So now that Marvin is a broadcast analyst with Bally Sports North for Minnesota Wild games, this has to be a dream come true, right?

“I always enjoyed it, but I think if you talk to any Olympian, they don’t have a stack of options,” Marvin said. “I wasn’t ever thinking ‘Ooo, I can’t wait to get into this when I retire.’ It was always: ‘I want to be an Olympic champion.’ That was the only dream I’ve ever had.”

Gigi Marvin shown here suited up for Team USA in a Dec. 3, 2017 game vs. Team Canada at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

Marvin, a well-known Minnesota hockey talent, said she had her sights set on winning an Olympic gold medal since age 10. She fulfilled that dream in 2018 with the Team USA women’s hockey team winning gold in PyeongChang. She also won silver in 2010 and 2014. The 2005 Ms. Hockey winner, Gopher and professional hockey player with the Boston Pride has racked up the stats accolades throughout her career.

She started in her role with Bally Sports North in March 2021 during the Wild season. That continued this season, too, before Marvin officially announced her retirement from the U.S. women’s national team in December, although that didn’t quite go as planned. Not wanting to make the announcement via Zoom last year, she waited and hoped to have one last hurrah in-person with teammates, family and friends at the U.S. vs. Team Canada women’s game Dec. 20 at Xcel Energy Center leading up to this year’s winter Olympics.

But the game was canceled at the last minute because of COVID-19 concerns.

“I had done three of those for three Olympics over 12 years,” said Marvin, who turns 35 in March. “So I thought it was a really special way to say thank you, to say goodbye. There’s just a ton of people that have supported me from Minnesota.”

Even before she retired, the communications major had already worked in the broadcast booth for Northeastern University women’s hockey games before joining Bally last season.

Broadcasting is a place where an analyst needs to be quick and concise when speaking, Marvin said, adding that she gets really excited with so many things to highlight with a successful Wild club this season, plus the Olympic features she’s done with her former teammates currently playing in Beijing. It can be hard and a process to condense all the things she wants to communicate to viewers, she said.

“There’s a lot to learn, and a lot of places I can improve, for sure,” Marvin said. “But it’s been a lot of fun so far.”

She splits time during the Wild season in the booth as the color analyst alongside play-by-play broadcaster Anthony LaPanta, or she’s at the pre/post-game show desk with host Audra Martin.

Marvin’s first game in the booth started out with LaPanta, plus former NHLer-turned-analyst, Ryan Carter. He helped Marvin right away, sharing notes, charts and tips he uses to prepare for games.

Marvin will sometimes pick up on things that perhaps Carter wouldn’t because of the different roles they had as players, Carter said. While Carter might focus on the physical aspects of the game, Carter said Marvin does a good job commenting on the offensive side, reading plays and situations.

“She’s certainly figured it out in a real big hurry,” Carter said. “It’s been fun to see. She’s got a great voice and good content.”

Martin enjoyed getting to know Marvin the very first game they worked together, sitting in a conference room watching the Wild game. The hockey knowledge was obviously there, but Marvin is a wonderful person, too, Martin said.

Besides talking hockey when the cameras turn on, the broadcasters have producers and directors in their earpieces, and they’re trying to remember everything they want to say in the moment and listen to the other person sitting at the desk. It’s nerve-wracking, and Martin knew Marvin was nervous about that.

“But the thing that impressed me about Gigi right off the bat was that her hockey knowledge is so apparent right off the get-go,” Martin said. “Whether she’s nervous, whether there’s technical difficulties with the broadcast, her hockey knowledge comes through so well.”

Martin works with multiple analysts throughout the season, like former NHL players Wes Walz, Mark Parrish and Carter. One of the things she’s found interesting during broadcasts is the reality of how men and women communicate differently.

For instance, Parrish or Walz might talk about a certain Wild player during a show, and then a couple days later Marvin will offer up a completely different perspective or explain something in a different way. Viewers are lucky to have so many different opinions from different analysts on any given game night, Martin said. Marvin is really good at explaining the little nuances that casual, or even diehard, hockey fans don’t notice, Martin said.

“It’s the game of hockey, and I’ve played it since I was 2,” Marvin said. “So it’s not foreign to me. It’s easily one of the most comfortable things.”

Marvin has coached hockey for at least 15 years as well, so she’s also used to breaking down plays, analyzing what makes a player special or looking ahead to matchups to beat the systems.  

In addition to broadcasting, Marvin also created her RinkRat 19 Hockey School for kids ages 3 through high school. This summer will mark year No. 15 for the camp with hockey, off-ice dryland training, stick handling, shooting and team building in her hometown of Warroad. One new aspect this summer is a Faith and Hockey camp which Marvin is excited about, as someone who has a strong faith.

And is it still unique for a woman to be in a broadcast booth calling men’s sports like the NHL? Sure. But being one of the first is a path Marvin has traveled nearly her entire hockey career.

“That’s not new to me at all,” Marvin said. “Because I’ve been doing that since I was young. Playing in tournaments where people would be yelling at me because I’m the only girl. I’m the only ponytail on the ice. I’m so used to that.”

Carter gives Marvin a lot of credit for blazing that trail. Carter is thankful that the Wild and Bally Sports North have taken a step in that direction with Marvin in the booth. If leaves the possibility open for young girls watching to grow up thinking that they want to – and can – broadcast a Wild game someday.

“I’ve got all daughters, and I think that they’d rather listen to Gigi on there than their own father,” Carter said. “The fact that girls can relate to it, the game is growing at the youth level with the girls. To get more involved, I think it just makes a lot of sense from a broadcast perspective.”

Martin knows the role of a broadcaster is a tough job, though it doesn’t stop viewers from criticizing or failing to recognize everything that goes into the job. But Marvin has taken that in stride, Martin said.

