UNO’s Frozen Four bandwagon has room and a Minnesota accent

The 2015 NCAA men’s hockey tournament was not kind to schools based in the Land of 10,000 Lakes despite its members comprising 25 percent of the 16-team field. On successive days March 27-28, Minnesota, Minnesota State, Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud State’s bids to reach the Frozen Four in Boston each came to an abrupt and unceremonious end.

Although this marks the first Frozen Four without a Minnesota school since the forgettable 2010 Ford Field debacle (are you with me, Wisconsin fans?), fear not, as the State of Hockey will not go unrepresented in Beantown.

For those still reeling from the sting of elimination looking for a reason to watch the TD Garden party with Barry Melrose on mute, I submit to you: The University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks.

A contingent of eight Minnesota-bred players, coached by International Falls native, and former Gopher, Dean Blais, traveled to Boston this week as members of the Mavericks.

Duluth’s Jake Randolph, Tanner Lane of Detroit Lakes, Eden Prairie’s Luc Snuggerud, Avery Peterson of Grand Rapids, Woodbury’s Jake Guentzel, Rochester’s Tyler Vesel, Lakeville’s Justin Parizek and Matt Youso from International Falls made the trip to Massachusetts. In addition, Blais is assisted by former Minnesota State star and head coach Troy Jutting from Richfield.

To be fair, seven Minnesotans dot North Dakota’s Frozen Four roster but crafting a compelling argument convincing Minnesotans to rally around a UND title bid is akin to attempting to coerce a Yankee fan to cheer for the Red Sox in October.

Nebraska Omaha’s Minnesotans have been anything but bit players, mind you, with four of UNO’s top six goal scorers and five of its top seven point producers calling Minnesota home. At the top of that list is Guentzel , an All-NCHC Honorable Mention honoree who leads the Mavericks with 38 points on 13 goals and 25 assists in 35 games.

Blais, who won two NCAA titles (1997 and 2000) in 10 seasons with North Dakota, said when diving into Minnesota’s deep talent pool he seeks a specific type of player.

“If they don’t look like they have the passion for the game and they’ve got a history of having to motivate them with a cattle prod, those aren’t the type of players that will play for me,” Blais punned. “The players here that are Minnesota products have always wanted to do anything they can to win.

“And you check the guys on our roster and they all kind of fit that mold.”

Boston bound

The Mavericks (20-12-6, 12-10-4 NCHC) finished third in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference regular season standings but were swept at home in the first round of the NCHC playoffs by St. Cloud State. Despite sitting out the NCHC’s Frozen Faceoff at Target Center, UNO received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Regional in South Bend, Ind.

“It was really a time for us to get back to work and get everyone healthy and kind of regain our confidence and go back to the fundamentals we’ve been working on all year,” Parizek, a sophomore forward, said about the two week layoff between games. “Obviously, it paid off in South Bend and we’ve got to take it to the Frozen Four.”

After dispatching Harvard 4-1 in the first round, only No. 16 seed R.I.T., upset winners over top-seeded Minnesota State, stood in the way of the Mavericks’ first trip to the Frozen Four. The teams played a scoreless first two periods but UNO scored four times in the third for a historic 4-0 win.

Although just five of Randolph’s 26 points are goals, the freshman’s fifth turned out to be the game winner in the third period against Tigers and currently stands as, arguably, the most important tally in program history.

“It was kind of shocking, I mean, I usually don’t score a goal like that,” Randolph said of his one-timer from above the circles. “Usually if I’m scoring a goal it’s around the net getting knocked down. It was special; I’ll definitely never forget it. It’s definitely my most favorite goal to date.”

Snuggerud , an NCHC All-Rookie Team selection, and Parizek assisted on Randolph’s goal while Snuggerud helped out on Parizek’s goal later in the period, as did Guentzel who finished the regional-clinching win with a pair of assists.

“It seemed like everything was clicking once we got that first one and that’s going to be important, too, in these next games is just trying to score that first goal,” Randolph said.

Family Ties

UNO’s Jake Guentzel, a sophomore from Woodbury, Minn., leads the Mavericks in scoring with 38 points heading into the Frozen Four. (MHM file photo / Jordan Doffing)

Heading into the postseason, Guentzel wasn’t even the best bet in his family to reach the national semifinals. His father Mike is Don Lucia’s long-time assistant at Minnesota and briefly assisted Blais at UNO (2010-11).

“He’s the biggest influence on my life,” said Guentzel, an All-State performer as a junior at Hill-Murray. “He’s been there since day one and without him I have no idea where I’d be in hockey or in life. He teaches me all of the little things to be successful and I’m very fortunate to have someone like him.”

The Gophers, fresh off sweeping the Big Ten’s regular season and tournament titles, were viewed as more likely to reach their 22^nd Frozen Four than the Mavericks were to make their first appearance in three trips to the NCAA Tournament (2006 and 2010). But Minnesota-Duluth eliminated the Gophers in the tournament opener for both teams.

