HOME OF THE FIGHTING SIOUX

(The Ralph Engelstad Arena "The Ralph" is the home of the UND Fighting Sioux)

At the end of November, the Winkler Flyers had the great opportunity to take a break from their hectic schedule and visit the home of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. The Sioux are highly regarded as one of the best NCAA Div I hockey programs in the nation and has been the home of many current NHL players including Jonathon Toews, Mike Commadore and TJ Oshie. It is also the alma mater of former Winkler Flyer goaltender and future NHL Hall of Famer Ed Belfour. Kevin McKinnon and Dane Litke are also some former Flyers that have made their way to UND.

For the majority of Junior A hockey players, getting the call from UND would be a dream come true. The program is excellant, the facilities are even better, and the level of education that is available to you is great. The Flyers and many other MJHL teams annually make the trip to Grand Forks, North Dakota to let their players see one of the things they are competing for on a nightly basis. Talking to Head Coach John Marks (who is a former Sioux himself....more on that later) he said that not only are these kids playing for wins or for MJHL championships but they are, in a lot of cases, playing for an education and a better life for themselves down the road.

As you will see in the following pictures, the facilities that the Fighting Sioux have are quite amazing. If walking through the dressing room, gym, meeting room, and underwater treadmill isn't incentive enough to put in the extra work or time needed to increase your game to the next level then I don't know what is. These trips are a great way to give the players a little bit of a carrot to follow or a look ahead as to what their life could be like if they are the fortunate ones to get a chance to go to the University of North Dakota or any other Division I school.

I was able to tag along with the guys and snapped a few photo's....enjoy!

(Pretty cool experiece. The team got to practice at "The Ralph")

(In the halls beneath the stands sits the dressing room, gym, offices, and a lot of memorabelia. The above and below pictures are of all the NHL draft picks that played at UND. In the above picture, look at the player who was the first every College player ever drafted in the first round of the NHL entry draft.....pretty cool)

(NHL Award winners....mostly Ed Belfour)

(The above and below pictures are of the plaques of all the former Sioux players that have played in the NHL and which team they played for)

(Stanley Cup Champions)

(Stick Room)

(Fighting Sioux Dressing Room)

(above...this is the first thing the players see when they step out of their dressing room and head for the ice. "Expect To Win")

(Players lounge)

(video meeting room)

(This is the gym for the Men's and Women's hockey teams)

(dry land training area in the gym)

(great motto)

(above....who is this handsome devil.....psst, it's John Marks)

(here are a few shots of the game we got to go to...UND vs Notre Dame)

(Fighting Sioux logo designed right into the marble floor)

That's it folks. If you are ever in Grand Forks I strongly encourage you to check out the Ralph Engelstad Arena. You won't be disappointed.

Until next time.....

BILLETS, PARENTS, AND THE DEADLINE

Well the dreaded month of November is almost over. The stretch of 14 games in 29 days with 10 of those games being on the road has taken its toll on a lot of people. The injury bug has finally started to go away. And the schedule has started to slow down a bit which is nice.

As you may or may not know, the first MJHL roster cut down deadline is coming up on December 1st. Each Junior “A” team in Canada needs to get their cards down to 25. But that doesn’t mean that teams will have 25 players. This deadline is the first of two that Junior “A” leagues have during a season. The big one is on January 10th. The December 1st deadline is used to set yourself up in a positive position to make the moves that will give your team the edge before the rosters are set following the January deadline. Most teams will only keep around 21 or 22 playing on the roster after December 1st which gives you three or four extra cards in which to add those impact players in January.

The Flyers are not the only team in the world that is looking to upgrade what they have which means there are many teams looking to find the same kind of player. So making the right move or even taking a pass on a certain player can have huge implications as to how your season will enfold.

However, as much as I would like to see some moves that bring excitement and legitimately upgrade the talent on the ice, I think the most important upgrade that can be made is with the players that are already here. No one can say that the Flyers of 10/11 don’t have talent. But what you can say is that the consistent effort that is required to win on a nightly basis isn’t there. We have seen a lot of games this year where the effort matches the talent and that is really exciting to see and makes you think that this team can really do something special. If the 23 players currently on the roster can all play to their potential and the men in the Flyers office can find the right pieces that fit the puzzle, I think the sky is the limit this season.

(2010/11 Winkler Flyers Billets Families and Parents)

Another thing that happened this past weekend was the annual Flyers billet and parent weekend. It was a time to give thanks and recognize a group of volunteers that has such a huge impact on any Junior hockey franchise. Every season numerous families open up their homes and lives to these players and take them in and treat them as one of their own. I have heard many times how important it is to have a good home like atmosphere for these guys to live in for seven or eight months of the year.

This past weekend a good number of the players parents and other family members were in town to watch a couple games. If you go to as many games as I do you get to see a core group of parents that make the trip to nearly every game. But, for some of them it was the first chance they have had to see their boy in action. It was great to see the excitement in the eyes and just to see how proud they are of their kid who spends most of the year hundreds of miles away from home. I can only imagine what these parents have to go through when they put their trust in someone else to put the best interests of their child first. It was really nice for them to be able to come and watch a couple games and for the team to recognize them for the things they do.