“She takes a lot of pride in her work, the same way she took a lot of pride in her play on the ice,” Martin said. “It’s how she is when she prepares. She comes in with ideas all the time. She comes in with notes ready to go before the game even starts. You can tell that she loves that this is the next part of her hockey journey.”

The post Marvin on the Mic appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

A tight, physical game was scoreless at the end of regulation. But 6:39 into overtime, Allie Thunstrom gave her team a 1-0 victory and a trip to Boston for the championship game scheduled for the next week.

“Their D pinched and I was able to chip it around and then we ended up on that odd-man rush,” Thunstrom said. “I passed it across to Jonna (Curtis) and then she made a nice play back. And it was something we’ve been looking for all game, and there it was in overtime.”

Of course, that next game never happened because of the pandemic. The National Women’s Hockey League returned to play January in Lake Placid for a bubble-type situation. But positive COVID-19 tests ended play early. The NWHL is back this weekend at the Boston Pride’s home rink for two semifinal games and a championship to finally crown an Isobel Cup champion.

The Whitecaps are the No. 2 seed and will face the 3-seed Connecticut Whale Friday night following the 1-seed Toronto v. 4-seed Boston game at 4 p.m. Central time with the winners meeting at 6 p.m. Central Saturday night.

The games this weekend will be broadcast on NBCSN, marking the first women’s professional hockey league championship games that will air on a major national network in the United States.

Playing in front of a national television audience is an incredible opportunity, Whitecaps captain Winny Brodt Brown acknowledged.

“Just because when I started playing hockey when I was 4 with all the boys, and then growing up playing until I was 17 years old, I never thought that playing on national TV would ever even be a possibility,” said 43-year-old Brodt Brown.  

The Whitecaps practiced regularly for the past couple of weeks. In addition, the coaching staff told the players to keep in shape on their own with individual workouts.

They’re confident everyone is healthy and ready to go. But they’ll also be without two of their top four defensemen on the trip: Sydney Baldwin (1-2—3 in Lake Placid) and Emma Stauber. Amanda Boulier is added to the roster, however.

Stauber will be occupied with another hockey game this weekend. She’s the head coach of the Proctor/Hermantown girls’ hockey team that qualified for the Class 1A girls’ state high school hockey tournament at Xcel Energy Center with quarterfinals Friday and Saturday.

The Whitecaps went 3-1 in the bubble games this winter, losing to the league’s new team this year, Toronto. The Whale and Whitecaps did not face each other, although a game was originally scheduled but wasn’t played because of COVID-19 cases.

Speedster Allie Thunstrom looks to lead the Whitecaps to another NWHL title this weekend in Boston. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Brodt Brown finds it more exciting to play a new opponent.

“Because you just go out there and you just play and you don’t overthink it,” Brodt Brown said. “I think as a player, it’s kind of fun playing an opponent you haven’t played before. Everyone’s going to be playing their best, and it’s going to be an intense game.”

One of the newcomers who showed off her skills this year was defenseman Maddie Rowe. She leads the team, and it’s not close, this season with 19 blocked shots.

“She just is always very positive, brings a lot of energy to our team and gets everyone around her pumped up,” Brodt Brown said.

Nina Rodgers leads the team with 6 points, which includes a pair of power-play goals and four assists. Audra Richards (1-3—4) and Meghan Lorence (0-4—4) follow with four points each. Newcomer Haley Mack left a mark as a rookie in Lake Placid, scored a pair of goals and an assist.

Getting some scoring from a few new names was helpful for the Whitecaps. The pair of Curtis and Thunstrom have been the team’s go-to top scorers since the team joined the NWHL in 2018-19. Thunstrom led the league in goals last season with 24 and was the league’s co-MVP. But this year, Curtis had one goal in four games while Thunstrom hasn’t registered a point.

Whitecaps coach Jack Brodt called it surprising that the team received scoring from all over the roster while top goal scorers Curtis and Thunstrom were shut down in that category.

“But their presence on the ice and the hard work that they do in the defensive zone is very important,” Brodt said. “If we get into a run-and-gun game, we’re probably going to lose that game. We’ve had more success where we’ve kept the scores down rather than elevating the scores.”

Two other goal scorers for the Whitecaps this season? Brooke White-Lancette and Brodt Brown, who have been Whitecaps players from the very beginning.

In goal, Amanda Leveille will take her usual spot with her calm and collective demeanor.

Brodt Brown often refers to Leveille as a “gamer,” and this week called her the team MVP since she’s a competitor in every game.

“With her back there, we’re confident,” Brodt Brown said. “We’ve just got to help her out as much as we can and let her do her thing.”

The post Whitecaps prepare for Whale of a game appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Battling the undefeated Boston Pride, the Whitecaps saw three one-goal leads evaporate. When Boston tied it 3-3 with the goalie pulled, overtime looked to be on the horizon for the NWHL’s two best teams.

Enter Minnesota’s Allie Thunstrom.

“You could just see it in her eyes off the draw, she wanted to take the lead back,” said Whitecaps defenseman Amanda Boulier. “She’s a very motivated and determined player.”

Thunstrom scored with 49.6 seconds left in regulation to put her team back on top for the eventual 4-3 victory Jan. 25 in front of a sold-out TRIA Rink in St. Paul. It ended Boston’s 19-game winning streak to hand it its first loss of the season.

On the game-winner, Thunstrom got the bouncing puck behind the Boston defense and used her speed to get some space in the offensive zone. As she drove up the side of the ice, she fired the puck over goaltender Lovisa Selander’s shoulder.

“That shot usually doesn’t work for me,” Thunstrom said. “So, today I’ll take it.”

Minnesota Whitecaps forward Allie Thunstrom celebrates scoring the game winning goal with less than a minute left to defeat the Boston Pride at at TRIA Rink in St. Paul on Jan 25, 2020. (Collin Nawrocki)

It was a quick response after Boston tied the game for the third time on Jillian Dempsey’s second goal of the game off a rebound with 57.5 seconds left in regulation. Dempsey leads the National Women’s Hockey League with 36 points and 21 assists.

