Points & Prattle: The Return (Feb. 4, 2011)

Settling in to a new semester and working extensively in the office these last few months of my collegiate career, I figured it might be time to get back in the saddle here on the Voice of the Saints. Fall 2010 was such a hectic semester for me; the site sort of got left in the dust, but I’m back and ready to make up for lost time, starting with the first Points & Prattle of the new year. I’ll try to roll out some more original content as it comes to me, but for now, this will suffice. On to the points:

• This winter hasn’t been the easiest of seasons for a St. Scholastica sports fan, but there’s plenty of time left for our basketball and hockey teams to make up ground in the UMAC and NCHA, respectively.
• At the same time, there’s plenty of success and excitement when it comes to the Saints Nordic ski and Track & Field teams lately. So, we can take solace in that.
• Men’s hockey will be in action on the road this week. They’re in the cellar of the NCHA right now, but can make a move by defeating Wis.-Stevens Point and St. Norbert this weekend. The Saints had a rough time with the Pointers in the opening weekend, but revenge will be on their minds Friday night. As for St. Norbert, CSS split a weekend series with the Knights earlier this year, so winning the season series is a distinct possibility. (Preview now available)
  
• The problem for men’s hockey this season, from a fan’s point of view, is certainly consistency. Friday night, the Saints put on one of their most impressive showings of the season in defeating Wis.-Stout, and then came back Saturday night and fell in a close game to a beatable Wis.-River Falls team. Consistency will be key as the Saints look to improve playoff positioning down the stretch.
• On the same note, the Saints women’s hockey team is on the outside looking in at the NCHA O’Brien Cup tournament bracket with just a few weeks to go, sitting just two points out of eighth place. After a much deserved bye week to close out January, the Saints take on the sixth-ranked Wis.-Stevens Point Pointers at home this weekend. To say these are must-win games would be an understatement, but CSS will continue to take on the teams just ahead of them in the standings as they travel to St. Norbert and host Wis.-Eau Claire in the weeks to come.
• Yours truly will continue to be the voice of Saints women’s hockey this weekend, available on the iFan Sports Network as well as on demand at csssaints.com. Here’s the proper links: Live, On-Demand.
• The Saints men’s basketball team seems to be heating up at the right time as winners of five of their past seven against conference opponents, including a home win on Tuesday against Northland. CSS is now fourth in the UMAC which sets them up for hosting a playoff game, but if I know Coach Staniger’s squad, they’re looking for more than that.
• CSS takes on Northwestern and Crown this weekend, a pair of teams they split with earlier in the season (defeating Crown 83-67 while falling at Northwestern 64-79). It’s worth noting that 83 point vs. Crown is currently a season-high scoring output for the Saints.
• On the women’s side, the Saints have won three of their last five, including a 66-56 defeat of the LumberJills on Tuesday night. CSS is sitting fifth in the UMAC currently, and continuing their current path should land them a playoff spot, but CSS will look to improve on their 4-4 record in their second trip through the conference schedule.
• Of course, CSS will also take on Northwestern and Crown like their male counterparts. Just like the men, the Saints women split against the Storm (W 75-39) and the Eagles (L 54-69) and put out their season-high scoring output against Crown.
• I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know much about Nordic skiing, but I do know how to read (thankfully). So, I know that Jeremy Hecker and Waylon Manske impressed for CSS over the weekend on the men’s side, while Julia Curry led the way on the women’s side. Keep up the good work, Saints!
• Heading back indoors, CSS track & field athletes keep finding themselves on the list of weekly UMAC honors, this week led by Cyrus Beckwith and Alec Seeley. School records fell on Friday as Beckwith broke his own pole vault record and Justin Hanson finished second in the 55-meter hurdles.
• On the women’s side, Maggie Bair matched Hanson’s feat of breaking the 55-meter hurdle record. Seeley earned her UMAC honors in winning the weight throw event on the evening.
• The Track teams will both be traveling across the bridge this week to compete in Superior at the Border Battle. Preview Now Available!
  
