Ex-Hockey Treasurer Gets Eight Months in Prison for Tax Evasion

Steven Brier, former treasurer of District 2 of the Minnesota Amateur Hockey Association, was sentenced to eight months in prison for tax evasion.

The former Minnesota Amateur Hockey Association (now Minnesota Hockey) District 2 treasurer was sentenced to eight months in prison for evading his personal income taxes in 2010, according to a Department of Justice press release. Steven Brier was charged on Dec. 4, and he pleaded guilty on Dec. 17, according to the release. From the Depatment of Justice news release: In his plea agreement, Brier admitted from April 2005 through September 2011, he stole at least $384,000 during his time as treasurer for the Minnesota Amateur Hockey Association, District 2. As treasurer, Brier had signature authority for the District 2 bank accounts and only one signature was required on the checks issued by the Association. Brier acknowledges that he wrote…

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SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

Senior Spotlight: Tartan Girls Hockey

Oakdale Patch highlights senior athletes from Tartan and North High Schools.

In Senior Spotlight, Oakdale Patch highlights North and Tartan High School senior athletes participating in Winter sports.

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Former Tartan Hockey Player now with NAHL

Oakdale native Carl Krieger is playing with the Minot Minotauros.

Tartan Girls Hockey Team Looks For Non-Conference Win Saturday

Tartan girls hockey team looks for their first win of the season as they face St. Louis Park at home Saturday.

OAKDALE PATCH GAME OF THE WEEK Girls Hockey Tartan (0-3, 0-0 Classic Suburban Conference) vs. St. Louis Park (1-0, 0-0 North Suburban Conference) CHEAT SHEET SITE: Tartan TIME: 3 p.m. Saturday LAST MEETING: This is the first meeting between the two schools.  ON THE LINE The Titans tied for sixth in the Classic Suburban Conference last year and are hoping that their young team can show improvement throughout the season. They should add some depth with the addition of three girls this week who were on the swimming team. St. Louis Park finished 3-22-1 last year and were 1-12 in conference play. PLAYERS TO WATCH Jordan Jackson—Tartan forward The eighth-grader scored a goal in the first two games of the season for the Titans. Anna Basill—St. …

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FEATURED ATHLETE

Tartan Hockey Captain's Work Ethic is Reason for Success

Nate Straka talks about the importance of teamwork and the possibility of playing hockey after high school.

Oakdale Patch writer Jeff Roberts caught up with Tartan boys hockey captain Nate Straka after the Titans' 2-2 tie to rival North High. Straka offered insight into his motivation, inspiration and life after hockey. Oakdale Patch: How long have you played hockey? Nate Straka: I started playing in third grade. I was kind of a late bloomer when it comes to hockey. Oakdale Patch: Why did you decide to pick up a stick and skates? Straka: Because all my friends were doing it and I wanted to do what they were doing. Plus I'm a horrible freethrow shooter, so I didn't have much of a future in basketball. Oakdale Patch: What else do you do besides playing hockey? Straka: I used to play baseball, but a few years ago I picked up the gloves and stick …

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Titan Boys Hockey Ties Polars 2-2 in Overtime

Tartan outshot North 42-39 in the game, but failed to capitalize on genuine scoring opportunities.

The Tartan varsity boys hockey team tied arch rival North St. Paul in front of a packed Polar arena and a raucous crowd on Thursday night.  The Titans came out looking unprepared and outmatched in the first period. The Polars' captain Shaun Kelly struck first just four minutes into the period scoring an unassisted goal to put North ahead 1-0.  After outskating the Titans for much of the period, Polar freshman Justin Oliver scored with 4:15 left in the period to give North St. Paul a two-goal advantage.  But the Titans refused to go away.  After aggressive backchecking and a pass from linemate Austin Espelein, senior Tyler Beaulieu scored on a breakaway with two minutes to go to narrow the Polar lead to 2-1.  “This is pretty much what we …

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Two Tournaments Start Today at Tartan High School

Tartan's girls hockey and boys basketball teams will be participating in tournaments at the school.

Tuesday through Thursday, boys basketball and girls hockey tournaments will take place at Tartan High School and Tartan Arena. At the school, the boys basketball team will be participating in a tournament along with Bloomington Kennedy, Brooklyn Center, Elk River, Forest Lake, Prior Lake, Rogers and Spring Lake Park. Tuesday's games are: On Wednesday: On Thursday: At Tartan Arena, The Tartan High School Girls Holiday Hockey Tournament will be going on. Tartan's varsity and junior varsity teams will be matched up against teams from East Ridge, Mahtomedi and the St. Paul Blades. Tuesday's games are: Wednesday's games are: Thursday's games are: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the St. Paul Blades as St. Paul Highland.

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Holiday Miracle: Titan girls beat Sibley in OT

Dominated for much of the game at Henry Sibley, the Tartan girls' hockey team got a last-second win in overtime on Friday.

Perhaps it's a lesson to remember during the holiday season, but the Tartan girls' hockey team proved on Friday that it's never too late for a miracle. Dominated for much of their game at Henry Sibley, the Titans managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat when Andrea Heller scored with just 7.8 seconds left in overtime for a 3-2 win. It was especially sweet for the Titans, who had been soundly beaten in their last game, to bounce back with a win. "To get throttled by Hill-Murray 10-zip, that hurt pretty bad and the kids were pretty down, but the resiliency and the bounce back these kids have, they never quit," said Titans coach Jeff Lanz. The Warriors led 1-0 early on a goal by Kaleigh Kramer, but Tartan would tie it up before the …

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Volunteer Force Furnished Manpower to get Tartan Arena's Dome Back Up

Tartan Arena's manager said he's hopeful the rink can be re-opened Saturday.

On Tuesday, when many Minnesotans were still sore from shoveling their driveways, a team of about 40 Tartan Area Youth Hockey Association volunteers helped shovel something much larger—the top of the collapsed dome at Tartan Arena, which was re-inflated Wednesday, but on Friday, was still closed. "It was truly a community effort to get this thing where it's at today," said arena manager Brad Martinson. The fabric roof collapsed last Saturday under the weight of snow. Hockey parent Josh Thieschaser said some people felt the task of clearing nearly two feet of snow off the entire surface of the dome's roof was too overwhelming, but he had no doubt it could be done. "I just said 'People sandbag cities, I think we can move snow out of a …

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Dome Collapse Leaves Oakdale Hockey Teams With Half the Practice Space

The dome over one of the rinks at Tartan Ice Arena collapsed under the weight of heavy snow.

In the midst of hockey season, Oakdale's youth and high school teams currently have half their usual rink space because the domed roof over one of the rinks at Tartan Arena collapsed Saturday due to heavy snowfall. An insurance adjuster was out surveying the damage Tuesday morning, said Mike Boland, operations, health and safety and grounds supervisor for District 622. It's currently unclear how long it will take to get the roof back up again and  re-open the rink, he said. The arena was built in 1997, according to the District 622 website. Youth and high school team representatives say they don't know what the impact of the collapse will be yet, because they don't know how long the rink will be out of commission, but it could potentially…

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