Going Back To My Roots

The jersey still fits!

Tonight (Tuesday) my Dad, my two two little brothers, and I trekked over to Tate Rink to watch Army take on the Russian Red Stars, who are basically Russia's junior 'B' team. They weren't much of a 'B' team as the Russians completely overwhelmed the Black Knights and beat them 11-4. The Russians played a very high-paced game, and their opponent just couldn't handle them. You can check out the game recap here.

I try to see an Army game every winter break because that is where I learned to love hockey, especially college hockey. I went to my first college hockey game at Army during the 1993-1994 season, and two years later my Dad bought two season tickets. I instantly fell in love. The Black Knights were my favorite team. I can still name some of the stars of that team to this day... Ian Winer, Mike Mansell, Mike Gunning, Frank Fede, Andy Lundbohm, Daryl Chamberlain, Greg Buckheimer, Dan Hinote (who has had a very succesful NHL career after leaving Army after the 1995-1996 season), Anthony Felice, and so on.

During the that early part of that first season, Army played Union to a 0-0 tie. This was the first time I ever heard of Union and when I was told to take a look at the school, that scoreless tie was the first thing to come to my mind. We would go to pretty much every home game for many years. Army hockey and my Dad are the reasons why I follow college hockey, go to the Frozen Four, and care so much about hockey at Union. Even though Union is definitely #1 in my book, Army still has that special place in my heart.

I took some pictures and video from the game. Enjoy!

Army Bench with Head Coach Brian Riley

Army defenseman John Clark. John is 5' 8" and 185 pounds, which gives me hope that one day I can be a D-1 defenseman

John's brother, Jay, had a tough night in net

It was a pretty packed house (over 2,600 people), which surprised us. We thought it would just be 50 people and a goat




There was a goal every four minutes

An Army tradition for as long as I can remember. Union does the same thing.

The Russian goalie let up four goals, but had nothing to worry about

The two teams took a picture together after the game

The Russians had some fun taking pictures after their win

Picture of the 1995-1996 team hanging in Tate Rink

The captain of the 1995-1996 team was Ian Winer (#15). Ian was my first favorite hockey player. He was my favorite player for two reasons: 1) he was the best player on the team, and 2) I sat next to his father. From peewees to today, I wear #15 in honor of Ian. The following season, Ian's brother, Cory, came to Army and was a standout goaltender. Cory wore #31 and I wore the same number for two seasons in high school lacrosse while he was serving our country over seas.





Greg Buckheimer (left) and Andy Lundbohm during the late 90's. In Mites and Squirts I wore #10 in honor of Lundbohm. I got to spend some time with him and really liked him as a person and a player. He ended up getting drafted by the San Jose Sharks.

My Dad, and my brothers Adam (14) and Michael (18) in our front row seats in Section 11. For the first few season we only had two season tickets. But, when Mr. Winer's kids graduated he sold us his two seats so my brothers could come to every game.

The Russian Red Stars on the power-play



Army captain Cody Omilusik scores on a penalty shot