A basketball tournament on Saturday, eggs and bacon on Sunday and a Monday-morning school announcement proved to be the genesis of the Warroad Warriors’ girls’ hockey program, one of the most successful girls’ hockey programs in the state of Minnesota.

“In 1998 I had a daughter in seventh grade, and at the time the only sport (in town) for girls in the winter was basketball,” former Warriors’ girls’ head hockey coach Ron Tviet said. “We know how many kids are going to play on a basketball team. A couple of other dads and I were at a 7th-grade girls’ basketball tournament. We thought women’s hockey was going to blow up. We should get on the bandwagon.”

That conversation started a chain reaction in the community that would not be stopped.

“I went to church the next morning with a friend, Albert Hasbargen, the manager of the hockey arena,” Tviet recalled. “We went to breakfast after church. We were talking, and he said ‘when do you want to start?’ The next day he called me and said ‘I scheduled you for ice time next week.'”

Tviet, a teacher in the Warroad school system and first coach in the history of the girls’ program, got on the PA system and made an announcement to the school Monday morning that a meeting would be held in his classroom.

Warroad athletic director Warren Keller, who Tviet said wasn’t even invited, showed up as well.

“He talked to me right after the meeting asking me about what I was going to need and what my thoughts were,” Tviet said.

Although they had kids and the support of the AD, they still needed money.

“Kathy Unertl, our city clerk, suggested we contact the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission,” the former head coach said. “She wrote the grant, and we ended up getting almost $14000. That ended up buying our equipment. We had to have some matching funds for the grant. CCM and Christian Brothers were a great help. We were off and running.”

They were off and running with a 15U and a 12U team. The plan was to stick with youth hockey for three years and then jump to high school. Like the program’s start, everything was accelerated.

“I think I had six girls (on the 15U team) that had been playing with the boys already,” Tviet said. “That was a key to our success.”

(Photo by Jeff Wegge)

Another key to early success was Tviet, who had coached at various levels in the Warroad system for 23 years, 17 of them at the squirt level.

“If you take out those six girls, the rest of the girls were about at that level,” he said. “I am not much of an X’s and O’s coach. I am a skills coach, but that is what we needed at that time.”

The first year schedule did not allow the Warriors much time to test the waters. The Warriors opened up against an established Grand Rapids program which had Tviet questioning his scheduling decision.

“We ended up beating Grand Rapids 3-2,”Tviet said. “Then Bemidji was having a 15U tournament. They needed another team, and they called to see if we would play. I remember thinking to myself ‘I don’t want to throw these kids to the dogs’ but we agreed to go to the tournament. We ended up winning the tournament.”

The first-year program would finish the season undefeated and won the Class B state championship.

Tviet said an essential aspect of the immediate success was the commitment from boys’ program and its coach at the time, Cary Eades.

“He made sure the boys supported the girls,” Tviet said. “One time we were in a playoff game in Hibbing in the morning and Cary had his kids do a team breakfast, and then they all came to our game. He was supportive in every way. That is something you don’t see in every community.”

Not surprisingly, the AD got behind the program from the very beginning.

“At Christmas, Keller came to me and said it looked like we were ready to make the jump to a varsity program after one year,” Tviet said. “We sat down and put together a budget, a schedule, and he said he would take it to the school board and we will go from there. The school board approved it for the next year, and that was it.”

With no teams close to Warroad, the travel schedule for the first year was brutal. Tviet, estimates the team put on 4,500 miles in its inaugural varsity season.

“The kids lived on the bus,” Tviet told Minnesota Hockey Magazine. “They would do homework on the way to the games and on the way home they would bring pillows and sleeping bags and would sleep in the seats or on the floor. We would get back to Warroad at two in the morning, and there would be the parents, waiting to take the kids home.”

Support for the Warrior girls didn’t just come from the school. It also came from what Tviet and current head coach David Marvin call ‘the important hockey people in Warroad.’

“The people who were respected the most in the community wanted to see our girls’ program be successful,” Marvin said. “When they put their name behind it that meant ‘everybody get behind it.'”

Chief among those ‘important hockey people’ was Marvin’s dad, the legendary Cal Marvin, who passed away in 2004.

“Cal Marvin was the godfather of Warroad hockey,” Tviet said. “He was instrumental in supporting the endeavors of girls’ hockey. He was behind it one hundred percent.  He kept a watchful eye over everything. He had a spot in the rink where he would watch practices. If there was ever anything you wanted to know or anything you needed, you went to him. He was a quiet guy but when he spoke you listened.”

The girls’ program was immediately taken in by the community.

“A lot of girls’ programs spin their wheels fighting for equality while we just have to spend our time figuring out how to get better,” David Marvin said. “When kids play girls’ hockey in Warroad they know they are not second fiddle. We get prime ice times. We get great schedules; we get everything the boys get. In some ways we get more things than the boys. The girls know they do not have to worry about equality or fairness. It is established.”

Tviet added, “When girls’ hockey came into many communities they had to fight for everything. That was not so in Warroad. The community opened their arms, and we were taken in just like that.”

(Photo by Jeff Wegge)

The level of commitment to hockey – boys or girls – is not lost on the residents of Warroad, least of all someone who grew up in town, the team’s current head coach.

“As a kid growing up in Warroad you didn’t know any better,” Marvin said. “There weren’t a lot of things to do, but the arena was always open. That is where you went; that is just what you did. Later on in life, I realized that Warroad is pretty special with the free ice and things like that. As a kid, we didn’t know that we just went to the rink and had fun.”

