Last weekend,  the state of Minnesota was the center of the sports universe.  And while some might consider the fact that a certain football game was played here to be the reason for all of the hype, REAL sports fans know that the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis were thrust into a state of celebration thanks to the arrival of some very special international visitors.

On Wednesday, January 31st, a KLM flight touched down at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Aiport carrying eleven Norwegian female athletes.  And not just ANY Norwegian female athletes... These were elite bandy players: members of the prestigious Ready women's club bandy team.

As it states on their jerseys, Ready has been around since 1907.  For those who like math, (Yes, there are some people out there who actually fall into that category! ...Weird, right?!) that's exactly 73 years prior to the establishment of the USA Bandy program.  And on this day, more history was about to be made, as this marked the first time that a Ready bandy team traveled to the United States to compete.   Indeed, this group was about to  participate in the first-ever Super Bandy Weekend, Hosted by the USA Women's Bandy Team, February 1st through 3rd, 2018!

THURSDAY 2/1 - MEDIA DAY

The first day of Super Bandy action involved two separate media sessions and some extremely COLD weather at the Guidant John Rose Minnesota OVAL, in Roseville, MN.  From the comfort of the indoors, it looked like a beautiful day in the Land of 10,000 Frozen Lakes... Crystal blue skies, numerous evergreen trees, sparkling white snow... But once you ventured out into the elements, you immediately understood that catchy marketing concept of "Bold North" that was being tossed around so resolutely over the course of the lead-up to this weekend: You have to be BOLD to go out in this weather! Indeed, even for the heartiest of bandy players, it was downright frigid!

The first of the two media sessions took place at 11:00am, and featured NBC Sports filming a bandy scrimmage, as members of the Midway Speed Skating Club simultaneously zoomed around the perimeter of the OVAL ice.  It was as picturesque a "winter sports wonderland" scene that one could ever imagine.  The Ready team made their North American on-ice debut at this time, and the Norwegian ladies were joined by a handful of USA Women's Bandy players, as well as quite a few of the USA U15 Boys' Bandy team members, (who were no doubt LOVING this opportunity to play hooky from school for part of the day).

Later that night, the full squad of Ready ladies, most of the USA Women's Bandy team, and some of the U15 Boys' Bandy team all returned to the OVAL for a 7:00pm continuation of Media Day.  By this point, the sun had long set and with that, the temperatures dropped even lower.  The mercury reading was a cool -2 Fahrenheit, (-18 C) at the start of the ice time, and with a light wind, it felt even colder.  Nevertheless, the athletes took the ice, led by US Women's National Team coach and former professional bandy player, Mikael Sandberg.  Coach Sandberg warmed the skaters up, (or at least attempted to do so) by putting them through several complex skating and shooting drills.  Then the sides split and scrimmaged for the remainder of the session.  It was a fun, productive evening on the ice! The workout concluded at 9:00pm.

FRIDAY 2/2 - GAME ONE

After what was a nice post-travel day spent practicing on the OVAL ice, (and hopefully getting their jet-weary legs under them) it was now time for the Norwegians to take part in what they journeyed several thousand miles to do.  That's right: It was Super Bandy Game Day!  The ladies from Norway would be facing off against a USA Women's Bandy team that was eager to get another taste of international competition after what had been a mostly disappointing showing at the 2018 Women's Bandy World Championship, just three weeks prior to this two-game showdown with Ready.  The match started at 5:00pm, just as the sun dropped below the horizon and the evergreens lining the rink began to light up.  It was an absolutely beautiful scene, despite the fact that it was also another extremely cold - and windy! - Minnesota evening.  But the ice was fast, and the two teams were prepared to put on an excellent show for the fans who came out to watch bandy at its finest... (Most of whom were understandably viewing from INDOORS on this frigid evening.)

The game began with the Ready and Team USA matching each other virtually stride for stride and looking very even, talent-wise.  Throughout the first half, the play went back and forth with each side getting several excellent scoring chances.

The US ladies got on the board first, with two goals by lightning-fast forward, Allie Thunstrom, (who unfortunately missed playing in the 2018 Women's Bandy World Championship due to the fact that she was competing in the 2018 US Olympic Speed Skating trials that same week).  Just before the end of the half, Ready struck back with a long-range blast that dipped in the wind and handcuffed US starting goalie, Sarah Ahlquist Schneider.  As the teams headed into their respective locker rooms to warm up at halftime, the score was 2-1 in favor of the Americans, and it looked like it would be a tight match all the way to the end.