“It went from a not-exciting minute to a very exciting minute,” Thunstrom said. “Just a whole gamut of emotions in that last minute.”

For Thunstrom, it wasn’t just the tying goal that was deflating. A few seconds before that, she and teammate Nicole Schammel had a chance to make it 4-2 on a 2-on-1 opportunity but Thunstrom’s shot hit the post.

It was a much different end result from when the Whitecaps were swept in Boston in October by 3-1 and 5-2 margins. That was still early into the 24-game regular season. In the first meetings, the Whitecaps weren’t playing to the best of their abilities, according to goaltender Amanda Leveille.

“They’re unbelievable on the rush,” Leveille said. “They’ve scored a lot of goals on us on the rush, and I think the difference in this game was we really shut that down. We didn’t let them use their skills to their full potential.”

The Whitecaps never trailed in their latest win over Boston, taking a 1-0 lead on a Jonna Curtis goal and going up 2-1 in the second period on a short-handed goal off a breakaway. Meghan Lorence went 5-hole after getting a nice pass up ice from Schammel.

When the final horn sounded, the Whitecaps could celebrate the win and ending Boston’s perfect season.

“I think any team that’s undefeated, they’re always fun to play against,” Boulier said. “I think for those of us that were on the team last year, we kind of knew what that was like.”

The Whitecaps had a storybook inaugural season in the NWHL when they became the fifth team in the league last season. They started off with a six-game winning streak (before Boston defeated the Whitecaps in St. Paul) on their way to a 12-4 regular-season record capped with winning the Isobel Cup Championship over Buffalo in overtime in front of yet another sold-out crowd in St. Paul.

This year was a little different, starting with a different roster construction with players like Hannah Brandt, Lee Stecklein and Kendall Coyne Schofield joining the PWHPA. With some returning and fresh faces, the Whitecaps started off the year 1-2-1 and then 5-5 in their first 10 games. Since then, they’ve won 8-of-10 games, which included a five-game winning streak.

“I think lately, especially these last few weeks and after the Christmas break, we’re really jelling together,” Thunstrom said. “We’re turning into that team where you don’t know where the goals are going to come from.”

Leveille agreed that midway through the season was a bit of a turning point. They were struggling to score goals, but the scores lately – like 8-2, 7-1, 6-1 and 7-0 victories over Buffalo and Connecticut – really reflect how the Whitecaps are playing in both their defensive and offensive zones, according to Leveille. The Whitecaps are averaging about 4 goals per game with a +38 goal differential.

Those scoring abilities from leaders like Thunstrom and Curtis really help out the team a ton, Leveille said, because it gives them the mindset that they can score goals and that part of the game won’t be a problem.

“Definitely we’ve come a long way from the state of the season, especially when playing a full 60 minutes,” Leveille said. “That’s something that we struggled with early on.”

The Whitecaps had three straight January weekends of home games, outscoring opponents 34-11. Following the All-Star weekend in Boston, the Whitecaps finish the regular-season with a series in Buffalo Feb. 22-23 before the home finale against Connecticut Feb. 29 and March 1.

Minnesota Whitecaps forward Allie Thunstrom (Collin Nawrocki)

Seven Whitecaps will represent Minnesota on the All-Star rosters including Leveille, Boulier, Audra Richards on Team Packer, plus Schammel, Curtis, Lorence and Thunstrom on Team Dempsey. Lorence replaces Sydney Baldwin, who was named to the All-Star Game but is unavailable.

The Whitecaps are led by the speedy Thunstrom, who’s shattered last year’s numbers with her league-leading 19 goals and 27 points through the first 20 games this year. She scored 6 goals and 6 assists in 16 games last season. In addition to the game-winner, Thunstrom scored both Whitecaps goals in the 4-2 loss to Boston the following day. She was named VEDA Player of the Week in the NWHL.

Her linemate Curtis continues to produce for the Whitecaps for a second straight year; she has 11 goals and 25 points in 17 games so far.

Schammel leads the rookies on the team with 10 goals and 24 points in 20 games. Boulier is once again a top defender in the league with her 3 goals and team-high 20 assists in 18 games. Leveille has been the solid backstop in goal, going 13-5-2 with a .932 save percentage and 2.13 goals against average while posting three shutouts. Her latest efforts earned her NWHL Player of the Month honors for January.

It’s her efforts that have helped keep the Whitecaps in such good shape this season. They want to keep building on their recent success, watch video to try and clean up any mistakes, according to Leveille.

“Because we want to keep winning each game,” Leveille said. “And then going into playoffs, we want to be playing our best hockey. We want to be confident.”

The post Whitecaps find their stride appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

What a setting for Hockey Day Minnesota, even if it made actually playing the game a bit more difficult.

“You don’t pick this,” said Kevin Gorg, who filled in as coach for Team Minnesota. “You don’t pick the snow, you don’t pick kind of climate we had tonight.

“But I will tell you that most of these kids grew up playing at some point outside when they were young.”

Liv Halvorson, Nina Rodgers and Chelsey Brodt-Rosenthal of Team Minneapolis smile at what Mother Nature delivered on Friday night. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

Indeed, Taylor Williamson played at an outdoor rink at Walnut Ridge Park near her house in Edina. Playing there until the lights went out is something she points to and credits for all the skill and creativity in her game. And one of her teammates Friday, Warroad’s Gigi Marvin, certainly is no stranger to playing in extreme-weather conditions.

“I’m used to it,” Marvin said. “I’ve done that hundreds of times up north. And actually we have way more wind up there. So it was nice not having a wind.”

Marvin and Williamson took care of the scoring for Team Minnesota as they defeated Team Minneapolis 4-3 during the exhibition game that consisted of three 15-minute, running-time periods. Sadie Lundquist gave Team Minneapolis a 2-0 lead in the first before Team Minnesota got on the board with two goals apiece from Marvin and Williamson.

