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ICE HAWKS: The It's-about-time update

PHERSY: Well folks, I’m back. And so are the Ice Hawks. Time for a little update action ...

First, some great news: Feldy’s favorite player, Justin Phelps, has been cleared to play in this weekend’s games (don’t forget, the Ice Hawks have three games this weekend, home Friday against the Crusaders, away Saturday against the Owls and away Sunday against the Lumberjacks).

Coach Nick Fatis said Phelps had his cast cut off this morning, and that he’s been skating with the team for the past two weeks. “Miracle child Justin Phelps is at it again,” Fatis said. “I’m assuming they’ll put some kind of brace on it, but he’s been back at practice, looking as good as he can. We’re excited to have him back. It’s a great thing for this team.”

So what does Phelps bring to the lineup? First of all, leadership. You can’t give less than 100 percent 100 percent of the time with Phelps around. He’ll eat you alive!!! “He brings so much to the team,” Fatis said. “There’s just a certain level of respect that everybody carries for him. He’s earned that, even when he’s not on the ice.”

So, the Ice Hawks will be returning to action for the first time in two weeks. I asked Fatis if he thought the break hurt or helped the team ...

“I honestly don’t feel like we’ve had any time off at all,” he said. “I can’t imagine this is a bad thing. We’re feeling good; things are going well in practice, and we’re pretty confident right now.”

Fatis said to expect a very different lineup on Friday night against Hudson at the Rec Center. He called it a “non-traditional” lineup and said there will be some players in the stands who don’t normally sit out. “Our depth allows us to throw three different lineups together on three different nights, and you might see that this weekend,” he said. “I think you’ll see a non-traditional lineup out there on Friday and then more traditional against the Owls on Saturday and Granite City on Sunday. But if our Friday night lineup steals the show, there’s no reason they can’t be playing more often.”

Part of Fatis’ thinking on this is that with the depth he has, he’d like to find lineups that play well against certain teams. He’d like to do that before the playoffs. IE, if this lineup does well against a team like Hudson (a team that easily could be a first-round opponent for the Hawks in the MnJHL playoffs), Fatis would feel confident putting that lineup out there in the postseason or late in the regular season. With the kind of depth the Ice Hawks have, I think it’s a great idea.

So who will be in net this weekend? Fatis said as of right now, he’s planning to play all three of his goalies — Jordan Yaggy, Simon Eriksson and Sammy Hingtgen. Everyone is playing well right now, so Fatis said there’s no wrong move here. He said he’s meeting with his goalies later today to talk things over.

“I’m really confident in all of them. They’re all making it very hard to score in practice right now,” Fatis said. “There’s a good competition going on there. And the best thing is, they’re all great kids. We love having all three of them around. Right now, we have a three-headed monster at goalie, and I’m not afraid to use it. It’s definitely not a bad thing to have three kids playing as well as they are.”

So my question to Fatis had to be ... at what point does one or more of them get grumpy about his playing time? Have you seen signs of that yet?

“I don’t get that from them right now,” Fatis said. “I know from experience, it’s a rough situation. Right now, they all seem pleased, but I know they all want to play. I don’t see the ice time being a problem now. Will that change? I don’t know.”

Fatis said there haven’t been any roster changes in the past two weeks. He did say that Daniel McCamey will not be available on Friday or Saturday due to a death in the family. Other than that, everyone else (minus Myles Flott) should be available.

Flott recently had surgery on his groin, and Fatis said it was a 100 percent success. The recovery is very aggressive, and Flott is already walking a mile a day. Flott had to go all the way to Philadelphia to have the surgery, because there’s only one doctor in the US who does the surgery.

“The recovery time is six weeks, which is just amazing because this is an injury that has bothered him for years,” Fatis said. “It sounds like he’ll be skating in like a week and a half. I think he’s a little apprehensive because the recovery is so aggressive, but I know I would be too. Myles is a great kid, and everyone in that locker room loves him. We’re hoping he gets back playing with us this year, and if not, we know he’ll be back at full speed next season.”

Fatis said Flott could be available for games in January, but that’s not certain yet. Flott will be coming back right around the time when Fatis has to make some roster decisions, so he could make things tough for the coach!

