LEN LILYHOLM: ARCHITECT REALIZED OLYMPIC HOCKEY GOAL

February 21, 2024 A 1959 Robbinsdale High School Robins graduate, Len Lilyholm has fond memories of his high school years, the most cherished meeting his future wife, Carol Rivers.  Len captained football, hockey, and track and field teams, where talented athletes abounded. Teammate Julian Hook, a two-time undefeated state wrestling champion, also excelled in football

HOCKEY LORE AT LUNCH

November 18, 2023 An invitation from Dave Metzen to meet a group of 1960s hockey players at Tom Reid’s Hockey City Pub in St. Paul was eagerly accepted and had not a disappointing moment.  From Carl Wetzel’s proclamation that there was an aura in the room due to the presence of two goalies—obviously indicating himself—plus

DAVE METZEN: A CONVERSATION WITH A SOUTH ST. PAUL ATHLETE AND EDUCATOR

March 15, 2023 “Be careful what you write,” are the light-hearted parting words of a chuckling Dave Metzen following a 90-minute conversation.  Dave has both a storied career in athletics, educational leadership, and community service and a potential career in storytelling.  An All-Conference tackle in football who found greater success in hockey, Dave spent his

John Pohl: JUNIOR YEAR AT RED WING, SENIOR YEAR AT UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA WERE STORYBOOK SEASONS

December 6, 2022 Part of a true brotherhood, John Pohl is the oldest of four boys of a Red Wing, Minnesota teacher, hockey coach, and athletic director father, Jim, and lawyer mother, Joanne. Born in 1979, John was joined by brothers, Mark, Mike, and Tommy within the next five years. “We boys did everything together,”

TRIBUTE TO SOUTH ST. PAUL, GOPHER HOCKEY LEGEND; MINNESOTA CURLERS KEEP MEDALING

Hundreds of people packed South St. Paul High School today to honor the life of Doug Woog: family man (surviving spouse, Jan Woog), athlete, and coach. Some less known facts by the public: Doug was an all-state football player as a tailback on the team’s single wing offense and offered a football scholarship to the

TRIBUTES TO TWO COACHES, GOPHER SPORTS, AND ANALEE WEAVER

Analee Weaver (Stillwater) placed 14th in the National Foot Locker Championships in San Diego, CA, this weekend. Analee is a junior and claimed the Class 2A state title in cross country this fall with a time of 17:46.1, a nearly 7-second margin of victory. Another name familiar to the running community who placed at the

LESSER-KNOWN MINNESOTA ATHLETES, BIG-TIME ACHIEVEMENTS, PART 3 OF 5

A 2013 AAU Sullivan Award finalist for the best amateur athlete in the United States, Joy Woog Garvey has many incredible athletic accomplishments in her lifetime. In the era before girls’ high school hockey, Joy played ice hockey for the Minnesota Thoroughbreds, the only high-caliber amateur hockey team available to girls in the state. Her