I put together a list of my favorite moments in recent Luverne hockey and forum activity. This list is not conclusive, feel free to add as you see fit.
10. Tuesday December 1st, 2015 BMIA. Prior to this game a dedicated booster had installed a train horn to blast after goals. Marshall came into town undefeated and pretty proud of themselves. That first horn blast about 4 minutes into the first period shook something loose on the visitor bench. Before the night was over 14 blasts let loose.
At the conclusion of the game a whiny home team mother ended the train horn right in its tracks. Shame. I'll attach a link to horn/ hockey highlights of this game. In defense of whiny mom, it was pretty obnoxious.
9. Wednesday Mar 8 2017 Xcel energy center. After our 6th consecutive number 1 overall seed, we finally punched our second ticket to the state tournament. This was coach Paquette's first year and he didn't disappoint. After defeating Marshall in the section final it was time for the "Random" seed to be announced. What's that? Oh, another stunner, Luverne draws Hermantown for the opener. With the state expecting a rout, the Red Army showed up and showed out. Eventually expanding to include the vast majority of the state by pushing Hermantown to overtime. The dynasty held on in overtime but not without drama.
This was a great day to be a Cardinal.
Yoopskater wrote: ↑Wed Sep 19, 2018 9:04 pm
Ha! I was playing the video and my wife was across the room, she’s like, “What is that??? I would never go to that rink!”
That's what St. Paul Academy and Summit said last December
Super Saturday at GAC is revered in southwest Minnesota. This one was no different. Lord Setterholm brought a pretty good Eagles team to challenge my Cardinals on that Saturday. If anyone forgot, there was some tension between Lords program and Luverne. He was quoted as saying playing Luverne was like "taking his program ten steps back." Believe it or not those of us Cardinals defenders on this board didn't forget. In other words he was still living rent free in our heads. Well, after this game we booted him right out and into retirement. We scored 18 seconds into the tilt and every minute after that for 5. Finished the game Ten-Rip. Was a much shorter drive back to Luverne than the following Wednesday would prove to be.
Fresh off the programs first state tournament appearance, Luverne was selected to be a part of HDM. Keeping that nugget of information a secret was no small task for notTONIGHT, pulled it off though. The day was great, the game was a thriller, and the venue was incredible.
Last edited by notTONIGHT on Fri Sep 21, 2018 6:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
Setterholm's candor was always good for 3A, he had no problem calling sand bagging class A teams out. That said, those who were not there or have not experienced the GAC are really missing out on the high school experience.
The success of 3A hockey benefits the whole state.
goldy313 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 20, 2018 11:34 pm
Setterholm's candor was always good for 3A, he had no problem calling sand bagging class A teams out. That said, those who were not there or have not experienced the GAC are really missing out on the high school experience.
The success of 3A hockey benefits the whole state.
goldy313 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 20, 2018 11:34 pm
Setterholm's candor was always good for 3A, he had no problem calling sand bagging class A teams out. That said, those who were not there or have not experienced the GAC are really missing out on the high school experience.
The success of 3A hockey benefits the whole state.
I also agree with this. So much so that I have a couple more memories involving him forthcoming. He helped shape not only Section 3A, but this forum into what it is today.
Plante gets all the accolades but Setterholm brought all this stuff up earlier than Plante ever did.
Lord did a whole lot with his candor no one else ever dared do, yet Plante gets the credit when Hermantown and it's class structure has zero in common with New Ulm.
Stremcha took over a struggling program in Redwood and needed a spark. He found it copying Patrick Roy's lead in Colorado. Pulling the goalie with half of the third period remaining became his forte. The way his team and fan base rallied around it was something to behold. The program turned around and started scoring opportunistic goals and rode really strong goaltending to some big upsets. This culminated at BMIA in 2015 with a rousing playoff performance. They pushed my Cardinals to the BRINK coming away with a 4-3 loss. Hats of to the great goalie puller of section 3a!
2016, #6 Redwood with literally 6 skaters and a goalie takes Marshall to overtime. Redwood brings nearly their whole student body and band for a 9:30 faceoff on a Monday. Luverne played the first semi final that night and I intended to leave after the first period of the second game. I stayed until the end of the Redwood game and in my years of watching hOckey put that game in my top 5 enjoyable all time games. #1 is John Marshall beating Edina in 1977.
After spotting the Eagles a 2 goal lead after after the first period, Jaxon Nelson had different ideas. Coming out for the second period absolutely ROARING, 27 seconds in Jaxon scored. He would continue to score 4 consecutive goals. Chaz Smedsrud added 2 more in route to a 6-5 win.
The thing to remember, this was Luverne coming off of their first state tournament berth. Metro class A team's didn't have much respect for the Cardinals. This put the squad on the map and bolstered legitimacy. I'll attach a video of the dynamic duo blowing the roof off of the barn. ROLL CARDS ROLL.