split 2-2 (sorry, coach Dana Moore). CSS is off to a hot start, despite a slip-up against Augsburg last weekend, they have played strong and only (otherwise) lost to a very strong Saint Mary’s squad. Maybe we shouldn’t be so surprised the Saints got pegged first in the UMAC this season. Points:

• Paige Hardy made the All-Sugar Loaf Classic tournament team last weekend after a stellar weekend offensively and defensively for the Saints, with 40 kills in the Saints first three matches and 22 digs in the finale.
• Sophomore transfer Anna Zyvoloski has lived up to the hype and played strong for the Saints as well, but it’s been a team effort. Here’s some video I shot at last week’s season-opening tournament.
• The Saints compete in the Gustavus Classic this weekend, and looking at the records, CSS is riding the most steam entering the weekend, while Gustavus also has a strong 3-1 record. CSS plays conference rival Martin Luther (in non-conference action), host-Gustavus, Carleton, and Wis.-River Falls.

Women’s Soccer
Zero wins in their first three games looks bad for a Saints squad that was picked to finish first in the UMAC, but CSS has looked strong in those three losses – especially defensively, as Megan Flesvig, freshman Logan Williamson, and the Saints defense have held opponents to just seven shots-on-goal per game, giving their goalkeepers a chance. Points:

• Speaking of goalkeepers, the Saints’ Bailey Mahlum was named to the 2010 Advantage Emblem Cup All-Tournament team for her performance against a strong Concordia-Moorhead squad last Friday.
• Joining her on the team was Andrea Beatt, the only Saint to net a goal on the season so far. With the defense playing as strong as it is, the Saints will need to turn up the offense if they want to move in the right direction.
• The Saints women also take on Carleton on Saturday, so the schedule doesn’t get any easier for CSS this weekend. The Knights knocked off the Saints in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, and CSS is looking for some payback.
• I forgot to mention in the men’s game, but video for both games will be available online here. Of course, it will be lacking my commentary, but you can’t have it all.

Well, that’s all for this week’s Points & Prattle – a little new format (a little better format, I’d argue). Thanks for reading and enjoy the weekend of Saints athletics as well as the start of the NFL season.

SUMMER SESSIONS w/Head Baseball Coach Corey Kemp

Summer Sessions Episode #10

w/Saints Head Baseball Coach Corey Kemp

Summer Sessions keeps trucking along as we continue into the Spring season with Saints head baseball coach Corey Kemp, who is celebrating his anniversary today, so congratulations and Happy Anniversary to Coach Kemp and his wife. And now, onto the video:

-jh

SUMMER SESSIONS w/Head Softball Coach Jen Walter

Summer Sessions Episode #9

w/Saints Head Softball Coach Jen Walter

We have finally made it to the Spring season sports, against all odds. We still have one more Winter sport to do, and that is men's hockey, but we will get that up to you as soon as possible. For now, enjoy a little sit-down with the coach of the defending UMAC Champion Saints softball team, Jen Walter:

-jh

SUMMER SESSIONS w/Head Women's Hockey Coach Jackie MacMillan

Summer Sessions Episode #8

w/Saints Head Women's Hockey Coach Jackie MacMillan

Something a little different today -- we can't very well ask Coach MacMillan offseason questions when she hasn't had her first season yet! So, a special preseason edition of Summer Sessions for all you sportsfans:

-jh

SUMMER SESSIONS w/Women's Basketball Coach Stacy Deadrick

Summer Sessions Episode #7

w/Saints Head Women's Basketball Coach Stacy Deadrick

We're back after a bit of a layoff, I'm sorry to say. Coaches were busy, I was busy, but we're going to be hitting the last of these videos hard and fast during the home stretch to get to all of our coaches before the summer ends. Today, we continue with the winter sports with Coach Deadrick and women's basketball.

