Last night was a jammed night of sports in the region & beyond. The ND class A basketball championships, a Timberwolves game, the ACC championship and the MN hockey championship. I did my best to pay attention to everything, which some could argue means I wasn't really paying attention to anyone. I hear that but I got the main point from all of em so don't sweat it.
When the Moorhead Spuds got down 2, 3, 4 goals to 0 it was basically over. The Spuds made good on the night because they didn't compel themselves to pack it in early but it was a tall order. Late in the second period, closing the gap to 4 - 2 could have lead to big things over the final 20 minutes but unfortunately for the team from the Northwest, Grand Rapids wasn't to be denied or even challenge too much. They got two goals in the third to effectively slam the door on the championship, before it could even start opening.
The Spuds deserve credit for never giving up and making what was at one point a very sleepy final into one worth paying attention. That's no small feat coming from a non - hockey fan but is little consolation for a program that has had 8 chances to close the season as a winner but has come up with bupkis.
An optimist may say that eventually they'll get a banner for Moorhead but this Viking, Timberwolves, Twins and Wild country. Optimism, sports and this part of the country do not go hand in hand. Don't get me wrong, I hope they can get it done.
Heck, I hope they can get it done a year from even but blind optimism isn't attractive to this sports fan. Years from now, when those boys get together, hopefully they'll remember the run to the championship and how special that is over the pain of the defeat that they are likely waking up with this morning. It's never fun to be a runner up but making the memories can last a life time!