The document provides a day-by-day account of Marco's experiences leading up to and during his NHL playoff debut with the Minnesota Wild. Some key details:
- Marco gets called up from the AHL's Houston Aeros to join the Wild for the playoffs after they clinch a spot.
- He enjoys the nice weather when he arrives in Minnesota but faces snow storms as well.
- Marco blocks several shots and scores his first playoff goal in the first two games against the Blackhawks, though the Wild lose both games.
- They rebound to win Game 3 on a sunny Sunday in Minnesota before losing Game 4, leaving the series tied 2-2.
3. He plays in the
Aeros loss on
Sunday.
The Wild make
the playoffs on
Saturday.
He gets told
he's going to
Minnesota
after the
game.
He flies out of
Houston that night.There is practice in
the Cities Monday
morning.
4. The weather in MN is beautiful.
● It's better than Houston.
● It's in the seventies, not the eighties.
● There's a cool breeze.
● It's very sunny.
The sky is BLUE.
5. Jared complains about how it had finally gotten
nice out, how it had finally seemed like spring,
but then nature decided to change its mind.
Marco says, "I'm glad I missed it," which isn't
entirely true.
There was a blizzard last Tuesday.
6. Things he can live
without:
April
Blizzards
Things that could make an
April Blizzard tolerable:
Getting to
play in the
NHL
7. There's a prediction of snow for Thursday.
Marco only got bits and pieces of a real winter.
He isn't snowed out yet.
Jared disagrees.
Marco shrugs. He could shoulder that blame.
It might not be
so bad.
You're wrong. More snow
now would be terrible. If it
snows again it's all your fault.
8. Things he can live
without:
May
Snowstorms
Things that could make a
May Snowstorm tolerable:
Getting to
play in
NHL
playoff
games
9. This should be obvious.
Marco cannot control the
weather.
10. They'll be in town on Thursday.
● They play in Chicago on Tuesday and
Friday, but are going to fly back to practice in
between.
● The games are going to be broadcast on
NBC.
● The AHL and the NHL are very different
animals.
11. This is the first
time the Wild
have made the
playoffs in five
years.
12. It will be the NHL playoff debut for nine Wild
Players.
Ryan Suter is the only Wild defenseman with
NHL playoff experience.
A certain amount of nervousness is to be
expected.
14. Reasons why they might be talking
about the weather:
● The weather is interesting.
● Talking about the weather is very
Minnesotan.
● The weather uncontroversial.
● The weather is something that everyone
experiences.
● The weather has been pleasant lately.
● It gives them something bland and
comforting to talk about, instead of talking
about what they're really thinking about.
15. What they don't want to talk about:
● The Chicago Blackhawks record.
● The loss to the Oilers.
● The loss to the Flames.
● The Wild's playoff chances.
● The Aeros' playoff chances.
● Anyone's health.
16. This is a bad question to ask:
an opportunity
a thrashing
awkward silence
a team that isn't quite
his, but isn't not-his
who knows,
he doesn't,
not really.
What is Marco
getting into?
19. On the plane from Houston to the
Twin Cities Marco came up with a
plan to handle the situation he was
flying into.
Most of the time he has some kind of plan.
Sometimes it's even a good plan.
This one might be.
Time will tell.
21. How this division works:
HOCKEY is why he
exists. It is the point. It
comes before
everything else.
Hockey is
WEATHER is
everything else. It is
people, and feelings,
and sex, and pop
culture, and yes, the
actual weather. He
can passively
appreciate nice
weather, but he can't
let any storm clouds
bring in him down.
IMPORTANT
22. Sometimes people are hockey.
Sometimes they are not.
Sometimes it changes back and
forth.
Sometimes Marco can't tell.
25. It is not a good idea to
let other people know
about the
hockey/weather binary.
This is a really healthy split, not a
cause for concern.
26. I don't think that's a
healthy way of looking at
the situation. You're
making it into a bigger
deal than it needs to be.
