Road Trip: Fun Times at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff

Readers of this blog might not know I've spent the past 19 years running a fan site for the University of Nebraska at Omaha Maverick Hockey team called Mavpuck.com. 

Bridget and I recently took our first trip to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Frozen Faceoff (the postseason finals in the conference UNO plays hockey in).

Whether you are a hockey fan or not, I think you might enjoy this account of our trip to St. Paul, MN. 

Plus, you'll get to see some delicious food photos like this:

Full write-up here:
A Hockey Fan's Life: Our Trip to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff 

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Omaha World-Herald Lays Off 43... What’s Happening?

“We are entering a golden age of journalism. I do think there has been horrible frictional costs, but ... I look at my backpack that is sitting here, and it contains more journalistic firepower than the entire newsroom that I walked into 30 to 40 years ago.” — David Carr

As something of a news junkie who binges on information, I’ve been concerned about the state of my local daily newspaper.

I’ve watched the size and scope of the Omaha World-Herald become more svelte the past few years. It’s a well-worn tale, a reality that has hit a number of dailies around the United States.

There was a time when subscriber revenue was “gravy” for newspapers. The real money was made off of advertising — in-column ads, classifieds, and automobile advertising. 

My wife and I have degrees in journalism, and we own a marketing communications business. Along with the rest of our ilk, we’ve watched the seismic shifts in the industry the past decade with a sense of foreboding.

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about the Omaha World-Herald’s revamped paywall. 

This week, the Omaha World-Herald announced it was cutting 43 employees, and making changes to the newspaper. 

I have a friend who lost his job with this round of cuts. He found out when he arrived at work that morning — it hit him like a punch to the gut. 

The public expresses concern about “quality journalism” in our society. They bemoan the rise of "fake news" as a scourge on the public good. Yet, as is often the case in these situations, little is being done by the citizenry to staunch the bleeding.  

Nobody likes a train wreck, but everyone likes to watch a train wreck... if you get my gist.

My brother-in-law Sean Weide spent his adult life working in media. He died unexpectedly in 2017, but I had the opportunity to work for him in the mid 1990s, and we often talked about the state of media.

Sean's most recent jobs were in the role of press officer for professional cycling teams. 

Sean would tell me how the media rooms at cycling events (generally multi-stage tours around the globe) were full of bloggers. As such, he often wondered aloud why Bridget and I were excluded from press events related to UNO Hockey (since we run a fan site for the hockey program called MavPuck.com). 

Bloggers, YouTubers, SnapChatters, Instagrammers, Tweeters and Facebookers have been painted with labels like “new media," "alternative media,” or worse. The question you have to ask yourself is this: When will these people and platforms — which are often "adjuncts" to so-called accredited news organizations — become all that’s left to dole out information to the public?

You see it trending more that direction each year. News organizations try to maintain editorial legitimacy by keeping newsrooms and operations staffed and stocked — all while subscribers, ad sales, and print sizes continue to plummet. 

It is not a sustainable model. 

What will a world look like if “citizen journalists” rule the day? Are they already ruling the day?

I realize large organizations — especially those with an entrenched leadership structure — often change at a glacial pace. 

Some will point to the fact that newspapers are designed as money-making ventures. They’ll cynically say that journalistic purity has never been the sole goal for these institutions. Rather, they’ll argue that editorial content is based (at least in part) on what attracts eyeballs, and greases the wheels with potential advertisers. 

Some will go further and suggest that these institutions were too slow to figure out what appealed to younger demographics. 

I don’t know what the future holds for the Omaha World-Herald — or other daily newspapers around the country. 

Instituting the “more restrictive” paywall in January of this year — followed by significant layoffs in February — wasn’t an attractive look for the newspaper. It will bring into question the viability of print media in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area — an area that spans roughly 900,000 people. 

Will the next decade see newsrooms whittled down even further — only to become paper-thin versions of their former selves?

Stay tuned...

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My Friend Ben Makes Movies... Check Out Aksarben Creative's Latest Effort

“I’ve fallen in love with the concept of storytelling, and Aksarben Creative serves as an outlet for that.” — Ben Matukewicz, Aksarben Creative

I love the efforts of creative individuals. 

My wife and I have owned a marketing communications company for 22 years, and we appreciate entrepreneurial efforts within our community. 

My friend Ben Matukewicz is one of those creative individuals. Bridget and I first met Ben at a UNO Hockey-related event a couple years back. He came over to our table to tell us about a “jersey history” project he was working on, and he wanted to get our input on the site he was putting together. 

Ben is the President and Creative Director of Aksarben Creative. He co-founded the company with Tom Knoblauch. Tom and Ben’s creative efforts have been on display since 2013 (the company went by the name Fatherson Productions before they re-branded in 2017).

