2024-03-07 14:18:17
David La Vaque, Jim Paulsen, Heather Rule and Jerry Zgoda will spend the rest of the week tracking down moments and memories at the boys hockey state championships at Xcel Energy Center. Come back often to see what they found.
8:16 a.m.
Taste of the tournament
What if one might make a date night out of the Minnesota boys hockey state tournament?
Start with an early dinner at Mancini’s Steak House, Tom Reid’s Hockey Pub, or any number of fabulous options along West 7th Street. Dining amid hockey fans satiates appetites for the menu items and the tournament vibe.
The night continues at the Xcel Energy Center, ground zero of the “State of Hockey.” With any luck, a northern team will be taking part in one of two evening session games. Those teams give the tournament its charm. Word is, Greenway’s 2019 St. Paul visit drank the nearby Gopher Bar out of beer. Is that true? As it says in the classic film “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
Even if a northern team played in the followingnoon, the buzz in the concourse remains palpable throughout the evening games. The chatter and laughter among old friends, the rowdy student sections and the pep bands are intoxicating. And if the sound does not get you, the aroma of the mini doughnuts will stimulate the senses.
And of course, the hockey is as good (more likely better) than anywhere in the United States. The passion radiating up from the ice, players’ tireless efforts and their speed and stick skills — those are the annual qualities drawing regarding 100,000 fans back to the X year following year. Your date will leave a bit overwhelmed but converted into a Minnesota high school hockey tournament fan.
DAVID LA VQUE
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#Sights #sounds #Day #Minnesota #boys #hockey #state #tournament