Tviet summed up the community’s hockey relationship.

“We had a high school coach in Warroad years ago named Tom King. He said ‘what we have in Warroad is a commitment – a commitment to excellence.’ That fits the girls’ program well. The people who are involved in the program are dedicated to the program.”

After three years behind the varsity bench, Tviet decided to step down.

“I had been coaching for almost thirty years, and I was ready to get out,” he said. “I was more of a skills coach, and when I left, they were ready to take the next step. Three years after I left they were in the state tournament with Scott Knudsen as the head coach.”

Five years after Tviet stepped down, Marvin stepped in.

Marvin took the head job in 2006 and was behind the bench for five straight state tournament appearances, including back-to-back championships during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.

“Mostly I had to open the door and know not to interrupt them,” Marvin said of the state championship teams. “They were that good. They were that type of kids where I just had to make sure I didn’t screw it up.”

In all, Warroad has made eight state tournament appearances with three runner-up and three third place finishes in addition to its two titles.

Marvin has surrounded himself with a solid group of assistant coaches ever since he took over.

“Derrick Comstock has been with the program since the beginning,” Marvin said. “He works with our defensemen. Darrell Shaugabay has been a youth hockey coach for thirty years and has been my assistant for the past five years. A couple of my former players, Beth Olson and my daughter Layla, are also on my staff.”

This season Warroad should have another strong team.

“I have a great group of kids,” Marvin said. “We are led by Madison Oelkers who is going to play for Mankato State and Katie Kotlowski who is going to play for Wisconsin in two years. They are surrounded by a group of young, talented kids who people don’t know about yet, but they will.”

They will be known in a program whose roots took hold in a basketball gym and over bacon and eggs, but was built on the backs of a group of athletes and a community that – unlike few others – embraced the idea of a girls’ program when it wasn’t a popular position. Never second-class citizens, they started with an improbable undefeated start and have never looked back.

The post A Diner Dream Come True appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Edina blanks Blaine for first-ever girls’ hockey state title

St. Paul — It didn’t take long for the Edina Hornets to take control of the Class 2A state title game against Blaine. Just 59 seconds into the first period Lolita Fidler deflected an Eva Hendrickson shot from the blue line under the pads of Bengals’ goalie Jaela O’Brien to put the Hornets in front.

Edina never looked back in a 4-0 victory at Xcel Energy Center to bring home its first-ever girls’ hockey state championship.The Hornets were runner-up twice before in 2010 and 2011.

Fidler scored twice with Olivia Swaim and Olivia Kilberg netting one goal each. Senior goalie Anna Goldstein turned aside 16 Bengals’ shots to earn the shutout.

Edina Assistant Coach Scott Ryerse gets emotional as he hugs senior goalie Anna Goldstein after she records a shutout against Blaine to win the 2017 Class 2A championship. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

Blaine would recover from the early deficit and controlled much of the play in the first period but had nothing to show for it. Edina’s Grace Bowlby used a poke check to break up a Blaine odd-man rush to prevent one of the Bengals best scoring chances of the game. Late in the period, Edina’s offense started clicking. O’Brien made a spectacular save, one of 20 in the game, cutting across the cage to keep it a one-goal game but had no chance a few minutes later.

Kilberg tapped in a perfect pass from Evelyn Adams into an empty net to give the Hornets a 2-0 lead late in the first period.

“We do a ton of tipping drills,” Edina coach Sami Reber said. “There is a difference between getting in front of the goalie and just standing there and actually getting in front of their eyes. It was great to see it pay off in a big situation. Hopefully (the players) understand why I harp on it so often.”

The only second-period goal would be scored by Fidler. The Hornets continued to put shooters in great position with pinpoint passing. O’Brien didn’t have a chance on any of the first three goals she let in.

Blaine spent a lot of time in the offensive zone, but Edina would not allow the Bengals to get many clean looks at the net. When they did get pucks to the net, Goldstein was rock solid in goal.

The game was well in hand, but Goldstein’s best save of the contest came late in the third, stopping a breakaway. She was out in front of the blue paint, held her ground and got her right arm on the shot to deflect the puck into the corner.

Fidler scored all three game-winning goals for the Hornets this weekend and Goldstein and the Hornets’ defense would be the only team to shut out the Bengals all season.

Edina would add a fourth goal in the third period and coast the rest of the way.

“It doesn’t seem real,” said Reber, the first female coach to win a 2A championship. “This program has wanted this for so long I couldn’t be more proud of this group. They came to work every single day for this goal.”

The post Hornets Best appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Six different scorers carry Bears to seventh state title

St. Paul — After spotting St. Paul United an early lead in Saturday’s Minnesota Class 1A Girls’ Hockey State Tournament title game, The Blake School scored six straight times and rolled to a 6-2 win to capture the Bears’ second straight and seventh overall state championship.

Blake’s Lily Delianedis led a balanced attack with a goal and two assists while Addie Burton, Audrey Wethington, Izzy Daniel and Hayley Konowalchuk added a goal and an assist each. Joie Phelps and Samantha Burke scored goals for United.

Early in the game fans at the Xcel Energy Center looked like they were going to be treated to a back and forth affair that would not be decided until late in the game. Both teams did a good job keeping the puck out of the middle of the ice and through five minutes of play the shots were even at two apiece.

Blake (27-2-1) then made one of their few mistakes of the game. United was able to get a turnover at their own blueline and create a three on one. Phelps – who tallied a hat trick in the quarterfinals – took a feed from Laure Boettcher and found the back of the net to give United (21-7-2) a brief 1-0 lead.

