"So thanks for giving me your love..."

We start this extra day of the year -- not really a freebie I guess, as there's still work and school -- with these Shaggy lyrics, running through my head these past few days:

Life is one big party when you’re still young
But who’s gonna have your back when it’s all done?
It’s all good when you’re little: you have pure fun...
Don’t be a fool, son, what about the long run?
Looking back, Shorty always mention
Said me not giving her much attention.
She was there through my incarceration;
I wanna show the nation my appreciation

Girl, you’re my angel, you’re my darling angel
Closer than my peeps you are to me, baby
Shorty, you’re my angel, you’re my darling angel
Girl, you’re my friend when I’m in need, lady

You’re a queen and thats how you should be treated
Though you never get the lovin’ that you needed
Could have left, but I called and you heeded
Begged and I pleaded, mission completed
Mama said that I and I dissed the program
Not the type to mess around with her emotion
But the feeling that I have for you is so strong
Been together so long and this could never be wrong

Girl, you’re my angel, you’re my darling angel
Closer than my peeps you are to me, baby
Shorty, you’re my angel, you’re my darling angel
Girl, you’re my friend when I’m in need, lady

Girl, in spite of my behavior, well, you are my savior
(You must be sent from up above)
And you appear to me so tender, well, girl I surrender
(So thanks for giving me your love...)


Here's a piece I wrote for Mal's hometown newspaper earlier this week, which I understood they ran without any edits. Unfortunately, I blew the lede; the girls' game Saturday starts at 12:10pm I learned in yesterday's program, with the boys' championship game immediately following...

A familiar face from New Richmond will be on the ice this weekend at the WIAA boys' and girls' state hockey championships: Malcolm J. S*****, 49, will be driving one of the two Zamboni's that will be simultaneously resurfacing the ice between periods and games. Saturday's championship games will be televised at 11a.m. and 1p.m. on channel 18 out of Eau Claire on local cable.

Mal has been employed part-time by Dane County as an LTE (limited term employee), helping to maintain the ice and facility at the arena commonly known as "the Barn", adjacent to the Alliant Energy Center/Dane County Coliseum where the state championships annually are held. He demonstrated his skills in providing the best sheet of ice possible for the University of Wisconsin Badgers' practices, and various local teams who rent ice time there for weekend games and practices.

Although some of his co-workers have been more formally trained -- attending classes and studying manuals on ice-making in recent years -- Mal credits his time at the New Richmond hockey sports center for helping him practice the skills of shaving, flooding, edging, maintaining the equipment, and dealing with "trouble spots" to make a hard yet smooth sheet for the skaters to excel upon. He worked as building manager in New Richmond alongside Bob Hansen in the late 1990's through the 2001 season.

One of Mal's fondest memories this year was receiving a literal "thumbs up" from Badgers' Coach Mike Eaves, pointing at the ice during practice time. Mal has also enjoyed observing some of the Badgers' drills, and seeing up close the play of Badgers' standouts like Kyle Turris and Patrick Johnson, Davis Drewiske and Andy Bohmbach of Hudson, Josh Engel of Rice Lake, and Podge Turnbull of Hayward.

In his own game, Mal served as high school goalie and defenseman, representing the Class of 1977. Back in those early years of New Richmond hockey, his teammates played outdoors with parents coming together and pushing shovels between periods to clean the ice. Mal is the son of Norm and the late Ruth S*****, and an uncle of New Richmond varsity boys' coach Adam S*****.

Mal would especially like to thank his former classmates, teachers, neighbors, and family friends for their love, patience and encouragement in pursuing his goals throughout the years. In turn, he would like to encourage young New Richmond and other local players to continue working hard, as he'd really like to watch more of them play on ice he helped take care of, one day.

So thanks for giving me your love... (It's not something he would write necessarily, but I read him the whole piece before submitting it, and he was impressed.) His father asked him yesterday who his P.R. agent was... Men like that, they don't necessarily think to say it, but they're not necessarily so cold they don't think it, in their subconsciousness somewhere. Props to the warm-hearted guys like Shaggy for showing us the way to share the love, sometimes as easy as saying, "Thanks for giving me your love." Try it out yourself on this "extra" day of the year? Nothing to lose really...

On to the hockey semifinals recap:
And then there were Four...

I paid $8 for the first session of the two early games; skipped the $5 to park as Mal drove my car in and flashed his employee badge (he got a ride home later that night from a nearby co-worker around 11p.m.); invested $3 in a tournament program, and paid $2 for a coffee that McDonalds brew puts to shame. And like the kids say, seeing the pure emotion out there on that ice... Priceless.

