THE MET

My brother had an expression he would always utter back in the Metropolitan Sports Center days when the high school hockey teams would compete in the sectional playoffs through the state tournament and that was, “So much hockey, so little time!”  We would see 2 games on Monday, 2 games on Tuesday, 2 games on Thursday, 2 games on Friday and 4 games on Saturday, then we would see all 12 state tournament games the following week.  We camped out there in those days.  Our time was spent in 3rds: ⅓ sleep, ⅓ work, ⅓ hockey.  I was living in Jordan back then so I would go to his place in Lakeville and he would drive up 35W to 494, put his turn signal on and take the 77 south exit.  It became such a habit for him that on Monday morning after the tournament on his way to work down 494 to Univac, he instinctively put his right turn signal on when approaching the 77 exit, but would catch himself and swerve back onto 494.  He liked the Met Center as it was more convenient for him than St. Paul and (God Forbid) the Target Center.  I think it had a lot to do with Met Stadium on the other side of the parking lot as he had Viking’s season tickets and went to a gazillion Twins games.  I liked it for the fact that, yes, it was convenient, but 24 games in the same place in 2 weeks time.  Hockey heaven.  Of course it doesn’t take rocket science to appreciate the fact that we went from a 7,000 seat capacity at the old St. Paul Auditorium to a 16,000 seat hockey palace in the suburbs.  There is something though about the lure of St. Paul as the site for the state tournament.  The only high school hockey I had seen at the Auditorium is kind of fuzzy as it was back in the 50’s and you know how it was then as everything was in black and white.  Hockey jerseys and gear were rather drab and didn’t have much color.  What I remember most about the place was my Dad would take my brother and I to see the old St. Paul Saints and Minneapolis Millers hockey games/wrestling matches.  There was plenty of color then, mostly blood.  

I missed the transfer to the Met Center in 1969 as I was overseas at the time in the Air Force, but my brother’s letters told me all about the Warroad - Edina overtime championship game and Henry Boucha.  Henry was the epitome of a hockey stud and already a legend while still in high school.  I had no idea as to who else was in the tournament as all he talked about was this Native American man, myth and legend all rolled into one incredible magician with a hockey stick.  He got injured in the 2nd period and was taken to the hospital.  That was the defining moment that the hockey crowd turned against Edina and the repercussions are still felt today.  I did not officially get to a high school hockey game at the Met until 1973, but what a game it was to lose my virginity over, the State Championship game between Hibbing and Alexander Ramsey.  That was the beginning of our Met Center hey-day and my brother and I never missed a high school sectional tournament or state tournament game during its tenure until 1976 when the MSHSL moved back to St. Paul in the confines of the new Civic Center.  As I mentioned in a previous article, the St. Paul Civic Center was my favorite press box for the State High School Hockey Tournament as it was built out from the wall so when you watched the game, you did not see the crowd below you.  Plus it had its own elevator down to the press area where all the crock pots, cold cuts, cookies and cokes were set up in ample supply.  However, The Met turned into the best fortnights of hockey that my brother and I were to ever enjoy.

Anyway, tomorrow kicks off the 82nd Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament and I have to stay true to my Iron Range roots and pick Hibbing-Chisholm for Class A and Grand Rapids for Class AA.  We’ll get to that later!