Scheduled two-minute intermissions were extended a bit as crews hit the ice with shovels and snow blowers to try and clear the playing surface off as best as they could. The snow was so steady that it was tough to make out the downtown skyline view that serves as the backdrop for Hockey Day Minnesota.

“It’s definitely tough, but it’s the fun part about being a part of Hockey Day Minnesota and playing outside,” Williamson said. “So it was super fun.”

Despite the blizzard-like conditions that might have kept some hockey fans away, there were a few pockets of cheering sections for the women’s game. Williamson, a former Gophers player and current Wayzata girls’ high school hockey coach, held practice with her team earlier in the day before it was off to Parade Stadium.

“My assistant coach Blair (Parent) was on the other team,” Williamson said. “So they wanted to come and watch us play, which was awesome.”

They had plenty to cheer about with Williamson’s goals. On a night when clouds of snow shot up from the ice as the puck moved along, it was all about “just doing what you’ve got to do to get the puck to the net, for sure,” Williamson said.

The Bloomington Jefferson high school girls’ team also showed up to support two of their assistant coaches, Kelly Pannek and Kelsey Cline. They were on different teams, too, with Cline skating on the winning Team Minnesota. Some of the girls held up signs to show their support as well, with one reading: “We just hope both teams have fun.”

The teams were made up of a bunch of current Minnesota Whitecaps players, plus former Gophers women’s hockey players and plenty of Minnesota ties. Whitecaps assistant coach Laura Slominski coached Team Minneapolis. Former Park Center and Gophers standout Krissy Wendell was slated to coach the other team but was home was a sick child, so Gorg stepped in.

Marvin was bummed Wendall couldn’t be there but enjoyed her replacement, too.

“He’s hilarious,” Marvin said, of Gorg. “He had some good one-liners.”

Coach Kevin Gorg delivers and inspirational speech to his Team Minnesota players. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

Any expert coaching advice? Nah, Gorg said he just tried to stay out of the way. He was behind the bench coaching a lot of players he’s known since they were in high school, like goaltender Julie Friend and Erica McKenzie. Coaching as part of Hockey Day Minnesota was “a bonus” for Gorg, a report and hockey analyst with Fox Sports North.

“All year long we look forward to Hockey Day,” Gorg said. “Nights like tonight are really special.”

According to @HockeyDayMN on Twitter, the women’s game included 26 native Minnesotans, 17 NCAA championships, 12 Isobel Cup winners, six Ms. Hockey winners and four Minnesota state high school championships.

For the Whitecaps (10-4-2) players, they will head back indoors this weekend, taking on the Connecticut Whale (1-13-2) for a pair of afternoon games Saturday and Sunday at their home TRIA Rink in downtown St. Paul.

Marvin, who previously played in for the Boston Pride in the NWHL and is now part of the PWHPA, said the experience Friday was just a cool one all around, especially being able to reconnect with friends/teammates she hadn’t seen in a while.  

“Of course it makes all the sense in the world to not only have a men’s pro all-star game but have a women’s (all-star game),” Marvin said. “Because there’s that much talent here. There’s that much skill. 

The post Stars Shine Beneath Wintry Blanket appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Former Gophers shine in NWHL with Whitecaps  

After a college career with the Gophers women’s hockey team, Nicole Schammel is no stranger to playing weekend series against opponents. But the schedule she’s playing this season as a rookie in the National Women’s Hockey League as a forward for the Minnesota Whitecaps isn’t quite the same.

There are 24 regular-season games compared to 38- or 39-game seasons she played with the Gophers.

“I think there’s definitely pros and cons to going every couple weekends,” Schammel said. “You feel fresh, but you also kind of feel like you aren’t in game shape.”

Nicole Schammel (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Whatever the schedule, Schammel is finding her way as one of the top players for the Whitecaps this season. She’s one of seven former Gophers on the team, four of whom are playing their NWHL rookies seasons this year.

A lot of the Whitecaps players work as coaches. For instance, Schammel is an assistant coach for the Breck girls’ high school team.

“So that actually helps with not playing as much,” Schammel said. “That you’re still around the game, and watching a game can be really advantageous.”

Schammel plays alongside center Haylea Schmid and fellow Gopher Meghan Lorence on the right wing.

Lorence said she and Schammel have similar vision on the ice. Lorence graduated from Minnesota in 2015 after 102 points in 148 games across four years with the Gophers.  She and Schammel didn’t overlap, as Schammel finished up her redshirt-senior season last year.

“Just finding each other and making those plays,” Lorence said. “It helps coming from the same system from college.”

The Whitecaps are second in the five-team NWHL standings at 7-3-2 behind an undefeated Boston team (13-0-0). Along with Schammel and Lorence, defenseman Sydney Baldwin, Kelsey Cline, goaltender Amanda Leveille, Winny Brown and Chelsey Rosenthal are all former Gophers.  

“I think, in general, a lot of us are from Minnesota,” Baldwin said. “So we were familiar with playing with each other in summer leagues or in the offseason, so we do have a little bit of that familiarity.”

Meghan Lorence (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

With the regular season halfway in the books for 2019-20, Schammel ranks second on the team in goals (7), points (14) and is a plus-7 in 12 games. She’s also won 32-of-33 faceoffs and leads the team with 92 shots. Baldwin is on the top defensive pair with Amanda Boulier. Baldwin has 5 goals and 11 points in 10 games with a plus-8. Lorence has five goals and eight points in 12 games. Schammel and Lorence are tied with two others for the team lead with two power-play goals each.

When the Whitecaps returned to TRIA Rink for their second home series of the season Dec. 14-15 v. the Metropolitan Riveters, they split with a 3-2 shootout loss and 5-2 win. In the loss, the two goals came from the third line, from Audra Richards and Allie Thunstrom to tie the game each time. Thunstrom, Schammel and Schmid all came up empty in the shootout. Minnesota rebounded the next afternoon with a 5-2 win with goals from Schammel, Baldwin, two from Richards and Stephanie Anderson.

