Minnesota State Hockey Tradition Not 'Iced' in Afghanistan
Posted at: 03/11/2010 12:05 PM
| Updated at: 03/11/2010 6:12 PM
A concrete basketball court replaced a sheet of ice, and the goalie protected lumber and bed sheets instead of the traditional net. But it was still hockey--Afghanistan style. Members of the Duluth-based 148th Fighter Wing were one of two Minnesota-based units remembering the state High School Hockey Tournament going on this week. They joined the 372nd Engineering Battalion out of St. Paul to organize last Sunday's tournament at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan.
A press release from the 148th says the unit had two teams named the "Bulls" and the "Dogs." The 372nd had one team called the "Wolves".
The 148th's "Dogs" defeated the "Wolves" 4-2 in the final game of the round-robin event.
Lt. Col. Kurt Wagner from the 372nd Engineering Battalion was quoted as saying "being able to bring a piece of Minnesota to Bagram by playing hockey in conjunction with the State Tournament had done wonders for troop morale. We need to do this more often!"
According to the release, 148th Civil Engineer and tournament planner, Staff Sgt. James Foster added, "it was great to be able to celebrate the State High School Hockey Tournament while we were here. It is such a big event back home that even though we missed it due to deployment, we could still feel a part of it".
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