Midspan of the Poplar

A simple thank you. That's all I can offer to the boys from my alma mater's hockey team. Thank you for bringing Beaver Pride back to the forefront.

Back in the 1980's when I was attending Bemidji State University, the hockey team at the school brought the community together for one magical season. They accomplished the near impossible, going 31-0-0 on the way to the NCAA Division II title. The championship series was played on home ice. The town, and particularly, the university community celebrated wildly. Not many outside of the participating schools paid much mind, though, and life was pretty normal in a day or two. I never forgot the feeling of being in the arena that night, a feeling of pride in the school and the city.

You see, there's always been a bit of a divide between the “townies” and the university community. Even though they depend on each other, it's too often grudgingly. The “townies” feel that it's their home and the students are just badly-behaved visitors between tourist seasons. For their part, the students don't always help themselves with the mischief they create. The university is the largest employer in the area, the alumni do create jobs, and the students do spend money. The university community often feels that the townies don't always appreciate the good things the university brings to Bemidji. Since I grew up in Bemidji AND graduated from the university, I saw things from both perspectives and always wondered why the relationship wasn't more symbiotic.

That brings us to last week, when the current version of the hockey team and a series of coincidental events may have had a lasting impact on the school and the city's relationship. The hockey team currently plays at the NCAA Division I level and had qualified as the lowest seeded team for the tournament. In their regional tournament they handily upset athletic giant Notre Dame and then traditional hockey power Cornell to capture the regional title and make it to the semi-finals of the national tournament, also known as “The Frozen Four” to be played in Washington, DC.

The entire city of Bemidji came together to celebrate the accomplishment. Not just the university, but the ENTIRE city. The pride has been palpable. The national media picked up on the cinderella Beavers' story and ran with it. Suddenly a lot more people knew where Bemidji was located and that the name translates as “waters crossing waters”, a reference to the Mississippi river flowing across Lake Bemidji.

A couple of other stories were developing at the same time. The Bemidji Regional Events Center had it's groundbreaking the following Friday. The building of this convention center/arena has been controversial in the city. The townies have resented a new arena as a tax burden mainly for the university's benefit as the main tenant will be BSU hockey. The university has claimed that it will provide economic stimulus for the area. It will also allow the hockey team to remain a viable athletic program at the university by allowing them to join a major conference. Right now, they play in College Hockey America (CHA) which is disbanding after the 2009-2010 season. They have applied to the ten member Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), arguably the premier conference in college hockey. It is unlikely the WCHA will accept them without another hockey program applying for membership at the same time to round the conference to twelve teams. The WCHA commissioner, Bruce McLeod, has indicated that scheduling for an eleven-team conference will not be balanced enough. For the first time in more than a decade the WCHA did not have a team in the Frozen Four. As recently as 2005, all four participants were from the WCHA. Guess who was attending the groundbreaking?

So, we have a cinderella hockey team doing it's best Jefferson Smith imitation and heading to Washington against all odds; a groundbreaking for a controversial, new arena originally resented by some in the city; and in attendance, the commissioner of the league upon which the future of the university's hockey program may depend. What to do? BSU and the city did the right thing. They combined the groundbreaking with a rally for the hockey team! All sides built a lot of good will and hopefully the WCHA will accept BSU with or without a partner.

When I traveled to Washington last week, what I saw amazed me. Bemidji natives and the university community alike decked out in so much green and white that even NPR took notice. They packed the streets, bars, restaurants, parks and museums advertising their loyalties. And even though the hockey team was defeated in the semifinals, this unity should not go unnoticed. It's a huge step in the right direction and I couldn't be more Beaver Proud! Thank you.