New hockey team enters season with high hopes
Published 12:00 am Friday, October 12, 2001
Attention, local hockey fans.
Friday, October 12, 2001
Attention, local hockey fans. There’s a new team in town.
The Albert Lea Blades, an amateur squad of players age 21 and over, has joined the Upper Midwest Hockey League. The Blades are in the North Division with Rochester and three Iowa towns, Mason City, Waterloo and Waverly. The all-Iowa South Division includes Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and Davenport.
Jason Fornwald, the general manager and also one of the team’s goaltenders, said the Blades should play between 15 and 20 games, with 10 to 12 of them at the City Arena. The Blades play in a season-opening tournament at Rochester this weekend, facing Mason City at 3 p.m. at the Recreation Center and Waverly at 7:15 p.m. at Graham North on Saturday, and Rochester at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Recreation Center.
The first regular-season game is Friday, Oct. 26 at Waterloo. The rest of the schedule will be announced as it’s completed.
Josh Heilman joins Fornwald as the Blades’ other goalie. Defensemen include Scott Heilman, Mike Miller, Nate Ellsworth, Marty Anderson, Mike Carlson, Travis Brua and Jason Schwartz. The forwards are Kris Ellsworth, Dave Nystrom, Mike Nelson, Harley Klimmek, Don Savelkoul, Justin Bolinger, Jeremy Hendrickson and Marcus Ludtke.
All of the players have high school hockey experience. Some played in college, some at the junior level. Several are coaches. The oldest is Carlson, at 39.
Fornwald said the team is still seeking sponsors but wanted to thank those who have contributed so far: Hartland University, Anderson Resorts, Country Inn & Suites, State Farm-Nancy VanderWaerdt, Nasty Habit and Tiger City Sports.
Fornwald feels good about the team’s chances. He said a group of the players attended a tournament in Mankato last year and won it rather handily, and the Blades looked sharp in an 8-3 scrimmage victory over Mason City in September.
&uot;I think we’re going to have a lot of success,&uot; said Fornwald. &uot;We’ve got a real good squad, a lot of players with some good hockey background. I think we have a real good chance of winning this league. But I guess we’ll just wait and see.&uot;