“If we both would have made Boston, that would’ve been pretty special,” Guentzel said. “It would’ve been a cool moment to share with him but he’ll be there supporting me so it’ll be pretty special to see him there.”

Guentzel’s brothers Gabe (Colorado College) and Ryan (Notre Dame) also played Division I hockey with Ryan reaching the Frozen Four in St. Paul with the Irish in 2011.

Randolph, son of legendary Duluth East coach Mike, is also a product of a successful coaching pedigree and says no one knows his game more than his dad.

“I talk to him every day, whether it’s texting him over the phone or calling him for an hour, and we’ll just talk hockey,” Randolph said. “He watches every single game and tells me what I need to do and what I can improve on and makes sure I never get satisfied.

“I’m really lucky to have him in my corner.”

Home away from home

Like many of his teammates Randolph was also fortunate to have some familiar faces in his corner when he arrived on campus last summer. Having grown up playing either with or against one another on elite level teams throughout their youth and high school careers, the Minnesota kids, for the most part, weren’t complete strangers prior to landing in Omaha.

Nebraska Omaha’s Justin Parizek (25) and Jake Randolph (13) celebrate Parizek’s goal against Minnesota-Duluth during a game in November. (Photo by Michelle Bishop / Special to MHM)

“I remember seeing in the summer how many Minnesota guys we actually have, which is odd for a Nebraska Omaha team,” Randolph said. “Guys like Parizek and Guentzel helped me a lot in my transition. It’s been fun with them.”

“I knew Randolph from Duluth East and I knew Tyler [Vassel] from Rochester and we all knew each other,” said Parizek who rooms with Youso. “So, I mean, you kind of become friends right off the bat just being all from Minnesota.”

While their allegiance is clearly to the team as a whole, the players acknowledged a special bond with their Minnesota brethren, especially when early March rolls around.

“I would say I hang out with pretty much any of my teammates, that means if they’re from Minnesota, California or Canadian,” Parizek said. “But it’s been really nice to have a lot of Minnesota guys on the same team because, obviously, you’ve got a lot of familiar things to talk about and when the state tournament’s going on, the rest of the team’s telling us to shut up.”

“We were talking about [the state tournament] for a couple weeks leading up to it and guys from out of Minnesota just could not stand it,” Randolph said. “They could not stand hearing the talk about the tourney because they just don’t understand how special that was to us and how cool of a venue it is.”

Guentzel, Parizek and Randolph each said they’ve been blown away by the outpouring of support they’ve received from back home leading up to and since their regional win. The college hockey prognosticators have not been nearly as kind, however, but the Mavericks don’t mind a bit and look forward to continuing their bracket-busting run.

“Nobody’s picked us all year and we like it, it’s motivated us,” Randolph said. “Nobody’s going to pick us against Providence either, that’s just how it goes. We’ve embraced that role all year and we love it.

“We just laugh it off and prove them wrong.”

When Guentzel takes the ice in Boston this week, sage advice from his father will accompany him.

“You can’t be tight and nervous, you’ve got to have fun and just make the most of the opportunity,” Guentzel said. “Obviously, it doesn’t happen very often and we’re just so close right now, so why not finish it off.”

The post Let’s go … Mavs? appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

While at home in Des Moines Ryan Walters has his sights set on St. Paul

DES MOINES – Four years removed from a starring role with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League, Rosemount, Minn. native Ryan Walters has returned to Des Moines to play for the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League as a member of the Minnesota Wild organization.

The former University of Nebraska-Omaha star, and Hobey Baker Award candidate joins the Wild this season after playing 11 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL last year where he tallied three points (one goal, two assists) and a minus-7 rating.

“Well it’s always nice to play for your hometown,” Walters said. “All your friends go to the games and watch and they hear the news and they’re all excited for you and so it was a good feeling, and also since all summer I really didn’t know where I was going to end up, I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity than to stay home and stay close and get things rolling.”

The 23-year-old forward said that having previously lived in Des Moines has made both the transition to the Wild and coming back to Des Moines easier.

“It only took me about 10 minutes to drive around and then all the streets started coming back to me and knowing my whereabouts and different landmarks and things like that,” Walters said. “And plus with my billet family down here it’s nice to see them and go out to dinner with them every once in a while, it just makes it a pretty good time I guess.

“It’s close to home which is really nice,” Walters said. “My parents, I know, enjoy coming to games so it should make for an easy trip for them, and just knowing the city and being here previously, it’s made the transition easier.”

The Wild played their first NHL game in 2000, but even before that Walters and his father got to go to the Xcel Energy Center during its construction where they met Gordie Howe and stood next to the Stanley Cup. Walters said he has been to “a handful of games” in St. Paul ever since.

