Drew Cove writes about the informal-and-fun Gophers’ alumni and collegiate alumni game.

This story was originally published in the MHM February 2025 HDM Shakopee Recap.

The post College Alumni: Shine A Ligh7 appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Drew Cove writes about the successful season, so far, for the Gopher men’s hockey team.

This story was originally published in the MHM February 2025 HDM Shakopee Recap.

The post Gophers Men: High Expectations appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Drew Cove recaps the 2023-24 season for the Minnesota Gophers men’s hockey team. 

This story was originally published in the April 2024 Year In Review College/Frozen Four digital issue. 

The post Minnesota: Deep Gophers appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Four of the top-five scoring college hockey players in the entire country on one team managed to be shut out just once during the 2023-24 season. The worst part for the Boston College Eagles is that their only goalless game came in the most important one, the national championship game. Denver capitalized when Boston College couldn’t and won 2-0 to collect its 10th national championship, the first program to hit double-digit national titles.

“There’s a lot of great college hockey programs, this is a really hard event to win,” Denver coach David Carle said. “The nine title teams to prior to [now] went through a huge lift to get us here. We certainly try to attract people that want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.”

Denver’s defensive effort was led by Matt Davis as the team’s backstop, earning his 23rd win of the season with a shutout. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Despite having those four scorers and averaging 4.46 goals per game as a team, Boston College scored zero in its quest for its sixth national championship. Fittingly, the only team that averaged a higher goals per game this season was Denver, at 4.59 goals per game.

How did Denver change the fortunes of this highly touted Boston College team that had made scoring look so easy all season long? First, the Pioneers employed a stifling defense that started in the neutral zone. Second, they had a goalie have the tournament of his life, highlighted by the save of the year. Third, they had the entire team buy in to the process of what it takes to shut down a team that wins on the back of flashy scoring and speedy offensive transitions.

“It was everything,” Carle said. “Our offense is always the most important zone to slow them down, how they break pucks out, how they transition out of their [defensive] zone, how they pull pucks back, they can really try to spread you out. … They’re a team that keeps you on your heels, and if you’re playing on your heels, you’re playing with fire.”

Boston College’s defenders continued to force stretch passes and long breakouts to forwards to streak into the Denver zone with speed. The Pioneers realized this tactic right from the outset of the game and put themselves in the right position to stifle most of those breakouts and turn it into a chance the other way for Denver.

In addition to getting sticks into the waiting areas, Denver had an extremely aggressive forecheck that often sent two players deep into BC’s end and force hurried plays that made life difficult for the Eagles attack.

Denver goaltender Matt Davis goes across the crease to make a sprawling save on Ryan Leonard (No. 9) on a BC power play in the third period. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Denver team captain McKade Webster, though, thought the game was as simple as an unreal game from their starting goaltender, Matt Davis.

“I mean, Matthew Davis,” Webster plainly said. “What a job he did. The best goalie in the world.”

For Boston College, coach Greg Brown understood his team’s ability and attempt to push its strengths in breaking the puck out, but said that Denver’s neutral zone presence was incredibly suffocating and tough to get through.

“We’re usually pretty good at breaking pucks out and having speed through the neutral zone, and they had three and four guys a lot of times above our guys right away,” Brown said. “I don’t think we generated as much speed, that’s more a credit to [the Pioneers.]”

For the chances that did get into the offensive zone for BC, as Webster said, Davis was there to meet the challenge for Denver. At no point was that challenge more difficult than the third period. Davis recorded 23 saves in the third period alone, a tie for the most saves in a single period in Frozen Four history.

The Eagles realized it was ‘do-or-die’ and poured on the shots to try and get something past Davis. He kept his positioning, didn’t give up rebounds and calmly approached the opposing offense with an expectant demeanor to frustrate the BC offense.

“Superhuman,” Carle said of Davis. “This whole run, he gave up three goals. … I agree with McKade, without him, we’re not sitting here.”

The post Denver Defense Wins Championship appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Despite losing 4-0 in the second Frozen Four semifinal at Xcel Energy Center, the Wolverines routinely sent their offensive-minded defensemen up into the play as fourth forwards, and had multiple power plays to set up shop and get to work. What better way to showcase their nine NHL draft picks on the roster? Michigan knew it needed to meet Boston College’s once-in-a-generation collection of offensive talent, highlighted by four first-round NHL draft picks, head-on.