-jh

SUMMER SESSIONS w/Men's Soccer Coach Barry Chastey

Summer Sessions Episode #6

w/Saints Head Men's Soccer Coach Barry Chastey

Short and sweet to close out the week with Coach Chastey. We've now finally wrapped up the Fall season of Summer Sessions. Next week, we'll dive back into the winter sports. I would again like to get in two videos, but that is highly dependent on which coaches are around. Thanks for watching, and as always, enjoy:

-jh

SUMMER SESSIONS w/Men's Basketball Coach David Staniger

Summer Sessions Episode #5
w/Saints Head Men's Basketball Coach David Staniger

Summer Sessions continues on into the winter sports with Coach Staniger. This is a very entertaining view -- short and sweet, but fun. We'll be back later this week with another edition, but for now, enjoy:

Thanks for watching!

-jh

Still Alive

Greetings sportsfans,

If you're a dilligent fan of the VOTS and our video blogs, you're probably wondering where the new content is. Well, it's coming -- and soon. It's been a busy past couple of weeks around the office for me as well as for the coaches. Summer Sessions will return on Monday with head men's basketball coach David Staniger, and after weeks of saying the same thing, I will try to have a second video up next week as well. In the meantime, check out our archived Five Questions and Summer Sessions videos to tide you over.

Enjoy your weekend, and I'll see you on the other side.
-jh

SUMMER SESSIONS w/Football Coach Greg Carlson

Summer Sessions Episode #4
w/Saints Head Football Coach Greg Carlson

I promised two videos this week, and I actually delivered. I'm not a miracle worker, but -- pretty close. Without any further adu, enjoy:

425, 344

Thanks for watching!

-jh

SUMMER SESSIONS w/Cross Country Coach Steve Pfingsten

Summer Sessions Episode #3
w/Saints Head Cross Country Coach Steve Pfingsten

Well, our Saints coaches are more difficult to get ahold of then they appear, so we've had a bit of a layoff on Summer Sessions episodes, but I hope to have this and one more up by the end of the week. I hope to see you then! Without further adu, enjoy the video:

Thanks for watching!

-jh

SUMMER SESSIONS w/Women's Soccer Coach Dave Reyelts

Summer Sessions Episode #2
w/Saints Head Women's Soccer Coach Dave Reyelts

After some scheduling conflicts were sorted out, I am proud to finally bring you the second edition of Summer Sessions as I sit down for a quick interview with the Saints Head Women's Soccer Coach, Dave Reyelts. Episode #3 will hopefully be up by the end of the week, so I can get back on schedule. Enjoy:

Thanks for watching!

-jh

SUMMER SESSIONS w/Volleyball Coach Dana Moore

Summer Sessions Episode #1
w/Saints Head Volleyball Coach Dana Moore

Welcome back sportsfans, it's good to have fresh, new content on the Voice of the Saints blog. I think this series is going to be a lot of fun, giving us an inside look at the lives and jobs of the Saints coaches. So, without further adu, enjoy:

Thanks for watching!

-jh

Catching Up! [Updated!]

Good morning sportsfans!


Wow, what a busy past few months I have had. I am sorry to have neglected you for so long, but I return with good tidings. Since my last post, the Saints have captured the UMAC Regular Season Championships in baseball, softball, and men's and women's tennis, as well asPostseason Championships in baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis, and women's track and field. Congrats to all the Saints!




As promised, this summer we will return to do some more "vlogging" with a new video interview series called "Summer Sessions." Similar to "5 Questions," Summer Sessions will give you a look into the offseason work that each of our St. Scholastica coaches goes through each year and an update on what fans can expect from the team moving forward. I hope to start as soon as next week in order to include everyone, so keep an eye out for the series to begin very soon!

If you're not already, follow the Saints on Twitter @csssaints. Sports Information Extraordanaire Jesse Robinson will be at the NCAA Midwest Regional with baseball this week, so expect some updates along the way from Whitewater. Also, be sure to come out to the Saints' spring football game this afternoon if you're in town. Should be a fun time as the Saints prepare for the Can-Am Bowl at Blue Bomber Stadium next week.