For the most part, everyone else is healthy. Shaun Walters took a puck to the face in practice last week, and he broke off a few teeth. He had surgery to fix things up, and he’s missed a few practices. “His face swelled, and he had some exposed nerves; it was really painful,” Fatis said. “Plus he doesn’t do really well with the laughing gas they gave him, so he’s been dealing with that. But he’s back at practice now, and he’s got a full cage on. His face is all pretty again, so we don’t have to worry about that. We’ll probably sit him out Friday and then we’ll see what happens for the rest of the weekend.”

So who’s looking great in practice? Fatis didn’t hesitate before he said SAM BENSON! Benson has improved a great deal over the past few weeks.

“He just keeps coming around,” Fatis said. “Honestly, we sat down and had a talk with Sam. It was supposed to be just the two of us, but Phelps wanted to talk, too. I think Phelps really sold him on the fact that this is the place he wants to be, and he sold him on the trust factor. He’s trusting the coaches more and he’s trusting the systems. I think Phelps also explained to him that going 100 percent doesn’t guarantee ice time. Honestly, Benson reminds me a lot of Phelps when he first got here. Three years ago, Phelps played maybe three of the first 20 games. But as soon as he figured out what I needed from him, he’s been almost impossible to take out of the lineup since. I think that’s what Benson is getting now. He’s really turned it up. He had the game-winning goal in a drill we did again today. He’s trucking down the ice and he’s finishing. It’s all coming together for him.”

OK, that’s enough typing for now ... hopefully that keeps you Hawks fans satisfied for a little bit!
Remember, Crusaders at home Friday, Owls on the road Saturday and Lumberjacks on the road Sunday. Big weekend! Six points would be nice!

Merry Thanksgiving to everyone!

H.S. Hockey: Preseason all-city team; Looking back on 08-09

FELDY: First, I had a number of positive comments when I did an All-City team after last season, so I figure I'll put together a preseason All-Area team (now with spots open to Dodge County and Red Wing players, since Red Wing is now squarely in our circulation area). I'll try to get that team posted tomorrow; if not, I'll have it up before games start for real on Saturday.

My intention last week was to post a "looking back on ..." about each of our area high school boys teams, leading up to the drop of the puck on Saturday. However, I've been wrangling with Toddler Feldy in my free hours (the kid, 3 1/2, feels no need to sleep) and have been trying to put together the high school hockey preview by tomorrow night so Mrs. Feldy, Toddler Feldy and I can hit the road for Thanksgiving.

So, that in mind, I figured I'd lump the "looking back" into one post. The 09-10 boys hockey preview will appear in Friday's P-B Sports section. I can tell you the "cover boy" story this year will be on a JM player. I'm not sure if the full Big 9 preview will make it to print or not. We've had our space reduced quite a bit in recent weeks, but if it doesn't make it to print, I'll make sure it gets online. Here's the "looking back" for the Rochester hockey teams.

LOOKING BACK ON 08-09:

ROCHESTER CENTURY: The Panthers finished 15-13-2 overall, 7-0-2 in the Big Nine and shared the conference title with Albert Lea. The Big Nine was decided in the final conference game of the season as Century tied Mayo. Had Century won, it would have captured the conference title outright; had it lost, Mayo would have shared it with A.L. ... Century had some struggles early in the season with injuries, players out due to academic issues and one player who left the team before the season started. They were 6-10 after a 6-1 loss at Duluth Marshall on Jan. 24, but then they got healthy just in time for the bulk of the conference schedule. Century rattled off six consecutive wins and went eight games without a loss from Jan. 29-Feb. 21. They never dropped back below .500 and took a 12-11-2 record into the postseason as well as the No. 4 seed in Section 1AA. They got the No. 4 seed because one-goal losses to Lakeville North and South, and a 0-2-1 regular season record against Mayo. After ekeing out a 3-2 OT decision against Winona in the section quarterfinals, Century avenged two regular-season losses by thumping top-seeded Mayo, 7-3, in the semifinals, then dropping No. 2 seed North, 5-3, in the section final to earn the school's third trip to state in a five-year span. The Panthers had a talented group of seniors, but the line of juniors Cory Kautz and Jordan Martini, and sophomore Drew Anderson, led the way offensively. That trio combined for 109 points. Seniors Bill Grinde and Ryan Knoepke led the way defensively, and senior forward Joe Faupel made his second trip to a state tournament, this time with his brother, Connor (a sophomore F/D), also on the team. Century went 0-2 at state.