That’s what made Eagles’ goaltender Jacob Fowler even more impressive on Thursday.

BC goaltender Jacob Fowler weathers a storm in front of the net as Michigan players Max Estapa (94) and Josh Eernisse (6) try to put the puck in the net. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“Jacob was outstanding in net tonight,” said Boston College coach Greg Brown. “Ideally, we’d like to spend more time in the offensive zone, but they were doing a solid job defensively.”

In what they hope is a precursor to ending the season with a victory on Saturday in the national championship game against Denver, the Eagles shined offensively, but maintained a solid backstop to prevent the opposition from gaining any momentum, clinging to any sign of life in the game.

Fowler was there to meet the challenge. He met every one of Michigan’s 32 shots and kept it out of his own net.

“He’s probably the calmest goalie I’ve ever played with,” said forward Cutter Gauthier. “Any opportunities we give up, just knowing that safety net back there, that he’s in between the pipes, and he’s as competitive as all of us, and he’s a great kid as well.”

Just another victory for one of the nation’s top goalies on the team that has been turning heads across the college hockey landscape all season long. Even though it was his 32nd victory of the season, Fowler makes the feat even more impressive for another reason, too: His age.

The Montreal Canadiens third-round draft pick is just a freshman, having been the go-to starter for Boston College all season long. To say he’s been up to the challenge is an understatement, with a .926 save percentage (fourth best in the nation) and a 2.14 goals against average (eighth best in the nation). In the victory on Thursday, Fowler now has the third-most wins in a season all time for BC, adding to his accolade of having the most wins in a single season as a freshman for the program.

This bucks a significant trend in college hockey that was even evident in BC’s own semifinal matchup. Michigan goaltender Jake Barczewski is nearly six years older than Fowler. A graduate transfer in his first year with the Wolverines, Barczewski arrived on a Wolverines team in need of proven goaltending, a resume he spent four years building at Canisius in the Atlantic Hockey Association, plus two years before that in the USHL.

Jacob Fowler stood tall in net all game long for BC. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Many schools across the college hockey landscape attempt to go goalie-hunting to remain competitive with an experienced roster outside the crease. While Michigan has ventured into this realm of the transfer portal in the last few years, so has North Dakota and rival Boston University.

In a game where the Brown said it was a “track meet” with high-danger chances going both ways throughout, Fowler was the solid rock that meant the difference. Even though there were key blocks on the penalty kill and 4-on-4 play, the buck stopped with the freshman goaltender.

“Going into every game, it’s nice having him back there,” said forward Will Smith. “He has such a confidence in net, coach touched on it, there [were] a few too many odd-man rushes, so having him back there definitely helps. I’m looking at this, he had 32 saves, he was unreal tonight.”

With the high-end talent in front of him, Fowler kept the distance to allow the success of his forward group to shine through for a chance at the program’s sixth national championship on Saturday.

“I’m super pumped for him and the game he had today,” Gauthier said. “It’s been fun learning how to score goals on him in practice, but a great kid and he had a heck of a game tonight.”

The post Fowler Shines In Frozen Four appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The Pioneers faced down an early deficit thanks to a breakaway, top-shelf goal from Boston University’s Luke Tuch on Thursday at Xcel Energy Center. The forwards were still apprehensive about what BU’s top players could showcase when caught off guard, and the defense was keeping the Terriers’ shots to manageable areas. The real breakthrough came when there was a brief lapse in greatness from highly-touted NHL prospect and Montreal Canadiens draft-pick Lane Hutson.

Deep in his own zone, Hutson blindly sent the puck lazily toward the front of his own net, where Miko Matikka gladly scooped the puck up and sent it over to the open man, Tristan Lemyre, with a crease open just enough to sneak the puck past.

Denver’s Tristan Lemyre skates by his teammates receiving high-fives after he tied the game 1-1 in the Frozen Four semifinal. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Lemyre had an interesting journey to the game-tying goal for Denver. Looking at the line chart released before the game, Lemyre was a bit lonely. That is, because he was the 13th forward for the game, without any permanent linemates. In this instance, he was out there with Matikka and Aidan Thompson for the goal.