The first game pitted Madison Edgewood, a well-regarded local Catholic high school, with an impressive west side campus that includes fine athletic facilities and the grade schools as well. Their head coach is assisted by his three brothers (biological, not the religious distinction.) They had an unbeaten streak for a long time this season, until Stoughton bested them 6-0, one Friday night a few weeks ago.

The goalie obviously got frustrated at letting shots in, so the final score surely reflected the fact it was their first loss. A week or two later, competitive Monona Grove beat them 3-2 in OT. Edgewood, it looks like, had set their schedule late in the season to include a Friday night game, followed by Saturday play, to ensure some experience on playing back-to-back games.

Yesterday, they came out strong pointswise, and were up 5-1 on "always scrappy" Mosinee who pulled replaced their goalie goaltender starting the 3rd period. That's the story I want to focus on here...

Edgewood led, despite being outshot on goal in the first period. It wasn't that the kid was a sieve (and thankfully, there were no chants of that from Edgewood in this pretty much classy game), just that the shots Edgewood put up were more disciplined: they were really working something, not just shooting when they could as Mosinee seemed to be. Their shots were more credible, and they went in.

The Mosinee goalie had a funny style; he was putting his whole body into it, which made it harder for him to get back up and block the rebound. He was deflecting more than trapping and covering, which stops the play. Still, a strong effort and nothing to be ashamed of. His defensive teammates weren't giving him much help really. All were skating hard, some decent checking, but too much play in Mosinee's side of the ice for it all to rest on their goalie, imo.

Then I check the always invaluable program. Turns out, the kid's a freshman. What is that, 15? Fresh from 14 years old? Playing in the (correct name =) Veterans Memorial Coliseum (see the inaccuracy you get with submitted stories?), on a beautiful sheet of ice in front of a crowd of thousands. Both teams sent sizable contingents, including bands, though Mosinee's section was definitely louder in showing school spirit.

I like to sit up high, with the mostly men who return year-after-year to watch some good competition, whether their sons/local teams are represented or not. It's a good healthy tradition, and I must say, it's nice to be around that level of clean-cut seeming masculinity. But back to the game on the ice...

Down 5-1, the goalie #30 was replaced by the more standard goalie number, #1. A senior. I'm not sure of the back story: maybe the senior got hurt and #30 stepped up to replace him due to injury. Maybe the freshman consistently outplayed his elder all season long and for the good of the team, he took the top spot. The program tells you how many games, how many minutes played, and #30 had more than half for the season, but with #1 logging his share too. (Most other teams who stuck with only one had that goalie -- usually the upperclassman -- logging much more, about 90% to say 10%).

At one point, I turned to the teens behind me when the score was racheting up in favor of Edgewood, and said: "That kid's a freshman." Since one had just borrowed my program a few minutes earlier, he responded, "I know." (I guess you have to be older to see the impressiveness of such a young man's play.)

After about the fourth goal scored against him, #30 too showed frustration, whacking the pipes with his stick. When he was benched coming into the 3rd, he stood crouched in the team box with his head hung over the ice as one teammate, and then an assistant coach came over to console him. The good thing about the protective facewear: you can't see tears behind the mask.

But lo and behold: the Mosinee offense found their feet in the 3rd. Nothing to do with the replacement goalie really; Edgewood was not taking as many shots, perhaps content to play conservatively with a 5-1 lead. First one, than another, then yet another goal with less than 2 minutes to play. This truly might have been a case of not losing, the clock just running out on your efforts. Final score 5-4, with the crowd riled up, and the fans treated to an excellent opening game.

I hope that #30 comes back to state in years to come, and I hope the bus rides home were full of some proud young Warriors. "Never give up. Never, never, never".

For those reasons, and because the victor of the next game -- Appleton United co-op, making their first trip to state for the boys' team (the girls were champions last year) -- had a hot senior goalie, quick to cover and get back in position on the pucks he deflected, I think Edgewood will see their season end tonight.

Wisconsin Rapids could do nothing against them, so systematic was Appleton's defense and their passing efforts in setting up their own shots. Appleton knocked off last years' champ Fond du Lac in the playoffs, and Mal picked them to win the whole thing.

Still... unbeaten Eau Claire Memorial is ranked number one in the state, and beat Janesville 3-2 last night. And Superior beat University School-Milwaukee on a power play in OT. Eau Claire and Superior will face each other in the appr. 7:15 game tonight, with the winner facing either Appleton or Edgewood.

It's hard for a season to end, and of course, only one team will go home truly happy. But when you play hard, and give the fans their money's worth, you should be proud. No excuses: time to shine and play your hardest. And love your teammates, even if you don't see it as that until many years later...

"Thanks for giving me your love..."