ROCHESTER MAYO: The Spartans had high expectations heading into the season, and they lived up to them during the regular season. Mayo went 16-8-1 in the regular season, including 8-1-0 in the Big Nine, finishing third, just one point back of Century and Albert Lea. ... Coach Lorne Grosso reached an incredible milestone late in the regular season, recording his 600th career victory as a head coach, all at Mayo. He has coached at Mayo since the 1966-67 season and he finished last season with a career record of 601-369-24). He is 16 wins shy of breaking Edina legend Willard Ikola's state record. ... Mayo was paced by its top line -- the BAT line, of Brad Fisher, Alex Whitney and Tom Alexander. That line combined for 160 points, led by Alexander (36-26--62), while Whitney had 23-30--53, and Fisher finished with 16-29--45. ... The Spartans also had one of the top goalies in southeastern Minnesota, in senior Jordan Yaggy. He played nearly every minute in goal, finishing 17-9-1, with a 2.95 GAA and an .893 save pct. ... The Spartans tremendous season had a tough end, as they fell to Century, 7-3, in a Section 1AA semifinal game. Mayo didn't have much energy from the jump in that game and Century built a 4-0 lead before Mayo knew what hit it.

ROCHESTER JOHN MARSHALL: The Rockets placed eighth in the Big 9, with a 2-7-0 record and they were 8-17-0 overall. JM started off strong, winning four of its first seven games, but the Rockets hit a slide around Christmas time and lost seven in a row. They snapped that streak, though, with an impressive 4-3 win against Century, a game in which JM goalie Bryan King was phenomenal, stopping 34 shots as JM was outshot 37-14. Sophomore Ryan Yetzer had a hat trick in the victory. ... Speaking of sophomores, JM relied heavily on a talented but inexperienced (at the varsity level) group of 10th graders. Forwards Yetzer, Reed Miller, Zach Johnson, and Eric Mackey, and defensemen Anthony Johnson, Tom Foley and Zach Ewing, as well as goalie King, were key role players for the team as sophomores. The Rockets won three of their final six games in the regular season, but were defeated by Dodge County in the opening round of the Section 1AA playoffs.

ROCHESTER LOURDES: The Eagles put together one of the best seasons in school history in what turned out to be the final year for Aaron Gill as the team's head coach. Gill stepped down after two seasons, but not until he guided Lourdes to a 22-8-0 record, a Section 1A championship and fifth place in the Class A state tournament. ... Lourdes was led by one of the best lines ever to play for the program -- Tyler Voigt, Taylor Funk and Cole Peterson, a line that combined for more than 180 points last season. ... The Eagles also received a big lift from sophomore goalie Nick Heimer. He finished with a 18-7-0 record, a 2.02 GAA and a .884 save percentage. Heimer grew stronger as the season went along, and it helped that he had a solid and steady corps of d-men in front of him. That group was led by seniors Pete Spratte and Nick Wylam, and sophomores Matt Roth and Rory Vesel. ... The Eagles' trip to state didn't come easily. They had to survive a 3-2 OT scare against Faribault in the opening round of the Section 1A tournament. Then they handled No. 2 New Prague, 4-0, before knocking off top-seeded Red Wing, 3-2, in the championship game. ... The only team that the Eagles couldn't solve in three state tournament games turned out to be the best team -- Breck, which won the state title, shut out Lourdes, 3-0 in the opening round. Lourdes responded nicely, though, beating Virginia, 5-1, and Hutchinson, 3-1, to win the consolation title.

H.S. Hockey: Red Wing, Lourdes ranked in preseason state poll

FELDY: The first poll of the boys high school hockey season is out and the two teams that faced off in the Section 1A championship game last season are the only two area teams in the initial rankings.

Red Wing, last year's Section 1A runner-up, is ranked No. 9 in the Class A poll. Rochester Lourdes, which won the section title and placed fifth at state, is ranked No. 14.

Defending state champions Eden Prairie (Class AA) and Breck (Class A) are ranked No. 1 in their respective polls. No other Section 1 teams are ranked, though I think Faribault deserves to be placed on equal footing with Lourdes and Red Wing right now. Those three teams are the ones to beat in Section 1 this year.