Don't freak out, it won't
help anything. And
remember, we did this
one time before.
That mostly isn't true.
27. Houston 2011 Minnesota 2013
Coach Mike Yeo Mike Yeo
Colors Red and Green Red and Green
Partner Spurgeon Spurgeon
Seeding 2nd 8th
League AHL NHL
Stakes Moderate High
There are some similarities, but the differences matter more.
28. In 2011 they were only twenty, and they didn't
know what they were doing, at least Marco
didn't.
He was only just done growing, and was still
adapting the extra inches.
Jared never had that particular problem.
Actually, it wouldn't surprise Marco one bit if
Jared knew what he was doing the whole time,
on and off the ice, the whole time they were
together.
29. Whatever they were in 2011, it isn't what
they are in 2013. At least he doesn't think so.
He doesn't actually know.
Hell, Marco is still figuring the whole thing out
out.
No, he totally knows what he's doing:
He's playing hockey.
32. a transcription of the teams internal dialogue
after starting goaltender Niklas Backstrom is
injured in warm ups: $#W%&$E*^%R(&T^)*G_HU$E*%
(R^)T&_Y(*+U)($D*^RF(T&)G*Y_I:HBKGYDRITFYGU*&
(&*^^&$%^%^GCHBHKLM"LVUIUTYFYRCUYRD$%W#$^%*%
&*OGLYBKLJNJNJNCFJGDRYUIKLI:
UHJJNUBHJKJHRUY^&T_(I*O{N<VYGIYRD%E&%$&S%%
DTUDJTFKHJKHJJGTY^$%%^&^&^
(IOJKMKLJLKNCHGFKFCHJ<HJJNKLIOHUJKJNVNCGDUDR
FYGUIUIYUIYYYUBKJHBJVJUIHJKHLKJHLKJHKHKJHLKJHJ
KHLKGUIOJI:K::LY%$%
^F*UYGJHKJHGBHCFGJXTYYCIBYPIPBNJMO
{NOPUBFTXZZYRXTUGVKHNIPJN:MLKNJOHOJKHHU&*(&
(*^G##$@#@#RTGKHJLOP)
KHJJHKGHJGGHGHKJHKGJKKJGHJKJKJGJG
(((((((HGGTRT$$$%^UYUGHJGHFUYTFYGIUHOIJPO:
KLK>GJHFJYCTUVYBUNPIM:
L>K<JHMCGJUVIBONIMPOTYFVIUYTVOUYVOUYFVO&^F^&
36. @Russostrib Spurgeon and
Scandella real good
tonight
beat reporter Mike Russo
Rough Translation: you weren't the reason why the
team lost, have a cookie!
Not Good Enough!!!!
cookie!
37. Yes, it is a loss, but it
was a fiercely fought
battle. Hanging with the
Chicago Blackhawks
and dragging it deep
into overtime is an
accomplishment. We
were good. Next time
we'll have to be better.
What gets said to make them feel better:
Good job. Go
home and
sleep. We'll do
even better
next time.
If we play like that
every game this is
gonna be a better
series than they
thought.
We
were
good,
but so
are
they,
next
time we
have to
be
better.
That was a nice start, a
win would have been
better, but this was ok,
we can build off it.
38. What actually makes Marco feel
better:
● Eating a good meal.
● Having a good night's rest to look forward to.
● The knowledge that he did reasonably well.
● Knowing how lucky he is to even be here to
lose in an NHL playoff game.
● Sitting next to Jared on the plane and not
talking about anything.
39. The first of May. There's snow in Saint Paul.
After game one:
41. I don't know if this
makes me want to
laugh or cry.
It's 84 in Houston. The Aeros are
in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where
it's 85.
It's isn't that bad.
It's kind of pretty
out?
That is a categorical lie. It's grey,
it's miserable, an ugly rainy day.
Well maybe it's not pretty, but the
weather doesn't matter much. We
can't let it get to us.
48. Marco
wakes up in
the
morning.
