November
10, 2005
Manthey's Family Ties
By
Ken McMillan
Army freshman Tim Manthey’s path
to college hockey was by no means an accident.
Tim’s father and five uncles from
both sides of his family all played collegiately.
“I was never short on good advice
... it was only a phone call away,’’ Manthey
said on the eve of the Army-Air Force clash, a rivalry
which has even more meaning to Manthey because his
uncle, Tim Hartje, played four seasons for the Falcons
(1982-86) and has risen to the rank of Lieutenant
Colonel in the U.S. Air Force.
“This week I am taking the low-key
approach,’’ said Hartje, who is currently
based in Georgia. “I do wish him the best. The
Hartje-Manthey family ... they have changed Air Force
blue into the Army black-and-gold. I am sure they
will be in full Army attire this weekend.’’
Manthey’s parents, Todd and Tami,
and younger brother, 16-year-old Tyler, will join
both sets of grandparents at West Point’s Tate
Rink for the two-game weekend set between the Black
Knights and Falcons. Likewise, they were all on hand
in Omaha, Neb., four weeks ago when Tim made his collegiate
debut with Army.
“The first game, I had goosebumps,’’
said Todd Manthey, who played one season at Alaska-Fairbanks
(1984-85) and three seasons with St. Cloud State (1985-88).
“It was a proud father type of moment, watching
him step onto the ice and take his first shift. He
had his first collegiate point the following night.
It was definitely something I will remember forever.’’
Playing college hockey was just about
a foregone conclusion for Tim Manthey, who was attending
some of his uncle’s games when he was just a
1-year-old. “We were always at the rink, watching
someone or with someone,’’ he said. “It
was part of our everyday life.’’
“Hockey is what he knew,’’
said Tami Manthey. “My mom remembers when he
was just a little tike ... we were at the rink on
one of those busy nights when we had to rush him from
hockey to a religion class, and someone said, ‘Timmy,
there is more to life than hockey.’ Little Tim
says at the time, ‘What do you mean? Hockey
is my life.’’’
Uncle Jay Hartje played one season at
Rainy River Community College. Uncle Tim Hartje helped
turn a woeful Air Force team into a winner by time
he graduated. Uncle Todd Hartje tasted even more success,
winning the 1989 national title with Harvard University
before going on to play in the Soviet Union and several
years with the Red Wings and Bruins farm teams.
Todd Manthey and Tim’s uncle Greg
played together briefly for St. Cloud State. Uncle
Jon Manthey headed out to the Rockies to play for
Colorado College. Today, Todd and Jon coach the same
Anoka High School team that all the Mantheys and Hartjes
played on.
“I think it’s quite fun
and quite phenomenal,’’ Jon Manthey said
of the family ties. “There is a lot of hockey
background that he’s got and I am sure he’s
gotten a free education from us and some ribbing,
of course.’’
“It showed him what a little bit
of hard work could do, what could be out there,’’
said Todd Manthey. “I don’t know if he
tried to live up to any of his uncles but it was out
there for him. He put a lot of hard work to attain
where he’s at.’’
It was Todd Hartje who gave young Tim
his first hockey stick, at age 1. “He never
let go of it,’’ said Tami Manthey.
Tim was just 4 years old when Harvard
won the NCAA title in St. Paul, Minn. Todd brought
the team to his parents’ home in nearby Anoka
for lunch during the championship weekend and young
Tim was mesmerized as the Crimson played street hockey
in front of the house. On every subsequent visit to
the Hartje household, Tim was first to pop in the
videotape of Harvard’s championship. “Oh
my God, I think he had that memorized,’’
Tami said.
Anoka is steeped with tales about the
Mantheys and Hartjes, from holding the starting quarterback
job for seven years in a row to nine consecutive seasons
of representation on the hockey team.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself
to live up to that expectation of what they had done,’’
Tim said, “but they didn’t put much pressure
on me to follow in their footsteps. I am glad that
they were pushing me and supporting me in whatever
I did. Without them I wouldn’t be here right
now.’’
Said Jon Manthey: “I guarantee
he didn’t let people down. He lived up to the
expectations, put on by everybody else.’’
There is one generational twist, though:
the six uncles all played forward while three nephews
are playing defense. And another thing: Tim Manthey
won a Minnesota state championship with Anoka, where
his father and uncles did not.
Following graduation, Tim Hartje spent
one year as a graduate assistant at Air Force and
later four more years as an assistant coach, so he
bleeds Falcon Blue. That’s why it pains him
somewhat to be rooting for Tim Manthey in his inaugural
Army-Air Force clash.
“I am proud of him,’’
Lt. Col. Hartje said, “but I still expect him
to salute me the next time I see him. I am sure he
will be the good soldier and do that.’’
|
Great Weekend Getaway |
 |
|
Air
Force at Army (Fri.-Sat.)