“He’s been really good for us, he’s been fighting through an injury of his own,” said Denver coach David Carle. “[He’s been] putting his body on the line for the guys and the team. Really, really happy for him that he was able to get rewarded.”

Lemyre’s goal-scoring prowess hasn’t been on full display this season, to say the least, though it has come at opportune times. His game-tying goal in the Frozen Four semifinal game was just his second of the season and sixth of his career.

His only other goal this season? A tally in a 7-2 rout of St. Cloud State on March 2. Lemyre also hasn’t slotted in to each game this season, with Thursday being his 26th of Denver’s overall 43 played through the national semifinal round. Carle said that Lemyre played an integral role while star forward Massimo Rizzo was out with an injury.

“He comes into the night as our 13th forward, he’s been a big reason we’ve went 12-1-1 without Rizzo in the lineup,” Carle said, of Lemyre.

Denver goaltender Matt Davis made 33 saves and allowed only one goal against Boston University. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

‘Big-time’ goaltending performance
Another person that can be hoisted onto a pedestal for why Denver will be playing for its 10th national championship is the backstop, goalie Matt Davis.

Goal scoring has been tough to come by for the Pioneers in the last three games. Just six goals over that span, but the best part for Denver has been that its only ceded three goals. Davis has made the clutch plays when it matters, gobbling up pucks and preventing rebounds to keep the electric BU forwards from cashing in on anything but the Tuch breakaway goal.

“Matty D sitting here again, was excellent for us,” Carle said. “Especially was the best player in the first period and overtime.”

Carle wasn’t kidding. BU had 20 shots through the first two periods while Denver had just 11. Even more, in the first period, the Terriers outshot the Pioneers 10-3. Despite going down a goal, Davis kept Denver in the game with a close score long enough for the forwards to find their game and deliver on offense.

“He’s been unbelievable,” Rizzo said, of Davis. “He showed up when we needed him the most, I’m super proud of him.”

Added Broz regarding Davis: “Big-time performance by him, three straight games.” 

Davis, Lemyre and the rest of the Pioneers will hope to replicate the big-time performance in the national championship game on Saturday.

The post Lucky 13th Forward appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The University of Minnesota hockey programs are no stranger to those high expectations, especially the women’s program, which has seven national championships and three national runners-up finishes in 24 seasons up until 2023-24.

Those standards, though, don’t preclude the team from having any fun. That couldn’t be demonstrated any better than with the team’s leader, junior captain Peyton Hemp, engaging in a bit of fun with her younger sister and fellow teammate, Josie, on occasion.

“There’s times I’ll walk into the dressing room or the conference room on the road and see them horsing around and wrestling and things like that,” Gophers head coach Brad Frost said. “So I certainly think they have fun.”

On top of Frost’s view of his players’ lighthearted antics, when brought up to the players themselves, the discussion was met with a few laughs.

“I think that’s like a part of our relationship,” Peyton said. “Obviously, there’s so much love there, but we definitely get on each other’s nerves, but it’s all on the love, so it’s super fun.”

It’s just sisterly love, right? Once you are around someone long enough, you can be just a bit more comfortable. No matter if it’s in the locker room, in the hallways around Ridder Arena, or in the team areas of rinks around the WCHA, the pair can be found often wrestling with one another.

Peyton Hemp has 10 goals and 23 points in 26 games so far this season. (Photo courtesy of University of Minnesota / Gopher Sports and Brad Rempel)

While there is no one who is the instigator to all of the friendly bouts, at least some of them can be attributed to the younger sister.

“After practices sometimes, I’ll literally just out of nowhere kind of jump on her,” Josie said. “We’ll literally just start tackling each other, so there’s that. Sometimes in the locker room before practice, we will just randomly, it’s not actually a fight, but we’ll randomly just start wrestling each other, literally just like out of nowhere.”

Andover to Minnetonka to Minneapolis
This pair of sisters from Andover, Minn., being two years apart, have had quite the experience playing together growing up. From being little kids all the way to high school to play hockey together, it ended up being a little weird to the duo when Peyton was at Minnesota and Josie still had two years of high school left. While those high school memories were fleeting at Andover, as Josie transferred to Minnetonka for her final two years of high school, Peyton and Josie reached the ultimate goal while playing together.