He doesn't
know what he'll
see in out of the
window.
He
shouldn't
care, it's
just the
weather.
Will there
be sun, or
snow, or
spring, who
knows.
50. Defenseman Jared Spurgeon
blocked seven of the Wild’s
21 shots Tuesday — both
were franchise records
since the NHL started
keeping track.
“Playoffs, you know that
any shot can be the
difference,” Spurgeon said.
“When the time comes and if
you’re able to get in the
way, why not?”
A few times, Spurgeon had
trouble getting to the
bench, but he said Thursday
he is healthy.
The Star Tribune Marco blocked
four shots.
They
admire
each
other's
bruises.
53. section of the hotel hallway
206
Spurgeon
and
Scandella
204
Koivu
202
Cullen
201
Suter
(empty)
203
Parise
(and Suter)
205
Brodin
and
Coyle
207
Zucker
and
Kuemper
208
Unfortunate
Unsuspecting
Unaffiliated
Vacationers
54. They are the old men of road roommates. Next
year they won't have to share.
This could be good.
They'll get more space.
Marco will be able to
always choose the
channel. He will get to turn
the lights off when he
wants. There won't be any
fights over the bed by the
door because there will
only be one bed.
They won't get to talk
about nothing as much, or
fall asleep to the sound of
their mutual breathing.
Jared won't be the first
person he sees when he
wakes up, when the world
still seems half like a
dream.
Or it could be very bad.
58. That's the word used by the team's official play-by-play twitter
account.
It's a good word.
@mnwildLIVE: #mnwild upended
by Chicago, 5-2. Series shifts to
the State of Hockey Sunday for
Game 3 at 2 p.m.
UPENDED
61. May 4, they try to ignore the pain.
After the second game:
62. They've had less than a week to relearn each
other's rhythms, but they're already comfortable
together, like it was easy to pick up from where
they left off without missing a step.
This feels significant.
He still doesn't know what it is that makes them
work well together.
PRACTICE
practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice
practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice practice
64. They've known each other for a while now.
They've developed as people, and as
players; they've grown up.
They aren't the same people they used to
be.
The way they function together isn't exactly
the same as it used to be, but the things
that are different don't affect how they play
together, which makes it weather,
so Marco shouldn't think about it.
65. After a 7-0 loss in game
five the Aeros are out of
the Calder Cup race.
The Aeros were hurt by
Wild call ups. Marco
doesn't know if they
would have made it past
the first round if he,
Jason, and Darcy had
played, but things would
have been different.
Whenever the Wild's
season is over, Marco's
season is over. There
won't be any more hockey
until the fall.
It doesn't really
matter. It's just
weather.
67. The game is on Sunday
morning, and they could
sure use the power of
prayer.
Marco has always prefered
playing hockey to attending
mass.
From the top of the hill the
Cathedral looks down on the
arena, questioning it as a
false god.
The Cathedral is a beautiful
building that shines in the
sunlight, and whatever old
guilt it makes rise in Marco's
gut is weather to be ignored;
68. @Russostrib Scandella blocked
shot may have robbed Kane of
goal
@mnwildLIVE Spurgeon broken
stick, blocks a shot anyway
@Russostrib Heckuva hockey
game thus far....Second line
flirting all night and just buzzed
the Hawks with
Scandella/Spurgeon
@mnwildLIVE Scandella
takes a high stick. No call
69. The tying goal goes over his shoulder.
That doesn't feel good at all.
75. If only all days could be this good; this bright; this sunny; this
victorious.
The team goes out to dinner.
It is a celebration.
They have a lot to celebrate.
There is:
the win,
Darcy's birthday,
the beautiful day.
77. Marco plays with Matt Dumba,
who's freshly arrived from the
AHL playoffs.
Jared stays home to nurse his
bruises.
Marco knows he isn't old, it's
just that Matt is so fucking
young.
How old he feels doesn't
matter, it's only weather.