Just three minutes later Blake’s Konowalchuck fired a shot from the right faceoff circle into the net to tie the game.

From that point, the first period belonged to the Blake Bears. They would outshoot United 14 to 4 in the period and take the lead off the stick of Delianedis. Delianedis flipped home a shot while collecting a rebound off of United goalie Jillian Oncay who finished the game with 31 saves.

Blake started the second period where they left off in the first, keeping United to the outside and capitalizing on their opportunities. Two goals less than two minutes apart allowed the Bears to take control of the game. Grace Johnson and Wethington both scored right on the doorstep by banging away right in front of the blue paint. Oncay made a number of saves before both goals, but the Bears’ forwards were relentless.

Defensively the Bears controlled the middle of the ice. The few times United could sustain any pressure in the Bears’ zone, it was always along the boards. Any attempt to get the puck in front of the net was met with a Blake stick and a quick clear to the boards.

“We control the blue line and the middle of the ice,” Blake coach Shawn Reid said. “We just support each other on defense. We talked about working as a team with the puck and without the puck. It is just a philosophy of puck pursuit and puck support and making sure we keep the other team to the outside.”

Late in the second period, Blake scored its fifth goal of the game from their fifth different player when Daniel scored from the right faceoff circle.

“We don’t focus on who is on what line,” Reid said. “We just take a next man up mentality.”

While Blake wasn’t as explosive offensively in the third, up four goals, they didn’t need to be. Like much of the game, the Bears controlled the puck and kept United bottled up in their own zone much of the period. They killed off an early power play and goalie Anna Kruesel, while not having to make many saves, was solid on the 15 shots she faced. In the third, she made her two best saves of the night on that early third-period power play and on a breakaway late in the period.

The post Blake Goes Back-To-Back appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Minnetonka coach balances fun, competition to achieve success

When Minnetonka Skippers’ head coach Eric Johnson took over the girls’ program twelve years ago, they were in a transition period. Many girls were still playing in the boys’ program, and some girls were playing on the girls’ team. The program’s groundwork had been laid shortly before Johnson became the head coach.

“Our youth director at the time, Dan Phillips, was instrumental in getting more girls to play in the girls’ program,” said the former St. Cloud State forward. “We had kind of a ‘grassroots’ effort at recruiting kids who played soccer or other sports. We gained some traction when some of our top female hockey players made the switch from the boys’ program to the girls’.”

Johnson, who had previously coached boys at different levels, noticed early on he had to coach girls differently.

“We had to find ways to implement competition into practice,” recalled the Armstrong alumni. “They would do drills well, but incorporating more competition encourages creativity – they don’t have to follow the ‘rules’ or look to a coach to see if they’re doing the drill ‘right’.”

Balancing fun and competition is something Johnson and his staff stress to this day.

“We have an up-tempo, fun atmosphere in practice. We play music and let our players choose the playlist,” Johnson explains. “We emphasize passing, teamwork and communication. We push the pace in practice to make it feel as much like a game as possible.”

Johnson – whose program has won three state titles (2011, 2012, 2013) and finished second once (2015) in four state tournament trips since 2011 – typically ends practice with mini-competitions.

“These mini-competitions make kids think about, for example, how to win battles for the puck. We put something on the line – maybe the loser does five pushups or something. Our coaching staff aims to keep the drills and games challenging but fun.”

On and off the ice, the Skippers program has turned a tragedy into an inspiration.

“The character of our team has been largely shaped by the legacy of Kelly Phillips, an alum who was killed in a car accident in 2007,” Johnson said. “Kelly had a terrific attitude and was a great teammate. We award a player each season with the “Kelly Phillips Character Award” – which means putting the team first and making a positive difference in the time they have wearing a Minnetonka jersey. Our girls have really embraced the spirit of this award.”

Minnetonka (9-7-3) heads to Stillwater on Saturday to face the Ponies outdoors along the St. Croix River in a 5:30 p.m. game which will be televised live on Fox Sports North Plus as part of the the annual Hockey Day Minnesota event.

The Skippers bring with them a trio of players who will be playing at or near the DI level next year.

“Elizabeth Kubicek is a senior and is having a terrific season,” Johnson said. “She competes hard, communicates with her defensemen and reads the play well. Camille von Steinbergs is a strong skating defenseman with a heavy shot who is committed to Union next year. Emma Bigham is a senior forward who is committed to St. Cloud State. She is not only our leading scorer, but she is our best forechecker and leads by example.”

Those seniors have grown up in the Skippers’ program, and their willingness to continue to play the game and ability to improve encapsulates Johnson’s philosophy.

“If players have a good time they are going to continue to play the game. If a player improves, they have a good time. It goes hand and hand.”

The post Pushing The Pace appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Conley and special teams propel South St. Paul to round two

[ Box Score ] | [ Game Sheet ]

SAINT PAUL – Special teams and great goalie play are keys to most hockey games. South St. Paul scored three power play goals against Hibbing/Chisholm, killed off one short handed situation and goalie Sydney Conley did the rest.

Sarah Fairbanks put the Bluejackets in front with a goal early in the first period. She took a nice pass from Lilly Rewertz and put the puck behind Conley.

The Packers would finish the first period strong however and came out of the locker room with the same momentum. Although down 1-0 they controlled the majority of the final two periods.