In 2020, they helped Andover to a Class 2A state championship with a victory over Edina.

“I think the one that sticks out the most with her and I was in my junior year and [Josie’s] freshman year at Andover when we won the state tournament,” Peyton said. “I think that’s probably like the biggest one. That was just super fun to win that with her and it was super special too, but there were so many moments growing up.”

That success in the state tournament propelled Peyton to be the state’s Ms. Hockey in her senior season in 2021 before joining the Gophers. Josie played the remainder of her two years of high school without her older sister, but with her younger sister, Layla, at Minnetonka.

A junior at Minnetonka this season, Layla is also committed to Minnesota, but she’s a goaltender. She also recently helped backstop the United States to gold at the 2024 U-18 Women’s World Championship.

“I’m sad we don’t all three get to play with each other, but it’s super cool obviously for me being in the middle,” Josie said. “Being able to have Layla and Peyton and then getting to play with the both of them for two years in high school [was really special].”

Josie Hemp is a 5-9 defenseman in her freshman season at the University of Minnesota, joining her older sister, Peyton Hemp. (Photo courtesy of Bjorn Franke)

Three sisters, three roles
Funny enough that the trio each plays their own position, but it was Josie who actually played forward instead of defense until high school. When she was a forward, she was linemates with Isa Goettl, now a teammate on the Gophers. Josie said that her dad helped bring it up once about potentially making the switch in positions. Then, in high school, after getting some shifts on the back end, she realized she really enjoyed playing defense and stuck with it ever since.

Using that experience as a forward, Josie said it has helped her understand her role as a defender. While she said she views herself more as an offensive defender, and Frost also says she has good offensive instincts, she values the experience of knowing how to play up front to better understand her own responsibilities on the ice on defense.

Josie is looking to redshirt the 2023-24 season and compete for a spot in the Gophers’ defensive corps next season, and through a large part of a season of practices in her first year with the team, she said she’s learned the most about speed and size at this level of competition.

“The transition [from high school] was definitely big, with the speed,” Josie said. “Even though I haven’t gotten to play in a game, I definitely think I’ve learned so much in practice because of adjusting to the speed, as I would say, speed is the biggest thing for me.”

Going against older sister Peyton in practice has to be a tough assignment for anyone, considering the complete game she produces for the Gophers every night. Both Frost and Peyton said that she brings a consistency to the game that coaches and teammates alike really appreciate. From the penalty kill to the power play, her competitiveness and consistency have been making an impact.

That also helps Peyton’s role as the team captain, to set an example for the rest of her teammates to look to in the long grind of the season.

With the competitive angle she helps represent on the team now, to the little competitions that both Peyton and Josie had with together with older sister Catalina in their garage as kids, Josie and Peyton are as close as can be.

“Honestly, I feel like it’s just great to have, like obviously you’re friends with everybody on the team, like you love your teammates and stuff, but it’s such a blessing to have that one person that can just be your go-to,” Peyton said. “[Someone] that knows you truly, they literally grew up with you, so they pretty much know everything about you.”

The post Hemp Sisters Have Fun appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Talented. Dedicated. Focused.

There’s one word, though, that quite accurately describes both Sadie and Ava Lindsay — Competitive.

For athletes, it’s common to be naturally competitive, to have that desire to find something to beat anyone at. Ping Pong, a footrace, arm wrestling, even checkers. For Sadie and Ava, both forwards on the No. 2-ranked Gophers’ women’s hockey team, they not only have that competitive itch, but have been able to fulfill that with one another nearly their whole lives in the sport they love and grew up playing together.

“I think growing up, it was always Ava and I competing,” the elder sister Sadie said. “It’s kind of how you both learned how to play. It’s been really cool to see that competition transform now into becoming teammates now and playing for the same school.”

Ava Lindsay, pictured here during a game on Dec. 13, 2022, finished her high school career with Minnetonka. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Sadie, now a junior forward at Minnesota, said that both she and her sister learned to skate, play and love the game from their father, J., who also played college hockey, skating at Denver in the early 1990s.