It’s very appropriate that service
academy rivals meet up on Veteran’s Day
weekend. This is the last time these schools
will meet on a non-league basis since Air Force
(and RIT) join Atlantic Hockey next season.
Air Force has won the last three meetings –
including a two-game sweep in Colorado Springs
last season – while Army won the previous
three outings.
While You're There: The town
of Warwick will hold a Veteran’s Day service
on Friday morning at 11 a.m., marking the 87th
anniversary to the armistice which ended World
War I, during the 11th hour of the 11th day
of the 11th month. Make Saturday a doubleheader
as Army hosts Massachusetts in a non-league
football game at 12 noon. Learn about soldiers
of different eras in a re-creation of a military
camp at the nearby New Windsor Cantonment on
Saturday afternoon. The Eisenhower Theater on
the campus of the U.S. Military Academy will
host a Salute to Veterans Concert on Sunday
afternoon.
|
| Stick
Salute |
|
Despite
a split with Connecticut last weekend, Holy
Cross’ 4-1 start is the Crusaders’
best since the 1993-94 season, and its best
since turning Division I in 1998-99. |
| Bench
Minor |
|
American
International College was apparently AIC-hing
for time in the penalty box. The Yellow Jackets
were whistled 11 times in both
weekend losses to Mercyhurst. That is a sure-fire
way to lose when going up against one of the
two most potent power plays in the league. |
FRIES
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG
• Worcester, Mass., is the site
of this weekend’s clash between league leaders
Mercyhurst (4-0 league) and Holy Cross (3-1 league).
It will be a clash between the league’s top
scoring team (Mercyhurst has scored 31 goals) and
the league’s top defensive club (Holy Cross
has allowed nine tallies, three on the power play).
Mercyhurst won three of four meetings last season,
including both at the Hart Center.
• The 12 goals scored in Mercyhurst’s
9-3 victory at American International on Saturday
marked the fifth time the lamp was lit at least a
dozen times in a game involving Atlantic Hockey teams.
Only two of those contests were league games, including
the record 15 scored in Connecticut’s 9-6 triumph
at Army on March 6, 2004. Seven players scored and
four more produced assists for Mercyhurst.
• The nine goals scored by Mercyhurst
ties the Atlantic Hockey record. Army downed visiting
Ryerson, 9-2, in an exhibition on Oct. 11, 2003; Mercyhurst
blanked host AIC, 9-0, on Dec. 6, 2003; and, Connecticut
posted a 9-6 win at Army on March 6, 2004. Two non-league
foes scored nine goals on an Atlantic Hockey team:
host Bemidji State downed Bentley, 9-2, on Nov. 12,
2004, and host St. Cloud State beat Sacred Heart,
9-1, on Jan. 28, 2005.
• Should AIC defenseman Preston
Cicchine play in both games against Sacred Heart this
weekend he will reach 100 career games.
• Holy Cross senior center Pierre
Napert-Frenette reached 100 career points with his
late goal in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Connecticut
– he leads all active Atlantic Hockey players.
It was his 41st goal. Holy Cross senior Tyler McGregor
could be next to reach the milestone with 10 more
points. Next in line would be Dave Borrelli and Scott
Reynolds of Mercyhurst, each of whom have 86 points.
• Army senior goalie Brad Roberts
should surpass the 5,000 minutes played mark for his
collegiate career this weekend against Air Force.
He is 61 minutes, 5 seconds shy of the milestone.
Roberts has played 86 career games.
| College Goalies with 3,000-Plus
Career Minutes |
| Player |
Year |
School |
Minutes (Games) |
| Isaac Reichmuth |
Senior |
Minn. Duluth |
6,027 (106) |
| Gabe Winer |
Senior |
Massachusetts |
5,703 (98) |
| Kris Mayotte |
Senior |
Union |
4,955 (86) |
| Brad Roberts |
Senior |
Army |
4,938 (86) |
| Jeff Van Nynatten |
Senior |
Niagara |
4,724 (85) |
| Tony Quesada |
Senior |
Holy Cross |
4,441 (78) |
| Kellen Briggs |
Junior |
Minnesota |
4,430 (79) |
| David McKee |
Junior |
Cornell |
4,296 (71) |
| Dominic Vicari |
Junior |
Michigan State |
4,295 (73) |
| Scott Munroe |
Senior |
Ala.-Huntsville |
3,924 (71) |
| Dave Caruso |
Senior |
Ohio State |
3,893 (67) |
| Eric Leroux |
Senior |
Princeton |
3,446 (62) |
| Jordan Parise |
Junior |
North Dakota |
3,228 (56) |
| Matt Kelly |
Senior |
Wayne State |
3,072 (52) |
| Josh Gartner |
Senior |
Yale |
3,021 (59) |
| Jim Healey |
Junior |
Merrimack |
3,011 (54) |
A variety of sources were utilized
in the compilation of this report.
