SAINT PAUL — There’s an age-old adage that says “success breeds success” and, while that may be true, it also has a way of breeding nearly as much contempt. The University of St. Thomas experienced both sides of that coin over the course of several decades of athletic dominance at the Division III level.

But a new era has dawned for St. Thomas, which now faces the reality of playing the role of David in a world of Goliaths at the Division I level beginning with the 2021-22 sports season. With the puck having already dropped on both the Tommies men’s and women’s hockey seasons, it’s a role the school, the players and its fans have already embraced.

Both teams went from the frying pan and into the fire in their respective opening weekends.

The women opened on the road against Ohio State, the NCAA’s current No. 3-ranked team, and were swept by the Buckeyes. The Tommies bounced back the following weekend at home against Bemidji State, winning the second game of the series 2-1 on Luci Bianchi’s third-period goal for its first Division I win and a series split.

The men, meanwhile, faced second-ranked St. Cloud State in a home-and-home series culminating with the Tommies hosting the Huskies at Xcel Energy Center. The Tommies got themselves in penalty trouble in St. Cloud, falling 12-2 thanks in no small part to seven Husky power-play goals. The following night was a different story as St. Thomas played a more disciplined game and hung in there with St. Cloud State before falling by a 2-0 margin in front of 4,261 mostly Tommie fans. 

St. Thomas coach Rico Blasi, who led Miami (Ohio) University to 10 NCAA tournament and two Frozen Four appearances, including one championship game, took note of the fan support and even singled out the student section. 

“I’m super excited for our program, I’m super excited for our university,” Blasi said. “All the people have been working extremely hard for this transition and to have that kind of support is really going to show you what St. Thomas is going to be all about.”

The post Tommies Take Center Stage appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

But you can enjoy the FREE digital copy below right now. If you like what you see, and we know you will, you can have each monthly issue delivered directly to you inbox throughout the hockey season. 

Simply click HERE to begin your FREE digital subscription.  

Enjoy!

The post MHM October 2018 College/Pro Preview appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Gopher goalie Sidney Peters wins 2018 Hockey Humanitarian Award

Northeastern’s Adam Gaudette wins Hobey Baker Award 

St. Paul — Sidney Peters woke up Friday, April 6 with a notification on her phone for a missed call. It was the phone call she’d hoped for and put so much work in for.

The University of Minnesota goaltender, who just wrapped up her collegiate career less than a month ago in the NCAA quarterfinals, was informed she’d been accepted to the Uniformed Services University in Maryland. There, Peters will continue her education for a career in medicine while serving in the Air Force.

And to top the day off, Peters accepted the Hockey Humanitarian Award Friday evening at Roy Wilkins Auditorium.

“Today has been the coolest day of my life,” said Peters, who came to Minnesota from Geneva, Ill. “I had a missed call from the Dean at the Uniformed Services University so I called him back and he offered me a spot with the Air Force. It’s the coolest accomplishment I’ve been a part of.”

The award honors “the college hockey player that most personifies true community spirit through the selfless commitment of leadership, effort and time” and players, male or female, in all three divisions are eligible. Peters won the award over Camil Blanchet (Bowdoin College), Courtney Pensavelle (Yale), Luke Rivera (SUNY Fredonia) and Lauren Spring (Ohio State).

Peters’ numbers may not have been considered the elite of the elite her senior season, but they were certainly above average and provided the Gophers with a backbone on which to build their 24-11-3 season.

She posted a 1.93 goals against average (18th-best in the country) and a .922 save percentage, numbers that give any team a chance to be successful, but it takes a lot more than these statistics to win this award.

How about 830 volunteer hours served in various communities for a qualifying stat? Peters is a certified Emergency Medical Technician with the U of M Emergency Medical Services, working on campus and namely Gophers football games.

“We work with a lot of drunk kids,” said Peters, a kinesiology major with a minor in biology. “I also work a lot in one of the hospitals on campus.”

Peters volunteers with Maroon and Gold Impacting the Community (a development program that sends student-athletes all over the Twin Cities to schools and children’s hospitals). She was also a goaltending coach at Hockey Ministries International in Chicago, but the defining piece of volunteer work she’s completed was an eight-day trip to Haiti to help serve with her favorite charity, Project Medishare in 2016.

