Several area tournaments will feature appearances by Fergus Falls teams over the next few days.  Other area teams will be involved in a variety of tournaments.

 

The Fergus Falls Girls Hockey team will be a part of a three team round-robin Holiday Tournament in Detroit Lakes.  The Otters will play Park Rapids Area on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. and will face Detroit Lakes at one o'clock Friday at the Kent Freeman Memorial Ice Arena.

 

The Fergus Falls Boys Holiday Hockey Classic will be held over three days, beginning on Wednesday, December 27 and continuing on Thursday, December 28 and Friday, December 29.  Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Mankato West and West Fargo are the teams involved in the Varsity and 'B' team tournaments.

 

The Fergus Falls 'B' team will play at five o'clock each night, followed by the Otter varsity at 7:00 p.m. each night.  On Wednesday, Fergus Falls will face Mankato West, on Thursday they will play West Fargo, and on Friday they will be matched up with Detroit Lakes.

 

The Fergus Falls girls basketball team is hosting the second annual American Federal Bank Holiday Classic on December 28 and 29.  On Thursday, Barnesville will square off against the Minneapolis Roosevelt Teddies.  At 8:00 p.m., the Otters will face the Holdingford Huskers.  On Friday, the third place game will begin at 6:00 p.m., with the championship game following at 8:00 p.m.  The JV/B-Squad portion of the tournament will take place in the afternoon each day.

 

The Otter boys basketball team will participate in the Moorhead Holiday Basketball Tournament on December 27 and 28.  They will play DGF at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, followed by Moorhead against Buffalo at 7:15 p.m.  The two losers will play for third place on Thursday at 5:30 and the two winners will clash at 7:15 p.m.  The JV tournament will be played in the afternoon with the Otters playing at 2:30 on Wednesday against DGF.

 

The Pelican Rapids boys basketball team will play in the Shanley Tournament Wednesday through Friday, taking on the host team at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, meeting Crookston at 3:45 p.m. Thursday and facing Foley at 1:45 p.m. Friday.

 

Eight girls basketball teams will be involved in two separate tournaments at the Pelican Rapids High School Wednesday and Thursday.  In the Valkyrie Division, Perham will go up against Battle Lake at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday and West Central Area battles Sauk Centre at 4:45 p.m.  The third place game will be played at 4:45 p.m. Thursday and the championship game is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. Thursday.  In the Valhalla Division on Wednesday, Underwood and Clinton-Graceville will square off at 6:30 p.m., while Norman County East and Pelican Rapids will play at 8:15 p.m.  The two losers play for third place at 3:00 p.m. Thursday, while the two winners compete for the championship at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

 

The Barnesville boys basketball team will be involved in the Concordia Cobber Classic Wednesday through Friday.  They will play Norman County East Wednesday at 4:45 p.m., New York Mills at 1:45 p.m. Thursday and Cass Lake-Bena at 3:15 p.m. Friday.

 

Rothsay is also participating in the Cobber Classic with games against Ulen-Hitterdal at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, Norman County East at 3:00 p.m. Thursday and New York Mills at 12:00 noon on Friday.

 

The Ashby boys will be playing in the Mayville State Tournament.  No brackets have been received for this tournament.

 

Several postponements occurred on Thursday for Fergus Falls athletic teams as icy conditions put an end to travel for teams from the Central part of Minnesota.  The Fergus Falls swimming and diving meet with St. Cloud Apollo, the girls basketball game with Sauk Rapids-Rice, and the wrestling triangular with Willmar and Ottertail Central will all be rescheduled after the holiday break.  The Otter girls and boys hockey teams made the trip to Brainerd for their games, as did the Fergus Falls gymnastics squad.

 

The schedule for the 2006 Detroit Lakes Kiwanis Holiday Girls Hockey Tournament has bee finalized.  Earlier, a team from Canada pulled out of the event, leaving only three varsity and three junior varsity teams participating.  A fourth team could not be found, so the tournament has been turned into a round-robin event.  The Fergus Falls JV team will face the Detroit Lakes JV team at three o'clock Wednesday afternoon, followed by the Fergus Falls varsity against Park Rapids at five o'clock.  On Thursday at one o'clock, the Laker varsity squares off with the Panthers.  The Friday schedule begins with the JV game between Fergus Falls and Detroit Lakes at 11:00 a.m. and the varsity battle between those two teams is set for one o'clock.  All games will be played at the Kent Freeman Memorial Ice Arena in Detroit Lakes.