However, as the second half began, Team USA had the wind at their backs, and they immediately took advantage of it.  What had started as a very even game soon became somewhat of a blowout victory in favor of the home team, as they exploited the jet-lag factor that clearly plagued the Norwegian squad in the final 45 minutes of play.  Veteran US midfielder, Kelly McGinty netted two nifty goals - one on her forehand and one on her backhand - and her teammates, Margot Fleming, Amy Stech, Jenna Christensen, and Jill Reynolds all scored for Team USA as well.  In the end, it was an 8-1 victory for the Americans. Goaltender, Marah Sobczak played the second half of the match in net for Team USA.

SATURDAY 2/3 - GAME TWO

It has been said that Minnesotans have a habit of incessantly talking about the weather.  And while this may be true, there is good reason for it.  The first two days of bandy at the OVAL featured unrelenting  arctic subzero temperatures...

Then the SNOW came for Day Three.

Norway's Ready squad and the USA Women's Bandy team were scheduled for a 2:30pm Game Two start on Saturday, but when the teams arrived for their ice time, they found no ice; rather, they had a field of snow - several inches deep! - covering the surface on which they were supposed to play.  One might be able to play football in the snow, but the mechanics of bandy simply do not allow for these type of conditions.

What followed was as comical as it was frustrating.

While the OVAL's snow plows sat idly in the facility's garage, players and coaches from both teams, (as well as a dozen U12 girls' hockey players, who were on hand to serve as ball girls) used the rink's speed skating guard pads to plow off the gigantic playing surface.  Working in teams of two or three, skaters would push the snow with the makeshift plows, as others cruised around the ice with shovels, scooping up the excess show.  It was an incredible "all hands on deck" effort, and showed how effective teamwork can be when put into action.  After about 30 minutes made up of initial confusion followed by exhausting snow-removal work, it was finally time to play bandy!

Because of the "weather delay" the game was shortened to two 25-minute halves, instead of the original 45-minute stanzas that were planned.  Snow continued to fall throughout the first half of the game, but not nearly as ferociously as earlier in the day.  By the second half, the snow stopped entirely, and the speed of the match picked up considerably as a result.

As for the game itself, it was well-played by both teams, but the hometown girls ended up getting the sweep for the weekend with a 4-1 victory over the Norwegians.  While the snow arguably earned the "player of the game" award, USA forward, Meagan Wanecke was the hands-down runner-up, as she played brilliantly and netted a hat trick for her team that afternoon.  Margot Fleming added the other goal for the Americans.  Ready's Nora Bakke, (who recently won a bronze medal with the Norwegian national team at the 2018 World Championship) scored for Ready on a breakaway in the second half.

As the final whistle sounded, both teams congregated at center ice to salute each other and wrap up the on-ice portion of what had been a fantastic Super Bandy Weekend.  Also out on the ice in that moment was the Tartan U12B girls' hockey team, who  had earlier proved to be outstanding helpers with the snow-plow effort.  Perhaps someday, those young ladies will become the next generation of bandy players, as this great sport continues to grow in the United States!

On Saturday evening, the teams returned  one last time to the OVAL, for a 6:00pm banquet in the facility's Rose Room.  Food was provided by Cal's North St. Paul Pizza Factory, and both team's - as well as event volunteers - took part in a friendly game of BINGO, (spelled "BANDY" on the cards!) to cap off a fun weekend of friendly competition.  Additionally, official Super Bandy Ambassador, Buzz Schneider gave a brief speech to the athletes.  The two-time USA Hockey Olympian and member of the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" team thanked the Norwegians for making the trip to America, and cheered the concept of international camaraderie and competition.  In closing, Schneider ultimately expressed his sincere hopes that bandy will be added to the Winter Olympic Games in the near future.

That final sentiment is shared by many.  This wonderful sport deserves its rightful spot on international sports' biggest stage.  Hopefully we are not too far off from the dream becoming reality. And until that happens, we will continue to celebrate bandy in events such as what took place in Minnesota over the course of this past weekend.