That love of hockey trickled down to both Sadie and Ava and gave them a chance to showcase their competitive nature, although it is all in good fun on the ice.

“From a young age, we’d always be out on a backyard pond playing together and competing against each other, doing 1-on-1s,” Ava, the younger of the two and a freshman on the Gophers, said. “Now, even today sometimes at practice we’ll be up against each other, and it will be so fun going against each other and battling, getting a little feisty out there for sure, but I think just having someone … we’re so close in age that we’re really able to push each other and make each other better that way.”

As one can imagine, this is just the latest instance of playing on the same team together for the duo. Despite being at different levels the past two seasons with Ava still in high school and Sadie playing for the Gophers, they managed to win three Class 1A state championships together at Breck back-to-back-to-back from 2018 to 2020.

Sadie Lindsay (middle) and Ava Lindsay (right) celebrate a goal in a state tournament game against Mound Westonka on Feb. 22, 2019 at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Tim Kolehmainen)

Sadie recalled the last state tournament in 2020 as her favorite memory from high school. It definitely makes sense, as both her and Ava had double-digit points in the six games they played in the playoffs that year. Now, after Ava spent two years at Minnetonka to finish out her high school career, the two are together again with the Gophers, the team they dreamed of playing for someday when they were younger.

Aside from just being best friends off the ice, Sadie helped ease Ava’s transition into the college ranks this season. That transition has been a good one, considering Ava has provided some immediate impact this season and is being put into many different situations early on in her career.

“[Ava’s] playing in all situations right now as a freshman which is a pretty big deal,” head coach Brad Frost said. “She’s on our power play, she’s killing penalties and playing a regular shift and that’s hard as a freshman, but, she’s handled it really well.”

When talking about Sadie’s time with the Gophers, Frost said that she’s really coming into her own now this season. Her first two years with the Gophers, Sadie battled injury and played in limited games. Her sister Ava has seen how extensive her recovery process was over the past year to get back this season and admires her tenacity.

“I’m just really proud of her,” Ava said. “Just seeing how focused and disciplined she’s been in making a comeback and being able to play.”

On top of just being able to play, Sadie scored her first collegiate goal on Dec. 2 against Bemidji State, a culmination of the hard work she’s put in to get healthy again and playing regular shifts. As Frost put it, in addition to her excellent edge work and vision, she’s someone who can continue to produce for this team the rest of the way.

As for the rest of the season, the Gophers have plenty to look forward to as one of the top teams in the country with title hopes not just in the WCHA but to also the whole country. This long-term pursuit is another thing, as Sadie said, that athletes can get caught up in with the ongoing grind of a season.

Sadie Lindsay (No. 8) and Ava Lindsay on the ice for a state tournament game against Fergus Falls on Feb. 20, 2019 at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Tim Kolehmainen)

“It’s easy to get stuck in the loop of like ‘ok, we got this, let’s go get more,’” Sadie said. “So, there’s definitely been times this season where I’ve just stopped and been like, ‘looking back, 8-year-old me would have been freaking out right now that I would be able to go practice with Ava,’ or just do the daily things that sometimes I take for granted now.”

For now, on top of the trek to the top of the collegiate hockey mountain, the Lindsay sisters are enjoying the little things. Taking in the time at the rink together, the time hanging out with each other, just to make the most of the fact that they’re back playing hockey together again.

“I just know that she always is my number one fan, and I’m hers,” Ava said. “So it’s super special to have that, someone I can go to if I’m feeling down or not confident or having a bad shift, she can fire me back up.”

The post Competitive Lindsays appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

“I think I look back and I reflect on the times where we got to have our names called back-to-back during the lineups [for the high school state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center], because she was No. 6 and I was No. 5,” Madeline said. “I was going to say No. 4 because she’s 4 now, but she was 6 back then. That was kind of partly why she chose No. 4 because 6 was unavailable [when she joined the Gophers] so we still wanted to be next to each other in the lineup.”

Best friends on and off the ice, despite the difference in position. Even while Madeline plays defense and Audrey is at forward, the two still have managed to end up on the same line together on more than one occasion.