• I spend an obscene amount of time on Twitter and surfing the internet (never at work, of course), here’s some of the winning highlights of the past few weeks:
• Did Peter, Bjorn and John (http://tinyurl.com/48jdd5a) rip off the Muppets (http://tinyurl.com/25dt246)? I say yes.
• A “comprehensive, totally understandable explanation of what’s happening in Egypt:” http://bit.ly/eJla66 Mind you: this is a tad bit outdated now, but if you’re less in the know than me, it might help you catch up.
• And finally: is Facebook making us sad? http://www.slate.com/id/2282620 -- a very interesting read for the Facebook-obsessed.

That’s all for now, folks. I hope you enjoyed the return of P&P for the week. We’ll be back next week to take another look at the playoff picture for the Saints as well as (hopefully) some more intriguing non-CSS related fun. Thanks for reading!

EDIT: 2/4/11, 11:23 AM Added preview links for men's hockey and track & field.

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

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

Points & Prattle, Vol 11 - Dec. 11, 2009

Voice of: Joe Hansen

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Good morning, St. Scholastica!

It’s that time of the week. The time when I try to remember what happened during the week and what is upcoming. However, this week, the energy is on high because apparently, there’s some interesting hockey games taking place this weekend. I can’t remember exactly. Maybe we’ll explore that more later.

• A trio of Shout Outs!!! This week for you, from Coaches Deadrick, Salmela, and Wick. Coach Staniger is still to come today.
• Coach Deadrick’s squad, the CSS women’s basketball team, had a pretty good week, to put things lightly. Now 4-5 overall, the Saints hit the century mark in a 101-67 victory over North Central and shot a program-best 60 percent from the field. They also set a new program record for assists with 29 and had 16 players score. Quite a game, quite a game. They’re off until Monday, when they take on Wis.-Superior across the border.
• After being off last week when their meet was cancelled due to lack of snow, the Saints Nordic ski squad is back in action this week in Ironwood, Mich. for the USSA Early Season Classic. While Duluth finally got some snow this week, I’m sure they’re excited to get back on the trails!
• The CSS men’s basketball team has had a tough week, losing two games on the weekend by a combined seven points and then getting ousted in their gym by North Central on Tuesday. But tomorrow, they will look to turn their fortune around against Carleton College. You can catch a preview of the game here, written by fellow CSS student intern Chris Doran.
• I feel bad having forgotten about them last week when they were hosting a meet, but men’s and women’s track & field is underway with their indoor season, and two Saints already received UMAC honors. The first conference Players of the Week for Track & Field are freshman Justin Hanson and sophomore Alec Seeley. Hanson broke the 55m hurdles record at the BWC, while Seeley won the shot put with an 11.06m throw.
• While not playing games for some 300 days, the CSS women’s hockey team has over half of their team recruited, or so says coach Jackie MacMillan, including some local products.
• Last, but certainly not least, there is a men’s hockey game tonight, but I think you already knew that. I’ll be there, you should be, too. It’s going to be a packed house, but I assure you: that makes the atmosphere that much better. Get there early.
• Congrats to Jordan Chong on being named the “third star” of the week in the NCHA, scoring the short-handed game-winner last Friday night against St. Norbert, and another short-handed tally on Saturday.
• There’s also a hockey game tomorrow, but that one, you don’t have to be at Mars Lakeview Arena to enjoy (although, as I said, it will be that much better if you are). Saturday’s game will be broadcast on My9, and as always, both nights, you can listen to the games on ESPN Radio560-WEBC.

That’s all for today. Just one more blog before we take a much-needed holiday break. Hopefully, I come up with something interesting between now and Tuesday. But until then, take it easy and enjoy your weekend.

Go Saints!
-jh

This Weekend, D-III Hockey Rules the Northland

Voice of: Joe Hansen

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Friday night is fight night at Mars Lakeview Arena.

No, Duluth’s resident boxer Zach “Jungle Boy” Walters won’t be in the house (at least not as anything more than a spectator), and this fight will take place in a rink rather than a ring.

It’s all because of the “Bridge Battle” which will go down this weekend, as the St. Scholastica Saints host the Wis.-Superior Yellowjackets in a weekend conference series for the first time in over a decade.

The Saints enter the weekend coming off a weekend split with the top team in the conference, St. Norbert College, taking their first conference loss of the season while earning an impressive overtime victory over the then-No. 3 team in the country.

“We were happy to have left with two points that other teams haven’t gotten,” said Saints Head Coach Mark Wick. “St. Norbert had three sweeps so far this season, and we took one. But at the same time, we always tell our guys not to be satisfied. We can always be better.”