I hope that through this blog, the stories that I write for the Flyers website, and through the Flyer Folder and play-by-play broadcasts on the radio and internet it lets you be a little closer to the team even though geography doesn’t allow you to be sitting in the stands cheering them on. The things that we all do to promote the team are for you as parents and family and for the fans. It was great to be able to meet you all this weekend and I look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

If you have any questions or comments you can leave a comment on this blog post or you can email me at matt@winklerflyers.com

Until next time....

NORTHERN ROAD TRIP DIARY

Hello Flyer Fans, This past weekend, the Winkler Flyers boarded the bus and made the trip up north for the first time this season. It was a 1,500 km journey that began Friday morning in Winkler and ended in the early morning hours of Monday when the team arrived back home.

For those of you that listened to the games you will know that Eric and I made the trip along with the team. It was a busy and tiring trip and a lot of fun at the same time. I kept a bit of a diary of our travels complete with pictures. For most of you the only time you get to see the team play is at home. I hope this post gives you an inside look at life on the road....enjoy!

(stretch time in Dauphin)


Friday, November 5th
- 10:30am - Board the bus (the pride of '83) and began the 530km journey to Swan River, home town of the Swan Valley Stampeders.

-1pm- Make a stop at the convenience story in Neepawa for drinks, snacks, and a potty break.

-2:30pm- Stop for lunch in Dauphin and back on the road in a hour.

(pre-game walk before the Swan Valley game)

-5:30pm- Arrive at the Swan River Centennial Arena.

-10:30pm- Following a tough 3-2 loss to the Stampeders we are back on the road and drive 230km to The Pas (the home of the OCN Blizzard)

-12:30pm- We get to the WescanaInn in The Pas, get our room assignments, bring in our stuff, and head off to bed.

(Unloading the bus in Swan)

Saturday, November 6th

-9:30am- Wake up call!!!!

-10am- Bacon, eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, and LOTS of coffee is on the menu for breakfast at the hotel.

-2:30pm- After some down time in the room it's time for a pre-game stretch and walk.

-5:30pm- Pack up the bus and make the five minute drive to the Gordan Lathlin Memorial Centre to take on the OCN Blizzard.

(Ernie Sutherland is wide awake....I think)

-10:30pm- After a 5-3 loss to the Blizzard the boys are back in the hotel for a post game meal. After that it is off to bed to get ready for another day on the bus.

(Troy Kliever and John Marks)

Sunday, November 7th

-9am- Wake up call!!!

-9:30am- After packing the bus and getting ready to leave its time for a quick breakfast buffet at the hotel.

-10am- All aboard the bus and we embark on the 405km stretch to the Waywayseecappo First Nation.

(Ernie showing the guys his fancy stick work)

-12:15pm- Stop at the Swan River Tim Horton's for some of the worlds best coffee and "healthy" donuts and back on the road within 15 minutes.

(There is good fishing up north and Peter Alexander is letting you know just how big they are)

-3pm- Arrive at the Waywayseecappo Community Complex.

(What hotel isn't complete without a snow mobile in the lobby)

-7:15pm- Finally the Flyer were able to pick up two points with a 5-3 win over the Wolverines. The customary two honks of the horn and we are off with the sweet sounds of Travis Tritt's "It's a Great Day To Be Alive" ringing in our ears.

(WescanaInn....we didn't try the soup)

-8:30pm- It's time for some Dairy Queen in Neepawa after a big win.

-9am- Back on the road and headed for home.

(shot of the hotel)

With full stomachs and positive vibes after a win you would think that the remaining two hours of the trip would go smoothly right?........WRONG!

(Dining room at the hotel)

-9:12pm- The faint hum of the road is back in our ears and we are all settling in for the final leg of this long journey...but....something breaks the silence.....POP...flapflapflapflapflap. Yup it's a tire.

(GLMC in OCN)

After a 30 minute effort to try and remove the back outside tire in order to get to the busted inside one we gave up and called for some help. A nice guy with a shop in Gladstone (about 15 minutes away from the tire event) tried to help us out but didn't have the tools to do the job.

So the next option was calling the after hours phone number for Fountain Tire in Portage. Success!

-11pm- We were able to limp our way to Portage and thanks to Justin at Fountain Tire we were in and out in half and hour and back on the road full steam ahead.

Monday, November 8th

-12:50am- The bright lights of Winkler show up on the horizon and we pull into the Winkler Recreation Complex. The trip is over and a good nights sleep in the comfort of our own beds is just minutes away.

Well that is your look inside a road trip of the Winkler Flyers. I hope you enjoyed it.

Scroll down for some more photos.....

(Me doing some work)

(The endless highway)

(Me and Kevin Klassen, the best bus driver in the game)

(Looks pretty comfortable to me)

(Inside the Wayway Arena....biggest ice service in the league)

(Steve Hancock doing a pre-game tape job)

(Here is a shot of the surroundings)

(John Marks doing some pre-game reading)

(The Tickle Truck)

(The broadcast booth in Wayway)

(Wayway crowd)

(Eric Braun on the left and myself on the right)

(Nice way to end a busy road trip)

(Checking out the damage)

(David Goerz holding a road flair making sure we don't get run over)

(You can see the hole in the inside tire)

(You can see the big gash in the top of the tire)

(Justin the Hero)

(THE END)