Here's a link to Let's Play Hockey magazine's polls. If you don't want to make that one click, here they are::

CLASS AA
1. Eden Prairie
2. Minnetonka
3. Bloomington Jefferson
4. Blaine
5. Hill-Murray
6. Edina
7. Benilde-St. Margaret's
8. Academy of Holy Angels
9. Duluth East
10. Woodbury
11. Centennial
12. Moorhead
13. Elk River
14. Cretin-Derham Hall
15. White Bear Lake
16. Wayzata
17. Roseau
18. Maple Grove
19. Apple Valley
20. Andover

CLASS A
1. Breck
2. Warroad
3. St. Thomas Academy
4. Hermantown
5. Mahtomedi
6. St. Cloud Cathedral
7. Virginia
8. Alexandria
9. Red Wing
10. South St. Paul
11. Thief River Falls
12. Duluth Marshall
13. International Falls
14. Rochester Lourdes
15. Little Falls
16. Mound-Westonka
17. Hibbing
18. Totino-Grace
19. Blake
20. Sartell-St. Stephen

H.S. Hockey: New teams coming to Kiwanis Festival

FELDY: The brackets for the 2009 Kiwanis/Wells Fargo Festival are posted already on the tournament web site, and a handful of new teams dot the schedule in both the Class A and Class AA field. You can find the brackets by clicking on the "scores and positioning" link on the left-hand side of the home page, or by following these links:

Class AA bracket

Class A bracket

Class AA JV bracket

In Class AA, defending tournament champion Fargo (N.D.) South is back, but last year's runner-up, Apple Valley, is not. Nor is Hastings, which I believe is just fine with tournament officials and fans. I haven't asked, but I got the feeling after the behavior of their coach at last year's tournament, they weren't going to be invited back. Buffalo is the third team not returning for this year's Festival.

In their places are Princeton (which has been to the Festival multiple times in the Class A bracket), Eastview and Brainerd. Brainerd draws defending champ South in the first game of the opening day, 12:30 p.m., Dec. 28. The Class AA tourney is at Graham Arena One.

Century faces Princeton at 2:45 p.m., followed by Mayo vs. Eastview at 5:15 p.m. and John Marshall vs. New Richmond (Wis.) at 7:30 p.m.

In the Class A bracket (all games at Graham Four), Mason City (Iowa), Dodge County and Duluth Central are new entrants. They replace Princeton (which moved up to the AA tourney), Minnehaha Academy and Holy Family Catholic.

Rochester Lourdes faces Dodge County in the final opening-round game of the day, at 7 p.m. La Crescent faces Richfield at 12:15 p.m., followed by Mason City vs. Duluth Central at 2:30 p.m., and Albert Lea vs. International Falls at 4:45 p.m.

I-Falls is the two-time defending Class A champion, having beaten Lourdes in an entertaining championship game last season, 3-2.

Another most wonderful day of the year is upon us

FELDY: No, Phersy and I are not still celebrating the Gophers football team's big win over hated rival South Dakota State on Saturday. While no one could blame us for that, I'm like the kid in the Disney World commercial ("I'm too excited to sleep!") today because ... drumroll ....... it's the opening day of the high school hockey season! Woo hoo!

The Mayo and Lourdes boys get going with practices in a couple of hours at Graham Arena, while Century and JM take to the ice at the Rec Center. I have a feeling my car will just drive me to one of those places when I get in it this afternoon.

A couple of our teams better get ready quickly. Defending Section 1AA champion Century opens its season at home on Nov. 28 against White Bear Lake. JM opens a few hours earlier that day at the Rec against Bloomington Kennedy (a 3 p.m. start). Mayo also opens on the 28th, but the Spartans are on the road that day at Roseville, their traditional season opener. Lourdes, and new coach Josh Spaniol, have a few more days to prepare. The Eagles open up at Owatonna on Dec. 3.

So, we have about 12 days until our three Class AA teams hit the ice for real, in games that count. Up until Nov. 28, I'll try to post something related to our boys hockey teams daily. We'll try to take a look back at last season for each of our Rochester teams (as well as Dodge County and a new addition to our coverage area this season, Red Wing). We'll also look at some of the games to watch this regular season and players to watch. I have a preseason all-area team waiting in the wings, but I'll tweak that up until right before the first pucks drop.

I'll post more tonight or tomorrow after I watch a couple of practices today. Let's play hockey!