The Yellowjackets also split their weekend series against Wis.-Stevens Point last week in exciting fashion, but not without cost: a post-game tussle with the Pointers has ’Jacket senior Chris Wilson and sophomore Tom Budziakowski disqualified from Friday night’s game. Wilson is currently tied for the team lead in scoring with 14 points on the season.

“Even with Chris [Wilson] out, they still have talent,” said Wick. “You can’t look at it like that, that they are at disadvantage missing him. Both teams will have guys out of the line-up, but all the teams in the conference, including us, have to have depth.”

The Saints, now second in the conference and just six points behind idle St. Norbert, could make up serious ground in this make-or-break weekend series, but it won’t come easy.

It’s no secret that the Saints have had their fair share of difficulties against the Yellowjackets, sporting a 29-71-5 program record against UWS which includes a 12-year-long winless streak, but the Saints are 2-2-1 against their cross-town rivals in their past five meetings including a dominant 7-2 victory in front of the Saints Army at Mars last Jan. 17.

“One of the things we, as a coaching staff, stressed was putting the past behind us,” said Wick. “These guys weren’t part of the losses, and they bought into the fact that we should be able to compete with anybody.”

Despite losing ten players from last year’s NCAA Tournament team, the Saints have picked up right where they left off with a group of 13 newcomers including 12 freshman stepping up and filling holes.

One question mark that was quickly answered for the Saints in 2009 was who would play goaltender. Losing all-NCHA standout Steve Bounds, the Saints had four goalies with little to no experience entering this season, but they have performed admirably.

Senior Zach Kleiman and sophomore Brennan Poderzay have combined for a goals against average of 2.64 while stopping 89 percent of opposing shots for 236 saves.

“It’s a nice situation. Both of them have played really well,” Wick said. “At some point, we might have to make a decision, but right now, we have some blemishes on our record, but none of them were because of goaltender playing. Rotating goalies isn’t always a bad thing, and they’ve done good with it.”

The Yellowjackets found themselves in basically the same position as they graduated all-conference goaltender Chad Beiswinger after last season, but they have had trouble finding consistency as all four goalies on their roster have seen ice time.

Most recently, freshman Garrett Tinkham has fallen into the starting role in four of the ’Jackets’ last five games, earning wins against Wis.-Eau Claire and Marian as well as the split last weekend with Stevens Point. Tinkham has a 3.01 GAA and has stopped 89 percent of the shots he has faced.

CSS is known to pepper the net like no other team though, averaging over 35 shots per game compared to 23-per for past Superior opponents and 28-per for UWS itself, which will no doubt prove to be a challenge for the young goaltender.

Despite that, UWS is second in the league in scores with 44 while CSS has 33 goals as a team this season.

“That’s an interesting statistic, I didn’t know that,” said Wick. “We’re not going to be concerned as long as we’re getting shots. Sometimes, it goes in streaks. Eventually, they’ll find the net.”

The Saints are in the bottom half of the conference in power play efficiency, while Superior sits atop the league, making good on one quarter of all man-advantages. Both teams are below the curve in penalty killing with success rates of 75.5 percent for CSS and 83.3 for UWS.

Special teams play will likely be huge in this showdown, and what the Saints lack in efficiency they make up for in discipline. They have the fewest penalty minutes in the league, while UWS has the second-most, including the post-game antics after last Saturday night’s game.

“We actually had this conversation as a coaching staff earlier,” said Wick.”We have the fewest penalties, but also the fewest opportunities. We talk a lot about discipline and how we’re at our best when it’s five-on-five. We have the fewest penalties, but again, we’re still not satisfied. We still need to get better on penalty kill and powerplay.”

Whatever it comes down to, fans can expect one thing this weekend in Duluth: great college hockey. The Saints and Yellowjackets always put on a show, and this weekend should be no different.

Both Friday and Saturday night games begin at 7:05 p.m., and Coach Wick has just three words of advice to those looking to see the game in what should be a full house at Mars Lakeview:

“Get there early.”

Points & Prattle, Vol 10 -- Dec. 4, 2009

Voice of: Joe Hansen

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Good morning, Saints!

Time for another edition of Points & Prattle here on Voice of the Saints. It’s been a relatively slow week around here, and it’s a home-game-less weekend, which means plenty of time for my plethora of homework to be done… Sigh. But before we get to that, let’s look back at the week that was here at CSS.