Until next time,
-jh

---

UPDATE (6/3/10 @ 11:01 A.M.): "Summer Sessions" will debut tomorrow afternoon with an interview with Saints women's volleyball coach, Dana Moore. So, stay tuned!

Points & Prattle XVIII

It’s officially baseball season, folks, which puts yours truly in a good mood. Spring sports are in full stride, while winter sports are just starting to wind down, which means we have a stuffed file for Points & Prattle this week, which means I should pipe down and get to the stories…

• As previously stated, baseball season is in full swing as the Saints opened their season Tuesday late night into Wednesday morning, taking on the Hamline Pipers. The Saints swept the doubleheader, with senior Steve Gerten leading the way. He was 2-for-6 at the plate with three RBIs while also throwing 5.0 innings while allowing just two runs. Sophomore Tom Juberian also shined on the night, going 5-for-7 with three RBIs of his own. (Full Story)
• The ’Dome opener was mere prologue to what will undoubtedly be the biggest two-game set of the Saints early season as they take on No. 1 St. Thomas on Sunday night. The Tommies are the defending D-III National champs and took three of four games from the Saints last season, but CSS has played them tough in the past and is looking for revenge. (Full Story)
• In a follow-up to their program-best six Saints voted into All-NCHA honors, CSS has put 11 Saints on the All-NCHA Academic Team. Eleven is a bit much to be listing all the names (which is good, I’d say), so you can follow the link to find out who. (Full Story)
• Speaking of men’s hockey, did you miss the debut of Saints Behind the Scenes? It’s not too late, because it’s here:

• Those were happier times for the Saints, who fell this past weekend to Wis.-River Falls in the NCHA Semifinals. The season may not yet be over, as we’ll be forced to wait until Sunday when the NCAA brackets are released, but as was stated earlier, the Saints may need some help in conference championships, including their own, to earn the bid. You can follow the St. Norbert vs. Wis.-River Falls NCHA Championship game on Saturday here (hopefully that works), and view the bracket when it’s announced on USCHO. I know the Saints played well enough to make the tournament, but sadly, they slipped at the wrong time and have left it up to a committee to decide their fate. Only time will tell.
• On to more optimistic news, the Saints swept the UMAC Indoor Track & Field championships last weekend, so congrats to the men and women, and also took home 23 All-UMAC awards. Not a bad week, here’s the full list for men and women.
• No rest for the weary or the honored, because track sends players to the Pointer Qualifier in Stevens Point this weekend.
• The Saints women’s tennis team defeated St. Kate’s on the weekend, 7-2, improving to 4-3 going into their Spring trip next week. Junior Callee Conda, senior Kelly Ross, and freshman Milly Che Leon each had wins in singles and in doubles on the day. (Full Story)
• Their male counterparts did not fair as well, falling to St. Cloud State to drop to 0-4, but looking forward, they, too, have the sunshine state ahead of them, where hopefully, they can turn the season around. (Full Story)

The next week will be quite quiet around these parts, but we’ll have some blog content coming your way, as teams prepare for Spring trips and I prepare to hang out in tropical Duluth for the week. Best of luck to those teams that are in action this weekend, and I hope everyone can get out and enjoy the weekend, as I plan to! Hopefully this half decent Duluth weather holds up! Take it easy, all!

-jh

Points and Prattle XVII

Sportsfans!

What an exciting week it has been for CSS athletics. Starting last weekend with the epic NCHA Quarterfinal series to last night’s UMAC Semifinal upset. And the excitement doesn’t end here. There’s plenty more to go around this weekend. It’s a jam-packed Points and Prattle, so let’s get straight into it!