Hibbing/Chisholm’s Lilly Rewertz tries to slow down South St. Paul’s Anna Barlow in the Packers’ 5-1 Class 1A quarterfinal win on Wednesday night at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Tim Kolehmainen)

“We didn’t panic,” South St. Paul defenseman Anna Barlow said. “We do pretty well staying calm and just getting the job done.”

The Packers got their opportunity on the power play and made it count. With over a minute of 5-on-3 power play time, they cashed in twice.  Barlow scored first followed by Abigail Felton from the right dot to give the Packers the lead.

“We got the power play opportunities and we made the most of it,” Packers’ coach Dave Palmquist said.

Conley allowed the early goal, but was outstanding the rest of the way. She stopped three breakaway chances in the second period alone.

Conley stopped 22 shots on the night, but at least a half dozen of them were spectacular. She erased a number of defensive mistakes by her teammates.

“I just do my job and stop one puck at a time,” Conley said. “The first two breakaways I got the benefit of being in the right spot.”

Felton effectively put the game away midway through the final period with her second goal of the game to put the Packers up 4-1. They would add another power play goal by Barlow to finish the scoring and give the Packers a 5-1 victory.

The post Packers power past Bluejackets appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Kora Torkelson scores twice in Thief River Falls’ record-setting win over New Ulm

[ Box Score ] | [ Game Sheet ]

SAINT PAUL – Before the puck dropped on the third Class A girls’ quarterfinal game at the Xcel Energy Center, the matchup between number one ranked Thief River Falls and New Ulm looked like it could be a one sided affair. For the first period it was in every aspect except where it counts – on the scoreboard.

The number one ranked Prowlers controlled play from the opening faceoff, won the shots on goal race 16 to 3, but largely because of the play of the Eagles’ goalie Karlie Ries the score remained scoreless through one period.

Thief River Falls’ Kora Torkelson put four pucks on the net – three from right out in front, but Ries was up to the challenge every time.

New Ulm goaltender Karlie Ries stopped 53 Thief River Falls’ shots on Wednesday night in St. Paul. (MHM Photo / Tim Kolehmainen)

The second period was more of the same, except in the second, Torkelson was able to get two pucks past Ries.

“We just knew we had to keep getting pucks to the net and keep crashing the net,” Torkelson said. “We knew if we kept getting pucks to the net eventually the goals would come.”

The goals did in fact come. Most of the second period was played in the Eagles’ zone with great passing and puck control by the top seed. Emily Bergland’s shot from the high slot found its way through some traffic and into the net for the third goal of the game and Bergland’s third point of the night.

The Prowlers continued to pour it on in the third period. They put a state tournament record 58 shots on goal and scored two more in the final period.

“We’ve been doing a lot of that (putting pucks on the net) all year,” Thief River Falls coach Whitney Restemayer said.

Getting a victory in their first ever state tournament game was at least some consolation from last year when the Prowlers came up one game short of state.

“After we won the section final game those second place medals kind of went in the garbage,” Restemayer said. “Now we have those blue medals.”

The 5-1 victory will keep the Prowlers’ first trip to State going a little bit longer and give them two more chances to keep making school history.

The post Prowlers down Eagles 5-1 appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Together or apart, Rochester’s Aney sisters are the Yin to each other’s Yang

Katie and Jessie Aney are very much typical sisters. In some ways they are incredibly similar, but in others they are complete opposites.

What makes them atypical sisters is their skill on the ice. Last season they both scored over 100 points while leading Rochester Century to a season in which it suffered just four losses. They were the yin and the yang of the Panthers. They did it in different ways, but always competing humbly and at an extremely high level.

This season is the first time in years the sisters aren’t playing on the same line or team. Katie is a freshman on Gustavus University’s women’s hockey team where she has six goals and two assists through 19 games of her rookie year.

Jessie, on the other hand, just finished the regular season of her senior year with the Panthers leading the state in assists (52) and points (96) while her 44 goals tied for second.

It’s been a huge adjustment for the siblings who had been nearly inseparable on and off the ice.

Katie Aney (Photo courtesy of Gustavus Adolphus University Athletics / Roisen Granlund)

“We went from playing with each other and being with each other every day to just seeing each other once a month,” Katie said. “She taught me a lot and brought out the best in me as a person and a player so I just try to take what she taught me — hard work and dedication — and I try to carry that with me every day.”

“A lot of times when I get the puck I am looking for her on the back door and I realize she is not there,” Jessie revealed. “It has been fun too; I have been working with different people and it has developed my hockey IQ. I have had to think more and not just always looking for Katie.”

Just as versatile off the ice, they are both multi-sport athletes. They both play tennis and Katie also plays lacrosse. Katie is playing tennis in addition to hockey at Gustavus this year.

“I appreciate both sports more if I have to set one aside,” Katie said. “Then when I get to play it I enjoy it because I haven’t done it for a while. It is nice to have breaks from them. I think I learn a lot from both of them, they help me to continue to grow as an athlete and make me more multi-dimensional.”

Jessie will leave hockey behind after this season having committed to play tennis at North Carolina.

“Our parents always encouraged multiple sports because it is good for athletic development and if you have a bad day or a bad year in one sport you always have the other sport,” Jessie added. “It is a nice break from always hockey, hockey, hockey or tennis, tennis, tennis. I enjoy playing two sports and I didn’t want to give one up in high school.”

She did it for the dough

The hockey duo almost didn’t happen. After her first season of youth hockey younger sister Jessie wasn’t sure she wanted to play anymore. Luckily for Rochester Century there was an added benefit to go with your sister to hockey sign ups.