The Omaha-based business strives to tell “midwestern stories” with reasonable budgets. Aksarben Creative focuses on making independent feature films, short films, web series, music videos, podcasts, photography, and branding and graphic design (among other creative projects). 

Aksarben Creative’s latest effort is the short film titled “The Living Draft”:

I first became familiar with Ben’s company a few years back when they held screenings for the feature-length film “Adoptation” at Aksarben Cinema (a company Bridget and I do marketing work for): 

The team also held screenings at the theater in 2017 for their most recent feature-length effort, “Naomi Jones”:

“I’ve never been good at verbal communication, so I choose to tell stories through more visually-based mediums,” Ben says. “Tom Knoblauch and I share a common interest in filmmaking and founded the company on that, but we learned as we went that what we really loved was storytelling.”

Having spent my life as an entrepreneur, I understand how difficult it is to put yourself out there and learn as you go along. That’s why I admire people like Ben — willing to work hard and bootstrap passionate efforts. 

As I mentioned earlier, Aksarben Creative also focuses on creative pursuits in addition to filmmaking. 

“Tom enjoys hosting podcasts and talking with interesting people,” Ben says. “I enjoy graphic design and photography, so we decided to expand the company’s reach beyond filmmaking.”

(Knoblauch’s “Loomings” podcast — https://www.aksarbencreative.com/loomings)

The next feature film for the Aksarben Creative team is called “Green On Green,” and will be released in 2018 (the film is written and directed by Knoblauch). 

“It’s difficult to categorize this film under a specific genre because it doesn’t try to be any one thing," Ben says as he describes the movie. "At its core, ‘Green On Green’ is an adventure movie, mixed with comedy and drama. I can’t wait for people to see the performance of Rachel Dinan in the lead role.”

Matukewicz and Knoblauch are also gearing up for a new web series called “Craft.” It will be filmed over the next few months, and will follow Ben and Tom around Nebraska as they travel to different breweries sampling beer.

“These brewers put in a lot of effort to create beer they’re proud to serve,” Ben says. “We strive to create something we’re proud to show, and this project is about appreciating the craft. The parallels between the two industries are fascinating, and we’re incredibly excited to explore that through comedy in our upcoming project.” 

It sounds like Ben and Tom have a lot on their plate for 2018. I’m looking forward to seeing what the team brings viewers in the coming year.

You can learn more about Ben and the rest of the team at Aksarben Creative by visiting www.aksarbencreative.com. 

P.S. -- I just noticed the small, hairless cat nestled under a blanket in this shot from the short film “The Living Draft”:

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Cloud-Based Hockey and Tesla Chargers - St. Cloud Trip, Feb. 2018

My wife Bridget and I have traveled all over this fine country on hockey road trips. 

Well north of 40 trips — including three NCAA regionals and one Frozen Four. 

We run a site for UNO Hockey fans called MavPuck.com. We’ve made many friends via the site — along with the Twitter and Facebook offerings we have for MavPuck. We’ve even organized nine MavPuck.com Bus Trips. 

College hockey fans are a unique fraternity. There are only 60 hockey teams at the Division 1 level. As such, there exists a fiercely niche following that comprises what I consider to be the best fans in all of sports fandom. 

Our niece Lauren is in her first year as a student at St. Cloud State University. SCSU is a conference rival for our beloved University of Nebraska at Omaha Hockey team. She also loves college hockey. 

Bridget and I circled this series on our calendar the moment the 2017-18 schedule was released. 

ROAD TRIP DAY 1

Our adventure started on Feb. 1 — to make the 6-1/2 hour drive from Omaha to St. Cloud. We didn’t leave “bright and early” (we ain’t morning people), but we did manage to escape O-Town before noon. 

It was a nice drive up. The weather was calm and clear. My favorite thing on the “Des Moines Route to St. Cloud” is the profusion of wind turbines in eastern Iowa. Absolutely love ‘em:

I read Gary Vaynerchuk’s new business self-help book “Crushing It” out loud in the car (because I am the human version of Audible). The tome will be featured in a future blog post:

(This wasn’t our first trip to St. Cloud. We visited in Dec. 2016. That 2016 trip included all of Lauren’s favorite things: Minnesota, shopping at the Mall of America, and ice hockey. She ultimately decided to go to school at SCSU — a quaint school nestled in a bucolic town that sits 65 miles northwest of the Twin Cities.)

We made sure to arrive in St. Cloud in time to take Lauren out to dinner. She drove down to our hotel from campus to meet us.