• Let’s start at the end of the week as CSS men’s basketball shocked the world (or at the very least, the Upper Midwest) in their upset last night of UMAC Regular Season Champ Northwestern in the semifinal round. This came off the heels of another upset of sorts on Tuesday, when they defeated fourth-ranked Presentation in the opening round.
• Junior Danny Schmitz led the Saints with 26 points last night, while senior Max Dibrell added 19 of his own as the Saints defeated the top-seeded Eagles 75-71. (Full Story)
• In a year that started with a lot of question marks, it’s even more exciting to see the Saints travel to Morris this Saturday to take on the Cougars for the conference Tournament Championship. I’ll be rooting them on from afar, having to work in town.
• Speaking of conference championships, the UMAC Indoor Track & Field championship will take place this weekend, right here in Duluth at the BWC! It’s your last chance to cheer on the Saints at home, and more importantly, it’s your last chance to do it without the elements coming in to play, so be sure to stop in tomorrow, starting at Noon. (Full Story)
• Only one other team is in action in Duluth this week, and that’s men’s hockey, taking on River Falls in the NCHA semis.. I’ve already spilled some ink (is that term even used anymore?) on the subject, so I’ll spare us all the trouble and direct you to the web site for all the info. (Full Story)
• I honestly feel like any of the four teams could be competing in the finals next week, but I know what I’m rooting for. (Hint: it involves hockey in Duluth next Friday).
• One of our winter teams has finished their season, and that is the women’s basketball team. They had a very exciting season, and their Tuesday night loss to Presentation is nothing to hang their heads about. Not surprisingly, senior Kirsten Haukom led the Saints with 19 points. She’ll finish her career with 1,086 points, 518 rebounds, 242 assists, and 187 steals. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. (Full Story)
• It’s always best to focus on the good of a season, and there was plenty of that for the Saints women, who finished third in the conference. Still, there’s no shame in losing your final game of the season against a team that also upset the top-ranked team in the conference last night. Congrats to the lady Saints on an exciting season, and I look forward to seeing what the young team can accomplish next season as well.
• The UMAC Coaches' Polls for baseball and softball came out this week, and the Saints were picked to repeat in softball. It’s hard to argue with the success the Saints had last season, and they’ll be returning much of the squad from 2009 for this season. It wasn’t a clean sweep, but seven out of eight votes ain’t bad. (Full Story)
• Meanwhile, Saints baseball was chosen to finish second for the first time in over a decade. My Twerps already may have a feeling how I feel about the voting, but I’ll wait to see how the season plays out before passing judgment. As of now, I have a hard time betting against the defending champs. (Full Story)
• It’s been a rough first couple of weeks for the Saints tennis teams, but they’re back on the court this weekend with a chance to rebound. The men are at St. Cloud State for a tournament on Saturday while the women will take on St. Kate’s in St. Paul.
• Last, but not least, I need to send a little love the way of the women’s cross country team. CSS senior Katelyn Meger has been named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team for the second consecutive year. (Full Story)
• This is completely unrelated to anything, but I’m always intrigued by news directly connected to social media. Choose your words wisely, AKA emotions and emails don’t mix.

What have we learned today? It’s a great time to be a Saint, an even better time to be a fan of the Saints, and a pretty terrible time to be a movie theater VP. So, that’s all for this week, but there’s more to come next week. So, stay tuned!

Take it easy,

-jh

Hello sportsfans,

If you are a sports fan like myself, this past week has been flooded with coverage on scandals and controversy, and while I’d like to say the VOTS will be free of that… I have to report a robbery before I get to Points and Prattle, that’s right, CSS men’s hockey senior Jordan Chong had something stolen from him this morning, and that is the NCHA Player of the Year Award. Of course, that’s just one man’s opinion, and I may be a little biased, but… the stats speak for themselves.