Walters recalled a game when a friend and high school classmate, who was a family friend of former Minnesota Wild goaltender Dwayne Roloson, got tickets for them to go into the locker room after a game, meet some of the players and were shown around.

During the 2009-10 season, his third and final year with the Buccaneers, he finished second on the team in four stat categories: goals (21), assists (40), points (61) and penalty minutes (102).

At UNO, Walters showed strong progression between his freshman and junior years tallying 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) his freshman year and 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) his sophomore year before breaking out for 52 points (22 goals, 30 assists) as a junior. Walters’ senior season, however, saw a decline in his production as he tallied just 34 points including just seven goals, the lowest season output of any of his four years as a Maverick.

“Ryan had a little bit of a tough year last year compared to being the returning leading scorer his senior year,” said Dean Blais, Walters’ coach at UNO. “So he was expecting All-American, Hobey Baker-type stats because he’s always been a goal scorer. Josh Archibald was our player last year that scored the big goals and signed with Pittsburgh, whereas Ryan got a little bit of a wakeup call for whatever reason.

“Obviously, he’s been a good hockey player and he’s had to prove it a little bit this year to get that contract with the Wild.”

Walters scored his first goal in an Iowa Wild sweater in a preseason game against the Chicago Wolves on Oct. 1 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, a game the Wild won 7-4.

Iowa Wild coach Kurt Kleinendorst said Walters has had a “knack for scoring” so far this preseason.

“He’s got a nice touch with the puck, he’s a very intelligent player,” Kleinendorst said. “The one thing that we’ll have to find out, that we will find out as we move forward is the pace of the game and is he able to play the game with pace. Can he survive in a game that is fast and for the most part furious because he does a lot of things well.”

Kleinendorst said that the things Walters will have to work on are his strength and his skating, foot speed and quickness.

Despite his down year with UNO as a senior, Blais thinks Walters could get back to scoring big-time goals for the Iowa Wild and eventually find himself in a Minnesota Wild jersey.

“In juniors he led Des Moines (USHL) in scoring, he led us in scoring, so it doesn’t surprise me that he might make the Wild,” Blais said. “He might go to Iowa starting out but I think, as the year goes, he’s going to score big goals. He might be Iowa’s leading scorer and eventually end up in the [Minnesota] Wild jersey.”

Walters said it’s exciting to have the potential for his next step be to play for his hometown team, the team he went to watch play when he was a kid.

“Playing in front of your hometown fans, it’s something you always think about growing up as a kid,” Walters said. “It’s one of your goals and now that it’s actually here and could happen, it’s really nice.”

The post Homeward Bound? appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Featured Image:
Nebraska Omaha’s Josh Archibald sets up in front of the Cornell net in the Mavericks’ Oct. 25 game vs. the Big Red.
(MHM Photo/Jordan Doffing)

Some people have a knack for finding their own path to success, steering clear of the norm and defying expectations. Josh Archibald is one of these people.

Although it hasn’t always been by design, it’s hard to argue with the results to this point for the University of Nebraska Omaha forward. The junior who hails from Brainerd, Minnesota via Canada, is likely to find his way to the NHL as well but it’s the route to his ultimate destination which, if history is any indication, will surely be fascinating to watch.

The 5’11”, 176 pound Archibald is on a tear this season for the Mavericks. On Saturday night against North Dakota, he notched his second hat trick in two weeks in UNO’s come-from-behind 6-3 win over UND to vault himself to the top of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s leaderboard with 21 goals. His 32 overall points trail only Miami’s Riley Barber (36) and Austin Czarnik (34) for the season.

The goals were No.’s 48, 49 and 50 of his career behind only Scott Parse (79), David Brisson (65), Jeff Hoggan (61), Brandon Scero (55) and Mick Lawrence (51) for sixth on Nebraska Omaha’s all-time list. Should Archibald return for his senior season, Parse’s team record is well within range.

Archibald had no idea he had reached the 50-goal plateau until he was congratulated by a teammate and he says he doesn’t get caught up in personal milestones.

“I’m more about the team, I’d rather see us go as far as the NCAA tournament and do well there,” Archibald said. “But it’s pretty cool to be included in an elite club like that and I’m pretty honored to be able to be up there with everybody.”

Unfortunately for UNO coach Dean Blais, a first-period ejection for the former North Dakota coach sent him to, of all places, the Zamboni room where he watched Archibald’s natural hat trick on television. Blais, on the other hand, doesn’t need to witness Archibald’s abilities firsthand to appreciate the tools he possesses.

“He can score in tight, he can score on backhands and he can put the puck away at top speed, whatever the goaltender gives him,” Blais said. “He’s got good hands and he’s got good hockey sense.”