• The No. 7 Saints men’s hockey team had an impressive Thanksgiving weekend, defeating Salem State on Friday night thanks to a goal from senior Jordan Baird in OT. Salem then went on to down the then-No. 1 team in the country, St. Norbert, on Saturday afternoon 3-0. CSS then went on to handily defeat Lawrence University Saturday evening by a 7-3 final, which included the first goal of the season for senior Jordan Chong. In the end, it moved the Saints up one spot from eight and moved Norbert down to third going into this weekend’s conference showdown.
• The Saints will need to take at least a couple points from St. Norbert this weekend if they want to slow down the conference leaders, who, at 6-0-0 in-conference with 12 points, is at least five points better than its next highest competitor and six ahead of CSS.
• Baird was named the third star of the weekend in the NCHA for his game-winner.
• Comparatively, the men’s basketball team had a relatively disappointing weekend, facing off against border rival Wis.-Superior on Saturday afternoon and falling by a 78-59 final. The Saints are 1-3 on the young season, but have plenty of reason for optimism entering conference play against Northwestern and Crown colleges this weekend.
• Check out Coach Staniger’s Shout-Out!!! to the fans this week here.
• The CSS women’s basketball team also had a disappointing weekend, falling in two games at the Wis.-Stout Tournament to the host-Blue Devils as well as Wartburg College. Despite the one-sided scores, senior Kirsten Haukom still had a good weekend, just barely missing a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds on Saturday afternoon.
• Last, but certainly not least, our Nordic ski team enjoyed a week in Yellowstone last weekend, and finally got to see some snow. I go to junior Mason Bacso for my Nordic ski updates, and he says it was a successful week which included a lot of training, a lot of fun, and the movie “Scent of a Woman” on Thanksgiving.
• Of those skiers who did compete, junior Julia Curry and freshman Kasey Bacso led the women’s and men’s teams, respectively. For more info, check out the write-ups here and here.

I have nothing to shamelessly plug this week, so that might be all we have for this go-around. Next week, expect a write-up previewing next week’s hockey Bridge Battle against UWS on Tuesday-ish and another P&P on Friday morning.

Just 20 shopping days ’til Christmas,
-jh

St. Scholastica Thanksgiving Hockey Classic Preview

Voice of: Joe Hansen

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As promised, it’s time for a quick preview of this weekend’s St. Scholastica Thanksgiving Hockey Classic, featuring the Saints, two sets of Vikings, and Green Knights. If those names don’t get your inner nerd excited, then perhaps some hype will get the sports fan in you ready for action:

St. Norbert College Green Knights (8-0-1, 6-0-0 NCHA)
The fact that St. Norbert has dominated the series between the Knights and Saints (37-7-2 all-time vs. CSS) is rather inconsequential, at least for one week, as they will not be facing each other in Duluth. Rather, the Knights will be hosting CSS next weekend in DePere, Wis. for a conference showdown, and it will be up to the Saints to knock the Green Knights from the ranks of the unbeaten – that is, if the Vikings don’t do so this weekend. The point is, I think the Saints tended to scare themselves against the Green Knights in the past, because last season, they proved they are very beatable, snapping a five-game winless streak against St. Norbert with a 3-0 victory in DePere.
Players to Watch:
F Shane Wheeler (Sr.) – 9 goals, 8 assists, 17 points
F Cody Keefer (Fr.) – 7 G, 7 A, 14 pts.
D Nick Tabisz (Jr.) – 4 G, 7 A, 11 pts.
G B.J. O’Brien (Jr.) – 1.37 GAA, .933 Sv.%, 2 shutouts

Salem State College Vikings (3-0-0, 0-0-0 MASCAC)
There’s not much history between the Saints and Vikings. In fact, there isn’t any history at all. This will be the first meeting between the two teams. Salem State has opened their season up with three straight victories, including a 4-3 overtime win over Fitchburg (Mass.) State their last time out. The Salem State Vikings are on a hot streak, but the Saints are undefeated their past three games as well, so it will be an interesting match-up when the two teams face-off on Friday night.
Players to Watch:
F Matt Johnson (Jr). – 2 G, 1 A, 3 pts.
F Justin Roy (So.) – 1 G, 2 A, 3 pts.
F Chris MacInnis (Sr.) – 2 G, 0 A, 2 pts.
G Jamie Lacour (Sr.) – 2.30 GAA, .921 Sv.%, 89 saves

