1:03 p.m. – Hey everyone, welcome back to the women’s hockey travel blog – day two edition. The team was up and having breakfast by 9:50 a.m. this morning. The hotel catered a terrific spread just a short walk from our rooms. An interesting note from breakfast relates to morning attire. Beth Olson is probably going to be mad at me for mentioning this but it’s still a funny story. As Tyler and I were eating with Beth and Meagan Wanecke, Tyler noticed that everyone on the team was dressed in some sort of Gustavus garb (hoodie, crew, sweatpants, shirt, etc.). Everyone aside from Beth that is. Being a Warroad, Minn. native, Beth instead chose to represent…wait for it…a deer. Yep, she donned a crew sweatshirt with a ten-point buck on it. You probably had to be there to find this funny but it was a pretty comical observation from this morning. To her credit, the sweatshirt perfectly matches her blaze orange and camouflage iPhone case.
After breakfast the team loaded the bus and headed to the bowling alley. Yes indeed, the Gusties channeled their inner Kelly Kulick this morning. The squad divided into teams of four separated by their positions. The left wings, centers, right wings, defenders, and goalies broke up into equal teams and battled it out for two games. I bowled on the same lane as Tyler, Dan, and Kirstin Peterson, while coach Carroll, his wife, Terri, Steve Carroll, and Mitch Bockenstedt bowled beside us.
Bowling styles ranged from the two-handed shovel of Keri Pickel to the smooth delivery of Maddie Bergh. From what I could see, and I’ll probably find out from someone if I’m wrong, the centers took the title. Courtney Boucher turned in the high score amongst the players, while Steve garnered the Big Lebowski MVP award with a score of 194 in his final game.
The team is now back at the hotel for a little down time before heading to lunch at 3:20. After lunch it is over to the rink. Plattsburgh State takes on Middlebury at 3:30 p.m. in the first semifinal game. This team is all about routine and sticking to what has got them to this point so far. To stick with their routine, it sounds like pasta is on the menu this afternoon.
On a side note, I received a very cool email from Gustavus men’s and women’s golf head coach Scott Moe this afternoon. The picture you see below is of Scott’s wife, Sarah, and Allison Cubberley. Sarah is a former Gustavus women’s hockey player and is one of the all-time greats in the history of the program. She still ranks second in scoring at Gustavus with 144 career points. Allison Cubberley is her current roommate in Brampton, Ontario. Brampton is where Sarah and Allison are currently playing on a professional women’s hockey team as a part of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL). What’s interesting about the picture, and the pairing for that matter, is that Allison is a 2009 graduate of Elmira. The Gustie and Soaring Eagle will be watching tonight’s semifinal game together in Brampton – Sarah in her black and gold and Allison in her purple and gold.
As it happens, Afton Goebel of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference just released a terrific article on Sarah’s experience playing professional hockey. Check it out via the link below.
http://www.miac-online.org/news/2013/3/14/WHOCKEY_0314131031.aspx
That’s it for right now. I will be checking back in at the rink. For more information on tonight’s game, below is the link to Tyler’s game notes and UW-Superior’s game day release.
UW-Superior NCAA Championship Release
Gustavus Sports Information Director Ethan Armstrong will be with the Gustavus women’s hockey team at the 2013 NCAA Division III Women’s Hockey Championship finals this weekend in Superior, Wisconsin. He will be blogging periodically throughout Gustavus’ stay in Superior. To signify when Ethan installs a new post, a chronological number (i.e. I, II, III) will be placed at the end of each headline.
Check out the photo gallery that Dan Coquyt will keep adding to as the weekend continues.