Ice Hawks Friday update ... Flying Aces

PHERSY: Hey Hawks fans ... they're back!

The Ice Hawks return to action at 7:05 tonight at the Rec Center against the Minnesota Flying Aces (3-13-0-2).

Coach Fatis has been out sick most of the week, though he said he's finally starting to feel a bit better.

I caught up with him this morning, and he said the team had a bit of a "coming to Jesus" meeting yesterday. "The guys have made a little change regarding their work ethic," Fatis said. "There was a lot of uncertainty about where we were at after the Lumberjacks series. We know we can be a top team, and we don't feel it's a lack of talent that's keeping us from that. I think everyone felt it was a matter of work ethic. So that's something we had to change. Practice today was a lot more intense, and that's a good thing. There were a lot of big hits, bodies strewn everywhere. I really think you'll see a different brand of Ice Hawks hockey this weekend."

When I spoke with coach, one quote stuck out ... and I couldn't agree more. I think it's something that should have been said a while ago. I asked coach about his lines for tonight and going forward, and he's what he said:

"We're going to throw four lines out there tonight, and we'll see if the effort is there. If there's a lack of effort from anyone, it's going to be a real easy choice going forward. I'm past the point of caring how many points a kid COULD score. Now I just want kids who are going to go out there, put their noses to the grindstone and lay it on the line for every shift. The message has been sent. If you can't play like that, with that work ethic and that intensity, you can't play here."

Like I said, I couldn't agree more. That's the attitude this team has to have right now. It's an attitude I know they'll have when Justin Phelps comes back, but it would be nice if they got there even before Phelps returns in a few weeks.

INJURY UPDATE: The team is as healthy as it has been all season. Fatis will have pretty much everyone but Phelps and Myles Flott at his disposal this weekend. Yes, Andrew Fairbanks has been cleared to play! Fatis said Fairbanks will see action in one game this weekend, though he wasn't sure which game.

Everyone else is available and could see action ... of course, Fatis said he has not yet decided who will dress and who will be in the stands. Those decisions are tougher with that full lineup available.

GOALIE: Jordan Yaggy will start in net tonight. Fatis hasn't made a decision regarding Sunday's game in Hudson.

"We've got three goalies right now who are all playing well, so it's tough. The three-headed monster is an odd situation, but that's where we're at right now until we see one guy really grab that No. 1 spot," Fatis said.

One other side note ... this is the final weekend the Ice Hawks will have their high school players before they must decide whether they will return to high school. Both Truex and Mundy are playing well, and Fatis said he's seen growth in both players since they joined the team.

That's it for now. Go Hawks!

H.S. Football picks: State quarterfinals

FELDY: We're down to four area teams, Phersy, so you have some work to do this week; you're 42-35, while I'm 44-33. Maybe we should both just be happy to be as far above .500 as we are and call it good for this season. But, we're down to four teams, so let's pick 'em:

CLASS AAA
Kasson-Mantorville (11-0) vs. Waseca (7-4), at Lakeville North

CLASS AA
Caledonia (11-0) vs. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown (10-1), at Roch. Regional Sports Stadium

CLASS A
Blooming Prairie (10-1) vs. New Ulm Cathedral (11-0), at RRSS

NINE-MAN
Grand Meadow (10-1) vs. Nicollet (8-2), at RRSS

••••

PHERSY: Well, if Feldy had any guts, any spine at all, he'd stick with his "do the opposite" theory and pick against me on every game. But I already know he doesn't have a spine. He's up by two games, so let me guess, he'll pick just one game different, so he can't lose. I'm just going to call him out in advance ...

Class AAA

K-M 33, Waseca 13: The Bluejays haven't played a team as big, power and fast as the KoMets. They'll roll behind that balanced ground game and opportunistic passing attack.

Class AA

Caledonia 27, Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 14: Caledonia had a tougher time last week with Z-M than I expected. I think they'll bounce back this week and continue on toward another Class AA state title.

Class A

NUC 37, Blooming Prairie 19: The Blossoms will need to get some big breaks to slow down this potent offense. In the end, NUC will be too much.

Nine-man

Grand Meadow 37, Nicollet 30: This should be a barn-burner. Given that I've gotten one nine-man game in a row correct, I'm sure this score will be way off. But I like the Grand Meadow offense to put up enough points for a win.