 

MSCTC-Fergus Falls Men's Basketball standout Byron Ninham has been named the MCCC Southern Division Player of the Week for the second time this season.  Ninham, a 6' 4" wing from Cass Lake-Bena High School, averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.5 blocks and 2.5 assists per game in two Spartan victories. 

 

"Byron had a fantastic week and is most deserving of this honor," states Fergus Falls Head Coach Jason Retzlaff.  "Not only is he a great scorer, but his ability to make his teammates better and be a defensive presence is what makes him a special player."

 

Ninham is averaging 14.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks on the season.  MSCTC-Fergus Falls is currently 9-3 and ranked number two in the Minnesota Community College Conference.

 

Jason Hintermeister of Checkers Home and Lumber Warehouse in Fergus Falls, one of our newest sponsors on the website, has informed us that Ashley Peterson of the Underwood Girls Basketball team has been named the Hardware Hank "Nuts & Bolts" Athlete of the Week.  Ashley, a senior forward for the Rockets was nominated by her coach, Brian Hovland. 

 

"Ashley has had a great start to her senior year," Hovland said.  "In her first three games she averaged 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals."

 

 

Two Fergus Falls winter sports athletes were honored at home events on Thursday night for individual accomplishments of the past week.  FFHS Activities Director Gary Schuler had the pleasant task of making the presentations to Megan Sjolie of the Otter girls hockey team and Karl Haataja of the Otter wrestling squad.

 

Sjolie was recognized for her career achievement of becoming the all time leading scorer in Fergus Falls girls hockey history.  Sjolie accomplished the feat with three assists against Little Falls on Thursday, December 7, giving her 115 points, one more than the previous record of 114 points held by Alyssa Johnson.  Sjolie has scored 61 career goals and compiled 54 career assists.  She is a six-year varsity performer who has played for three coaches, Wayne Horgen, Mandy Krausse and current coach Jim Conrad.

 

Haataja, a senior wrestling at 152 pounds this year, recorded his 100th career victory on the mats.  Haataja placed third in the Section 7AA meet a year ago, just missing out on a state tournament trip.

 

The Balmoral Hall team from Canada has pulled out of the Detroit Lakes Girls Hockey Holiday Tournament, leaving only three teams to compete in the tournament.  It is unknown if a replacement team can be found on such short notice.  If only three teams are involved, Fergus Falls will play twice, facing Park Rapids Area on Wednesday, December 27 with the JV at 3:00 p.m. and the varsity at 5:00 p.m., and taking on the host Lakers on Thursday, December 28 with the JV game scheduled for 11:00 a.m. and the varsity at 1:00 p.m.

 

Fergus Falls teams will be very active in Holiday Tournaments this Christmas season.  Here is a brief synopsis of what will be taking place the week between Christmas and New Year's.

 

The Fergus Falls Boys Holiday Hockey Classic will be held over three days, beginning on Wednesday, December 27 and continuing on Thursday, December 28 and Friday, December 29.  Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Mankato West and West Fargo are the teams involved in the Varsity and 'B' team tournaments.

 

The Fergus Falls 'B' team will play at five o'clock each night, followed by the Otter varsity at 7:00 p.m. each night.  On Wednesday, Fergus Falls will face Mankato West, on Thursday they will play West Fargo, and on Friday they will be matched up with Detroit Lakes.

 

The Fergus Falls girls basketball team is hosting the second annual American Federal Bank Holiday Classic on December 28 and 29.  On Thursday, Barnesville will square off against the Minneapolis Roosevelt Teddies.  At 8:00 p.m., the Otters will face the Holdingford Huskers.  On Friday, the third place game will begin at 6:00 p.m., with the championship game following at 8:00 p.m.  The JV/B-Squad portion of the tournament will take place in the afternoon each day.

 

The Otter boys basketball team will participate in the Moorhead Holiday Basketball Tournament on December 27 and 28.  They will play DGF at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, followed by Moorhead against Buffalo at 7:45 p.m.  The two wlosers will play for third place on Thursday at 5:30 and the two winners will clash at 7:15 p.m.  The JV tournament will be played in the afternoon with the Otters playing at 2:30 on Wednesday against DGF.

 

 

Taylor Gray, 13, competed in the 15-16 year old Junior Black Belt division.  He placed first in pattern and was dominant in sparring beating his opponents by a combined score of 10 to 0. 

 

The Master's Martial Arts Academy is a Greenquist Academy school and member of the International Black Belt Federation.  Upcoming IBBF tournaments include December 16 in Jamestown and January 13 in Duluth.