STICK SALUTE
Love his team or hate it, Don Lucia (pictured, right) is one of the more successful and influential coaches to ever make his living in the WCHA. He rescued one program (Colorado College) from a 40-year funk and rebuilt another (Minnesota) to perennial contender status. Now there’s a mysterious illness keeping him away from the rink. As he watches his team from afar this weekend we wish Coach Lucia good luck in the medical tests and a speedy return to the Gopher bench.
BENCH MINOR
WCHA fans look to the holidays as a chance to be with family, and a chance to watch their teams travel to tournaments and flex their league muscle. So why was there so little WCHA flexing going on in late December and early January? Yes, Minnesota and Wisconsin won their tournaments, but the Gophers needed overtime and the Badgers needed a shootout. Michigan Tech and North Dakota returned from the GLI sans hardware, Minnesota Duluth and Denver were both runners-up in their holiday affairs, St. Cloud State went winless in Florida, and Minnesota State dropped a road pair to ECAC Hockey foes. So much for that “superior conference” stuff.
GREAT WEEKEND GETAWAY
Minnesota at North Dakota, Fri.-Sat.
A great slate of games on tap this weekend, with Minnesota Duluth visiting St. Cloud State and Wisconsin’s trip to Alaska Anchorage among the more interesting matchups. But if we had to pick one road trip to make, we’d choose the Red River Valley, where North Dakota hosts Minnesota in the WCHA’s version of an “Original Six” battle. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that interim skipper John Hill will be running the show behind the Gopher bench, and if the Sioux are ever going to make a move in the league standings, time is a-wasting.
While You’re There: Some of the folks in greater Grand Forks still like their community thought of as an “edge of the frontier” western town. That theme used to be prevalent when visiting hockey teams stayed at the Fabulous Westward Ho motel, which was adjoined by a great western-theme sports bar and casino, and the Frontier Spirits Package Store. Alas, the Ho is no more, but if you want a good meal with a wild west feel, mosey on over to the Bronze Boot, just north of Gateway Drive on Highway 81 for great steaks, chops and other fine open pit broiled meats. My last visit there was in midst of a driving blizzard, where the cold of the outside was forgotten amid a massive lunch buffet that featured such non-health food as side pork with gravy. Of course, we like health food about as much as we like shootouts.