The Hockey Humanitarian Foundation donated $3,000 to Project Medishare on Peters’ behalf.

“I felt like I came away with a lot of lessons and a new perspective on my career and life in general,” Peters said. “It makes a bad day at the rink not look that bad at all.

“It also made me realize there’s so many people out there that we can help and there’s so much more we can do.”

And with all that on the schedule, one could wonder how she ever found time for hockey.

“It’s difficult, but it’s rewarding. I got used to working with half a battery,” Peters said. “I’ve enjoyed the last five years. I wish I had more time in college, but I know with this next step, I’ll have more opportunities to be excited about.”

Peters has wasted no time moving on to a new chapter in her life, completely different from goaltending, now that her hockey career is complete. She’ll complete officer training school in Alabama this summer before school starts in August in Maryland.

“I just left my team a month ago, so to find a new team to find a new team to group of people to care about will be special,” Peters said.

The Humanitarian Award announcement proceeded the unveiling of the men’s AHCA Division I All-Americans.

Northeastern forward and D-I leading scorer (30 goals and 30 assists in 38 games) Adam Gaudette earned the Hobey Baker Award, edging Henrik Borgstrom of Denver and Harvard’s Ryan Donato.

Gaudette is the first Northeastern player to receive the award and was the only finalist to attend the ceremony. It was the first time in Hobey history that two out of the three finalists had to miss the presentation. Borgstrom (Florida) and Donato (Boston) are playing for NHL teams competing for playoff positions.

Minnetonka native Jimmy Schuldt (St. Cloud State defenseman) and Forest Lake native C.J. Suess (Minnesota State forward), both First-Team All-Americans, were the Minnesotans among the top 10 finalists.

The post A Heart Of Gold appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

St. Cloud State’s Judd Peterson tangles with Minnesota State’s Jake Jaremko in MSU’s 5-2 win over SCSU on Saturday night in St. Cloud’s Herb Brooks National Hockey Center (Photo by Maddie MacFarlane)

Minnesota State’s fast start leads to a win in St. Cloud on Hockey Day

It may have been Hockey Day but the No. 9 Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks spoiled the No. 3 St. Cloud Huskies host-city fun in a MSU 5-2 win.

A packed house of over 5,500 people filled the Herb Brooks National Hockey and Event Center to see the Huskies take on the Mavericks, but a slow start out of the gate doomed SCSU’s chances from the get-go.

Minnesota State quieted the St. Cloud faithful with two goals in the first period. Freshman defenseman Connor Mackey scored the game’s first goal 93-seconds in and Zeb Knutson netted a power play goal at 13:56, giving Mankato a 2-0 lead.

“They had zip the whole game,” St. Cloud junior Robby Jackson said. “They came in ready to storm our arena and we weren’t ready. It’s something we struggled with all year is slow starts and we don’t know whether it’s preparation or pregame warmup or what it is. It’s something that we’re definitely going to address ’cause we’re not going to win anything this year if we come out with a slow first twenty minutes.”

Knutson knew a fast start was necessary if they wanted to come out on top.

“We knew it was going to be a sold out barn and they really draw from their crowd,” Knutson said. “We knew it was important to try and get on it right away in the first five minutes and get the first one. And for Mackey to take that down the wall and sneak one in there, I think it was huge for our team. A little bit of a relief, but at the same time, it got us going. We were like, ‘hey, here we go now, let’s just stay on it here and keep playing our game.’ That next one, [Brickley] makes an unbelievable pass to me and I was lucky to bury it and give us the two-goal lead.”

After drawing a penalty in the early stages of the second period, St. Cloud couldn’t muster a goal on the man advantage. Shortly after killing the penalty, Jake Jaremko of Minnesota State snuck a puck past Jeff Smith and the Mavericks once again had a two-goal lead.

With Smith allowing three goals before the game’s halfway mark, head coach Bob Motzko made a change in net and freshman David Hrenak relieved Smith. The move provided a jolt for the team, because less than a minute after the change, Jackson cut the deficit back to one goal.