“She said ‘no, I don’t want to play’,” said older sister Katie, “but there was cookie dough at the sign up. She wanted to come to sign up to get the cookies. So we got there and our dad said ‘okay Jessie, this is your last chance. She said ‘I guess I’ll play’. Ever since then you haven’t been able to stop her.”

“I really like cookie dough,” Jessie quipped. “Cookie dough is pretty much the reason I play hockey.”

Rochester Century coach Dan Maidl discovered Jessie almost by chance when he stopped by the Aney home to borrow a radar gun owned by her father Tom. Tom invited Maidl to the basement shooting range he had built to meet Jessie.

“She was seven or eight years old and I am watching her thirty feet from the net,” Maidl said. “She is calling her shots out — bottom corner, five hole. I believe she was shooting 500 pucks a day. Katie shot pucks then too.”

Tom — who coaches hockey as well — also built a rink on the family’s property.

“He really coached us and motivated us to be better players,” Katie said of her father. “We would talk about hockey all the time.”

Maidl found Katie early too. Katie played on the same teams as her future coach’s daughter. It was easy to see both of the girls’ talent. The development of the sisters mirrored the development of the entire program.

Katie (L) and Jessie Aney. (Photo / Elizabeth Nida Obert – Rochester Post-Bulletin)

A program on the rise

Both the sisters and the Century program took big steps last season. Just a handful of years ago the program that was almost shut down as it struggled to get to .500. Last season, at 22-4, was the programs’ best.

Though the Aneys were a big reason behind the resurgence, they know they couldn’t have done it without the girls that came before them.

Katie recalled attending a Century game with Jessie and a couple other future Panthers teammates in their youth hockey days. The Panthers lost, a common occurrence in those days, but the girls went into the locker room to visit their heroes after the game.

“We thanked them all for playing hockey even, if they hadn’t before, to keep the team running so girls in the future could continue to play hockey for Century,” Katie said.

“Katie and I just really enjoy having the opportunity to help Century have their best seasons,” Jessie added. “Every year we would have our best season which was awesome. We would set program records all the time.”

“It was because of hard work that when they came to our program, they were the leaders right out of the blocks,” Maidl said. “They had the ability and the attitude and the tenacity to never give up.”

In addition to their obvious talent, Maidl says the Aneys play within the team concept.

“They are not selfish hockey players,” the long time hockey coach said. “Last year I can count on both hands the number of goals they scored unassisted.”

The Yin and the Yang

Though they have a mutual love for the game, their approach in the locker room is completely different. Maidl said Jessie is the more serious of the two while Katie is more of a “free spirit” who will joke with teammates and even dance around a bit.

“She is more quietly motivated,” Katie said of her sister. “I am more outwardly. So when I get excited I am more expressive to the team, but when she gets motivated she will just work her butt off.”

“We are pretty different,” Jessie agreed. “Katie is more outgoing and pumps people up. She is more of a leader. I am quiet. I work really hard but I am not going to say anything to anybody.”

But their differences don’t end with game preparation. They each bring their own unique traits to the ice.

“Jessie is like a little jitter bug. She can move the puck through anybody and score,” the coach said. “Katie is taller and has a longer reach. When she moved she looked like she was just gliding. She has great stick and puck control.”

Maidl referred to Katie as a “general on the ice” who knows where her teammates should be and their respective roles.

“Katie’s strengths are her leadership and her hockey IQ,” Maidl said of his former two-time captain. “She made my job as a coach easy.”

He said Jessie’s tenacity and skating ability are what sets her apart, especially when opponents try to slow her down with physical play.

“[Jessie] doesn’t fall down,” Maidl said about his top returning scorer. “She is so strong and she maintains control of the puck or looks for someone to pass to. She can shoot from anywhere and put a hard shot at a specific point.”

“Jessie has always been the hard worker in whatever she does,” said big sister. “She motivated me to be a better player and to work harder on the ice.”

The sum of the parts …

Jessie (#5) and Katie (#13) Aney as teammates last season. (Photo / Scott Jacobson – Rochester Post-Bulletin)

Despite their different games, they meshed perfectly for the Panthers. The years they spent playing together growing up were obvious.

“They talk to each other, but they have their own way of communicating,” Maidl observed over the years. “They tend to know where the other is on the ice — what the other is going to do. Sometimes as coaches we are standing there and we are in awe of what we are seeing. It is fun to watch.”

Not just great athletes, Maidl says they are solid in school and in the community.  The sisters’ devotion to the hockey program doesn’t stop after the season as they both help with the youth program.

“They are well-rounded kids,” Maidl said. “They are both 4.0 students in school. They are just plain old good kids, they are active in church. It is just really neat.”

“They have been great hockey ambassadors — especially in Rochester.”

Not playing together has been, and will be, a challenge, as will competing in different states. Like always, though, it will be the Aney sisters competing humbly at an extremely high level.

“They both have gotten a lot of press and stuff, but they don’t flaunt it,” Maidl said. “They could show off on the ice, but they don’t, they play the game. They are great kids.”

The post The complete package appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Underdog nearly pulls off outdoor upset

On paper it was a mismatch. At 13-3-3 and undefeated in the Suburban East the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders’ girls’ hockey team looked like they should have no problem with their opponents from up north. The Duluth Northern Stars came into their Hockey Day Minnesota match up with a 7-9-3 record.

Just six seconds into the game at Holman Field it looked like mismatch was not just on paper. The Raiders’ Rosie Pitera forced a turnover at the Duluth blue line and beat the goalie on the short side to give the 11th ranked Raiders an early 1-0 lead.