79. Marco finds himself using the language of weather
(natural phenomena) to describe the weather (not
hockey) in his life.
Relationship Status: partly
cloudy, with sexual tension
hovering just above average,
and a 40% chance of turning
into something more.
85. Marco knows he isn't responsible for all of
it, the whole game was a mess. Hards is
injured at the end of the first, so Darcy
sees two periods of playoff hockey that he
was almost certainly not ready for. The
team went 0/6 in power plays for the night,
and are 0/15 in the series. They actually
outshot Chicago 25-24, and they caused
enough trouble to draw those penalties,
but in the end it's about who has more
goals, not who tries harder, and even if it
was, Marco isn't sure that they would win.
86. Suter 30:23
Brodin 20:30
Spurgeon 17:05
Scandella 15:14
Gilbert 14:38
Falk 11:23
WILD DEFENSE MEN TIME ON ICE
DOESN'T REALLY MATTER BECAUSE NO
ONE COULD SCORE A GOAL
87. The Wild's playoff slogan
is:
The end might be pretty soon.
Fight to
the End
89. The problem with
dividing the world into
hockey (important) and
weather (meaningless) is
that when the hockey
goes bad it can feel like
you're stuck in a world
where winter will never
end.
90. It's sleeping in
then video
then travel.
Even though they need to find a way to be
better, there just isn't time for practice in
the morning.
Marco doesn't want to go to sleep right
away, and there isn't any reason why he has
to.
91. Instead of going back to an unfamiliar, unlived-in
room, Marco follows Jared home.
He doesn't want to be alone.
Jared maybe does, but that can't be healthy.
Marco is totally qualified to judge what is and isn't
healthy. Absolutely.
No, not at all. What is he doing?
He is trying to seek refuge in
some better-than-average
weather.
92. they have something,
call it
call it
call it
history
chemistry
love*
*(not the kind of love they sell in
movies. It's team, friendship,
existing intimacy plus extended
interest. It's beginners' love,
neglected love, unnegotiated
love, ignored love, weather love
that isn't hockey.)
93. It would do them
both good to talk
about how much
pain this series has
caused them;
instead they
channel surf and
drink some; they
sit and feel sorry
for themselves.
They're hiding from
a lot of things.
Some of the things they're
hiding from are obvious,
there to see in the way
they treat each other if
they paid attention instead
of pointedly looking away.
Marco won't leave until
morning, and he won't
sleep on the couch, and
there's nothing odd about
this, not for them.
94. The game will
stop hurting if
you go to sleep.
I don't believe you.
You're wrong. I'll
probably dream
about it.
You can trust
me.
I do.
So close your eyes.
Everything is going to
be fine.
He does, really, he just
doesn't trust the world.
the last things they say before closing their eyes:
Marco wants to
believe this, but
isn't sure he can.
A pause.
Goodnight.
Goodnight.
96. Birds sing. Marco hates them. He wants to keep
sleeping.
If the Wild had won a few more games going down
the stretch they might have met
the Ducks in the playoffs
instead of the Blackhawks.
The Ducks are
unquestionably the
less intimidating type
of bird.
Fuck it.
He is going to sleep
for a little while longer.
97. Marco is going to sleep in because he's still tired and
he needs his rest. They both do. He isn't making
excuses to stay in bed longer because over the night
they had moved closer together, so that now, with
the dawn light seeping through the edges of the
curtain and the birds chirping like bastards, Jared is
pressed against his chest. It's true, that did happen,
that is how they are now, and it's nice, but that isn't
why Marco isn't getting up. He isn't getting up
because he wants to sleep longer. It is very nice
though, half familiar, half forgotten. It reminds him of
being younger, when there wouldn't have been
anything unusual about waking up like this. It
reminds him of the best parts of the spring of 2011
where they woke up like this more often than not and
almost won the Calder Cup. 2011 was good. Maybe
it can be like that again.
99. The morning isn't awkward because of willpower
and a lack of time.