There was a crisp-looking “ST. CLOUD” water tower next to our hotel — with a color scheme firmly planted on the “BIV” side of the Roy G. Biv spectrum. Lauren and I took this selfie with the tower in the background:

We ate dinner at the local Granite City (trivia: St. Cloud is referred to as “Granite City"). I know the restaurant isn’t a character-filled place oozing with local flavor. But we ate there during the 2016 trip, and spent much of that meal discussing Lauren’s desire to attend St. Cloud State University (and we even perused scholarship opportunties online during that lunch). 

Also dining this time out at Granite City was the UNO Hockey team. That’s always kind of awkward. UNO Head Coach Mike Gabinet came over to say hi. It was Lauren’s first time meeting our coach, and she took a picture with him:

ROAD TRIP DAY 2

This trip was the first time we would be seeing Lauren’s dorm accommodations at St. Cloud State University. I know she wasn’t exactly thrilled that I took pictures, but I pulled the “I’m doing this for my blog” card. 

Her dorm represents fairly typical 1960s- and 70s-era student housing construction: bunk beds lofted, desks, restrooms down the hall, and cinder-block everything. 

Lauren and her roommate have pet shrimp (that have multiplied since the start of the school year).

She demonstrated how she has to open her window so she can get fresh air in the room when it becomes overly stuffy and hot:

This pic of Lauren is her looking completely “embarrassed” by the fact I was documenting her crib:

The good news (for Lauren) is that we were soon off and out of the dorm. I didn’t live in a dorm when I attended UNO (they didn’t build student housing until after we graduated in the mid 1990s), so in instances like this I try to imagine myself living in a dorm (I don’t know if I could have abandoned my creature comforts, but "dorm life" seems like it would be fun). 

We ate lunch at Pepperjax. Yes, I know, we went to another chain joint, but that was how we rolled on this particular trip. 

Once our bellies were full, we trekked 30 minutes south of St. Cloud to visit a very nice outlet mall we’d seen on the way up.  

We didn’t get many pictures at the mall (I did get a new pair of Nikes), but we did snap this pic at the Skechers store (where Bridget was trying on shoes):

Lauren had to work later in the afternoon, so we didn’t stay at the mall too long. On the way back, Lauren pointed out where the Tesla charging station was located. Being a fan of the innovative Elon Musk-led company, I had to stop and take some pics:

Bridget and I had a few hours to kill until the 7:37 p.m. start of hockey game. Our time was spent visiting Walmart, and dropping in on Lauren at work:

Then it was game time! The UNO Hockey team had already been swept by the Huskies in their two-game series in Omaha back in December, so most of our fans had fairly “sober” predictions for the outcome of the games. 

This fence is on the “main drag” to the St. Cloud State campus. We have driven by it many times, and it adds a certain “school spirit” flavor to the neighborhood that sits west of the campus:

Lauren planned to arrive a bit late to the game because of her work schedule, but Bridget and I landed at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center about 30 minutes prior to face off:

Our friend Bill Pickett (who is Director of UNO Student Involvement and the Milo Bail Student Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha) led a bus trip of students to St. Cloud for the series. Having the Maverick Maniacs in attendance made the games much more fun and entertaining. We ended up standing with them for the duration.

We cheered, made noise, and even threw torn newspaper “confetti” during the series:

As I mentioned earlier, Bridget and I led several hockey bus trips from 2005 through 2012. It takes a considerable amount of time to set them up, wrangle passengers, collect payment, and arrange the various logistics. I’m really glad Bill provides these sorts of opportunities for the UNO students (something that was lacking back when we were students). 

Lauren sat with the SCSU students for most of the game, but did come and visit during the intermissions. We had the chance to meet her friend Rachel at the game: 

UNO ultimately lost to the Huskies 5-3. It was an entertaining game, though, and we had a good time despite the final outcome. 

After the game we went out to eat at the local Old Chicago (chain restaurant #3) with Lauren and Rachel. It was nice to get to meet one of Lo’s college friends, and the food hit the spot after a long day. 

ROAD TRIP DAY 3

Saturday saw snow in St. Cloud. More snow than was forecast, and the streets were a bit of a mess. 

We ate lunch at Panera (chain eatery #4). This is a picture Lauren took walking into the place:

Our post-lunch activities involved Bridget’s makeup run to Ulta and a visit to Old Navy to get Lo a new pair of jeans. 

As was the case on Friday, Lauren had to “clock time for the man” on Saturday afternoon, so we dropped her back at campus to get ready for work. She joined us in the UNO section once she arrived at the game, though.

The second game in the series was worse for the Mavs than Friday — UNO lost 6-2. Saturday hasn’t been their night this season — especially on the road. 