Hrenak continued to stop pucks, but at the 15:00 mark of the second period he was hung out to dry and Knutson took advantage for his second tally of the evening. The Mavericks skated into the second intermission up 4-2.

Neither team generated much offense in the first ten minutes of play during the final period. Finally at the 11:55 mark, SCSU drew a power play. Despite putting a few shots on goal, the Huskies weren’t able to crack LaCouvee.

“I thought he was solid,” Mavericks coach Mike Hastings said about his goaltender. “You need goaltending. Late in the season when you play a team like St. Cloud they’re going to make pushes and you’ve got to find a way to keep it out of your net. Us giving up the late one, I was wondering if here comes the proverbial snowball down the hill, but we went to the break and did a good job coming out of that period and getting to the next one.

St. Cloud made a last-ditch effort in the final five minutes. Jackson nearly was inches from netting his second goal of the game and Motzko even pulled Hrenak for an extra-attacker with under two-minutes remaining.

Despite the man advantage, St. Cloud wasn’t able to pull off the comeback, falling to 14-5-3 (8-3-1 in conference play) on the season.

Meanwhile, Minnesota State improved to 18-7-0 (15-5-0 in conference play) and appears to be a force to be reckoned with as the NCAA Tournament in March.

The post MSU plays spoiler appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

SCSU women work overtime to beat Bulldogs by a nose

St. Cloud — The St. Cloud State Huskies and the University of Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey teams enjoyed the great outdoors so much they didn’t want to leave. Sixty minutes plus overtime wasn’t enough to decide the Hockey Day Minnesota encounter, with the game not decided until the sixth round of the shootout.

SCSU captain Brittney Anderson’s goal turned out to be the game winner after Huskies’ goaltender Janine Alder stopped UMD’s Sydney Brodt to seal the 2-1 victory for the hosts on Saturday afternoon along the frozen shores of Lake George.

“You know, I always tell myself not to do it ‘cause it doesn’t work,” Anderson said. “But I always go to that so yes, I’d say that’s my go-to move. I’ll change it [now].”

Alder and fellow St. Cloud State goaltender Emma Polusny split time in the SCSU net and combined for 43 saves to stymie the Bulldogs’ offense.

St. Cloud State coach Eric Rud was very proud of his team’s effort.

Minnesota Duluth’s Naomi Rogge celebrates her goal in UMD’s 2-1 overtime loss to St. Cloud State on Hockey Day Minnesota in St. Cloud. (Photo by Tom Kolehmainen / Breakdown Sports USA)

“For our athletes it was truly a special moment,” Rud said. “We don’t get this kind of fanfare a lot and media coverage and all that. I was very proud of the way they came focused and ready to go. We were able to enjoy the experience and still play well at the same time so it was really fun.”

Sophomore Hallie Theodosopoulos opened the scoring for St. Cloud at the 4:42 mark of the first period and the Huskies held that lead heading into the first intermission.

However the Bulldogs’ offense came out firing in the second period, racking up 19 shots and eventually Naomi Rogge netted an equalizer at the 11:00 mark. After forty minutes of play, UMD chalked up 30 shots on net to just 12 by SCSU.

Rogge said after the game that the excitement of playing on Hockey Day reminded her of her youth.

“It was kind of indescribable” Rogge said. “You know you’ve always kind of dreamed of being to be able to be in Hockey Day and being able to get a goal to get our team back even. It was pretty exciting.”

The post Huskies Win Dogfight appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Simply click HERE to begin your FREE digital subscription.  

Enjoy!

The post MHM January 2018 Mike Randolph Special appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Minnetonka’s Presley Norby adjusting well to unfamiliar role with Badgers

MADISON — For a rookie, the learning curve can be steep. It’s why preseason rookie of the year predictions are so rarely correct in college. But Badger freshman and 2016 Ms. Hockey Award winner Presley Norby is taking that curve with aplomb.

Now halfway through the season, Norby is looking less and less like a freshman skating on a line with seniors Sarah Nurse and Sydney McKibbon. “I definitely feel a lot more confident,” she said after the Badgers’ record-breaking “Fill the Bowl” game. “I’m just more comfortable with the team, more comfortable with being in college, more comfortable with all the little things in school.