• On a lighter note, the Saints still led the way in conference awards today, as Chong, Dustin DeGagne (Sr.-Winnipeg, Man.), and Zach Kleiman (Sr.-Ottawa, Ont.) were all named to the NCHA First Team. Honorable Mentions include Jordan Baird (Sr.-Port McNeill, B.C.), Austin Brown (So.-Lathrup Village, Mich.), and Jeremy Dawes (So.-Winnipeg, Man.).Congrats to all the Saints who were honored!
• A lot of ink has been spilled about the Saints’ duel with the UWS Yellowjackets this weekend, so I’ll leave it at that and point you in the direction of csssaints.com for previews.
• Coincidentally, my job has also been done for me in previewing men’s and women’s basketball this weekend. They’ll close out the regular season on the road, and you can find out more about it here (men) and here (women).
• Track and field had an indoor meet last night, up in the lovely city of Bemidji, which means they travelled through that state park that goes on forever, but that’s rather irrelevant. While the event consisted mostly of Div.-II schools, the CSS women still won three events, including a top-8 sweep in the 400-meter dash. Now, that’s cool.
• The Saints will return to the track and/or field in eight days at the UMAC Indoor Championship, so they have plenty of time to rest up and prepare.
• One last track note, and that is a congratulations to freshman Jackie Thelen (Randall, Minn.), who was named UMAC Athlete of the Week for track last week for breaking three school records. Not bad.
• Softball opened their season this past week with a split of a doubleheader against Wis.-Stout. We saw some impressive performances, but thanks to rather strange scheduling they won’t return to the field for about a month. Nonetheless, they know what they need to work on before their Spring trip to Tucson, Ariz. Highlights included a complete game by Jenn Falk (Jr.-Altona, Minn.) and a two-run homer by Kristin Swartz (Sr.-Hermantown, Minn.).
• It’s been warmer the past few days in Duluth, which reminds me that we’re nearing baseball season: 11 days before the ’Dome opener.

I think that’s it for this week. I swear we’ll get back on track soon with 5 Questions. We’ll have to preview spring sports soon, so stay tuned for that. I hope to see you all at hockey this weekend, and as always, keep current at CSSsaints.com.

Take it easy,
-jh

CSS vs. UWS: NCHA Playoffs Preview

If you're a fan of mine (Mom, that's you!) and you're itching for some midweek writing by me OR if you're a fan of the CSS men's hockey team (that's everybody else), check out this NCHA Peters Cup Quarterfinals preview at csssaints.com.

That is all.

See you Friday with more,
-jh

Points and Prattle, Vol. XV

Good afternoon, sportsfans!

It’s a lovely, sunny day in Duluth – perfect for blogging. So, let’s get into the Points & Prattle.

• There’s a tie atop the NCHA this morning, after the Saints downed conference rival Superior last night to find themselves in a virtual tie at 26 points with St. Norbert College. The issue, being, of course that the Saints need more points than Norbert to claim the championship due to tiebreakers falling in favor of the Green Knights.
• Therefore, the scenario is pretty simple for the Saints: CSS MUST win tonight against Eau Claire if they want any chance of capturing the NCHA Regular Season title, and from there, they need help: Norbert can not escape the weekend with more than one point (two losses or a loss and a tie), so it’s time to hop on the bandwagon (for one weekend) of Wis.-Stout and Wis.-River Falls.
• Why should I preview basketball when it’s already been done? Chris Doran has the scoop on our men’s and women’s teams heading into their final home games of the regular season.
• I will mention this programming note, which is that the womens’ game tonight will air on My9, locally, and (as always) on the iFan Sports Network.
• Three Saints earned UMAC Athlete of the Week honors this past week for their part in an impressive showing by their teams: Tennis’ Katie Motley (Sr). went 2-0 in both singles and doubles matches this weekend as the Saints downed St. Thomas and Hamline. On the men’s side, Jacob Engelstad (So.) was honored after winning both of his singles matches, including being the only CSS men’s player to get a victory against St. Thomas Saturday. Looking forward, the teams do not return to the courts until next Saturday, so we’ll wait on that.
• Last, but not least, track and field freshman Justin Hanson earned his third UMAC Athlete of the Week honor after breaking three school records at Saturday’s Border Battle at UWS.
• 2009 Player of the Year Kristin Swartz (Sr.) and the defending UMAC Champion Saints softball team are scheduled to start their season next Tuesday in Rosmount, Minn., taking on Wis.-Stout under the dome.
• Saints Baseball is still 18 days away, but that sunshine I spoke of earlier is giving me spring fever. So close, so far away.
• I think that’s all we’ve got! It’s been a relatively quiet week around here, but with Spring sports on the horizon, things are about to pick up.