Lawrence University Vikings (6-1-0, 5-0-0 MCHA)
The Saints and Vikings are making it a Thanksgiving tradition, playing each other Saturday, exactly one year to the day of their last meeting on Nov. 28, 2008. Last season, the Saints edged out the Vikings with a 4-3 overtime victory in a similar Thanksgiving tournament hosted by St. Norbert. St. Scholastica is 5-1-1 against the Vikings over the history of the two programs, but make no mistake about it: the Vikings are a good team. Their only loss on the season came from our perennial pain-in-the-neck, Wis.-Superior. They’ve won two games by seven goals this year and scored eight goals three times. This is a team that is capable of putting up big numbers, and they should not be taken lightly.
Players to Watch:
F Marc Howe (Sr.) – 9 G, 5 A, 14 pts.
F Ben DiMarco (So.) – 8 G, 6 A, 14 pts.
D Jameson Raymond (So.) – 1 G, 6 A, 7 pts.
G Evan Johnson (Jr.) – 3.03 GAA, .899 Sv.%, 170 saves

I figure there’s no reason to preview the Saints – if you’re here, you know who they are. Forwards Riley Riddell (Jr.) and Jeremy Dawes (So.) have looked great on offense, while a young defensive corps has helped out goaltenders Zach Kleiman (Sr.) and Brennan Poderzay (So.). I know it’s a holiday weekend and you’ll be fat and happy from your Thanksgiving dinner, but try and make it out for the games this weekend – you won’t be disappointed.

For more information on the tournament, as always, stay current with www.csssaints.com/.

For all of us in the St. Scholastica athletics department and at the Voice of the Saints, let me be the first to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! We’ll see you next week.

Enjoy the turducken,
-jh

Points and Prattle, Vol. 9 - Nov. 20, 2009

Voice of: Joe Hansen

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Good morning, St. Scholastica!

On one of the biggest college hockey weekends in the city of Duluth, Minn. in the 2009-10 season, the Saints are on a bye week, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have plenty to get excited about here at St. Scholastica with men’s and women’s basketball well underway and the fall sports teams still racking up the accolades for an impressive season!

• The fall season came to a close for at least one team last week as the Saints women fell by a 3-0 score to the Macalester Scots in the NCAA tournament. There’s nothing to hang their heads about, they had a great season and battled back from some injuries. Congrats on a great season!
• With their season over, the CSS men’s team received a pair of prestigious awards this week as Toby Peter (Jr.) was named a Second Team Academic All-American by CoSIDA (College Sports Info. Directors of America) and ESPN (I think you know what this is), and Geofrey Kalanzi (Fr.) was announced as the recipient of the prestigious National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Lea Plarski Award. Read more about Kalanzi and the award here.
• Katelyn Meger (Sr.) will not let the fall sports season end. She’s off to Nationals for cross country, her second straight appearance, after finishing ninth in the NCAA Central Regional last week. Congrats, Katelyn! I know you’ll do CSS proud.
• Men’s basketball saw the nation’s longest winning streak come to an end in their season opener Sunday against Wis.-Eau Claire, but rebounded with an impressive victory over North Central Tuesday. The Saints will tip-off against Concordia-Moorhead tomorrow night, which can be seen live here.
• As discussed in this week’s “5 Questions,” Coach Stacy Deadrick has inched one step closer to 200 career victories with win #199 Tuesday against North Central. The Saints are at Wis.-Stevens Point for a tournament this weekend and will take on Concordia-Moorhead and Stevens Point or Rockford College. The tournament web site can be found here.
• Read some quick previews on this weekend’s basketball games here (men’s) and here (women’s), courtesy of my fellow sports information intern Chris Doran.
• As I stated earlier, the Saints men’s hockey team is off this weekend after a pair of ties that was as frustrating as it was exciting in last weekend’s series against Wis.-Stout. Despite the ties, the Saints jumped Stout in the rankings and are now No. 8 in the nation, according to the USCHO.com/NCAA Division-III poll.
• Next weekend, the puck drops on our Thanksgiving Classic as the Saints play host to Salem (Mass.) State on Friday night and Lawrence (Wis.) Univ. on Saturday night with a 7:05 p.m. start time each night. The No. 1 team in the nation, St. Norbert, will play the opposite team each day at 3:30 p.m. With the short week next week, we won’t have a 5 Questions, but Tuesday or Wednesday, I’ll be posting a preview of the tournament action, so stay tuned for that.
• Finally, the Saints Nordic Ski team starts this season this week in West Yellowstone, Mont. Good luck to them this season, and I hope they enjoy their trip!

