Minnesota Wild 2001-2002 - Season Two Highlights

Minnesota Wild, 2001-2002
Season 2 Highlights

11/25/01 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars Game Recap
This was by far one of the more exciting games to attend - actually any time the former MN North Stars (now the Dallas Stars) come to play against Minnesota's new team - the sparks are bound to fly. I was fortunate enough to even get these great tickets off of Ticketmaster. I also love bringing people to their first hockey game at the "X." This time I brought my hockey buddy Jesse Sorkness. It was great to finally see a game with someone who knows a lot about the game. The Wild fell behind and worked hard to catch up with the Stars, but the rally was a little too late.

06/25/01 2002 NHL Draft Party
On June 25, the MN Wild hosted a party to celebrate the success of its second NHL Draft. The event took place at the new Science Museum of Minnesota. It was a very, very hot and humid day, but I stuck it out in order to meet some more of the players, hear about the draft and upcoming year, get a few autographs, and take a few photographs. One of the players I had wanted to meet was Darby Hendrickson - one of the few native Minnesotans on the team. Darby was kind enough to chat with me for a few minutes and pose for the camera (too bad the photo didn't turn out any better).

Earlier in the year I was busy knitting some things for my soon-to-be-born niece. I do a lot of knitting while watching TV. One night I was watching a Wild game while knitting booties and got an idea into my head. I knew that Darby and Dana were expecting a baby about the same time - I had some black yarn - put two and two together - and suddendly I had black skate booties. I also had some dark green, yellow, red, and white scraps of yarn - so they became little Wild hockey gloves. So I sent them off to the Hendricksons when their son Mason was born last March. So when I met Darby in June, I was able to tell him that I was the one who sent the skates and mittens. At a game this past February his wife Dana was at the gates of the X with a fundraiser before a game - so I got a chance to meet her and introduce myself as well.

11/02/01 4-2 victory of CO Avalanche Game Recap
By far the BEST Wild game I have ever seen! Especially since they beat the defending Stanley Cup Champs.

11/11/01 5-0 loss to Vancouver Canucks Game Recap
By far one of the WORST games I've seen!

12/16/01 3-2 OT loss to Colorado Avalanche Game Recap
My hockey buddy Jesse and I splurged on tickets for this game and sat in the St. Paul Club level behind the goalie. The amenities were nice, but the view from these seats wasn't all that much better to warrant the higher ticket price. The Wild were winning 2-0 until I jinxed the game by saying "I hope Rollie is able to preserve his shutout!" Well, I didn't know you weren't supposed to say "shutout" - and as it turned out, within five minutes the Avs scored 2 goals to take the game into overtime. The Avs eventually won the game.

02/10/02 4-3 victory over NY Islanders Game Recap
It was time to take another person to her first Wild hockey game at the X -- this time it was my mom Ann. After lunch at the Iron Range Grill we took our seats in the top row of the upper level behind the goalie. Sure we were far from the ice - but the view still isn't so bad - and sitting on bar stools was kind of fun. We sat directly above where Jesse and I sat at the previous game on the St. Paul Club level. It was interesting to watch the game from this perspective though - as the players skated up and down the ice instead of back and forth from left to right. We could watch the plays develop from the defensive to offensive end. We also got to witness a penalty shot. Good ol' Rolie the Goalie made the stop. The only bad thing about this game was that Filip Kuba broke his hand.

Click on the images to see them full size.

03/31/02 2-1 loss to Blackhawks in Chicago Game Recap
Mom and I headed to Chicago for the Easter holiday weekend. We spent Saturday out and about at museums and had a fabulous dinner at the Greek Isles restaurant. Easter morning we went to the Norwegian church for services in Norwegian. Afterwards we made our way to the United Center to see the Wild take on the Blackhawks. It was the first time I had seen a Wild road game - weird to see them in their green jerseys. During the warm-up skate we got to stand behind the Wild players' bench and get some close-up shots of the players. Right after I snapped this photo Coaches Jacques Lemaire, Mike Ramsey and Mario Tremblay turned around and saw us in our WILD jerseys. Mario gave us a big grin and a "thumb's up." Jacques just winked. It truly was different being just 1 of maybe 20 Wild fans at a game instead of 1 of 18,000+. The coaches and players seemed to really appreciate seeing WILD fans while playing on the road. All in all it was a fun trip - even though the Wild lost. Our seats were in the top row of the upper bowl on the red line. We sat right below the WCCO radio booth - so close that we could hear Bob and Barry's play-by-play and shake their hands. They saw us walking up to our seats - saw our Wild jerseys - and waived hello to us. How cool! Now Mom and I have been to two NHL arenas - 28 more to go!