They fly out early in the afternoon. Marco sits with
Darcy. He doesn't see who Jared sits with. He's
pretty sure the faint sense of motion sickness is
mostly in his head.
In Chicago the team gathers in the hotel's banquet
room to watch video and be reminded of all the
ways they have been inadequate. It's just as fun
as it sounds.
100. Getting dismissed from video review feels like
they're being sent to their rooms to think about
what they can do better.
Being left alone in their room and not knowing what
to say is terribly awkward.
Whatever they do, including nothing,
will not make things better.
But whatever, it's weather, they can ignore it until
after.
103. Marco gets hit in the
first period.
Andrew Shaw isn't all that big, but Marco knows
how much size doesn't have to matter.
He's fine—for a given meaning of the word. He's
shaken up, he misses a few shifts, but he'll be fine.
He can keep going.
The team can keep going.
They're going to be fine.
104. They're on the ice for the Hawks third goal.
another minus
positive feelings
105. Marco anxiously watches the power play, hoping for anything.
He misses a breath,
hearing the loud
CLANG
as Jared hits a post.
No goal, of course.
That's how it works in this series.
106. Right after that power play Marco is out there with Gilbert
while Jared catches his breath, and something finally works.
Finally,
they have a
goal.
Marco even gets the second assist.
107. Less than a minute later Shaw
makes the game:
This effectively kills off all
momentum, and most hope.
4-1
108. There is still a
period and a half
of hockey left to
thrash through.
109. They do good
things.
They have
chances.
Quality chances!
But it isn't enough.
It was probably
never going to be
enough.
Nothing goes in,
and there's
nothing they can
do about it.
113. The game is over.
Their season is over.
But there is still the next game,
next season.
It isn't the end of the world.
114. They fly back to the cities and start to put the series in context.
It wasn't their year, but honestly, it never looked like it was
going to be.
They did better than last year.
This is called:
PROGRESS
115. Now it's time to:
rest,
regroup,
resign,
repair.
It's time to get ready for
whatever will happen next.
116. Through the series Marco had:
1goal & assist
1His two points are good enough to
be part of a six way tie for second
place in team scoring.
He is also the only Wild defenseman to score a goal in
the series.
He wishes this was something he could be proud of,
but it's mostly a reminder of how his team wasn't good
enough.
117. Suter 31:37
Brodin 26:23
Spurgeon 21:15
Scandella 18:01
Gilbert 16:16
Falk 11:13
Stoner 8:18
WILD DEFENSE MEN AVERAGE TIME ON
ICE THROUGH FIVE PLAYOFF GAMES
120. now they can't use
HOCKEY
as an excuse
to not to talk about feelings.
121. useless things they can talk about
now that there isn't any hockey:
The Mississippi River, video games, science,
chemistry, biology, Canada, pizza, the great
outdoors, shoes, suits, ties, dance music,
beards, bears, beers, bees, carpeting, zoo
animals, social media, crochet, flapper dresses,
breath mints, Iowa, breakfast, staircases, the
Hennepin Avenue Bridge, duct tape, staples,
super glue, plastic, glass, plexiglass, fingernails,
papercuts, pain relief, golf, grass, dirt, flowers,
romance novels, summer blockbusters, spring,
the motherfucking weather. It sure is exciting.
122. It snows on
Saturday.
Marco has to believe that
Minnesota's seasons are one
of Mother Nature's favorite
jokes.
124. It isn't that bad, there's no accumulation.
It's just a sudden flurry mixed in with the morning rain.
It hurts more than it should, because Marco has to actively
work to not hate the whole world. Snow this late in the spring
feels like a personal insult, sent at him, at the team, at the
state of hockey, from some higher power that is telling them
off for not being good enough.
126. Everyoneistalking
abouttheirsummer
plans.
Marco still has toclean out hisplace in Houstonbefore he canhead home. Heisn't sure wherehe'll be nextyear, but it won'tbe Houston.