The Whitecaps followed that up the next weekend with a sweep in Connecticut in a 3-0 shutout and 2-1 victory. This road series happened to line up with the Minnesota Wild’s fourth annual Girls’ Hockey Weekend with festivities held at Xcel Energy Center. Proceeds from the Wild game magazine sales and the “Split the Pot Raffle” for the Wild’s Dec. 21 game against the Winnipeg Jets went to the Whitecaps. The Wild also hosted dryland training and on-ice clinics for girls on 12U, 10U, and 8U teams that Saturday.

Though the Whitecaps weren’t in town for girls’ hockey weekend, they still got in on the action at Xcel Energy Center when they hosted a free skating event for the public ahead of their practice held on the NHL ice surface on Thursday.

Sydney Baldwin (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

It’s yet another chance for young girls to interact with female professional hockey players. Both Whitecaps and Riveters players also participated in the Girls Outdoor Classic on Dec. 14 at the Roseville Oval. Whitecaps players were there as referees and dropped pucks for some of the 4-on-4 games going on, according to Lorence, though they “were mostly just there to socialize with the girls, and cheer them on,” Lorence said.

It’s another good opportunity to grow the game, according to Baldwin.

“Everyone’s happy being outside, and it was halfway decent weather, playing a little pond hockey,” Baldwin said.

There’s no shortage of role models, and players like Schammel, who wanted to be a Whitecaps player since she was little, are enjoying their time in the NWHL.

“I think post-grad, there’s not a ton of opportunities to play, and I’m just grateful for the opportunity to continue to dress,” Baldwin said. “I’m at a point where I’m still very competitive and like to be able to get in the lineup and play a good game.”

The Whitecaps return to action in St. Paul for three straight weekends of hockey in January, starting with a couple games against Buffalo on Jan. 11. They’ll finish the regular season with another home series against Connecticut on Feb. 29 and March 1. 

The post Close To Home appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Minnesota’s first family of women’s hockey takes reunion to the ice

Photo gallery by Rick Olson (@rickolson77) for Minnesota Hockey Magazine

MINNEAPOLIS — On any given summer Sunday afternoon families across Minnesota and beyond will gather in organized reunions, catching up on each other’s lives over pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad and green bean casserole. In many cases friendly, and not so friendly, competitions ritually ensue on the softball field, at a volleyball net or over an intense Cornhole tournament.

University of Minnesota freshman defender Maddie Wethington’s family on the other hand — at least for one Sunday — took their battle to the ice.

Maddie Wethington (MHM Photo: Rick Olson)

Wethington stepped onto the Ridder Arena ice for Sunday afternoon’s exhibition game against the National Women’s Hockey League’s Minnesota Whitecaps with much more on the line than her Gopher teammates. As she surveyed the defending Isobel Cup champions as they warmed up, Wethington exchanged glances with two of her aunts, former Gophers Winny (Brodt) Brown and Chelsey (Brodt) Rosenthal, while her grandfather, Jack Brodt, watched from behind the visitor’s bench.

After the game, a visibly emotional Wethington looked toward her cousins Jack and Haley, Chelsey’s children, playing nearby and said, “I was these kids’ age, like five and under, when I got to watch them put on the ‘M.’ To be able to get to do that and then also play against them is something that’s really unbelievable and I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

Wethington, a six-time letter winner in both hockey and golf at The Blake School in Minneapolis, is a member of Minnesota’s most famous women’s hockey family. Her mother, Kerry, the first Division I women’s hockey head coach at St. Cloud State (1998-2002), is Winny and Chelsey’s sister and another of Jack’s daughters.

All three women play defense so opportunities for 1-on-1 battles were scarce on this day but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t any on-ice interaction. Rosenthal’s moment came as the teams were warming up.

“I gave her a little tap on the shins as we were both at center ice,” Rosenthal said. “Didn’t really say much but just gave her a look like ‘good luck.’”

Wethington said it really set in for her what the game meant when she locked eyes with Brown on a faceoff and was met with an ear-to-ear grin.

Minnesota Whitecaps D Winny (Brodt) Brown (MHM Photo: Rick Olson)

“I was smiling across the way, you know, when we were on the faceoff draw but we’re very competitive too,” said Brown, Minnesota’s first Ms. Hockey winner in 1996. “In our family, it’s competing all the time whether it’s on the ice or checkers, or you know, getting shotgun in the car. I think it’s kind of a culture that probably my parents have created that has kind of been passed on to my sister Kerry and her daughters.”

That competitive spirit propelled Wethington to become a four-time all-state, four-time all-conference, and three-time all-metro honoree as well as a two-time Minnesota Girls State High School Tournament All-Tournament Team member. She helped Blake to three state championships (2014, 2016 and 2017) and one state runner-up finish (2015) to go with six conference titles.

In addition, Wethington has competed internationally for several U.S. Under-18 teams and, not surprisingly, has played club hockey since 2012 for the Minnesota Junior Whitecaps. While it is been an honor to wear those colors, nothing compares to the realization of Wethington’s childhood dream of donning the maroon and gold sweater with the ‘M’ across the front and No. 5 on the back.

The number is significant in that she wears it in honor of her aunts who both wore it as Gophers, Brown from 1998-2000 and Rosenthal from 2002-06. That Wethington got to wear it as a freshman she says is a matter of the stars aligning for her.

“I realized that the defenseman that was leaving (Sophie Skarzynski) was number five,” Wethington said. “So it just happened to work out perfectly.”

The number choice is an emotional one for Brown and Rosenthal as well.

“Both me and Chelsey are honored that, you know, she respects us enough to want to carry on that number and represent the Gophers with it,” Brown said. “It’s pretty special.”