“With time, you experience new things and learn how to deal with them and have some adversity.”

Norby isn’t just embracing the opportunity to learn on and off the ice in Madison; she has excelled on a team where it can be difficult to stand out. Through 22 games, she has posted five goals and 15 points, which ranks fourth among all WCHA freshmen and seventh on the team. Additionally, her average of 3.26 shots per game leads all conference rookies.

Presley Norby winds up for a shot for Minnetonka in the 2015 Girls Class 2A state championship game against Hill-Murray. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

She’s already making big contributions to the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, but from afar, her arrival seems unlikely. She captained a strong Minnetonka team during her senior year of high school and won the 2016 Ms. Hockey Award. Crossing lines in the Border Battle isn’t the most well-worn path for a Minnesota high school standout. The last four Ms. Hockey Award winners — Taylor Williamson, Sydney Baldwin, Dani Cameranesi, and Hannah Brandt — all committed to the Gophers, as did seven of the eight winners prior to Norby.

“It seems like everyone from Minnesota goes to the U of M, but I actually visited [Madison] first of all my recruiting trips,” Norby says. “When I went here, I kind of compared everything to here and nothing really measured up for me. The coaching staff, facilities, campus, atmosphere of the school, just all the little things combined.”

It wasn’t just the little things, though. There was also a really big thing. There was the 2014 “Fill the Bowl” game that influenced her. The game set a NCAA attendance record, which was broken by the 2016 installment of the “Fill the Bowl” game. “I was actually at this game two years ago when I wasn’t committed yet and I was like, ‘Wow, I want to play in one of these games,’” she said. “How do you go in that arena and not want to be on the ice as a person that loves hockey? I said, this is a great atmosphere and a great campus and it’s really something that I want to be a part of.”

Her on-ice talent stood out immediately upon entering college hockey, grabbing the WCHA Rookie of the Month honor for September and October. But even with early honors, she’s maintained focus on learning and improvement. “We have a lot of really good leaders on this team,” she says. “Because my two linemates are both senior captains, they teach me a lot, even in the classroom and off the ice.

“I’ll ask a lot of questions. Or I won’t have to ask a question; they’ll let me know. But that’s part of the process. It’s also part of being a freshman and letting them lead. It’s OK for them to tell me what to do.”

It might seem like a small thing, but it can be a trying transition. Roles change between levels, but Norby has gone from being a captain of her high school team and an alternate captain of Team USA at the U18 Women’s World Championship, to being a rookie. “It’s definitely new to have a new role on a team,” she says. “I’m transitioning from being a leader to almost being a follower. But I’m also trying to keep those leadership qualities within myself, to do the little things right, work hard, try my best every day, be on time, just do all the little things that a leader would do and just kind of follow in our older leaders’ footsteps.”

So far, so good. The Badgers have incredible talent with upperclassmen like Nurse, McKibbon, Annie Pankowski, Emily Clark, Jenny Ryan, and Ann-Renee Desbiens. But it’s their depth that makes them almost impossible to shut down. Freshman like Norby, Abby Roque, and Mekenzie Steffen have been a significant part of the Badger attack, which comes in waves.

“It’s definitely a big transition [coming to college], but in hockey, there’s a lot of roles being played,” Norby said. “I kind of expected my role here and I’m just trying to do the best at that.”

The post Following to Lead appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

After lean times Minnesota State is rounding the corner

EDINA — Through the first half of the first semester, Minnesota State was predictably near the bottom of the WCHA. They swept a non-conference series against RIT and tied St. Cloud State. Otherwise, it was a loss-filled start to the season that saw them go 0-10-1 through their first 11 conference matches.

But then something happened.

The Mavericks started rounding the corner. Since that rough start, they’ve gone 3-2-0 in-conference and 4-4-1 overall. And it hasn’t been easy. They had to beat a resurgent Ohio Sate, a defensively sound Bemidji State, and the nationally-ranked Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

Minnesota State sophomore Corbin Boyd (Minnetonka) scored twice against No. 2 Minnesota in a Jan. 8 game at Edina’s Braemar Arena. (Photo courtesy of Minnesota State University Athletics / Mark Vasey)

Most recently, they returned from the midseason break and gave the Gophers a run for their money in the woefully named U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Women’s Face-Off Classic at Edina’s Braemar Arena. The Mavericks outshot the Gophers in the first period and closed the gap to 4-3 in the third when Corbin Boyd scored her second of the game (and season) with just 57 seconds remaining.

