Funny how vacation and fun times seem to pass at least twice as fast as work time.

The fine folks of WiPH (and Trasher's spousal unit, Kelli) traveled from the friendly environs of Wisconsin to Plymouth and Maple Grove, Minnesota for the 2011 CCM Minnesota National Invitational Tournament the weekend before Easter.

Our four days there seemed to be over in a heartbeat, and here it is Sunday evening already, with work beckoning just over 12 hours away.

As always, covering the national tournament--our second year in Minnesota and five years at the Chicago Showcase--creates a lot of good memories both on and off the ice.

Our Thursday got off to a bad start when we checked into the hotel and then had to wait about 15 minutes for the hotel maintenance man to fix the malfunctioning elevator. I would have walked up the stairs, but my wife had at least 18 pieces of luggage and I didn't feel like carrying it all up the stairs to the second floor.

Eventually we made it to the room, and then a couple hours later play-by-play webcaster extraordinaire (and chronic napper) MJ Hammett and I drove to the Plymouth Ice Center for TW's first game (preliminary round) against the MN Seniors. 

It was a great game, with the TW boys playing their hearts out and defeating the MN team by a score of 5-3. Bigger things to come, right?

Wrong.

Friday's game was a disappointment, with TW dropping a 5-4 decision to Michigan.

(Earlier in the evening, we watched the TW girls shut out the Tri State team 6-0.)

We were missing one player the first two games--Paul Byrne, sick with flu-like symptoms. We did get a chance to chat with dad Chris Byrne, and found that while he hated hanging around the hotel, he did enjoy the WiPH webcasts.

Saturday was a busy day for MJ and I, as we covered three games--TW boys in the morning and two TW girls games in the afternoon. 

The boys lost to the MN U18 team, while the girls split their two games, also losing to their Minnesota counterparts.

The time spent at the hotel consisted mostly of writing game stories and uploading pictures, and having Brian Hoth wonder if I would ever get to bed before 2:00am.

(My Saturday night was relatively tame for me, as I hit the hay at 11:30pm.)

We had the 8:30am game Sunday, and after letting Team Massachusetts hang around for two periods, the boys from WI scored three times in the final period for a 6-3 win and thoughts of a nice ride home.

The weekend provided a great opportunity for the players to get noticed by the many scouts and coaches that were in attendance.

Gary Harker (former Superior and UW-Superior coach) was there representing the Toronto Maple Leafs; Eric Fink was keeping tabs on the players for the USHL's Tri-City Storm; and also a fellow by the name of Don Lucia was scoping out the talent for the U of M.

Those are just a few of the names that I did know, but there had to be well over 50 talent evaluators at the PIC.

Also in attendance were many TW family members. Some that I got a chance to talk extensively with were Allan Dau, Chris Byrne, Brian Hoth, Cindy Dahl, and fellow goalie parent Kathy Woodman.

I also got a chance to at least say hi and introduce myself to most of the parents. The pleasure is all mine.

After the last game, we packed up and made the 3 1/4 hour trip back to Port Edwards.

It's always a letdown when the games are over and it's time to go home, but I'm already thinking about next year.

Thanks for the Minnesota memories, everyone!