Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page C4

C4 SPORTS STAR TRIBUNE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2006 gophers hockey has sizable plans for Wheeler By DEAN SPIROS To suggest that the Gophers hockey team is Blake team is overstating the case. But this much seems clear: Its fate rests in his hands. The Gophers are counting on the 6-4, 215-pound sophomore forward to be the catalyst for an unproven offense wracked by early departures. A move from wing to center has him playing a new position. not the only change that has the Gophers crossing their fingers.

game will go to the next level when he becomes a difficult guy to play Gophers coach Don Lucia said. got to develop some of that To do so requires persistent reminders from the coaching staff that looking for a little less beauty and a lot more beast. been blessed to have a big Wheeler said. about time to start using It was because of blend of size and skill that Wayne Gretzky and the Phoenix Coyotes selected Wheeler with the fifth pick in the 2005 NHL draft. Under an umbrella of great expectations, Wheeler scored nine goals as a freshman, the majority of which would have come if he was 511 instead of 6-4.

Wheeler showed flashes, but he was a nonfactor on enough nights for some observers to conclude he underachieved. disappointed until the end of the season Wheeler said. tough to be disappointed when you go on the incredible streak we went on. It became more of a shock when it was all over, when you have regrets about what you could have done and how you could have Lucia said goal total can at least double this season if he learns to go through defenders instead of always trying to go around them. look at his size and you expect him to be more of a power forward than he Lucia said.

a skilled player, but I think he can be more of a physical force with the puck. Whenever there is a battle for the puck, Blake should be the one coming out of the corner with To aid the transformation, Lucia and his staff have been putting their heads together to try to find the right linemates for Wheeler. Ben Gordon and Mike Howe skated with Wheeler the first two games. Freshman Jay Barriball, off to a good start offensively, replaced Howe on right wing during practice this week. Wheeler has blessing to handle the puck a lot, but he needs to pick up his share of goals.

have to get in front of the net, establish a low center of gravity and just fight for Wheeler said. just be a perimeter Practices have been a lot more physical than in recent years, with the hope all the Gophers forwards learn the benefits of going hard to the net. easy in an Olympic rink to go up and down without con- ta Lucia said. having more of those one-on-one battles in practice so it becomes more natural in Wheeler said he does not set any personal goals for points or goals in a season, but with the amount of ice time he is expected to get including on the power play 20 goals seem too much to ask. been a mind-set all summer to try to improve my production from last Wheeler said.

year I kind of learned where you can score the goals and where goals scored. Hopefully I can use that to my advantage this 4 The 6-4, 215-pound sophomore has the frame to be a physical presence on the offensive end. Wheeler HOCKEY WEEKEND Wayne State, Mich. (0-0) at Gophers (0-1) Today and Saturday, 7 p.m. Mariucci Arena No TV; 830-AM today, 107.5-FM Saturday Quick fact: The teams are meeting for the first time.

Wayne State at a glance: The Warriors return their leading goal scorers from last season, seniors Jason Bloomingburg and Nate Higgins, who had 10. The Warriors, 6-23-6 overall and 3-12-5 in College Hockey America last season, were picked fifth (last) in the CHA preseason poll. Gophers at a glance: The biggest challenge would appear to be not picking up any bad habits against an inferior opponent. Sophomore forward Justin Bostrom will miss at least one more week because of a knee injury. Goaltender Jeff Frazee is expected to play both games, with senior Kellen Briggs serving the final two games of his three-game suspension.

DEAN SPIROS outdoors Archers learn, then shoot CAMP RIPLEY You notice first the girls, 23 of them. It always this way, organizers say not last year, the year before or the year before that. But there they were, 23 girls ages 12 to 17, some with their dads, some with their moms or other relatives. Now in its sixth year, the Camp Ripley Youth Archery Hunt has grown from 80 participants in 2001 to the 133 who hunted last weekend this from the 150 youth whose names were drawn by lottery to hunt in what arguably is ground zero for trophy Minnesota whitetails. Among the 23 girls was Sara Henderschiedt of Worthington, who hunted with her dad, Steve.

A hunting archer who also shoots competitively, Sara, 15, drew a permit a year ago as well. year I shot a 113- pound she recalled, 26 Friday night, the eve of the weekend hunt, the young archers and their parents or other mentors gathered in a cinder block building that is largely indistinguishable from the rows of other block buildings at the military enclave. Soon dinner was served. That night, some parents and their kids stayed in barracks, paying a nominal price for the privilege. Others camped in recreational vehicles they had towed or hauled to the camp.

