WDAY Sports Blog

Video: World Championship Hockey

Fargo, ND (WDAY Sports) – The world’s top hockey prospects are on their way to town tonight for the Under 18 World Championships and WDAY 6′s Dom Izzo tells us not even a record flood can keep the excitement down.

Come Thursday, the Urban Plains Center in south Fargo will turn into the center of the hockey world and after a two week battle against the elements; the organizers believe this tournament is starting at just the right time.

“People in this own are going to need a release. Everybody’s excited, had a lot of walkup traffic, everyone’s excited about the USA games.”

Urban Plains says that ticket sales have picked up over the past week once the river levels started to decrease and they know what a tournament like this can mean to the city.

“The business in town, the first time in America, and the talent level, how often do we have NHL or pro talent in this town? I think that’s why everyone is excited.”

This tournament has an all star team of alums: Ovechkin, Malkin, Kane, and Parise, but the question remains, if I’m not a sports fan, why should I come?

“If you’re a real hockey fanatic you’re going to see the future of the NHL. If you’re just a fan, then you’re going to see guys going out there and giving it there all on every single shift.”

Organizers are hoping for a USA-Canada final, and if big crowds come out to the up, they feel it can only help the regular tenants in the building.

“People get exposed to the caliber of hockey at the U-18 and the force that can be a big boost for us.

And Urban Plains and Fargo are hoping for a big boost to the economy.

Video: Taking shots at Mike Lee

Fargo, ND (WDAY TV) – Hockey fans in the area have known his name for the past two seasons after leading his team to the State Championship in 2007. Now Roseau native Mike Lee is carrying the force towards a playoff berth. I went one and one with the future St. Cloud Huskie and asked why in the world would anyone want to be a goalie?

“It all started when I was a little kid. I played forward, just like everyone else, grew up and always wanted to hop in the net and rotate every other game and finally got to the squirt level and wouldn’t have anything but goalie. Maybe it’s the big pads that I like, but I kept growing up, loving being the guy back there, last line of defense.”

Whats the worst nightmare for you? Hardest shot to defend?

“It’s tough when you get in a penalty kill situation and you’ve got two guys passing the puck up top, and you got to fight thru the screen, and they’re going to be tipping pucks here, and trying to get dirty goals. Gotta fight it off.”

Say if I’m coming down on this angle here, you’ve gotta keep the rebound right in front of you and make sure it’s not going to a guy right over here.

“Big thing is try and kick it that way, and then obviously cover up quick and get over to the rebound, just in case there’s somebody there.”

Any regrets about not coming back and having a chance of maybe going for another State title?

“A little bit, it’s always not playing for the guys, when they came down to Moorhead, and watched them play a big game, it’s always tough to see them, but the success we’ve had and how well we’ve started to do, it’s really made that transition easier.”

Now the real question, how many shots would you let in by a guy like me?

Video: Point to Prove

(WDAY Sports) – Central Cass wrestler Reed Keenig has a bit of a chip on his shoulder heading to the State Class B tournament that starts tomorrow at the Fargodome.

He’s 32-1, and hasn’t lost in his weight class this season.

He’s not the top seed at 145 though, and that has the Squirrels shaking their heads.

Last year he finished fifth at state but feels like he’s come a long way.

Video: Terrific Tandem

Fargo, ND (WDAY Sports) – It’s almost been too easy at Fargo South this winter. The girl’s basketball team’s closest game, a 23 point win. The team is sparked by two dynamic players and as WDAY 6′s Dom Izzo tells us experience has not been necessary for stardom at South.

It’s been a hard lesson for EDC teams to learn this year, stop Caitlyn Haring and Megan Roehrich. No squad has done it yet, leading Fargo South to a 16-0 record.

Coach Flaagan: “Roehrich is just a sophomore and already leads the team in scoring, while Haring is a four year starter, who has been selected as an All Conference and All State player.

“I usually never saw myself as the star of the team and I usually think of it as a team, I think the game just comes to me.”

Megan: “She can make amazing passes, she can bring up the ball, she can play post, and she is all around an amazing player.”

Coach Flaagan: “Caitlyn can do so many things, we’ve played here in all five positions in one game, and you can’t say that about too many kids.”

Then there’s Roerich who’s showing opponents that South isn’t a one player team.”

“She’s an extraordinary player. I have never seen anyone cut thru a defense like Megan Roerich.”

“With the help of my teammates, they get me open; they pass me the ball.”

“She’s a very confident basketball player; she shows that on the floor, I wouldn’t call it cocky I would call it confident.”

And that confidence could translate to a State Title. The Bruins have three games left in the regular season.

