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St. Cloud State University
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Hockey deserves success
By Bobby Hart
Published:
Thursday, November 21, 2002
A recent column entitled “B-ball gets its turn now,” written by my editor, Andy Rennecke, has stirred up many mixed responses.
Many of these responses mainly concern issues of respect toward the SCSU hockey program.
I understood my editor’s main point, which I perceived as being that the SCSU basketball program doesn’t get the respect and fan support it quite deserves. As a Husky hoops fan, I’d have to agree. I urge basketball fans to head in the direction of Halenbeck Hall to check out the men’s and women’s squads that are both very talented and entertaining.
However, the part of the essay that left me with an uncomfortable itch to scratch was when he stated, “The best time of the year has come and it has nothing to do with guys with mullets beating the crap out of each other. It’s the season where real athletes take to the hardwood…”
“Now is time to forget about hockey and think basketball. The hockey team is as mediocre as SCSU has been in years. Who will even remember Joe Motzko and Ryan Malone once they become NHL nomads anyway? It’s time to come back to a real sport.”
Since I’m currently the men’s hockey beat writer, I thought I’d take it upon myself to shed some light on a few things.
First of all, it has taken many decades of hard work for the SCSU men’s hockey program, that has housed famous coaches like Roland Vandell, Charlie Basch and Herb Brooks, to build itself into a solid Division I program that started in 1987.
Since then, it has taken many more years of hard work from head coach Craig Dahl, his coaching staff, players, boosters and fans to make this one of the most consistently successful Division I programs in the nation.
The program that started from scratch in the 1930’s has since grown to produce many successful NHL players such as Hall of Famer Frank Brimsek, Mark Parrish, Bret Hedican, Matt Cullen and Tyler Arnason (the list goes on).
This list will soon include Pittsburgh-bound senior Ryan Malone, who has the size, skill and potential to become the best to ever wear the cardinal and black. Who won’t remember him and his fellow linemate on the Husky 100 Point Club, Joe Motzko?
The fact is that one of the major reasons that the basketball team has been able to have its success and its newly renovated gym, was partially due to the money that the hockey program has made for the SCSU Athletic Department. The SCSU hockey program brings in around 1.2 to 1.5 million dollars a year. If it weren’t for this kind of money, the basketball team would be in Division III.
Instead of hoarding success and reaping all the benefits, Dahl has made his support clear for all the other sports that bear the SCSU logo.
“I’m a firm believer in a broad-based athletic program,” he said. “We can’t help that hockey gets so much attention, but I’ll be the first one to tell you that I wish the same kind of success for the basketball program and any other (SCSU) sport.”
Which sport has better athletes and provides more entertainment? That’s up to the viewer’s judgment. But don’t think for a second that the talents that come off the stick of a Matt Hendricks, the hands of a Jon Cullen or the shoulder pads of a Jeff Finger aren’t rare gifts contained by “real athletes” competing in a “real sport.” Also, don’t forget that the National Hockey Center sells out with attendances around 6,500 people quite often. That’s a lot of fans to watch a bunch of so called “guys with mullets beating the crap out of each other.”
As far as this year’s Huskies being “mediocre?” Don’t be fooled by a premature 5-4-1 record. There’s a long WCHA season left and a lot of talent out on the ice for SCSU. Who knows? Maybe a statement like this will add a little fuel to a fire that has been waiting for something to burn this season.