All of the archers were required to attend a briefing session before being allowed to hunt the next day. Topics covered included hunter safety, ethics and what to do if they find an unexploded artillery shell. touch came the admonition. my son Trevor, 13, said. The next morning came early at 4 a.m.

Coffee, rolls and hot chocolate were on the menu for breakfast, and a general scramble followed as the hunters and their elders organized enough gear to survive a day as the military calls it. Vehicles and RVs of all shapes and sizes had formed 4 An archery hunt at Camp Ripley is less about downing deer than it is an early conservation primer. dennis anderson columnist Jasmyn Gunderson, 14, and her father, Shane, were among more than 125 youth archers who participated in a special deer hunt last weekend at Camp Ripley. The Gundersons are from nearby Fort Ripley, Minn. DENNIS ANDERSON startribune.com a long line of headlights by 5:30 a.m.

A short while later, the convoy headed into northern half, where the hunt was slated. Jasmyn Gunderson, 14, and her father, Shane, were among those driving into the hinterland. Living in nearby Fort Ripley just across the Mississippi from Camp Ripley they had slept not on the military grounds but at home. Now Jasmyn was hoping to see a deer from her stand and make the shot. killed a deer before, but not with a her father said.

In fact, only a small percentage of hunters of any age kill deer at Ripley. For youth, that number usually is between 10 and 15 percent, in an area where deer number a plentiful 30 per square mile. the hunt is not so much about whether a young person kills a said Jan Ekert of Kingston, Minn. She and her husband, Roger, are among a score or more of Minnesota State Archery Association volunteers who help the DNR stage the hunt. Were it not for the MSAA and the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, also a hunt sponsor, the event might not occur.

Asked why she puts so much time each year into organizing the hunt, when she and her husband have no kids participating, Jan Ekert said: young people are our future conservationists, our keepers of the environment. If we can help them learn something about ethics, about safety and about the animal hunting, worth Neither Saturday nor Sunday was a good deer-hunt- ing day. Wind was the biggest problem too much of it from the south Saturday, too much from the north Sunday. For the weekend, 16 deer were killed at Ripley and at a youth hunt held concurrently on a parcel nearby owned by the Nature Conservancy. Counting children who hunted at the latter site, a total of 149 archers were afield.

Their harvest of 16 deer was down from the 22 felled a year ago. One hunter who took home a whitetail was Sara Hender- schiedt. As she did in 2005, she shot her quarry, a doe, from 26 yards. That made her an exception, Jan Ekert and other hunt organizers said. kids who kill deer here are killing their first deer ever, by any method, not just by Ekert said.

Trevor hunted Saturday without felling an animal, though he passed on a chance to drop a doe at about 20 yards. Perhaps a tad too discriminating for his age remembering the two good bucks (in two states) he killed with his bow last year he chose not to draw back again on Sunday, after he had sneaked close to a small buck. Brothers Eric and Mike Edman of Brainerd were among those who go home empty-handed. Each dropped a deer Sunday afternoon. One was accompanied by his mom, Jan; the other by his grandfather, Robert Shevich of Nashwauk.

Said Jan Ekert: just seeing those kids with smiles on their faces, really special to me. face it: The parents and mentors always going to be around for these kids. have the memories of their hunts Autumn leaves There is a date on which each area reaches an overall fall color peak. To naturalists, that special date is when the autumn foliage colors are at their best considering the many trees, shrubs and vines that give us the fantastic show. Last year here in the Twin Cities it was Oct.

15, and now we are noticing that fall colors are coming on fast. Some fall seasons are much more colorful than others. An early frost can kill the foliage, or, a warm, cloudy autumn can produce dull colors. The striking color changes that take place, as deciduous woody plants prepare to drop their leaves, are triggered by shortening days and cooler weather. JIM GILBERT JOURNAL THE SOUTHERN GIANT PRESENTS Jim Kleinsasser The Minnesota Viking Cheerleaders Saturday, October 14th from Bring in your favorite card, jersey, picture or pennant for Jim to sign! Come Welcome Viking Cheerleaders Laura, Katie, Melissa Courtney 3 blocks West of 35W on Co.

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