SPORTS
Connelly’s kiss a perfect finish
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Also by Tyler Mason:
- Wisconsin earns Carnival victory (February 11, 2008)
- Four recruits enroll early, begin practicing (February 7, 2008)
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by Tyler Mason
Monday, February 11, 2008
HOUGHTON, Mich. — It was the perfect ending to a somewhat
unusual weekend for the Wisconsin men’s hockey team: a trophy presentation for
the victorious Badgers, followed by a kiss for goaltender Shane Connelly.
That’s right. Connelly’s big prize for winning Winter
Carnival MVP this weekend against Michigan Tech was a kiss from the Carnival
queen, Kristy Loomis. It’s tradition for the MVP of the series, played once a
year, to plant a smooch on the queen of the festivities.
And Connelly wasn’t about to break tradition.
“Everyone was telling me I got it, [and] I was like, ‘Well,
we’ll see what happens,’” Connelly said after the game. “I knew right as I was
going in there. I didn’t want to insult her if I didn’t go for it. I had my
mind made when my name got called. … Not many times you get to kiss the Winter
Carnival queen.”
Connelly’s performance certainly was worthy of a little postgame
love. The junior made 19 saves Friday in a 1-1 overtime tie and stopped 27
shots Saturday — again allowing just one goal as the Badgers won the game 4-1
and picked up three big points in the WCHA standings via the Winter Carnival
series.
So what is all this Winter Carnival hubbub about, you might
be wondering?
For those of you that don’t know, the Carnival is Michigan
Tech’s big celebration every year in which students spend many long days and
cold, tireless nights constructing giant snow sculptures. Some of the
sculptures stand nearly 25 feet tall and are extremely detailed. They are
judged in several different categories, including the fraternity division
(typically the biggest and most extravagant), women’s group, residence halls
and student organizations.
My personal favorite was the Ghostbusters scene. It included
a giant ‘Stay-Puft’ marshmallow man ravaging a downtown area, with four
Ghostbusters standing in front of it. The detail was incredible; the scope of
the project was amazing.
Sadly, this sculpture failed to capture the title, instead
winning third place in the fraternity division. The winner came from the hands
and minds of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, who took the story of Van Helsing to
the next level. Not sure what these guys won for placing first, other than
perhaps the respect of the entire campus and the city of Houghton.
Other notables included the Wizard of Oz, a giant
Transformers robot, a scene from “Where the Wild Things Are,” and Frankenstein.
(If you want to get a visual of these masterpieces, check out the Herald’s
Extra Points sports blog at badgerherald.com/extrapoints.)
Still not impressed by a bunch of oversized snowmen? That’s
fine, because the Winter Carnival is more than just sculptures.
The entire Michigan Tech campus turns into somewhat of a zoo
during the big weekend. People come from all across the country to Houghton — a
town they would likely never otherwise visit — for the festivities. It might
have been just like any weekend in Madison, but given that the student body is
a mere 6,700 students, the showing was impressive.
The hockey series is actually one of the biggest draws. Michigan
Tech’s pep band is supposedly “world famous,” according to MacInnes Arena’s PA
announcer. Fans get all dressed up and create banners that are displayed all
around the arena. And each team battles not only for conference points, but for
the John MacInnes Memorial Cup — the trophy given to the winner of the weekend
series.
It seems each year as if Michigan Tech plays for more than
just the standings and more than the trophy. It’s a sense of pride for them on
campus to win the weekend series. In a way, it’s like a high school homecoming
football game; a loss is equally as disappointing for the fans that have
traveled to the desolate Upper Peninsula as it is for the players. Perhaps
that’s why the Huskies were 58-29-9 all-time in Winter Carnival games.
The Badgers didn’t seem to let any of the weekend
festivities or history get in their way, however. With the win, Wisconsin got
three points against the Huskies. It also got one step closer to securing a
spot in the NCAA playoffs.
And Shane Connelly got a kiss to top it all off.
Tyler is a junior majoring in journalism. Take a look at
the photos and let him know which snow sculpture was your favorite at tmason@badgerherald.com.
Anonymous (February 11, 2008 @ 2:26pm):
Wait, Connelly crushes their best athletes in competition and then proceeds to have his way with their women.
Maybe he should be called "Connelly the Barbarian"
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