Rosenthal expressed her pride in her niece while praising her play and added the experience of playing against her was something she never expected to happen

Minnesota Whitecaps D Chelsey (Brodt) Rosenthal (MHM Photo: Rick Olson)

“It was very cool to see her wearing in the ‘M’ and she’s worked so hard, Rosenthal said. “I remember her being in a stroller and now I’m playing against her so that kind of just says a lot how … I’m getting old.”

Wethington said she believed Sunday’s game was the first time her grandfather had coached against her but the day’s events conjured up fond memories of coaching alongside him as a young girl.

“I remember growing up he would coach some of their WHAM (Women’s Hockey Association of Minnesota) league (games) with my mom even playing and and I’d be on the bench with him pretending to coach when I was five years old,” Wethington recalled with a smile. “At the end of last season, my senior year, he was like, ‘Just wait, I’ll have all these players on you forechecking you so hard.’ He was looking forward to it; I was looking forward to it; it was a great moment for my whole family.”

Brodt, who played hockey at Hamline University and co-founded the Whitecaps in 2004, said the game was a proud grandparent moment and he is confident Wethington will make her own mark at the University of Minnesota.

“My granddaughter is a good player and she’s been wanting to play against her aunts so it was fun,” Brodt said. “It wasn’t exactly the way we wanted it to turn out but, it is what it is.”

It turned out to be a 5-1 Gopher win which saw them outshoot the Whitecaps 57-12, despite trailing 1-0 after one period on Jonna Curtis’ buzzer-beater. The Gophers proceeded to reel off five unanswered goals — led by Taylor Heise’s three-point effort (2-1—3) and a goal and an assist from Grace Zumwinkle — to overwhelm their guests.

To be fair, the Whitecaps had practiced only twice and a labor dispute has them, and every other NWHL team, playing with a significantly depleted roster compared to the one fans celebrated with on the ice in March.

Minnesota Whitecaps coach Jack Brodt (MHM Photo: Rick Olson)

“It’s always fun to play the Gophers,” Brodt said. “We didn’t give them much of a test but when we originally scheduled, we figured we were going to have all our players. We’ve only had one and a half practices. They’ve been practicing for two or three weeks so you can see that we were slow to all the pucks. They just took it to us and I kind of figured that that’s what they were going to do.”

To the Gophers’ credit, they took full advantage of the opportunity and Wethington even got on the score sheet, chipping in an assist on Zumwinkle’s game-tying goal in the second period. But that was secondary to the win in Wethington’s eyes.

“I think I got a little bit of an advantage at the table when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Wethington said with a competitor’s grin. “But I’ll try not to rub it into their face too much.” 

The post Sunday Fun Day appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Whitecaps roll to OT win over Beauts for first NWHL title

St. Paul — Minnesota Whitecaps’ fans who did not want to see the team’s inaugural National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) season come to an end got their wish on Sunday afternoon at Tria Rink. Minnesota extended its season less than a minute, but just long enough for defenseman Lee Stecklein to score the biggest goal in franchise history to lift her team to a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Beauts and capture the Isobel Cup as NWHL champions.

Stecklein’s shot from the left point just 49 seconds into overtime eluded Buffalo goaltender Nicole Hensley and the celebration was on for Minnesota’s newest professional sports team. Stecklein, who was named Isobel Cup Playoffs MVP, admitted she was simply throwing a prayer at the net that got answered.

“Katie McGovern won that draw so clean and I knew that they were going to the net right away and I just needed to get it down there,” Stecklein said. “I don’t know if it hit people, whatever it was, but good things happen when when we have bodies in front of the net and that’s all we needed.”

Minnesota’s Amy Menke poses with a future Whitecap inside the Isobel Cup (MHM Photo / Brian Halverson)

The two teams were locked into epic battle more than worthy of its championship stakes with the league’s fastest teams racing up and down the ice. Despite the wide-open appearance, however, shots were difficult to come by, particularly second-chance opportunities. Buffalo (11) and Minnesota (7) combined for 18 blocked shots but there was more to that story according to Minnesota coach Jack Brodt.

“They’d kind of get their stick on it or body or a shin pad or a helmet or whatever until they got something on the puck to deflect it,” Brodt said. “So you never got a lot of great scoring chances but there were a few and the goalies came through. Both goalies were terrific.”

Buffalo goaltender Nicole Hensley finished a stellar effort with 28 saves while Minnesota’s Amanda Leveille made 22 stops in taking a pounding from the net-crashing Beauts, especially in the third period.

“Nicole Hensley definitely kept their team in the game, making that breakaway save and then a couple of backdoor saves and a really nice glove save in the third period so she she had a phenomenal game,” Leveille said. “It was a really close game all game long and I think, honestly, that it was this was our best game as a team.”

Leveille admitted, however, that finding the puck in a game like this wasn’t always easy but raved about her teammates’ defensive effort. 

“When I was telling them I couldn’t see it they would step up and block the puck or they’d box out the other team so my defense definitely helped me out there,” Leveille said. “But there were some times, I’m not going to lie, where the puck just hit me. But that’s that’s why you try to be in a good spot to cut down the angle and rely on your defense to block it or it to hit you.”

Buffalo got on the board first on Emily Pfalzer’s goal at 17:01 of the first period. Pfalzer’s shot from the inside edge of the right circle beat Leveille for the Buffalo native’s fourth goal of the season and second of the Isobel Cup playoffs.

But just 1:22 later, Minnesota’s Amy Menke answered with her fifth of the season to draw the Whitecaps even. Kendall Coyne-Schofield’s long, cross-ice pass from her own blue line found Menke in stride behind the Beauts’ defense and she beat Hensley with a great short-side snipe over her left shoulder. 

The momentum reversal Menke’s goal provided proved to be critical to Minnesota’s success.

“I think it was huge to not go into the locker room after the first down one so I think that was just a good motivator for the girls knowing that we tied it back up,” Menke said. “A blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while so I’m glad I got it.”