“I think we’ve gotten better and we’ve gained some confidence by those wins and it has made us a better team,” said second-year coach John Harrington after the game. “It’s such a big thing to have the confidence that you can win hockey games.”

Their success is one of the big variables as the second half kicks off. With wins against tough competition logged, could their continued success shake up the middle of the WCHA standings?

It may just be three conference wins, but don’t underestimate how significant that is. They didn’t win a single in-conference game last season. To find the last time the Mavericks beat a WCHA opponent you have to track back to the 2014-15 season and a Feb. 2 game against St. Cloud.

“I think it’s our experience,” Harrington said. “Last year, we only had one senior. We had 21 freshmen and sophomores. I think the one thing is just having that year under our belt, where we’re familiar with the league. We still only have three seniors on our team. We’re still a young team.

“We’ve had a lot of young players not only get the experience of being in the league but the experience of playing in a lot of situations. That’s helped us and certainly, we’ve had a couple freshmen who have come in and made some solid contributions.”

He may be underselling just how reliant they are on the team’s youth. Though their senior class includes goaltender Brianna Quade — who Harrington calls “the backbone” of the team — there is reason to believe their recent success matters.

Last year’s team included just four total upperclassmen. Of their 24 players this season, seven are juniors, eight are sophomores, and six are freshmen.

And it’s not just the raw numbers. The production is coming from their youth as well. Four of their top seven scorers are sophomores, including Emily Antony, who leads the team in goals (5) and points (12), as well as Boyd, who shares the team lead with Antony for assists (7). There isn’t a single senior in those top seven.

And having just three seniors is itself a rarity. Inside the WCHA, only Ohio State has fewer. After that, it’s UMD with five and the Gophers and Badgers with six each. The Mavericks are a young team and they’re getting key contributions on both offense and defense from young skaters.

“They compete real hard. They’re fast,” said Minnesota coach Brad Frost after the Gophers’ 5-3 win at the Hall of Fame Game. “They’re improving. You can see why they beat Duluth and you can see why they’ve gotten some conference wins this year.”

Nonetheless, the Mavericks are goal starved. Carrying an underwhelming 5.3 shooting percentage, they’re averaging just 1.27 goals per game, down from last year’s 1.52. But the defense is notably improved. They’re allowing just 3.14 goals against per game, which is the school’s lowest mark since the 2013-14 season when Danielle Butters (.924 save percentage in 30 games) and Erin Krichiver (.943 save percentage in eight games) made a huge difference in net.

Even more importantly, they’re not allowing as many shots to opponents. Last season they allowed 34.75 shots against per game, which was their best mark since prior to the 2012-13 season. This year, they’ve tamped that down to 29.75.

“They come at you hard on the forecheck with two and in their d-zone, it seems like they’re always on you,” said Frost. “It doesn’t maybe look as structured, but you just don’t have a lot of time and space with the puck. They do a nice job.”

Minnesota State might not be challenging for the national championship, but they’ve made some major strides. It’s starting to show up in the standings and in their underlying numbers.

With a team sporting 14 sophomores and freshmen, and only three seniors, they’re a team that could become a frustrating presence for the top dogs in years to come.

The post Mavs’ Changing Tide appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Scanlan, Fryklund bench pairing not all that sets Bemidji State apart

The Bemidji State women’s hockey program is unique. If you talk to anyone about the team you’ll hear that word pop up and it’s justified.

“Bemidji is a unique school in the WCHA,” Head Coach Jim Scanlan said before a November series against the Gophers. “Obviously you’ve got Big Ten schools, Big Ten programs, Big Ten cities. Duluth, Mankato, St. Cloud, Grand Forks, they’re all much bigger than Bemidji State. We’re a unique school in those terms. We’re smallest in terms of enrollments. We’re a small community.

“You’re not going up there for the malls.”