He
wantsto
neverplay
hockeyin
Iowa.
He isn't
ready to
start
thinking
about next
season
yet, not
really.
It feels like the season they have just
finished is still missing a proper resolution.
129. they were roommates in 2011
(just like they are this year)
they were roommates and
partners
they looked out for each other
they didn't always sleep in
separate beds
it was physical comfort and
something more
they never decided what it was
Now they've reached a point where should decide if it actually
was anything, or if it is something they should forget.
130. Marco remembers
the feel of the cheap
hotel comforter
sticking to the bare
skin on his back.
He remembers slow
kisses.
He remembers
waking up after
nights where all they
did was sleep.
Marco
remembers
plenty.
131. Everything is getting wrapped up and put away for the summer.
They go out drinking
as a team one last
team.
What gets said:
(loose translation)
No more hockey, no
more team.
Goodbye hockey,
goodnight team.
: (
See you in the fall.
Next year, I tell you, it's
gonna be great.
Next year.
Marco goes home with Jared for one last beer.
They still have their own something left to resolve.
132. This wasn't as
much fun as the
last time we
were in the play
offs together.
Well, that had
been a lot of
fun, until the
end.
Being out for the
last game felt so
terrible.
Believe me,
playing in it
wasn't a barrel
of laughs.
At least you
were able to
have some
impact, I only
got to watch.
A ton of impact.
I was in the box for
the tying goal. That
was great.
Still better than
being hurt and
stuck in the
pressbox.
I disagree.
Remember, I
missed the whole
opening series
that year.
Yeah, but
we won
that.
It still
sucked.
Of course it did.
Being injured is
the worst.
But does it suck
more to miss games
at the start or the
end of the playoffs?
This is a
dumb thing
to debate. Oh,
absolutely.
HOW TO TALK AROUND A SUBJECT
I LIKE YOU / DO YOU LIKE ME /
DO YOU REMEMBER HOW WE
USED TO HOOK UP SOMETIMES
/ DO YOU WANT TO DO THAT
AGAIN? / ????? / WHAT THE
HELL ARE WE DOING?
133. This is so stupid. I
have no idea what
we're talking about. I know what we're
not talking about.
Yeah, that should
stop. We should
just do it.
I don't know.
We should kiss again.
We were good at that.
Ok, fine. Good.
Kiss me.
Do
what?
135. We're not going to figure
this out, are we? We're
going to go home for the
summer, and leave it like an
open wound.
You have
to chose a
better
metaphor.
It can grow,
it can wait,
percolate.
I don't care about
the metaphor, I care
about the lack of
resolution. It itches.
Just—let
me try to
explain it?
136. Metaphor is a problem, but it
might also have a solution.
Things that grow need time.
They need rain and sunshine, to
experience a whole summer's
worth of weather, then they will
have a better idea of what
they're dealing with.
They'll be back here in the
fall—it will be a new season,
both kinds of seasons, the
lenses of hockey and weather
will be aligned.
They can figure themselves out
in the fall.
137. This wasn't their year, on a lot of levels.
It was never going to be their year.
But next year—
nobody knows about
next year—
138. Next year the season should start on time.
Their 82-game hockey season should
spread over a Minnesota fall, a Minnesota
winter, and a Minnesota spring.
They can't predict what the weather will be
like in October, in December, in March, or in
May (fate permitting). They can figure out
the weather between them until they're
surrounded by new weather in different
sorts of new seasons.
139. Now that they have that figured out:
We will be.So...we're
good?
Give them time.
There's better weather
forecasted for the future.
141. Sources
the twitter things come from twitter.
the star tribune article is from the strib, I forgot
to save a link.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/blogpost.htm?id=17127
http://www.ryansinn.com/gallery.php
http://drawingthemotmot.wordpress.
com/2007/02/02/5-steps-to-better-bird-drawing/
http://www.hockeywilderness.
com/2013/5/7/4307494/marco-scandellas-mr-
hyde-case
