Icebreakers Tournament

Last night was the start of the two day event called the Icebreakers Tournament, and though I will not be at tonight's event, I was in fact, there for the games yesterday.  So, to catch you up on last night's proceedings, the opening game featured Notre Dame and Maine, and the crowd was fairly even for both sides.  Both teams struggled to capitalize on scoring opportunities, and the ice was pretty bad to the point where even the officials had a hard time staying upright.  In the end, Notre Dame ended up winning 1-0 on a third period goal.

Game 2 of the tournament pitted Army against Nebraska-Omaha, and this time, the crowd was mostly UNO, which is not a surprise, since the university is a three hour drive from Kansas City.  I happened to get a puck flipped into the general area where I was sitting after warmups.  Luckily, I was not hit or else my inattentiveness would have been painful.  I left before the first period ended with UNO up 2-0, and UNO would go on to rout Army 5-1.

Other notes: Both games were nationally televised on NBC Sports Network, a fact pointed out when someone spotted Pierre McGuire (yes, that Pierre McGuire) between the team benches.  UNO has a backup goaltender by the name of Dayn Belfour, who is the son of Hall of Fame goaltender Ed Belfour.  Before the Army-UNO game, there was a tribute to Major Thomas Kennedy, a former Army player who was killed in August while serving in Afghanistan, and Army had his initials on the back of their helmets.

Border War Hockey

The time after the NHL Winter Classic always seems to be a slow time, since there hasn't been much to write about, as evidenced by my inactivity the last two days.  However, as I was browsing through the paper yesterday, something caught my eye that I would not have thought of otherwise.  You see the picture and think, "Isn't this kind of thing only for football and basketball?"  The reality is that it extends to anything you want it to be.

The Kansas and Missouri rivalry dates back to the Civil War days, and despite my disdain for both schools, I found this little bit quite interesting.  I thought New Mexico having a college hockey team was odd, but now, there is in fact, a Missouri and Kansas squad.  Both teams are a part of the Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association and features the likes of Purdue, Iowa, and Northwestern in the league.  Judging by the teams that make up the league, none of them pose much of a threat to a team like North Dakota or Maine.  Both Kansas and Missouri are slated to make their way to the Independence Events Center on the 20th of this month, and if you happen to be in the area, tickets can be purchased here.