Augsburg Now December 1974 |
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VOL. 38 NO. 4 DECEMBER 1974 Ice Arena Dedication November 23 On Saturday, November 23rd. Augsburg College will realize a dream come true. It seems fitting on the 50th anniversary of hockey at Augsburg College that she should dedicate a new ice arena. And what an arena it is! Adjoining Si Melby on the east side of the building, it stretches out along Riverside Avenue in a beautiful concrete and glass design. Located directly on top of the ground where the old outdoor rink used to be, it provides Augsburg with the first indoor arena in Minneapolis designed specifically for hockey and one of the finest facilities in the state. Saturday evening, the school will have an opportunity to show off the arena. Open to the public at 6:00. the dedication ceremonies will begin around 6:45. It will include an exhibition of figure skating by some of th« professionals on staff for lessons, and a display of some of the youth hockey events that will be taking place throughout the year at the arena. A few stalwart souls will make an attempt at a quick broomball game to show the spectators a great sport often talked about but seldom seen. Following this will be the traditional Alumni-varsity game with a little twist. The first period will be a scrimmage between some of the older alumni and the varsity reserve unit. The second and third periods will be a game between some of the more recent graduates and the varsity squad. In the past this has always been a great event but with the added attraction of our own arena, it should even be more exciting. Between the first and second periods, the championship team from 1927-28 will be honored with a special presentation. The conference room at the ice arena is going to be dedicated to these men and it is hoped that at least five of the team members will be in attendance. A reception for the men will be held prior to the game in the conference, room but the presentation will be during the intermission. The arena itself, has two full regulation rinks, eight locker rooms, a full pro shop and is carpeted throughout. Because it is the first indoor arena in the Minneapolis area, it will be the home rink for all of the Minneapolis City (district seven) youth hockey and will greatly expand their program. In addition to being home ice for Augsburg, it will be home for Macalster and Hamline as well. Lessons will be available from professional figure skaters and quite a bit of open skating time is available as well We are quite proud of the facility here at Augsburg and hope that a large number of alumni and friends of the school will come back that evening to join in the dedication ceremonies and enjoy a great evening of entertainment. Augsburg's new Ice Arena ajoins SI Melby Hall, facing Riverside Ave. Fifty years of hockey at Augsburg "They are a breed unto themselves these hockey men!" Quote, Ed Sauge- stad. "You will find them in an ice arena at 2 o'clock in the morning; you will find them playing a scrimmage game as if it were the Stanley Cup finals; you will find them out in 15 below zero weather skating; they eat, sleep, breath and live the game." This has been the tradition of hockey here at Augsburg college and it continues the same way today. Fifty seasons ago. a small group of men brought the sport to Augsburg and made a tremendous name for themselves. A lot of people remember that team as the Hanson brothers team, but it included a lot of people. There was. of course. Swanson, the goal tender, and defensemen Mclnerny and Larson to name just a few. In a short period of time. Augsburg was one of the leading hockey teams in the nation and stayed in that position until the mid-thirties when interest in the sport waned and tight money affected the already small funds for team support. With the oncoming of World War II. hockey passed from the scene until 1946. Oscar Hanson, then famous as a Chicago Blackhawk star, came back to help a player-coach. Howie Clark put together a team. that, in the words of the 1946-47 Augsburgian. "returned to conference wars in an outstanding manner and . . . gave the conference teams a rough time." Survival for the hockey team was still a tenous one. Existing under rugged conditions, directed by player coaches and working with little or no funding, the hockey torch was carried, flickering and momentarily going out. into the mid-fifties. In 1955-56 Edor Nelson took over the coaching duties and hockey was on its way for good. Aided by player-coach Saugestad in 1958, Augsburg became a strong conference competitor once again. When Ed graduated from Augsburg in 1959 he was appointed head coach and hockey has since grown steadily under his direction. They have been in the thick of conference action every year and have finished second in all but three seasons since 1959. In the early sixties they went undefeated one season only to suffer a disappointing loss to University of Minnesota Duluth for the conference title. "There have been so many good men, so many good teams that it is hard to know where to start," commented Saugestad. "As soon as I start to mention a few I'm sure I'll leave someone out. Of course I have to mention the terrifically tough front line that played for us the year we lost to Duluth. These three were Robin Prigge. Bruce Ranum. and Jim Ekstrand. The goalie that year was Rick Keuhne and one of the top defensemen I had was Bob Hammer. This was really the first team I coached, and from then until now, there have been a bunch of great guys. All of my team members have given everything they had on the rink and we have developed more and more each year until last year we had our first NAIA All-American team member in Bill Ross. I couldn't even begin to pick one hockey team or one player as being the best or the greatest because they were all good and they were all great to the team". This year? Well, it's hard to predict. Augsburg is of course one of the top contenders but the current league is really strong. St. Thomas. Gustavus Adolphus. and Concordia college all have top teams and you can never count St. Mary's out of any conference race. "We have as good a chance this year as we've ever had to be first at the end of competition, but we won't be able to lose many games at all. We have an expanded program this year with an added varsity reserve unit coached by Doug Smested and that should really help. A lot of good players are back, but they are also being challenged by some sharp new men. It will prove to be an interesting year." It has proved to be an interesting career for Augsburg hockey so far and with the new facility, top notch staff and some excellent players, the future for the sport here looks just as promising. Good luck Auggies'
Object Description
Description
Publication Title | Augsburg Now December 1974 |
Issue Date | 1974-12-01 |