So, enjoy the weather, enjoy the games. Take care of yourselves, and each other.

And a happy Valentine’s Day on Sunday,
-jh

Points and Prattle, Vol. 14

Good afternoon, sportsfans!

In honor of tonight’s WhiteOut, today’s Points & Prattle will be delivered exclusively in white text.

If you actually highlighted this to read it, you get one gold star.

... Just kidding.

• The No.-4 Saints return to their home ice tonight after two weeks on the road, and St. Scholastica’s Connectica is sponsoring a Whiteout which includes free t-shirts. Supposedly, it’s the college’s social media headquarters on the web, but I noticed one site in particular missing from their archives. I’m just saying.
• The important of tonight’s game stretches beyond free t-shirts (shocking, I know), because the Saints opponent is St. Norbert – the team immediately ahead of them in the USCHO poll (No. 3) and in the NCHA standings. With three points separating the two teams with four games to go in the regular season schedule, the Saints could clinch the tiebreaker and climb within one-point of their first NCHA Regular Season title.
• It won’t come easy, and the Saints will need stellar play from their two-time, defending NCHA Player of the Week goalkeeper, senior Zach Kleiman, if they want to take another game from the Green Knights, who they split with in Green Bay earlier this season. The Saints have not defeated the Knights twice in a season since the 1992-93 campaign when they swept three meetings against St. Norbert.
• With a win against St. Norbert, the Saints will have plenty of reason for optimism: their remaining schedule will be played entirely in the Twin ports, and they are undefeated against their remaining three opponents this season, including Wis.-Stevens Point, who they host Saturday.
• Men’s and women’s basketball take the long trip to Minn., Morris and Presentation over the weekend, after splitting with Northland last weekend. Freshman Brett Tester led the men to a victory with 18 points, while senior Kirsten Haukom scored 10 points in the women’s loss.
• MILESTONE WATCH: Haukom needs just 10 more points to become the 11th player in program history to register 1,000 career points. She ought to accomplish it this weekend, so let us be the first to congratulate her on that impressive feat.
• The men have nothing quite as exciting to watch for this weekend, but they did sweep the PC Saints and Morris Cougars when the teams traveled to the BWC last month, so they have plenty of reason for optimism.
• For our Nordic ski teams, junior Waylon Manske and sophomore Eleanor Magnuson continued their succss with another impressive weekend at Telemark. Coach Salmela called Manske’s weekend the best of his career, so read about that here and here, and Magnuson and the women here and here.
• Since we couldn’t have Coach Salmela on for 5 Questions this week, and he will soon be off to the Olympics, here’s a link to an interview I did with him about that very subject earlier this school year.
• Saints sophomore Wendell Booth met the preliminary qualifying mark for the NCAAs in the long jump last weekend, for the second straight season. For his 22-ft-9-inch jump, Booth won the event and was named UMAC Men’s Indoor Track & Field performer of the week. Sophomore teammate Alec Seeley broke her own previous school record, tossing it a distance of 38’-3.5” (11.67m) to win the event and her own UMAC Athlete of the Week honors.
• Spring must be in the air because tennis season begins tomorrow. The teams will both play host to the University of St. Thomas, starting with the women at 1:30 pm.
• As for our other spring sports, softball and baseball begin in 10 and 25 days, respectively, so look out for their presence in these blog posts coming soon.