The Whitecaps had an opportunity to end it late in regulation when Buffalo’s Kelly Babstock was sent off for tripping with 3:41 remaining. But Hensley simultaneously wowed and disappointed the capacity crowd with just 1:58 to go by denying Amanda Boulier’s power-play blast with a lightning quick glove to preserve the tie. 

The save would only delay the inevitable as Stecklein’s goal would soon prove and provide a storybook ending to a storybook first NWHL season.

“I’m really proud of this group, the program in general,” Stecklein said. “They worked so hard to get the team here and to get it in a professional league and we knew that wasn’t enough and we wanted to win it all. Every person on this team has worked so hard. It takes a lot of extra to put in the amount of work that we put in so I’m really excited. This team deserved it.”

The post The Champs appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Undersized Boulier leaps her way to big role in Whitecaps’ success

Watch Minnesota Whitecaps defenseman Amanda Boulier hop over the boards for a line change and you’ll notice her style is a little different than some other players.

“She has to jump,” said coach Ronda Engelhardt.

Indeed, the 5-foot-1 Boulier gives herself a little momentum getting over the boards. It’s a contrast to her defensive partner, Lee Stecklein, who stands a full foot taller.

But that little quirk certainly doesn’t mean anything when it comes to Boulier’s hockey abilities. She’s an All-Star defenseman with 5 goals and 6 assists for the Whitecaps in their inaugural season as part of the National Women’s Hockey League. Boulier leads Whitecaps defensemen in points (11) and goals (5). Both Boulier and Stecklein will represent the Whitecaps, along with six other teammates, at the NWHL All-Star festivities this weekend in Nashville.

Amanda Boulier scans the ice in the Whitecaps’ home opener. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Boulier is also a native of Watertown, Conn. and a St. Lawrence University graduate. She played her rookie NWHL season with the Connecticut Whale last year before joining the Whitecaps. She’s one of only a few players on the roster without a hometown or college Minnesota connection.

Boulier brings a light, not-too-serious personality to the team, and on the ice she’s a good lateral puck carrier who can also get a shot off, according to Engelhardt.

“She’s probably our best at that,” Engelhardt said. “It’s been fun to watch her, just because she’s quick in being small. She kind of has to be, so she finds a way to play big.

“We love Boo.”

During a game in Connecticut on Jan. 13, Boulier scored a goal and 2 assists in a 4-1 victory for her only multi-point game of the season. She had plenty of family and friends in the stands, and her solid performance was “just the icing on the cake,” Boulier said.

Back in Minnesota, the Whitecaps swept the Whale in their final regular-season series at TRIA Rink in St. Paul with back-to-back shutouts the next weekend, on that celebrated Hockey Day Minnesota, with 2-0 and 9-0 victories. Boulier scored the first goal of the 9-0 game on a point shot through traffic in the middle of the second period.

Her perspective on Hockey Day Minnesota is a little different as someone not from the state. She probably has the same amount of passion for hockey as Minnesotans, she said, which is something you don’t find much in her home state.

“I think I was supposed to be born in Minnesota, to be honest,” Boulier said. “I love being around so many people that just love the sport of hockey as much as I do.”

The Whitecaps played in front of sell-out crowds (1,200 capacity) for all eight home games this season. Playing in front of so many supportive fans has been great for Boulier, especially coming from Connecticut where they’re battling the fan engagement aspect, she said.

“Our home opener, I’ll always remember taking the ice for warm-ups and hearing the crowd,” Boulier said. “I mean, I had chills. It was hard for me to not keep smiling.”

On the ice, Boulier has already surpassed her numbers from her rookie season with the Whale where she scored 4 goals and 10 points. She and Stecklein, 24, have teamed up as the top defensive pair this season, reuniting as teammates; they played together along with fellow Whitecaps player Hannah Brandt on the U18 team that won gold at the 2011 World Championship in Sweden.

“She’s an amazing defender,” Stecklein said of her defensive partner. “To get to play with her again, it’s been really exciting. To know that we were able to steal her from Connecticut is really helpful.

“She’s an awesome D. One of the best I’ve ever played with.”

Amanda Boulier’s defensive partner, Lee Stecklein, defends against N.Y. Riveters F Amanda Kessell in the Whitecaps’ home opener. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Stecklein, a Roseville native, 2018 Olympic gold medalist and former national champion with the Gophers women’s hockey team, will captain one of the NWHL All-Star teams this weekend, with five of her Whitecaps teammates on the squad. Stecklein has 1 goal and 7 assists this season.

Boulier will be on the other side at the All-Star Game, as she and teammate Kendall Coyne Schofield join Team Shannon Szabados. The skills competition will be at 5 p.m. CT Saturday at Ford Ice Center with the All-Star Game directly following the Nashville Predators game on Sunday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena.

Boulier was an All-Star last year, too, when the event was held at TRIA Rink. She said that the experience was another reason she was enticed to sign with the Whitecaps this year after seeing the fan engagement and passion for the sport.

Boulier, 25, was an assistant coach with the Yale women’s hockey team for a couple years but then decided she wanted to focus more on playing, which also helped steer her toward Minnesota. She moved to Duluth and commutes down to the Twin Cities with two other Whitecaps players for practices and games.

She simply wanted to be on a competitive team, a fun team and “be around people that love being at the rink as much as I do,” Boulier said.

“I feel like I’m in a really good spot, and I’m very happy,” Boulier said.

The post Compact Impact appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

“New” team enters league with long history, familiar faces

There’s nothing else like it in the U.S. The National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL), now in its fourth season of operations, has brought professional women’s hockey to the States. Players are finally getting paid. (Though, there’s room for growth.) Fans can finally watch top talent play post-collegiate hockey outside of annual international tournaments. And Minnesota is finally getting a team.