The Raiders had the better of the play early and late, but Duluth made the most of their chances in between. The Northern Stars were able to get traffic in front of the net to score the next two goals. Ana Kunst tied the game at one when she banged in a rebound. Then Bri Stafne gave Duluth a short lead when she was able to tap in the puck during a scrum in front of the CDH net.

The Raiders’ speed was on display the rest of the period as a nice skating play by Anna Klein created a scoring chance on the door step for Paige Voight. The senior buried the puck to tie the game at two and Klien took matters into her own hands and just beat the buzzer when she scored with five seconds left in the period. The goal gave the Raiders a lead they would never relinquish.

The ice seemed to be tilted toward Duluth goalie Kalei Kleive for much of the second period as the CDH fore-check caused problems for the underdog Duluth squad. Kleive and her defense were able to hold off the barrage for most of the period until Klein finally beat the Northern Stars’ net minder by getting loose in front of the net to score an unassisted goal to make the score 4-2.

Just like in the first period, Duluth didn’t have many chances, but they made one of those chances pay off. Great skating and puck handling by Stafne set up teammate Ava Meyer on the doorstep and the junior forward did the rest – keeping her team within striking distance of the Raiders.

The now familiar pattern continued in the third period. The Raiders controlled much of the play. Mid-way through the period it looked like the Raiders had finally put the game away when Annie Boeckers grabbed a loose puck, had nothing but open ice in front of her and put the Raiders ahead 5-3.

Just when it looked like Raiders’ fans could relax Duluth struck again. Stafne got on the score sheet again with a great pass to Avery Ziegler. Ziegler made sure the nice passing play paid off and cut the lead to one with a minute to go.

With Kleive pulled, Duluth’s final rush up the ice nearly tied the game as a shot from the high slot just missed the net with under five seconds to play.

What looked like a mismatch was not a mismatch at all. Duluth played a great game as a big underdog, but in the end the Raiders had too much speed and talent for the Northern Stars and held on for a 5-4 win.

The post Raiders top Northern Stars 5-4 appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Palmquist, South St. Paul mirror girls’ prep hockey success

This is the 21^st year girls’ hockey has been a State High School League sanctioned activity. For all 21 years, the South St. Paul Packers have had the same head coach – Dave Palmquist. Palmquist, who started his coaching career in the boys’ game, won career game No. 500 last season. His successful career has in many ways mirrored the continued growth of the girls’ game.

Palmquist grew up in Hibbing, but after his family moved south, played as a youth in the Columbia Heights system before playing his high school hockey for Bruce Hendrickson at Minnehaha Academy.

A center most of his career, Palmquist graduated from Minnehaha and played for Craig Dahl at Bethel before returning to his al ma mater. Hendrickson knew his former player wanted to get into coaching so Palmquist was hired as an assistant. He served as an assistant coach for one year and just two years out of college was named Minnehaha Academy’s head coach.

“Doors just kept opening up,” Palmquist said. “At age twenty three I was a head coach and from there it has just been in my blood – something I have a strong passion for. I love the game. I love watching hockey at all levels. I love the teaching part of it. [Coaching hockey] was a natural fit. Never once have I ever felt I was in the wrong profession. It has been a real blessing.”

After down seasons in years two and three, the new head coach built the program into a conference champion. Despite the success and a program moving in the right direction, Palmquist felt it was time for him to make a change.

“It was a tough decision. I loved everything that Minnehaha Academy stood for with Christian faith and the religious background, but I wanted to take on a new challenge.”

Birth of a Program

The boys’ position opened up at South St. Paul and the young coach applied. What happened next was not what Palmquist expected.

“I interviewed and I knew it went pretty well, but they offered the job to someone else. That was the first year they were starting girls’ hockey in Minnesota. [They said] you didn’t get the boys’ job, but we would love you to start our women’s hockey program.”

With the girls’ game just getting off the ground Palmquist wasn’t sure how moving to the girls’ game would sit with his colleagues.

“It was a tough decision, because girls’ hockey was really new,” Palmquist admitted. “I didn’t know what I was getting into. I think a lot of my colleagues in coaching were wondering what I was doing going to the girls’ side. Twenty one years later we can see how many males have gone over to the female side.”

For the game to get off the ground, the Packers’ program needed the same type of support as any of the early programs – passionate parents and hockey fans. South St. Paul had a long hockey tradition so it was an area suited to start a girls’ program.

“South St. Paul is known as a hockey community – always has been,” the former Redhawks’ hockey star said. “Back in those early days we had fathers who were hockey players and hockey stars during their days at South St. Paul. Now they had daughters and they were passionate about making it an awesome experience for their kids. A lot of those dads helped coach in those early years. We were able to get off and running because of those fathers who stepped up and understood the game. We have always had great youth coaches developing kids in those prime years. It makes a huge difference.”

Another advantage South St. Paul had was they had a successful ringette program in the school. There were a number of girls who were going into it as good skaters.

“I didn’t know anything about ringette,” Palmquist admitted, “except that they did skate and they used basically an upside down hockey stick with a ring. They were really good at it. Those girls were really excited to make the change to hockey.”

They could skate, but they needed to learn how to translate what they could do into hockey skills. Palmquist spent a lot of time on the fundamentals. The more the girls’ game changes, the more it stays the same.

“I really had to focus on the skills of hockey – which I am still doing twenty years later – but those first few years teaching them hockey was the focus. I spent a lot of time teaching them what this great game was all about.”