Back in high school at Blake, then-coach Shawn Reid elevated Madeline to a forward when they needed a spark for a comeback. Reid didn’t just make her a forward but also placed her on a line with former Gophers-commit Addie Burton and Madeline’s younger sister, Audrey. Later, with the Gophers, when Minnesota’s defense was reeling with multiple members out of the lineup, Audrey shifted back to defense in games against St. Thomas as Madeline’s defensive partner.

It really worked because of Audrey’s smart, tenacious 200-foot style of game that makes her one of the most responsible forwards for the Gophers in all situations, not to mention the team leader in blocked shots. The shift in high school worked because Madeline’s eye for the net combined with her ability to drive offensively made it a decision worth making.

Audrey moves (to) forward with Gophers 
It’s a wonder any of these unorthodox decisions had to be made at all, considering Audrey’s departure from what became something of a family tradition. Madeline and Audrey are the two oldest of four sisters, the younger two being Jackie, a freshman on the University of Minnesota’s rowing team, and Addie, a freshman at Blake. Three sisters all ended up as left-shot defenders. Audrey must not have wanted to make it a clean sweep, because somehow, she ended up as the lone right-shot forward amongst the group.

“I was actually curious, and [my mom] was like ‘You were just all over the ice, like a little gnat out there, sometimes running around with your head chopped off, so we stuck you at forward.’” Audrey said. “She knew that I liked the forecheck, which is something I take pride in now. I think that’s pretty much it, I think she saw how close in age we were and thought it would be a great idea for us to play different positions.”

Gophers head coach Brad Frost agrees, as Audrey is one of the most responsible and trustworthy members of the team. He said on top of her technique, she has the instinctual wherewithal to be in the right shooting lanes and understands how to be there when the shot comes. While Frost said it was a no-brainer to bring Audrey to the team as well prior to the 2020-21 season, Audrey said she was preparing for the chance she might have to consider playing somewhere else.

“At the time, in high school, I knew I wanted to go here, but I wasn’t sure if this, obviously the University of Minnesota they have a top-notch team and they’re looking for top-notch girls, so with me developing later, I was like ‘I need to keep my options open,’” Audrey said. “So I went into the recruiting process with an open mind, but deep down inside I was like ‘I want to be a Gopher.’”

Additionally, with the turnover on defense that saw three experienced defensemen depart after the 2022-23 season, Frost more than welcomed having Madeline return for a fifth year. She’s been paired with fellow fifth-year player Taylor Stewart, who is in her first year with the Gophers but has known Madeline and Audrey since they were kids. Stewart said that both Madeline and Audrey have made her transition to the Gophers an extremely easy one, and have helped bring her into the family atmosphere that encompasses this team.

“[They’ve] made me feel very part of things right from the start, and I think that helps off the ice and ultimately transitions onto the ice as Maddie and I have been building chemistry as a D-pair, it’s been pretty exciting,” Stewart said. “She makes it really easy to play with, and I’ve enjoyed all of the shifts that we’ve been able to be together for.”

From L to R: Pictured in fall 2019, former Minnesota Whitecaps defenseman Chelsey Brodt Rosenthal, former Whitecaps coach Jack Brodt, University of Minnesota defenseman Madeline Wethington and former Whitecaps defenseman Winny Brodt Brown. (MHM Photo by Rick Olson)

Hockey is a family tradition
While the family affair between the Wethingtons and hockey may seem to end with the sisters, it goes back a very long way. Madeline and Audrey are part of women’s hockey royalty in the state of Minnesota. Their aunts, Winny Brodt Brown and Chelsey Brodt Rosenthal, both played for the Gophers and their mother, Kerry Wethington, was the head coach for the women’s hockey team at St. Cloud State for the first four years of that program’s existence from 1998-2002.

While Frost noted that the Gophers haven’t had any mother-daughter duos for the Gophers just yet in its 26th season of existence, Audrey and Madeline following in their aunts’ track to the Gophers is the first step toward that becoming more of a reality for this storied program.

“They’re truly trailblazers in the sport, especially in this state,” Madeline said. “I even look back at when I was younger and a lot of the best teams composed of having the girls play with the boys, and nowadays that’s not as common, like more and more girls are sticking to just playing with girls which I think is great.