••••

FELDY: Well, Phersy, there's no way I'm going against the K-M machine, but what about the other contests? ...

Class AAA

K-M 40, Waseca 18: This K-M could compete with a lot of AAAA and AAAAA teams in our area.

Class AA

Waterville-Elysian-Morristown 22, Caledonia 21: Upset Special!

Class A

NUC 28, Blooming Prairie 16: Blossoms will hang for three quarters, but NUC will score a couple in the fourth to put it away..

Nine-man

Nicollet 34, Grand Meadow 32: I don't think I've picked a 9-man game correctly all season, so why start now?

Vikings: Talkin' 'bout Chili at the halfway point

FELDY: P-B Sports Editor Craig Swalboski drew my attention to this column by MinnPost's Jim Klobuchar today, regarding Vikings fans opinion of Brad Childress.

Up until late last season, I was fully on the anti-Chili bandwagon. I haven't completely ventured off of that wagon yet, but in the past three-plus years I've gone from "Childress is Satan" to "Childress stinks" to "Childress is trying to come around for the fans" to "cut the guy some slack."

Certainly, he has made his share of mistakes this season. No denying that. And I've lost my voice while screaming about several of them from the upper deck at Metrodome. As if he's going to hear me chastising him from 12 rows up. On the visitor's sideline. At the same time, he deserves some credit. Credit for bringing in Brett Favre in August, when some Vikings fans embraced the move and an equal number criticized it because Favre missed all of training camp.

I guess Favre is OK without having gone to Mankato, eh?

I liked Klobuchar's column because it does what a good column should. It gets you to stop and think, to analyze just why you feel the way you do about Childress and the Vikings after a 7-1 start, with three home games and a possible 10-1 record on the horizon. Here are some points to ponder:

• Klobuchar quotes Minneapolis businessman/Vikings zealot Tom Szarzynski as saying "... the other (question mark with Childress) is play-calling. In one sequence at Green Bay near the goal line, he kept running Adrian Peterson into the line until they failed on fourth down. That was a crucial game. They had to come away with a field goal." ... While I understand Szarzynski's frustration, two things come to mind: 1) had A.P. scored, Szarzynski wouldn't even be bringing it up and, 2) that's a no-win situation for Childress. If he kicks the field goal, or goes play-action pass in that situation, fans like Szarzynski are going to wail and whine that "we have the best back in the NFL and Chili isn't using him!"

• Klobuchar goes on to write: "(Childress) arrived in Minnesota four years ago after the previous coach, Mike Tice crafted a team that competed more strenuously for space on the police blotter than in the league playoffs. The coach before that, the enigmatic Denny Green, won games but later occupied himself filing fierce communiqués from his private bunker threatening to sue the owners." ... A former P-B colleague and die-hard Vikings fan put it this way to me when Childress was brought in to take over for Tice: Tice's legacy is that he gave the team back to the fans. Childress' legacy will be that he took the team back away from the fans. ... In essence, Chili again was in a no-win situation because he had to put the hammer down and bring in players who weren't going to end up in the police blotter. He had to be an anti-Tice, a coach who wasn't interested in having a love affair with the public, but rather a coach who was interested in building a winning team. When the Vikings went 6-10, then 8-8 in his first two seasons, that rubbed most fans the wrong way. Not only was the coach a stiff-looking jerk to the media and the fans, but the team wasn't winning. The fans could accept a coach who was tight-lipped if the results were there on Sundays. But Childress wasn't providing those results. This season he is, and fans seem to have, at the very least, started to thaw the icy feelings toward him.

• Here's an interesting quote Klobuchar extracted from Childress last spring: "One thing I remember about Bill Walsh, a great man and coach, and I share it with players: 'Don't be the guy who doesn't get it,' Bill Walsh would say. 'Don't be the guy, when we travel, who buys a Playboy magazine in a news shop and pulls it out and stands there looking at the centerfold and there's a 4-year-kid looking at him. Don't be that guy.' Don't be the guy who walks out of this building and gets a DUI on Hwy 494. I can't be impressed about a guy's athleticism on tape if I'm worried that he's going to rob a store on his way home." ... This all sounds great, and I'm sure Chili uses this same speech every August in Mankato, and again several times during the season. The problem I have with it, as I'm sure other Vikings season ticket holders and die-hard fans have with it, is that it has to be applied in all situations. If Childress is going to hold guy No. 53 on the roster to these standards, he has to do the same when Bryant McKinnie or Dwight Smith gets in trouble with the law. When Childress wouldn't severely punish guys like Smith or McKinnie, it was another strike against him from a fan's perspective. He was talking out of both sides of his mouth and, again, the Vikings weren't winning when those guys got in trouble, so Chili's double-talk intensified the fans' angst toward him.

