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BLOOMINGTON…. It’s Sunday April 16th, 1972. Five of my neighborhood homeboys and I are sitting in a packed Met Sports Center with 15,000 plus of our closest hockey friends. We are sitting in 2nd level seats, but we are right on the center ice red line. It is quite a warm spring afternoon and inside the building it is warm enough to be uncomfortable. The Minnesota NorthStars are doing battle with one of their first big rivals, the St. Louis Blues, in the playoffs for the 4th time since coming into the National Hockey League a scant 6 years earlier. To make this afternoon all the more exciting, it is the first round of the Stanley Cup tournament and this is a Game 7, a nationally televised game as well, a seven heaven for the ages.

In 7 weeks I would be graduating from High School. The first year for my family and I, post exit from St. Paul for the suburbs was the same year the NorthStars were in existence. I became an instant fan along with a lot of friends and neighbors. My buddies and I would go to games when we could, and when we couldn’t there was TV and Radio to catch the action with. We lived straight up East River Road from downtown Minneapolis, about a 15 to 20 minute drive from there. Our area of life was in a small valley like neighborhood right off of the River Road and about 12 blocks long. It was a quiet idyllic setting with Banfil Island right across from us and we were about 2 miles downstream from the Coon Rapids Dam. The Mighty Mississippi was a mere 120 feet from my bedroom window.

We lived a lot of life on and around the river. Most of our summers as youngsters were spent within a stones throw of it. I burst with pride when I tell people I grew up on the Mississippi. (lived right by it in St. Paul too) On this day, before going into the arena, my 5 friends and I would bow our heads for a moment in remembrance of a close friend who we lost to the river the August before. We knew he would be going to the game along with us if not for that day. I happened to be spending some time with my cousins in St. Louis when it occurred. It was the worst phone call I ever got in my life. A plane ticket was waiting for me and with my dear friends parents being our neighbors, I went to their house before even getting my suitcase from the car. Needless to say, seeing them was devastating. He was a Champion amateur wrestler at 105lbs., but couldn’t swim. He should have never been in the river…

This game was as hotly a contested pro hockey tilt as I had ever been to. It was a 1-1 game at the end of regulation time. The Blues ended up winning in OT on a goal setup and scored by the O’Shea brothers. I will never forget the absolute silence of that arena in the immediate aftermath….

THERE WAS NO SILENCE at the XCEL Energy Center in downtown St. Paul this afternoon. The Minnesota Wild have eliminated the STL Blues in 6 games to advance to Round 2 of this years tourney. They won 4-1 today on 2 goals by Zach Parise, sandwiched around the GWG by former UMD Bulldog star Justin Fontaine, complimented by an ENG by Nino Neidereitter to close out the game and the series. The ensuing end of game countdown and cheering shook the sandstone and limestone mass under downtown St. Paul right to the banks of the river. Hockey nirvana had arrived.

The Wild had the better goaltending (Devan Dubnyk) versus the Blues who have question marks surrounding theirs. Brian Elliott has been there for 4 seasons now and never has gained the full confidence of Coach Ken Hitchcock. They traded Jaroslav Halak prior to the 2014 trade deadline to presumably anoint Elliott as the number one. But they also had Jake Allen, last years best AHL goalie, but with minimal NHL work. As the season went on Elliott was injured, Allen relieved him and did well, and when Elliott came back there was no longer any clear cut number one.    

Was throwing Allen to the NHL playoff wolves helping his development? All I hear about him is that he is the Blues “future”. OK, what about the here and now? GM Doug Armstrong and Hitchcock are failing both goalies (and the team) in this scenario. And finally, regarding their “core” group of players like Backes, Oshie, Steen, Pieterangelo, Shattenkirk, Tarasenko etc, these are all good players, real good. But they are all just beneath that elite level player. Of this group, Tarasenko, the young Russian is the one player that might transcend into that level. But he is young and this series just chewed him up pretty good. He either dominated the score sheet or was a minus bazillion. Maybe he will learn, maybe he won’t.

I have liked Hitch and Army from their NorthStar days forward. They are good hockey guys. Hitch now has a contract that will expire and the core group can’t take this team any further without some major change. But I really don’t care. It’s the Blues and I haven’t liked them for a long time. Did the series win give me some sort on internal satisfaction? Did it erase some of that memory from years back? Damn right it did, wish I didn’t have to wait 43 years though….

ROUND TWO IS near and the West is settled with the Wild vs. the Blackhawks. Give me Wild in 7 games. Then Calgary will hookup with Anaheim. Give me Duck in 6, but I hope the Flame beat the snuff out of them. In the East it will be NYR vs. Caps/Isles winner, (G7 Mon eve) and Montreal vs. Red Wing/Tampa Bay (G6 Mon eve) victor. No matter what, give me NYR in 6 games and Habs in 6 also. Great tourney so far!! PEACE