That’s all for today… if you’re a student reading this, enjoy Snowball tomorrow evening and don’t be a fool about it. If you’re just a fan, then I’ll see you at the hockey games. Enjoy the weekend!

Take it easy,
-jh

Zero Questions

Due to circumstances beyond my control, there will be no "5 Questions" today. I'll see what I can do for later in the week, but if not, we'll see you on Friday for Points & Prattle.

Take it easy,
Joe

Points & Prattle #13

Good afternoon, sportsfans!

The days go slow, but the week goes quick. It’s Friday, and that means that it’s time for another exciting edition of Points & Prattle. There’s plenty to cover, so let’s get straight into it.

• The Saints split their weekend UMAC series last week in men’s and women’s basketball as I made my debut behind the mic for PA duty, so the women and men still sit at fourth and fifth, respectively, in the conference.
• The stars of the weekend for basketball were junior Chris Hamers, on the men’s side, and freshman Bri Allen for the women. Hamers went 7-for-19 from three-point land, netting 43 points on the weekend. Allen was a perfect 9-for-9 on free throws and earned 29 points in two games.
• The two teams are back in action tomorrow afternoon against conference rival Northland. The LumberJills are a perfect 7-0 atop the UMAC, while the ’Jacks, at 2-5, sit 7th on the men’s side.
• More intriguing, the two coaches for the men’s game will be sporting sneakers on the sideline as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits & Sneakers Weekend. For more information, check out the Coaches vs. Cancer web site and then pull on your favorite Nikes and get out to the game tomorrow.
• The Saints men’s hockey team bounced back to the No. 5 spot in the USCHO poll after a sweep of conference rival Wis.-Eau Claire last weekend, though it did not come without tribulations. Early in the second period, sophomore goaltender Brennan Poderzay was knocked out of the game, forcing senior Zach Kleiman to come in. Kleiman performed admirably, not allowing a goal on the night as his Saints rallied from two down to earn a 5-2 victory.
• Saturday, Kleiman again stepped up and earned the victory, allowing just one goal as the Saints completed the sweep. For his impressive weekend, Kleiman was named NCHA Player of the Week. Congrats, Zach!
• The Saints Nordic ski teams again had an impressive weekend at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis, with Waylon Manske and Mason Bacso leading the men while Julia Curry and Eleanor Magnuson led the Saints women. Click these links for more.
• Nordic returns to the snow tomorrow afternoon for a two-day event in Telemark, Wis.
• Accolades continue to roll in for the Saints’ indoor track and field team as again they swept the UMAC Player of the Week awards. Justin Hanson won on the men’s side after breaking school records in both the 60- and 200-meter hurdles at the Blizzard Open. Freshman Rachel Miller broke her own team triple jump record for the third consecutive meet at 35-feet, 4.5 inches at the same event. I could not dream of triple-jumping that far (or running hurdles, for that matter). Congrats to both Justin and Rachel!
• I told you last week that we were on the cusp of spring sports appearing in P&P, and I did not lie: the Saints baseball team got some good news over the week when they learned that they were starting the year ranked No. 22 on the d3baseball.com preseason poll. On the schedule, the Saints are slated to face two ranked teams: No. 25 St. Olaf and No. 1 St. Thomas. The Saints stole one last year against the eventual-National Champion Tommies. They’ll meet up again on Mar. 7 on Mall of America Field for a doubleheader.
• Last, but certainly not least, it was announced that the Saints led the way in Fall Academic All-UMAC honors. Click here for the entire list and here for just the Saints. Congrats to all 70 of our student athletes who earned the honor.

That’s all for now, folks. “5 Questions” returns next Monday with Nordic Ski coach Chad Salmela, just days before he heads off to Vancouver for the Olympics! So, keep an eye out for that! And we’ll see you and your Nikes at the basketball doubleheader tomorrow.