The league’s first three seasons featured four east coast teams, loads of Olympic talent, passionate fans, and lots of Minnesotans wondering when the State of Hockey would get a team. But, now, the Whitecaps have arrived in the NWHL Minnesotans have taken up the cause in droves. On the team’s season-opening shutout of the Metropolitan Riveters on October 6, the team was met by a rowdy sell-out crowd carrying signs and lining up to don Whitecaps sweatshirts and shirseys.

While the team is new to the NWHL, it’s far from a new organization. However, the team isn’t exactly new. The Whitecaps have been an outstanding training ground for Midwestern players since 2004, playing for years in the now-defunct Wester Women’s Hockey League (WWHL) and against Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) teams. But the team has been without a league since 2011. Though it has carried National Team talent like Hannah Brandt, Stephanie Anderson, and the Lamoureux twins, its seasons have been limited to practices and scattered exhibition games against high school, collegiate and, occasionally, NWHL teams.

Now, the team joins the NWHL with a refurbished roster, salaries, and a boatload of reasons for fans to head to St. Paul’s Tria Rink throughout the 16-game season. Though the season is young, people have already been showing up. The Whitecaps sold out the first two games and shocked the NWHL’s reigning champions with 4-0 and 3-1 wins.

THE TEAM

While some may predict the Whitecaps to sit outside the championship game in the team’s inaugural NWHL season, Minnesota is not a team to sleep on.

Logistically, the team will face challenges. They only play back-to-backs because of the travel involved in being the only team not on the east coast. Moreover, every back-to-back has them playing in different rinks each night. That could make for tough games on the back-end since most of the roster is holding down a full-time job during the week. (NWHL salaries are part-time salaries.)

There are also schedule oddities other teams aren’t dealing with, like not playing a single league game from January 20 through March 2, when the Whitecaps start their season-closing series on the road. That could be a real disadvantage heading into the playoffs.

On the ice, the biggest question the Whitecaps face is how their depth will measure-up against the league’s established teams. Each of the other four rosters faces turnover year-to-year because all NWHL contracts are for one year. Nonetheless, teams frequently retain some core players and coaches.

That’s not to say the Whitecaps enter the season without any chemistry. There are 16 players who have been with the Whitecaps before, and many of the players skated together in college. The roster features 19 Minnesotans and 17 former WCHA players. Though, only one skater has previously played in the NWHL.

MN Whitecap’s Kendall Coyne-Schofield by Rick Olson

The team is headlined by Olympic stars Lee Stecklein, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Brandt. However, what might slip under the radar is the kind of talent the team will get from top collegiate skaters who haven’t been in the spotlight of the National Team or the NWHL yet. Those forwards include former Gopher Kate Schipper, former Bulldog Katie McGovern, former North Dakota standout Amy Menke, and veteran speedster Allie Thunstrom.

The lines are far from set in stone, but the Whitecaps opened the season with a top line featuring Brandt at center, flanked by Coyne Schofield and Schipper. It’s a fast line that has already shown great chemistry. It’s not hard to see this being one of the toughest lines to play against in the league, especially when Stecklein and Amanda Boulier are paired up behind them.

In net, the Whitecaps landed a pair of former NWHL goaltenders, including former two-time NCAA National Champion with the Gophers and 2018 NWHL Goaltender of the Year Amanda Leveille. Likely to share time with her is Sydney Rossman, who skated with the Connecticut Whale last year and is just one year removed from an impressive career at Quinnipiac. Last season, Rossman posted an .885 save percentage in 16 starts, but she was backstopping a team that struggled throughout the season en route to a 3-11-2 record. Former St. Cloud netminder Julie Friend is also on the roster.

THE COMPETITION

Boston Pride: The Pride has outstanding goaltending between former NWHL Goaltender of the Year Brittany Ott and Boston College standout Katie Burt. The blueline is led by Warroad’s Gigi Marvin. Up front, Boston has dangerous forward threats like Haley Skarupa, Amanda Pelkey, and Jillian Dempsey. The team should be better than its 4-8-4 record last season, in no small part because of Burt. The team struggled to keep pucks out of the net when Ott wasn’t between the pipes.

Buffalo Beauts: The big get for the Beauts — owned by Pegula Sports, which also owns the Sabres, Bills, and Rochester Americans — may be U.S. National Team goaltender Nicole Hensley and legendary Canadian netminder Shannon Szabados. They’re also carrying plenty of offensive in Julianna Iafallo, Kelly Babstock, and former Gopher Dani Cameranesi. However, the big threat in Buffalo is a deep blueline, led by Emily Pfalzer with Lisa Chesson, Jordyn Burns, and the underrated Blake Bolden.

Connecticut Whale: The only of the original four teams without an Isobel Cup looks like one of the weaker teams again this year. Yet, there’s plenty of talent and faces Minnesotans will recognize, like former Bulldogs forwards Michelle Löwenhielm and Katerina Mrázová. It’ll still be tough sledding for the Whale this year.

Metropolitan Riveters: Their partnership with the New Jersey Devils may serve as a blueprint for the partnership between the Wild and Whitecaps. (Both NWHL teams play in the practice facility of their NHL partner.) It’s served the Riveters well. They enter the season as the reigning Isobel Cup champions. The Rivs return players from last year’s squad, as well as Olympian Amanda Kessel, who played with the Riveters the season prior.

The team also carries a loaded blueline with Kelsey Koelzer, Michelle Picard, Kiira Dosdall, and former Badger Jenny Ryan. But there’s plenty of offense in long-time Riveter Madison Packer, Erika Lawler, Rebecca Russo, Miye D’Oench and others. Along with the Beauts, the Riveters are the team to beat.

The post Meet the Whitecaps appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Goals by Katie McGovern, Hannah Brandt, Kate Schipper and Kendall Coyne Schofield lead Minnesota over Amanda Kessel and the Metro Riveters while goaltender Amanda Leveille sparkles in the shutout win.

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