“That means there are more and more girls playing. I look back at like my mom and aunts and they didn’t have that opportunity to play with just girls. Like, my aunts, with Winny, her senior year is when they first started high school hockey. So, she had to grow up playing with the boys all the way until the age of 16/17 years old.”

Added Audrey: “They always like to remind me that back when they played, my mom was targeted out there, she broke her collarbone, and she would have to get dressed in the bathroom. Seeing how far it’s come, they always like to remind me like, you know, just be appreciative of all that you got.”

While their relatives are trailblazers, both Audrey and Madeline are no strangers to working incredibly hard in whatever they do, on and off the ice. They not only manage to perform to the high standards of one of the most successful college hockey programs in the country, but both also have thrived in their academic pursuits. Taking advice and seeing how rewarding many members of their family have had in medicine, both have taken a very admirable route.

Audrey is graduating this fall from the College of Biological Sciences with a degree in biology and just applied to a Master’s program in biological sciences that could begin this coming spring. Madeline currently works in the Visible Heart Lab on campus at the University of Minnesota and has become passionate about the work she is doing with the research in that lab. After this season, she will look to take a year or two away from school to play professionally and continue the process of applying to medical school, which can take more than a year.

Right now though, both sisters are taking in every moment with each other. Not thinking of the big picture or reminiscing too much on the end, but just enjoying every moment of their time together on the Gophers, something they’ve both dreamed about since coming to games as little kids.

“I think we’ve always made each other better people and players out there,” Audrey said. “Enjoying the little things, the little routines, the walk to the rink, all those things that you can’t get back.”

The post All In The Family appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Legacy Lives on in Foundation to Advance the Game of Hockey

by Drew Cove

What man comes to mind when one thinks of hockey in the United States? In Minnesota? In the Twin Cities? On the East Side?

The man is Herb Brooks, committed to growing the game of hockey — not only in Minnesota but across United States — and the architect of the United States Olympic Hockey team that surprised all and won gold in 1980. He was a legendary figure not only to the hockey community, but also the Minnesota and national sports community.

Though Herb died in 2003, his legacy still lives on in his namesake, the Herb Brooks Foundation. The Foundation is committed to Herb’s long-term vision — growing the game of hockey.

“What’s important is trying … to help young people get involved in hockey and build character,” said Jon Cherney, the Executive Director of the Herb Brooks Foundation. “Even though we use hockey as our platform, the goal is to help young people who might not have the means or the access to participate in sports in general and hockey in specifics.”

The foundation does a lot of work now for kids who haven’t had much experience in hockey, but it started over 30 years ago in a somewhat different capacity.

As the foundation existed 30 years ago, it was a fund for a scholarship for some high school students to keep playing hockey.

“My dad had a foundation that he started in 1986 to raise money for myself and some other top seniors in the state … so we could go play in these various [hockey] tournaments around the country,” said Dan Brooks, Herb’s son. “His buddies helped raise money, so we could go play.”

Now that Dan is beyond his playing days, the foundation has changed tunes back to getting kids involved with the game of hockey.

Herb’s friends kept the foundation operating until his death in 2003, then they turned it over to Dan. He then went and renamed it the Herb Brooks Foundation, worked closely with the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minn. and assembled a board of directors and got to work on keeping Herb’s legacy alive.

Though the mission remains largely unchanged from the early years of the current state of the foundation 15 years ago, it has always been committed to getting young people into hockey.

“We looked at trying to change the game of hockey itself, how the game was played” Dan Brooks said. “That was kind of a daunting task, so we just wanted to help kids, make people’s lives better through the game of hockey, and make the game of hockey better itself.”

That mission of helping kids through the game of hockey isn’t better explained than their mission statement on the foundation’s website.

“Introducing, providing, and maintain a variety of hockey-related opportunities, at no cost, for our youth — while growing the game.”

Those hockey-related opportunities are not hard to find, either. The foundation runs summer and winter clinics each year, with multiple locations throughout the Twin Cities, primarily Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Kalli Funk is Rink Rats program director for the Herb Brooks Foundation. She has lived the life of a young hockey player in the Twin Cities. As a player from Roseville, she made her way through the Roseville hockey association, Cretin-Derham Hall, then moved on to college to play at St. Cloud State before competing overseas.