With the checking rules in the girls’ game, if a team can skate, Palmquist and other girls’ hockey coaches have said that good skating teams – even more than the boys, can dominate the puck. In the early days it often just took one or two great players to dominate a game; because of the growth of the sport that has changed.

“I think a lot of coaches would say we have been able to develop more depth on our teams,” the coaching pioneer said. “We have more well rounded teams from the standpoint of not having just one or two superstars.”

The Streak

Most high school hockey fans know about the 86 game winning streak the Packers had from 2001 to 2004. Palmquist’s teams in those days had depth and talent.

“The thing I am most proud of is over twenty years a lot of kids have come and gone, but we have maintained and been a factor for twenty years,” the Bethel Royals graduate reminisced. “That is something I am really proud of. During that run you can’t have a run of 86 games without a loss and four state championships without great players. I was blessed to have group of young players that were special. They were kids with winning attitudes that refused to lose. They were not going to be denied. They had the skill, but they were willing to put the work in to be the best. Something we are proud of is the best teams don’t always win. We may have had the best teams, but they did find a way to win. The girls stepped up to the challenge every time.”

The success of the Packers during those times did a lot to help the growth of the girls’ game, but also might have hurt it.

“It drew hockey to the forefront,” Palmquist said. “The coverage we had from 2000-2005 – our Packer team was on the front page of the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press when we were winning and when we finally lost too. It brought girls’ hockey to the forefront.”

A stickler for fundamentals, South St. Paul girls’ hockey coach Dave Palmquist demonstrates some techniques to his team during a 2001 practice at Wakota Arena. (Pioneer Press file photo)

With a team that dominant, other schools had to build programs under the Packers’ shadow. Still growing programs had to take their lumps against the four-championships-in-five-years Packers. Getting kids to try something new knowing they would have to play a team so far above their skill level couldn’t have made a coach’s job easy when trying to build a program.

“We were a team that a lot of people loved to hate,” Palmquist said.

When they finally lost in the state quarterfinals in 2004 it was like a pressure release valve, at least to the girls playing high school hockey at that time.

“Legend has it that some of the other teams who played later in the evening were at a movie theater and word got out that we lost to end our streak,” Palmquist recalled. “Basically the theatre erupted because they heard we lost.”

Consistent Success

Despite the loss, South St. Paul came back and won the title the next season, showing its resiliency in posting a 30-1 record according to Palmquist. The Packers have been remarkably consistent since.

“The number one thing is that you have to have great players,” Palmquist said. “We also had the same coaches for 18 of these 21 years. You see that in all sports. When you have that consistency in a program – the girls knew what the program was about. That was a big factor in our success having that consistent coaching staff.”

The consistency of the coaching staff allowed the program to adjust, but it took Palmquist some time to realize it was better for him to adjust to the players than make the players adjust to him.

“One of the things I learned early on is knowing what kind of players you have will dictate what kind of system you set up,” the only head coach in Packers’ girls’ hockey history said. “We were scrimmaging in Stillwater in 2002 – the year we won our first state title – we were 2-2 and we were trying a crazy type of forechecking system. We had a lot of talent and I remember turning to Coach [assistant coach Pete] Edlund and saying we are restricting these kids too much. They have too much ability. When we unleashed them and let them just use their ability we proceeded to win 86 in a row. The lesson being you have to read your team. Over the years we have been able to adjust our systems to what fits for that team.”

Palmquist does stick to some basic principles in his coaching, but as a player didn’t always practice what he now preaches.

“In high school and college I didn’t like to come back in my own end a lot,” the former forward said. “We still tell stories about that. Now as a coach it is so different. It is so uncharacteristic of me now because I always preach defense and coming back hard. [As a player] scoring was something that was more on my mind than playing defense that is for sure.”

Always on his mind as a coach has been holding everyone in the program up to a high standard – on and off the ice.

“You have to develop a program that has high expectations and high accountability. I don’t think you can be successful without both. We have built such a tradition at South St. Paul that I feel as a coach I see it as my responsibility to continue demanding accountability and discipline within our program. Play to win, but most importantly I want to develop a place where kids want to come to each day – to the rink and a place where kids are cared about and appreciated.”

“My style is demanding, but I care about my players,” Palmquist continued. “I feel like if I am not demanding and don’t expect the best out of them they won’t reach their potential. I feel like these kids today can do so much more than they think they can. It is my job as a coach to try to bring that out.”

Focus on Family

The coach is also focused on delivering a positive message off the ice.

“We are about developing kids for life. We’ve brought a consistency to the community where they know what we stand for. My faith and my family are important so I stress that to the kids. They know those things are way more important than winning. Their faith and their family are the things that are going to get you through.”

Even on the ice, family is front and center with Palmquist.

“This year I have been so fortunate – my son is coaching with me. We are having a blast this year. My daughter played for me and graduated last year and now I get to coach with my son.”

Josh Palmquist replaced long-time assistant coach Edlund who retired a few seasons ago. Corey McGinn, who is also a South St. Paul graduate, is also part of the staff. Both the younger Palmquist and McGinn work mostly with the forwards while the head man switched his focus from the forwards to the defense.

This season the Packers have not gotten off to the start their fans are used to, but Palmquist believes the pressure to succeed every season helps his program.