But the students had fun during the game. A St. Cloud fan sitting below us decided to heckle and taunt our students. They had a good attitude about it, but the guy was kind of a tool (in my opinion). He posted this pic on his Instagram account... Stay Classy, St. Cloud:

After the game, we made a return trip to Old Chicago with Lauren:

ROAD TRIP DAY 4

Sunday, the next day, we headed back to Omaha. We would have typically traveled down through the Twin Cities for the return trip. However, because Super Bowl LII was being held at U.S. Bank Stadium that night, we went down through central Minnesota to avoid game day traffic. 

While we had to traverse a mix of highways, county roads, and byways, we did get to see a number of interesting communities on the journey. 

Our trip to see Lauren wasn’t nearly long enough. 

When you are a college hockey fan, you have opportunities to visit a variety of quirky places that are “off the beaten path.” You might have to deal with sub-zero temperatures, blizzards, and a variety of less-than-idyllic conditions. 

The experience is a unique one — one that I look forward to for six months each season. 

Until we meet again, St. Cloud...

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2018 Skate With The Mavs (Includes Locker Room Tour Pics)

The last time I went to a Skate With The Mavs event was December 2013 at the CenturyLink Center Omaha. I decided to go again this year with Bridget (and our nieces and nephews) because — for some odd reason — I hadn’t yet seen the University of Nebraska at Omaha Hockey team’s lockerroom at Baxter Arena (I did see it during the construction phase, when it was just cement and exposed beams, but the finished product has eluded me). 

We like to take our nieces and nephews when UNO holds the event — an event that allows young fans a chance to skate with the hockey players, learn more about the program, and have a snack afterward.

The adults in attendance aren't allowed to skate, or go onto the ice. I can't ice skate anyway... and don't believe God meant for man to balance on a 1/8-inch metal blade... but I digress...

When we arrived at Baxter Arena on Jan. 28, we checked the kids in at the registration table, and got them wristbands. They had commemorative posters and fidget spinners on hand as giveaways for attendees. 

Baxter Arena staff runs “Skate With The Mavs” in shifts — all participants get to skate with the team on the main ice sheet and tour the lockerroom.

We were in the group that skated first. Here is my youngest niece moving around the ice — her method is a cross between skating, running, and an arthritic 80-year-old hobbling along with a walker:

The good news is that Maverick Forward Tyler Vesel gave her some pointers, showing her how to "push off" with her skate:

As I said earlier, parents weren't allowed on the ice. Here is a pic of me, my wife Bridget, and my brother-in-law Neil (the guy with the stocking cap and bulging biceps) looking on in the stands:

After skating with the team for about 30 minutes, our crew set the skates aside and waited in line for a tour of the team locker room. UNO Captain Joel Messner led us on our journey into the cavernous regions underneath Baxter Arena. 

It is a really nice setup for the team. In my humble opinion, this facility is superior to the team's previous locker rooms at the CenturyLink Center (2003-2015) and Civic Auditorium (1997-2003). 

A new addition this season are signs featuring inspirational quotes designed to motivate and cement the objectives UNO Hockey Head Coach Mike Gabinet hopes to instill in the program going forward.

Gabinet is an incredibly positive individual. Being around him for any length of time shows why the players have nothing but praise for his hiring in 2017. As Bridget said afterwards, he "just makes you want to be a better person." 

UNO Hockey Blue Line Club President Roger Humphries was sitting behind us at the hockey game on Jan. 27. He mentioned that the BLC donated the money for the new signage. 

The team locker room includes a workout area (with bicycles and weights):

There is an area where the trainers can work on players, and a hot and a cold hot tub to help in the rehab of injuries:

And... there is an extensive "workshop" where the equipment manager can attend to all the wounded skates, helmets, gloves, and pads the players wear in the arena of battle:

I grabbed a selfie with Coach Gabinet. Bridget and I haven’t missed a home hockey game since the program began in 1997. It’s hard to believe Gabby — who used to be a defenseman for the Mavericks in the early 2000s — is old enough to be a head coach. His youthful appearance makes me feel old, and his physique makes me feel that I should retire the potato chips in favor of broccoli spears:

 

After the event, attendees were able to grab a dish of custard from Freddy’s and sprinkle on toppings:

Having been around since the UNO Hockey program’s inception, I believe that opportunities for fans to interact with the players and coaching staff are incredibly important — for both the players and the fans. 

Not only do these moments give fans the chance to meet the team they loyally cheer on each season, they also give players the opportunity to get to know who they are playing for. 

I just wish there were more opportunities for fans — of all ages — to participate in these sorts of events — events that add a flavor "beyond the game" that is integral in building a fanbase deep-rooted with the program. 

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