Once back in the United States, Funk was put in touch with the former executive director of the foundation, John McClellan, while she was coaching the girls’ team at Cretin and she became involved with the hockey side of the Foundation’s efforts.

“This summer, at our St. Paul clinic, we had a lot of learn to skate participants, [that’s] kids who are just starting out skating” Funk said. “When I first started with the organization, I saw a few more kids who had been skating for a while.”

In July, the foundation held a summer clinic twice a week for the whole month at the Charles M. Schulz Arena in Highland Park. Those clinics had learn to skate, power skating and learn to play hockey clinics. Kids as young as five years old and kids into their teens participated in each clinic to start playing hockey.

The foundation doesn’t just put on summer hockey clinics, though. This winter, at three locations around St. Paul, the foundation will host clinics throughout January and February.

Funk said unequivocally why she does this job is because of the difference she sees with the kids.

“That’s why I do what I do. Just seeing the reaction, the belief that they can do it, you get chills down your spine,” Funk said. “We’re not trying to raise the next NHL star in our foundation, but just seeing that kids believe in themselves, then it’s one more thing they’re able work hard in and put their mind to it.”

From the parents’ reactions to their kids at these clinics is another humbling experience for Funk.

“The biggest reaction I see is gratitude,” Funk said. “They’re always so thankful that we offer these clinics, and especially, everything we offer is free of charge to them, so they’re so grateful that we’re able to do this.”

Beyond the on-ice help, these clinics are free to the participants and their families. The money has to come from somewhere. So where does the money come from?

That’s where executive director Jon Cherney comes back in. While he doesn’t get involved with the on-ice clinics, he is integral to the business side of the foundation and getting businesses to partner with the foundation and help provide money to accomplish the mission.

“Hockey’s expensive,” Cherney said. “Thankfully we’ve got a lot of generous people, both donors and sponsors who have supported our cause over the years, but we need to do more.”

Cherney said the foundation needs to expand its sponsor and donor base by asking people to help the cause who might have not been a part of the foundation before. Though he is a ‘walking PR campaign,’ Cherney said that usually once people hear what the foundation does, they are eager to get involved any way they can.

One of the marquee events for the foundation each year is the Herb Brooks Celebrity Golf Classic. This summer, it took place at Victory Links Golf Course in Blaine, adjacent to the National Sports Center, where the foundation is headquartered.

The event featured some high-profile hockey stars such as Jake Guentzel and Ryan Suter, along with coaches and other figures around the hockey world. In addition to the celebrities present at the golf classic, there were the sponsors; for the holes, the driving range, the putting green. All of it was in part to raise more money for the foundation to continue to provide those hockey opportunities for free.

“We think going forward, we need to have big events all the time [in addition to the golf outing,]” Cherney said. “All of our events, I believe are big events. Some of them raise some more money than others … but when we’re out in the community, it’s a big deal.”

Cherney said the golf classic had over 30 foursomes to raise the foundations profile, but also to raise money with the sponsors and entry fees for what really matters: the kids.

“What all that does is it allows us to raise money so that we can buy ice time, we can buy equipment, uniforms, provide coaching for the kids who might not be able to do so into the coming school year,” Cherney said.

For the future of the foundation, Cherney wants to expand. Though the foundation now has a scope of both the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs, he wants the foundation to have a footprint in places beyond the metro area.

Moving to cities to fundraise beyond Minnesota, including Chicago and Boston, could be plans for the foundation in the future.

Beyond expansion, though, the goal is still to live on Herb’s legacy and provide kids with access to hockey. That isn’t lost on Ross Bernstein, a bestselling author and Board President of the Herb Brooks Foundation, who knows what it means to play hockey the way Herb would have taught.

“That was Herbie’s thing, play the game the right way,” Bernstein said. “We try to instill a lot of those values.”

As for the end goal of Herb’s legacy, it is still living through the existence and acts of the foundation named after him.

“He really had a profound impact on a lot of people,” Bernstein said. “I’ve interviewed hundreds of people: players, coaches, neighbors, family members, everyone just had a crazy, unique story about how Herbie touched their lives, how he had made a difference.”

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