“When we lose it is a big deal and that is a good thing. I expect this team to be there at the end even though we started 7-5-1. We have a great goaltender and I believe we will be competitive down the stretch,” Palmquist said. “Four year starter Sidney Connelly is between the pipes. She’s given up something like fourteen goals in eleven games. She works so hard. Anna Barlow has been one of only two girls in my 21 years who has been an impact player since seventh grade. She is a straight A student and a great leader. Taylor Cashman brings a lot of leadership to the team and scoring.”

No one can expect the Packers’ program to reach the absurd levels they reached in the early 2000’s. In order to get this team and future teams to compete at the highest level again is not much different than what the sport has to do to continue growing.

“We still need to work our youth and continually work to make hockey affordable and something that these kids can do and help grow our numbers.”

According to the State High School League, nearly 3,800 young women competed in girls’ hockey last season in Minnesota. The only reason the sport has been able to grow and thrive for twenty one years and counting is because of countless hours of dedication by athletes, parents and coaches like Palmquist.

The post Packers a reflection of their coach appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Invalid Displayed Gallery

Annual Elite League, U.S. Under-17 team games mutually beneficial.

NEW HOPE – For the second time in two years the U.S. National Under 17 team paid a visit to the New Hope Ice Arena for the weekend. Saturday one of the games on the schedule was the U.S. team against Team Southeast from the Upper Midwest Elite League. Although the outcome was fairly predictable, it was clear the Minnesota kids were ready to compete with the caliber of kid they were facing.

Team Southeast looked like they had some trouble adjusting to their opponents’ superior size and speed and quickly fell into a 4-0 hole. After the initial shock however, they played the U-17 squad much better, ultimately falling 8-2 with a disallowed goal that Southeast put in the back of the net.

Despite the short end of the scoreboard, a number of National Hockey League scouts were impressed by the Minnesota kids. Most of the scouts were on hand to watch the Minnesota kids because unlike the national team, many of them are draft eligible.

“The Elite League is critical to the future of Minnesota high school hockey,” a Florida Panthers’ scout said. “It gives the better players a way to extend their season. There are a lot of good teams and programs in the state, but the season is so short it is very tough to develop in that time span – especially when they are going to be playing against players across the nation and the world.”

Even though the Minnesota kids were not as advanced as the team they were competing against, the scouts were still watching.

“I don’t really care what the score is. I just watch particular guys and see how they react in different situations,” an Anaheim Ducks’ scout said.

“You are judging the Minnesota kids against some high level talent,” the Florida scout said. “That is a good thing. You are looking to see how they handle those (U-17) guys and different situations. “

“The Minnesota kids can see there are kids out there that are just as good as them or better,” said the Ducks’ representative. “If you strive to become an NHL player, these are the guys they are going to have to pass someday.”

Parents also see the benefit of having the kids play teams they might not match up well against.

“It helps developmental wise of course, but the moral grows when you play a team like this. They see they can stay with a team that plays all year round,” Samantha Lubbesmeyer, mother of Southeast goalie Dyllan, said.

The United States’ team benefits as well.

“This is a good barometer for them,” the Florida scout said. “The U-17 guys get a chance to play against good quality high school players and play at their age group. “

“Everyone knows Minnesota high school hockey sets the standard for level of play at the high school level and it is a great opportunity for our kids to have an opportunity to play here and play the top level talent here in Minnesota,” Cole Vassel of USA Hockey said.

The U-17 organization likes what Minnesota has to offer their kids.

“There are a lot of great players here in Minnesota,” Vassel said. “You’ve got the Upper Midwest Elite League, it gives (the U-17 kids) an opportunity to play against some of the top level competition that they wouldn’t be playing against normally.”

“It is good for the 17’s,” the Ducks’ scout added. “They are always playing against older competition. It is not easy for them. Sometimes they get the short end of the stick. It is nice for them to come and play against kids their own age and show what they’ve really got.”

The draw for kids toward the U-17 program is obvious.

“It starts with the coaching,” Vassel said. “If you look at the track record of coaches we have had. We’ve had guys who have gone on to coach in the NHL and AHL. They know what it takes to get to the NHL level. Starting with the coaching staff there is a draw there for kids who want to get to the NHL level. Obviously playing with the top twenty players in your age group every day, that is a pretty good draw in itself.”

The performance of the Minnesota kids was a good draw as well. Here are some of the highlights I noticed from the game Saturday afternoon:

Nick Swaney had a nice blocked shot and Jacob Olson was physical and showed a nice stick deflecting a puck that would have resulted in a point blank scoring chance.

Goalie Dyllan Lubbesmeyer made up for a defensive mistake by getting his left pad out and turning away a one on one opportunity that could have been mistaken for a penalty shot. Later in the game, Ryan Edquist was in between the pipes and made a similar big save on a breakaway.

The Minnesota kids broke through late in the first period on the power play. They moved the puck into the corner and Nick Poehling worked it back to the blue line. From there Jack Ahcan fired a slap shot towards the net that Jack Poehling tipped home.

Peter Tufto made a great defensive play to break up a two on one opportunity and later in the period even though it was not allowed, Jack Poehling buried a slap shot from the high slot.

Alcan made a nice one on one defensive play later in the game using his stick to stop what was developing into a two on one.

Nick Poehling showed how physical he could be as he fought through a check on the boards, maintained control of the puck and made a pass in front of the net that nearly resulted in a goal.

Casey Mittlestdt made a great individual play by making a couple of quick moves with the puck, fired the puck on net and then was able to bang in his own rebound for the teams’ second goal.

The final score was 8-2, but according to the scouts I was able to talk to, they not only were enjoying the event, they liked what they saw from the Minnesota kids.

The post A Good Measuring Stick appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.