Take it easy,
-jh

Points & Prattle, Vol. 12 - Happy 51st Blog post.

Good afternoon, sportsfans!

Here's some classic moments in blogging history:

• Men’s & Women’s Basketball tip off our CSS weekend this week because they’re at home. There’s very little for me to say because Chris Doran has a pair of great previews here (men’s) and here (women’s).
• The Saints men come into the weekend as winners of three of their last four since the calendar turned to 2010, most recently falling to conference foe Northland College on Saturday. For the fourth straight game, Danny Schmitz led CSS in scoring, netting 17 points in a losing effort. The Saints men will look to turn their fortunes around tonight.
• The Saints women also come into the weekend off a loss to Northland, with Kirsten Haukom leading the way with 13 points. The Saints have split their last four games, picking up a win and then dropping a game consecutively, so they might be on track for a victory tonight (and, hopefully, a snap of that streak by picking up another Saturday).
• Last week was a disappointing one for all the Saints’ team-sports with the hockey team taking one on the chin Friday night before having a victory stolen from them and settling for a tie on Saturday. Words can not describe my frustration with the officiating on the entire weekend, but it’s best we leave it at that in fear of losing my job. Brennan Poderzay continued to shine in net both nights, and the Saints had 10 players with points on Saturday, so there are some positives to take out of the weekend.
• The Saints, now 7th in the USCHO poll, will need to rebound quickly as they travel to Wis.-Eau Claire this weekend for another conference series with a lot on the line. As always, you can catch the game locally on ESPN Radio 560-WEBC, and online here.
• Track & Field continued success in their indoor season as Peter Drinkwine and Tara Connolly shined at the Super 8 Invite in Bemidji, earning UMAC Player of the Week honors for their efforts. Drinkwine leaped a personal-best 42’-2.25” (12.86m) in the triple jump to finish second and Connolly was the only CSS performer to win her event as she took first place in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 3:18.08 seconds.
• The Saints Nordic team, led by the Bacso brothers (Mason and Kasey), successfully defended their Minnesota College Championship for the third straight season on the men’s side. The Saints women also earned back-to-back titles, getting off to a strong start by Julia Curry who finished third to lead CSS.
• Spring sports started up their preseason this week (at least in the form of captain’s practices), just a month away from opening day for baseball and softball and a couple weeks for tennis. We’ll be busy, busy around here soon as well, which isn’t so bad for me. I’ll have more to write about.
• Another reminder that I’ll be performing PA duties at the basketball games for the first time ever this weekend, so it will be an interesting experience for all of us.
• It’s a new semester, so if you’re new to the blog, be sure to follow us on Twitter @thejoehansen and @csssaints. Or, if Facebook is more your thing, you can become a fan of the Saints here.

That’s all for today. Hope to see you at the games this weekend, and if not, enjoy the NFL Championship games on Sunday - and when you get home from basketball tonight, tune in to Conan.

Take it easy,
-jh

Welcome Back, Blogger.

Good afternoon sportsfans!

It’s a fresh semester at CSS. The students have returned, class is in session, and the Voice has returned to the Web.

As you can see, I’ve refreshed the look and feel of the page. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it just yet, so things may change again, but for now… this is what we’ve got.

I’ve got another exciting semester planned for you all, including the return of 5 Questions. We have a few more Winter sports to hit before we hit the final stretch – the Spring sports – and then we will have to find something else to entertain the masses. I have a few things planned that I think will be interesting, so stay tuned for that.

Points & Prattle will return this Friday afternoon, so mark your calendars.

Another thing to mark on your calendars (shameless plug incoming), is that I will be the “Voice” of this weekend’s basketball games, taking over public address duty in the stead of our regular PA man, Dave Cook. I have big shoes to fill, but I’ll try my best. Stop by and say hello if you’re there.

That’s all for today. Tune in on Friday for the return of Points and Prattle.

Take it easy,
-jh