Publisher | Augsburg College |
Rights | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/ |
Transcript | VOL. 38 NO. 4 DECEMBER 1974 Ice Arena Dedication November 23 On Saturday, November 23rd. Augsburg College will realize a dream come true. It seems fitting on the 50th anniversary of hockey at Augsburg College that she should dedicate a new ice arena. And what an arena it is! Adjoining Si Melby on the east side of the building, it stretches out along Riverside Avenue in a beautiful concrete and glass design. Located directly on top of the ground where the old outdoor rink used to be, it provides Augsburg with the first indoor arena in Minneapolis designed specifically for hockey and one of the finest facilities in the state. Saturday evening, the school will have an opportunity to show off the arena. Open to the public at 6:00. the dedication ceremonies will begin around 6:45. It will include an exhibition of figure skating by some of th« professionals on staff for lessons, and a display of some of the youth hockey events that will be taking place throughout the year at the arena. A few stalwart souls will make an attempt at a quick broomball game to show the spectators a great sport often talked about but seldom seen. Following this will be the traditional Alumni-varsity game with a little twist. The first period will be a scrimmage between some of the older alumni and the varsity reserve unit. The second and third periods will be a game between some of the more recent graduates and the varsity squad. In the past this has always been a great event but with the added attraction of our own arena, it should even be more exciting. Between the first and second periods, the championship team from 1927-28 will be honored with a special presentation. The conference room at the ice arena is going to be dedicated to these men and it is hoped that at least five of the team members will be in attendance. A reception for the men will be held prior to the game in the conference, room but the presentation will be during the intermission. The arena itself, has two full regulation rinks, eight locker rooms, a full pro shop and is carpeted throughout. Because it is the first indoor arena in the Minneapolis area, it will be the home rink for all of the Minneapolis City (district seven) youth hockey and will greatly expand their program. In addition to being home ice for Augsburg, it will be home for Macalster and Hamline as well. Lessons will be available from professional figure skaters and quite a bit of open skating time is available as well We are quite proud of the facility here at Augsburg and hope that a large number of alumni and friends of the school will come back that evening to join in the dedication ceremonies and enjoy a great evening of entertainment. Augsburg's new Ice Arena ajoins SI Melby Hall, facing Riverside Ave. Fifty years of hockey at Augsburg "They are a breed unto themselves these hockey men!" Quote, Ed Sauge- stad. "You will find them in an ice arena at 2 o'clock in the morning; you will find them playing a scrimmage game as if it were the Stanley Cup finals; you will find them out in 15 below zero weather skating; they eat, sleep, breath and live the game." This has been the tradition of hockey here at Augsburg college and it continues the same way today. Fifty seasons ago. a small group of men brought the sport to Augsburg and made a tremendous name for themselves. A lot of people remember that team as the Hanson brothers team, but it included a lot of people. There was. of course. Swanson, the goal tender, and defensemen Mclnerny and Larson to name just a few. In a short period of time. Augsburg was one of the leading hockey teams in the nation and stayed in that position until the mid-thirties when interest in the sport waned and tight money affected the already small funds for team support. With the oncoming of World War II. hockey passed from the scene until 1946. Oscar Hanson, then famous as a Chicago Blackhawk star, came back to help a player-coach. Howie Clark put together a team. that, in the words of the 1946-47 Augsburgian. "returned to conference wars in an outstanding manner and . . . gave the conference teams a rough time." Survival for the hockey team was still a tenous one. Existing under rugged conditions, directed by player coaches and working with little or no funding, the hockey torch was carried, flickering and momentarily going out. into the mid-fifties. In 1955-56 Edor Nelson took over the coaching duties and hockey was on its way for good. Aided by player-coach Saugestad in 1958, Augsburg became a strong conference competitor once again. When Ed graduated from Augsburg in 1959 he was appointed head coach and hockey has since grown steadily under his direction. They have been in the thick of conference action every year and have finished second in all but three seasons since 1959. In the early sixties they went undefeated one season only to suffer a disappointing loss to University of Minnesota Duluth for the conference title. "There have been so many good men, so many good teams that it is hard to know where to start," commented Saugestad. "As soon as I start to mention a few I'm sure I'll leave someone out. Of course I have to mention the terrifically tough front line that played for us the year we lost to Duluth. These three were Robin Prigge. Bruce Ranum. and Jim Ekstrand. The goalie that year was Rick Keuhne and one of the top defensemen I had was Bob Hammer. This was really the first team I coached, and from then until now, there have been a bunch of great guys. All of my team members have given everything they had on the rink and we have developed more and more each year until last year we had our first NAIA All-American team member in Bill Ross. I couldn't even begin to pick one hockey team or one player as being the best or the greatest because they were all good and they were all great to the team". This year? Well, it's hard to predict. Augsburg is of course one of the top contenders but the current league is really strong. St. Thomas. Gustavus Adolphus. and Concordia college all have top teams and you can never count St. Mary's out of any conference race. "We have as good a chance this year as we've ever had to be first at the end of competition, but we won't be able to lose many games at all. We have an expanded program this year with an added varsity reserve unit coached by Doug Smested and that should really help. A lot of good players are back, but they are also being challenged by some sharp new men. It will prove to be an interesting year." It has proved to be an interesting career for Augsburg hockey so far and with the new facility, top notch staff and some excellent players, the future for the sport here looks just as promising. Good luck Auggies' |
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