If you read the comments at the end of Klobuchar's column, you'll note that fans even now aren't willing to give Chili much credit, despite this team getting off to a 7-1 start. When the Vikings were losing, it was Chili's fault. Now that they're winning, it's because of Brett Favre and the other players, fans say. Try to sit back and look at Chili's situation in an unbiased manner. Forget the frustration you built up for him over his first two-plus seasons. He has loosened up. He has worked to get better, to make the team better (and he's had a lot of help from an ownership group that is willing to spend the money it takes to be successful). If you want to put all of the credit for the 7-1 start on Favre's right arm, that's fine, but you have to deflect some of it to Childress, who took a gamble on a 40-year-old guy who could've divided the locker room. Instead, at the halfway point, a second straight division title is within the Vikings sights. Mike Tice didn't accomplish that, and some fans still think he'd be a better head coach here. Thankfully, those fans have no say in the decision-making process.

College hockey: Serratore gets contract extension at Air Force

FELDY: Former Rochester Mustangs coach Frank Serratore has done such a fine job of building a Division I contender at Air Force, that his bosses have locked him up as the program's head coach for five more seasons.

Serratore agreed today to a five-year extension that will keep him on the Falcons' bench through 2013-14. He has a 200-216-32 record at Air Force and is in his 13th season. The Falcons have advanced to the NCAA tournament three consecutive seasons.

Former Austin High defenseman Tim Kirby is a sophomore for the Falcons this season. Kirby has played in all 10 games for the 4-5-1 Falcons. He has 1 goal and 5 assists this season after posting a 2-11--13 season as a freshman.

Air Force is not ranked in any of the national polls.

College hockey: Another blow to the Gophers' roster

FELDY: If it's not bad enough that star freshman defenseman (or is it defenceman? I like the "c" ... has a hockey feel to it) Nick Leddy and standout senior forward Jay Barriball are on the shelf for the Gophers hockey team, word on the Twitter-vine has it that 6-2, 205-pound sophomore defenceman Sam Lofquist has left the Gophers program and left school to sign with an OHL team.

As of now (8:30 p.m. Monday), I've only seen it on the Twitter feed from Grand Forks Herald hockey reporter Brad Schlossman, but it was posted twice by separate college hockey followers, so I imagine there is some merit to it.

If, indeed, Lofquist has left the program, what the heck is going on at Mariucci Arena? With Leddy on the shelf with a jaw injury for possibly another six weeks, the departure of Lofquist would leave the U with just six d-men. All six -- Fairchild, Fischer, Helgeson, Wehrs, Ness and Schack -- are capable every night players, but there is no room for another injury or a slump. 

The bigger question, though, is why did another player exit early, specifically one who was bound to see a lot of ice time? Phersy and I have questioned this before but we get laughed off because we're fans of other WCHA teams. Seriously, though, Gophers fans, do players really want to play for Don Lucia? If you read the message boards and the fans who comment on the stories in the Star Tribune, you know most fans are about at their wits end with the head coach. His grace period from two national championships has run out. He gets Minnesota's finest recruits every year, but that hasn't amounted to much, in terms of banners won in recent seasons.

Maybe Lofquist has a legitimate reason for departing. Maybe Jim O'Brien and Stu Bickel and Jeff Frazee did, too. Frazee apparently saw the writing on the wall after Alex Kangas' tremendous freshman season and didn't want to play second fiddle to the Rochester native. We know why guys like Erik Johnson, Phil Kessel and Kyle Okposo left. The NHL was calling them from the second they put on the "M." With top-notch talent like those three, you recruit 'em and just hope they hang on for more than a year. But when guys like Bickel and O'Brien -- and now Lofquist -- continue to exit the program without clearly reaching their full potential at the college level, you either have to question why the head coach recruited them in the first place, or you have to question what has happened since they came to Minneapolis that makes them want to leave.