November 13-14, 2015 Bemidji Pioneer coverage

This past weekend I covered the top-5 Bemidji State women's hockey team for the Bemidji Pioneer when the Beavers came to town to face #3 Minnesota.

It didn't go too well for BSU. After being shut out 4-0 on Friday, Bemidji State gave up 8 goals in an 8-3 loss. All four of the team's losses have come to the two teams ahead of it in the WCHA standings, Minnesota and #1 Wisconsin.

The series had more to do with how Minnesota, its offense and power play against the outstanding Beaver defense is another tier above the rest than BSU's play. The margin is thin. Both nights Bemidji State forward Stephanie Anderson had two breakaways that would have made it a 1-1 game, but Gopher goaltender Amanda Leveille saved both. Once it was 2-0 the hill was that much steeper for a team whose calling card is its defensive play.

You can read both recaps below. Thanks goes out to Jack Hittinger for giving me the opportunity.

Friday's 4-0 loss - http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/sports/beavers/3882908-womens-hockey-gophers-blank-bemidji-state-4-0

Saturday's 8-3 loss - http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/sports/beavers/3883162-womens-hockey-bsu-falls-minnesota-8-3-series-finale

On Minnesota sports and the rough week, Parts I-IV

Good grief Charlie Brown, this was a rough week for Minnesota sports.

Emotions were put through the ringer. There were victories on the court, gridiron and rink. There were losses, both real and imaginary. There were tears shed for the fallen and lost.

Over the past seven days, the Minnesota sports landscape has seen its most successful NBA coach in Timberwolves head coach/GM Flip Saunders succumb to cancer and its lone Division 1 football coach step away from the game he loves less than a year after leading Minnesota to its first New Year’s Day bowl in over 50 years for health reasons. 

Nate Appears on The Pipeline Show (or) Bad Timing, Fed Ex

You can meticulously prepare notes for five minutes, five days, or even five years and it doesn't matter. When the Fed Ex guy rings the doorbell right as the radio show you're appearing on comes back from commercial, all that preparation goes out the window.

It is time to prove yourself and call an audible.

That scenario happened on Saturday when I appeared on TSN 1260's The Pipeline Show in Edmonton to preview and discuss the Big Ten hockey season. I've been a long time listener of the show dating back to Nick Bjugstad appearing in 2010 or 2011. Here's a 2012 blog I wrote about Charlie Coyle's TPS appearance. Few cover prospects and junior/college hockey in such depth and I was more than honored to be a guest.

So of course Murphy's Law strikes. I'm sitting in my office-that-is-really-the-kitchen with a couple notes written for reference. The dog is put away in the furthest room from said office-that-is-really-a-kitchen. Unless the door bell rings, which happens at best once a week, there is no way the on again, off again barking at those poor citizens who have the guts to walk on his street can be heard from one side of the house to the other.

So of course the door bell rings. And of course my dog's barking is turned up to 11.

I spent the first 30 seconds of this interview learning Fed Ex will deliver on Saturday, signing for 3 packages before heading for my new office-that-is-really-a-car. In hindsight multi-tasking wasn't as big of a deal as it was in my head. The radio interview went well. Scrambling while trying to listen and avoid unleashing all of Edmonton to a barking dog wasn't the end of the world.



This ended up being more fun, and a lot more genuine than having notes and answering questions with stats.

Plus it makes a good story.

Thanks Guy and Taylor for having me on the show. If I get the opportunity next time I'll be sure to have someone cut off the Fed Ex guy just in case.

Hannah Brandt and Lee Stecklein Feature

Hannah Brandt and Lee Stecklein are the captains of the top-ranked and undefeated (as of this writing) University of Minnesota women's hockey team. Both have been successful on the ice, winning two national championships and representing the United States in several competitions. Stecklein was one of the youngest players to play in the 2014 Olympics.

This season the two captains are taking their on ice and off season experiences and turning them into leadership, which I wrote about last week for SB Nation.

http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/womens-hockey/2015/10/16/9544905/gopher-hockey-lee-stecklein-hannah-brandt-minnesota-captains

(SB Nation College Hockey)

October 18, 2015 Star Tribune Article

Last weekend I went to Duluth as part of a separate feature and ended up also covering the Gophers' 3-0 loss Saturday for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. You can check out the story below.

http://www.startribune.com/change-of-venue-no-help-as-gophers-swept-by-umd-for-0-3-start/333718321/

Traveling, and writing about my travels, is something I hope to do more this year.

Nate appears on Keystone Sports Beat

On Thursday I appeared on the Keystone Sports Beat in Central Pennsylvania to talk Big Ten hockey, the state of the conference, which schools could join the Big Ten in hockey, how teams look in the preseason, and Penn State's outlook for the season. You can listen below.


Big thanks to Brian Tripp, who calls Penn State games in addition to his radio duties, for having me on his show.

It was fantastic to get a little more experience on radio. Speaking on the air or on a podcast is a different experience than having the opportunity to write. The only way to get better is to do more repetitions. I hope to do more to change that this year.

2015-16 Big Ten Media Poll

Once again I was in charge of compiling the Big Ten Hockey Preseason Media Poll.

Michigan, which barely missed out on the NCAA Tournament a season ago, is picked by the 16 voters to win the six team conference. It's a small margin. Only three points separated them from 2014-15 regular season and conference champion Minnesota.

This is the second consecutive season where I put the poll together. I like doing it. Being able to talk with writers, radio, TV folks throughout the conference helps form a more educated opinion.

Best of all, I get to meet so many great people.

You can look at the full results here:
http://www.sbncollegehockey.com/big-ten/2015/9/28/9409569/2015-16-big-ten-hockey-preseason-media-poll