That’s all I have for you on a relatively slow week in CSS athletics. Stay tuned for the aforementioned Saints Thanksgiving Classic preview next week.

Enjoy your weekends,
-jh
Go Saints!

Points and Prattle, Vol. 8 - Nov. 13, 2009

Voice of: Joe Hansen

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Good morning, St. Scholastica!

A Happy Friday the 13th to you all! Sportscenter asked this morning who my favorite player who wore/wears #13 is – and I emphatically said NOT Alex Rodriguez, but that’s neither here nor there – which made me think of Saints athletes who wore number 13 in recent years. Here’s the list, as I can tell:

• Baseball: Adian Kummet (’09)
• Basketball: Kyle Allen (’09)
• Football: Drew Holm (So.)
• Hockey: Shawn Barlette (’08)
• Soccer: Abby Arrowsmith (Sr.), Geofrey Kalanzi (Fr.)
• Volleyball: Emily Lindquist (Fr.), Erin Niles (’09)

So, as you can see: a pretty star-studded group of current and former athletes, but still rather sparse in terms of numbers. It would seem that in the sports where players have the most leeway to choose their numbers, they aren’t taking 13. Superstitious? Maybe. With that out of the way, let’s review a busy week of Saints athletics with the latest edition of Points & Prattle:

• The week began with the crowning of three UMAC tournament champions, adding to our collection of five on the fall season, as men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball joined men’s and women’s cross country atop the conference.
• If you weren’t at any of these games, you missed some great action. You can catch the women’s soccer championship game (with commentary from yours truly) on demand by clicking here.
• Speaking of commentary from yours truly… Did you miss Saints hockey taking on Saint John’s last Friday? Check that here.
• …but back to the Fall sports, we saw an impressive second season come to an end for Saints football on Saturday as they fell to Martin Luther. But there is plenty of reason for optimism coming off a 4-6 season which saw the Saints finishing third in the UMAC. All-Conference football awards should be announced soon, and I suspect we will see more than a few Saints honored this year.
• Already this week, the Saints have had 11 athletes selected to the First Team All-UMAC in their respective sports, and six more chosen as Honorable Mentions. Check out the names, headed by two-time UMAC Player of the Year Toby Peter (Jr.), by clicking your favorite sport: Men’s Soccer, Volleyball, Women’s Soccer.
• Saints soccer isn’t done as of yet, because the Saints women’s team was selected for the third straight season to compete in the NCAA Tournament. They will take on Macalester tomorrow evening, and you can catch live video of it here, starting at 7:30 p.m.
• They are joined in NCAA competition this weekend by the cross country teams who will compete at the NCAA Regional in Grinell, Iowa. Coach Pfingsten previews the meet here.
• The 10th ranked Saints men’s hockey team returns to their home ice tonight against No. 9 Wis-Stout. A sweep could put the Saints alone atop the NCHA standings as fellow conference leaders No. 1 St. Norbert and No.8 Wis.-River Falls do battle with Wis.-Stevens Point and Wis.-Eau Claire, respectively. Coach Wick previewed the match-up in his first ShoutOut! Of the year.
• Saints men’s basketball goes to work on defending their own UMAC Tournament championship starting Sunday when they take on Wis.-Eau Claire. Coach Staniger sat down for 5 Questions with VOTS earlier this week, talking about his young team, who was picked to finish third in the UMAC this year, despite touting the nation’s longest winning streak at 11 straight games.
• The Saints women don’t start this season until next Tuesday when they take on North Central, but it was announced earlier this week that UMAC coaches tabbed them to finish fourth in the conference.

That’s about all that’s going on for Saints athletics this week. Stay current with CSSsaints.com, and click to proper links on the side to follow the Saints on Twitter and Facebook. We’ll be back next week with more.

Enjoy your weekend,
-jh
Go Saints!

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

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!