Xpress, the Coolest Section of the St. Petersburg Times, is the home for features, news and views of interest to young readers. Most of the work in Xpress, which appears on Mondays in Floridian, is produced by the Times' X-Team. The team of journalists ages 9-17 from around the Tampa Bay area is selected every year at the end of the school year to serve during the following school term. The current team of 12 was chosen out of 150 applicants. Watch for X-Team application forms in Xpress during the month of May.
Read the reviews by Xpress Film Critic Billy Norris
Icy days in a hockey hotbed
An X-Teamer takes a whirlwind trip to Minnesota to see the NHL All-Star Game and finds a winter wonderland.
By STEPHANIE GURTMAN
Published February 16, 2004
[Photo: AP]
Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils dives to save a shot as teammate Pavel Kubina of the Tampa Bay Lightning watches during the Feb. 8 NHL All-Star Game.
[Gurtman family photo]
Stephanie Gurtman sits atop a Zamboni, a vehicle used to resurface the ice in hockey rinks.
A mound of clothes sat piled on my pink carpet: wool sweaters, long pants and furry boots. It was 10:30 p.m. and I hadn't begun to pack. I was excited as I prepared for a weekend of hockey and good friends.
After an annual Grandparents Day celebration at school Feb. 6, my dad and I headed to Tampa International Airport. Our Northwest Airlines flight departed at 5:30 p.m. for Minneapolis-St. Paul.
In Minnesota, with the temperature at 18 degrees, my dad and I threw on our winter coats, scarves, gloves and hats as fast as we could. We hailed a taxi and rode to the Minneapolis home of a family friend. The scenery was gorgeous. The streets, trees and homes were covered in fresh snow. Banners also decorated the Twin Cities, and highways welcoming everyone to the 54th NHL All-Star Game.
I woke up early Saturday to prepare for a busy day. I met my summer-camp friends from New York and New Jersey at their hotel in downtown St. Paul. We walked through a park filled with ice sculptures on the way to the family and friends brunch hosted by the NHL. We listened to a fabulous speaker, Ann Bancroft, who has crossed Antarctica twice. She told us about her most recent journey, a 100-day mission in which she and her partner, Liv Arnesen, crossed 2,400 miles.
From there, our contingent took a van to the Mall of America, the largest mall in the United States. This megacomplex has more than 520 stores, restaurants and nightclubs; the nation's largest indoor amusement park; a movie theater; a Lego showplace; a 12-lane bowling alley; an underwater aquarium that has a submarine ride; and a NASCAR speed track.
Being the girls that we are, most of our time was spent in the clothing stores. But my friends were daring and went on the roller coaster. My dad picked me up in the late afternoon. We drove back to Minneapolis to spend time with our hosts and to get dressed for the evening.
We arrived at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul at 6:30 p.m. for the NHL YoungStars game and the Super Skills Competition. The league's best rookies play in the YoungStars game.
After the game was the Super Skills Competition featuring the entire All-Star roster, separated onto teams by conferences, in six events: puck-control relay, fastest skater, hardest shot, shooting accuracy, in the zone, and breakaway relay.
Tampa Bay Lightning player Martin St. Louis participated in the puck-control relay; the fastest skater competition, in which he placed second on the Eastern Conference team, and the breakaway relay.
His Lightning teammate, Pavel Kubina, took part in the hardest-shot contest, ripping a puck 101.2 mph. He also contributed to the breakaway relay with several other players, including New York Rangers stars Mark Messier and Jaromir Jagr. Our group then drove to the Bud Light/NHL All-Star party at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis. After a day of fun, my dad and I left for our friend's home about midnight.
Sunday morning began with brunch at the NHL FANtasy at the River Centre in St. Paul. This interactive hockey experience lets you test your hockey skills in Super Skills-like games, play the newest NHL video games, view a variety of hockey trophies and test your hockey knowledge with Captain Trivia.
I was most excited by the Zambonis. A replica of the first ice-resurfacing machine (1949) as well as a new one were on display.
At 1:30 p.m. we headed to the Xcel Energy Center for the All-Star Game. Eric McCormack, star of NBC's Will and Grace, sang the Canadian and U.S. national anthems. Kurt Russell added to the pregame festivities with a speech dedicating this year's game to the late Herb Brooks, who coached the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to victory. Russell portrays Brooks in the new Disney film Miracle.
The game itself was filled with action and the crowd of 19,434 was entertained. Joe Sakic (Colorado), a member of the Western Conference team, had three goals, which is called a hat trick. He was named Most Valuable Player of the game.
Lightning players St. Louis and Kubina played a combined 35:42 and helped the Eastern Conference skate to a 6-4 win over the West.
After the game, we headed to "Rock the Ice Palace," a private Barenaked Ladies concert on the Ice Carnival grounds. The palace was constructed of 27,000 blocks of ice, each weighing 500 pounds. It was lit from the inside and changed colors every few seconds. Soup, hot chocolate and coffee were given out and a heated tent was set up for those who needed to warm up.
After saying goodbye to our friends, my dad and I left for Minneapolis. We picked up dinner from Rudolph's, his favorite barbecue restaurant (he used to live in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes"). We ate with my Uncle Seymour and then packed up for our return to Florida.
The whirlwind hockey weekend was over - now it's back to warm weather and school.
- Stephanie Gurtman, 16, is in the 10th grade at Tampa Preparatory School and is an avid Lightning fan.
