(While
watching the Jan. 20, 2025 Blues’ 5-4 shootout win at Vegas, this article I had
published in the Feb. 18, 1987 West Citizen Journal came up on my cell phone photo
memories!)
Maureen Shanahan has no trouble making male friends. She has
those smiling Irish eyes, freckles that would make Doris Day envious, a
soft-spoken, yet enthusiastic personality…AND hockey tickets!
The St. Joseph’s Academy junior is the daughter of St. Louis
Blues owner Michael Shanahan, Evidently, Maureen has shown no signs of
disappointment for the added attention she receives.
“It’s been a lot of fun and a whole new experience for me,”
she said. “You make a lot of friends; especially males. They’re constantly
coming up to me and asking, ‘Can I go to the hockey game?’
“When I go to parties, the guys are telling me to trade him
or keep another player. Just because I’m the daughter of the Blues’ owner doesn’t
mean I have the power to do any of those things.”
After attending several hockey games during her pre-teen
years, Shanahan and her family stayed away from The Arena for a few years due
to off-the-ice violence.
Shanahan doesn’t have to worry about that anymore. She is
privy to a seat in the owner’s box, although she readily acknowledges she would
feel just as comfortable out in the stands. But there is another benefit that
outweighs any potential detriment to her viewing pleasure.
“We had all the single hockey players over on Thenksgivng Day,”
she said. “My friend (Gretchen Haemueller) was over, and it was like, ‘OK. I’ll
serve and do this and that.’
“Now, we’ve
gotten everyone interested in them. They’re so rough on the ice, but so
different in person. They must have enjoyed their visit with us because one
player commented to his wife, ‘If I weren’t married to you, I’d get to go to
the Shanahans!’”
While the
Town & Country resident has become better known to West St. Louis County’s
male population, her popularity as a guard on the basketball court has improved
as well.
“She’s not
one of the tallest guards you’ll see (5-foot-5), but she makes up for it with
anticipation and quickness,” St. Joe coach Michaela Witcher said. “She has very
quick hands and does a good job of deflecting passes and making guards alter
their passes and shots. She also picks up a lot of steals.”
Defense
is indeed the strong suit for Shanahan, and she wasted little time exhibiting
it Saturday in the third-place game of the Maryville Tournament.
Shanahan
heled the Angels build a 21-13 lead late in the first quarter by breaking up a
layup attempt by McCluer North’s 5-11 senior center Alanna Gehner, who led all
scorers with 28 points. Shanahan miraculously ran right through the ball,
dislodging it from Gehner without committing a foul.
Although
Shanahan does a good job helping Shelly Grawer—whose father is the St. Louis
University basketball coach—run the offense, she readily concedes she’s lacking
in offensive proficiency.
“I’d love
to improve my shooting, and people are always telling me, ‘Will you shoot?’
Right now, I get intimidated too easily. But I’m trying to be more like Shelly.”
