As I walked inside Xcel Energy Center just a bit ago, a crew of ushers and food vendors gathered to get their assignments for the day. One of them seemed a tick overwhelmed.
"This is just the beginning," a cohort told her.
Indeed it is.
Welcome to Hockey Heaven. For the next four days, St. Paul becomes Tournament Town as the best* boys' hockey teams in the state invade the X for the 66th boys' state hockey tournament.
And, yes. Trust me, it is hockey. Pay no attention to the electronic sign underneath the suite level welcoming fans to the "2010 MSHSL wrestling tournament" Hmmm. I wonder if we know anyone over at the League office who could take care of that for us ...
The seats are all empty now. But that will soon change. In fact, I'm told a state tournament milestone is near. Ohhh - feel the suspense!
We're less than 90 minutes away from the first puck drop, a Class 1A quarterfinal matchup between No. 2 seed Mahtomedi (23-5) and Alexandria (21-6-1). Three games will follow in Class 1A action today, and then tomorrow we'll do it all over again with the eight Class 2A teams.
The Star Tribune is out in force. Myself, prep hockey nut David La Vaque and prep sports editor/blogger/video host/radio moonlighter/pug man Michael Rand will all be here throughout the tournament. We'll have every angle covered ... well, that's our hope anyway.