It’s not just the school’s location and size that sets it apart, though. The way the coaching staff came together isn’t a common story. It reveals a lot of what is special about the program and what has it poised for continued growth.

Scanlan took the head coach position in the summer of 2014 when Steve Sertich stepped down after eight years at the helm. Among the finalists for the position were Scanlan, a former goaltender for the Beavers, and Amber Fryklund, who was not only a former Beaver but also an assistant under Sertich.

When Scanlan took the job he asked both Fryklund and assistant Shane Venkeer, who also attended Bemidji State, to stay with the program. Fryklund became the Associate Head Coach.

“For me, it was real easy. I just hoped she would want to stay on. I never thought at one time of not asking her to stay or not be a part of the team based on what I was told.” – Jim Scanlan on Amber Fryklund

To read more of this article, and many other great stories like it, click HERE to view the January, 2017 issue of our digital magazine and subscribe to have future issues delivered directly to your email inbox. 

The post Uncommon Bond appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Julia Tylke has found her comfort zone in St. Cloud

It has not been an easy path for St. Cloud sophomore Julia Tylke. She battled depression in high school and almost didn’t get to play her freshman season because of NCAA rules. But one year after coming in second on the team in scoring, she’s leading the Huskies and sees a bright future for the program.

“Way different start [to this season]. I have none of the nerves I had last year,” she said following a weekend sweep at the hands of the Gophers. “When I was younger I played on teams [that were underdogs]. I played in an organization that was lower on the leaderboards and by the time I left we were competing at the top of the nation. I kind of like that position because it forces you to go outside your comfort zone and to really push yourself and your teammates. I like it a lot.”

Only 10 games into the season, her seven goals and nine points are both high-water marks for the Huskies. They’re also a sign of the kind of leader she has become. She admits to being a quiet leader who leads by example, but there’s no doubt she’s setting an example. “This summer, I really worked on what was working for me and what wasn’t, just building off of that,” she says. “I think it’s really translating well this season. I’m trying to keep that up.”

Her positivity isn’t just about the play she’s shown, but the team as a whole. St. Cloud entered the season having lost important senior talent, including leading scorer Molly Illikainen. “We did lose a lot, but I feel like we’ve got a lot of young players who are going to be moldable into great hockey players,” she says. “We’re off to a good start and a lot of our freshmen are stepping up and they’re going to be the future of the program. I think they’re doing very well right now.”

The Huskies occupy a difficult middle ground in the WCHA, arguably the nation’s toughest conference. They’re good enough to take a game from some of the conference’s best, like North Dakota and Duluth. And they’re a step above the teams at the bottom like Minnesota State and Ohio State, but it’s a tough conference to climb. The Badgers and Gophers have been ranked number one and two in the nation since the first preseason poll of the year.

“We’re definitely a team that has to build off what we have as of right now,” Tylke says. “We’re the underdogs.  We really have to step up this year. Already we’re doing a lot better than we were last year on the bench positivity-wise. Behind the scenes, everyone is putting in a lot of extra effort to be a better team than we have been in the past.”

Tylke is leading the way in her second season. Between her and freshman goaltender Janine Alder, who is off to an incredible start with a .939 save percentage and 1.84 goals-against average, they’re showing the framework for success this year and into the coming seasons.

Tylke is taking the lessons she learned as a freshman, helping the program to grow. “I’m just trying to do what I did last year, but to take it a step further. I definitely try to be a leader and try to keep my cool. I try to put in that extra effort, offering help to some of the freshmen if they want it.

“I learned a lot from Molly [Illikainen]. She was a really great leader,” Tylke says smiling. “If I had any questions, she went above and beyond to explain it so I got it and would try new things with me, really put me in my comfort zone, especially in the second half of the season. Having a leader like that was very comforting, because, as a freshman, it was very nerve-wracking to be where I was.”

Though the Huskies are still hoping to see more goals from some of last year’s top offensive producers, the underclassmen are a source of hope for the second half of the season and beyond. Freshman Brooke Kudrika has shown fantastic speed and an offensive game ready to bloom, as has sophomore Hannah Potrykus. They’re building the framework of a team capable of surprising expectations, even if the cards are stacked against them, for now.

The post Ready To Take The Lead appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.