Alex Jackstadt Autographed Puck

While many of you were out at the bar or some other kind of party for New Year's Eve, I was at a hockey game. Okay, I did end up going to a bar to ring in the new year, but FIRST, I went to a hockey game. The Fargo Force were playing the Sioux Falls Stampede in the final game of 2013. The Force ended up with a 5-3 loss, in what has already been a rough year. After making it all the way to the Clark Cup finals last year, the Force are now the worst team in the USHL, with a 5-20-3 record. That tends to happen, though, when 15 of your players are moving on to the college level.

Anyway, at each Force home game, a player is selected for their "Player Spotlight," where they are featured for the cover of the game's program, shoot a video interview to play between periods, and are available after the game to sign autographs. The Player Spotlight for this game was forward Alex Jackstadt, who signed a puck for me after the game.

Despite the loss, this was actually the perfect game for Jackstadt to be featured in the Player Spotlight, as he scored his first goal of the season, short-handed, to tie the game 1-1 in the first period. In 27 games this season, he has tallied 1 goal and 3 assists. Jackstadt is from Anchorage, Alaska, and even though he is currently far away from home, he will soon be returning, as he has already committed to playing college hockey for the University of Alaska-Anchorage.