Video: Lucky to be on the court

(WDAY SPORTS) – Three sport athletes are rare to find these days, it’s even harder to find one that excels at all of them. That’s why Central Cass’ Beau Sinner stands out. A great wide receiver on the football field, a terrific baseball pitcher and a big part of the Squirrels basketball team, but he came close to never playing any of those sports again.

“It’s a miracle for him to be playing basketball right now.”

Miracle’s a word you don’t hear too often in sports, but it sure does apply to Beau Sinner. Five months ago, he was named MVP of the State Legion Baseball Tournament. Two weeks later, he wasn’t sure if he’d play any sport, ever again.

It was a bottle rocket accident. A friend lit it; it ricocheted and caught Beau in the right eye.

“Right when it happened I didn’t think I would be able to play sports again, glad to be here right now.”

Doctors told him they wouldn’t know the full extent of the damage to his eye until the swelling subsided. Turns out he got lucky, after a few weeks, sinner regained some of his eyesight. An eye patch was needed however due to the scarring of his cornea and he get still gets stitches removed from his eye, but in November he was cleared to start playing sports again with one catch, he’d have to wear goggles for contact sports.

“It was a lot different coming out with the goggles, perception is a lot different but I’m getting used to it.”

“Ball handling is a more of an issue, shooting is an issue, he’s fast, whether he scores a point for us, he’s a very good defensive player, gives us so many things, he can still be a very valuable member to this team.”

“I didn’t really doubt him because he’s Beau Sinner, he’s going to come back. He’s a good athlete and a good friend.”

Sinner wears a contact lens for periods of time; he’ll have a cornea transplant later this year in an attempt to fully restore his vision. This whole experience has made sinner appreciate what he has.

“I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be able to play anything. It definitely makes you count your blessings.”

Sinner says he’ll have the cornea transplant after his high school sports season is done.

Video: Perham has recipe for success

Perham, Minn. (WDAY SPORTS) – There is several area schools that have shown dominance in certain sports. Fargo South in football, Ada-Borup in girls’ basketball, but in Perham, they’ve proved to be dominant in multiple sports. WDAY 6′s Trevor Peterson traveled to Perham to find out the secret to the Yellow Jackets’ success.

Perham High School is a small school, but it’s turning into an athletics giant. This fall, a Conference Volleyball Title, a State quarterfinal appearance in football, and 2nd place finishes at State for both cross-country teams. Now this winter, a girls basketball team that’s unbeaten, a wrestling team ranked 2nd, and a gymnastics team that’s ranked 1st and looking for a 6th consecutive State Title. So, what’s in the water in Perham?

Robb Moser: “Quite frankly, we have some great kids who are not afraid of hard work. We really do believe in the 3 sport athletes in Perham. That’s rare these days, it’s a conscious decision by our coaches to say, let’s keep our kids well rounded. They’re better for it.”

Just as important is the coaching they receive.

Fred Sailer: “The big thing we have is continuity in our coaching staff. If you’re changing coaches every 2-3 years, you’re going to have a problem because you won’t have that base program, those building blocks in place.

Charlie Fleck: “Bringing the right people in that know how to work with kids. You find a great coach; you’ll find a great teacher. I think that’s what Perham has done and a lot of other schools have not.”

Along with dedicated student athletes and good coaching, the community has also played a big factor in the success of the Perham Athletic Program.

Sailer: “We really lean on them. We’ve got great facilities; the community set that up with the building of the Community Center that allows kids access to gyms at any time.”

Fleck: “The business community has been spectacular. That kind of support you have to have to have a quality program if you want to reach the top.”

Keith Johnson: “The community really bands together and backs whatever sport it is.”

That support filters down to the kids who, in turn, support each other.

Jenna Schmitz: “You wanna do this for you school, not just for yourself, but for your teammates and all the other people.”

Elisa Moenkedick: “We’re all supporting each other. Everyone shows up at the others’ games.”

Sailer: “Our kids stick up for each other. They want to see speech do well. Usually you have a Fine Arts-Athletics struggle, but I don’t see that here. When everyone’s pulling the same direction, it has a chance to work.”

Community support, excellent coaches who stay around, and dedicated, 3-sport athletes; it’s a recipe for success that works anywhere. Just ask Perham.

Video: Bruins mean business

Fargo, ND (WDAY Sports) – The Fargo South wrestlers are getting on top and coming out on top a lot in the early going.

The Bruins were the top placing local team in last weeks’ Rumble on the Red and are 2-0 in the east region.

They were picked by coaches to finish no better than third in the conference, after graduating 10 seniors, but the replacements learned their lessons well.