Archibald is not the first in his family to be coached by Blais as his father, Jim Archibald, played under Blais (1981-85) when the latter served as an assistant to then North Dakota coach Gino Gasparini. While the elder Archibald is UND’s all-time leader in career penalties (247) and career penalty minutes (540), which remains an NCAA record this day, he too demonstrated a penchant for scoring.

“Jimmy was either taking a penalty or scoring a goal,” Blais recalled of the sixth-year coach at Brainerd High School where he has a .711 winning percentage (96-39-0). “In today’s game you can’t play like that anymore, you’d be in [the penalty box] all night long or they’d kick you out of hockey.”

Archibald says he’s seen plenty of video of his dad from his playing days and is familiar with his tough-guy rep and penalty record.

“But if you look at my dad’s stats, too, I think he had thirty-some goals his senior year, so he was either getting a penalty or scoring goals,” Archibald said. “I think a little bit of both rubbed off on me, you know, I can put the puck in the net when I get chances and also go in the corners and muck and grind if I have to.”

For Archibald, picking up a hat trick in a hostile environment like Grand Forks was satisfying but he said he didn’t view it as a chance rub his dad’s face in the fact he netted three against his alma mater.

“He’s pretty supportive about anything I do and he was happy that we won too,” Achibald revealed about his father who played 16 games over three seasons (1984-87) with the Minnesota North Stars who selected him in the seventh round (No. 139 overall) in the 1981 NHL Draft. “He’s a true UND fan and everything but, when it comes to me, he’s always on my side no matter what.”

Blais says Josh is a lot like his father in his game preparation and the way he plays with his speed.

“Josh is an intense player that is fast like his dad was but Josh is, I think, a little bit faster from a standstill,” Blais said. “When he gets going he can beat you to the outside and make things happen.”

Fellow junior forward Dominic Zombo says his teammate, linemate and roommate possesses what he likes to refer to as “dynamic” speed.

“He can take sort of a nothing play and use his speed to take someone wide and make something happen at the net and that’s a huge threat,” Zombo said. “Teams have to be aware that his speed is a huge factor and helps us out a lot.”

Not only did Josh’s father attend North Dakota, his mother Anne went to UND where she competed as a swimmer. Given that fact, UND would certainly benefit from a subtle, or not so subtle, nudge from mom and dad in recruiting, right?

Not so fast, this is Josh Archibald and his is not the beaten path. But he says his parents never pressured him toward the relatively short drive to Grand Forks and that Nebraska Omaha’s “smaller atmosphere for being such a big school” influenced his decision.

“They were behind me no matter where I went and they were just happy that I got the opportunity to play for a Division I college hockey team,” Archibald said. “I think one of my main things was my dad had such great things to say about coach Blais. I wanted to get the best coaching experience I could possibly get and I think coming to UNO and having Blais as a coach was one of the factors.”

“He’s awful proud of the tradition up at North Dakota and North Dakota was one of the schools, along with Duluth, that he was considering,” Blais said. “He just felt more comfortable, I think, at Omaha; he thought Omaha was maybe a better fit for him at the time.”

Archibald watches his penalty shot elude Cornell goaltender Andy Iles on Oct. 25, 2013.
(MHM Photo/Jordan Doffing)

Archibald is somewhat of a rarity in college hockey in that he made the jump straight from high school to Division I and found himself a boy among men who, like him, were freshmen but had spent a year or two experiencing the rigors of a junior hockey schedule. Zombo enrolled at UNO with Archibald, but as a freshman who had taken the junior hockey rout. He said the difference was noticeable.

“It’s safe to say he was definitely younger and maybe not as mature as some of us coming in,” Zombo said. “When he came in he was still pretty much just like a kid … but he’s just grown into that college game and grown up really fast.”

Archibald says he thinks a lot has changed about him since arriving at UNO

“Coming in here as a freshman, I was 17, 18 years old and now just being older and more mature, I got bigger and I’d like to think I got a little bit smarter.”

Zombo and Archibald spent a short time at the end of their freshman year skating together but their on-ice chemistry blossomed as sophomores with the two spending the entire season on the same line. Now as roommates, the college buddies have forged a friendship sure to extend long after they leave the UNO campus.

“It’s definitely a friendship that I’m going to take to my grave and will never forget about it,” Archibald said. “He’ll be one of my best friends throughout the rest of my life.”

Drafted by Muskegon of the USHL, Archibald had the option to spend his senior year playing junior hockey. But he says being a standout senior playing for his father better served his development than a season as an average USHL player.

“Not to take anything away from USHL coaches or that league or anything but, for me, I just felt like being able to stay home in Minnesota and play in the [Upper Midwest High School] Elite League in the fall and play for my high school would benefit me a little bit more than going to the USHL and maybe playing on a third line.”

Not only did he spurn the USHL, unlike many of the state’s elite players in recent years, he couldn’t even say it was due to a desire to play with the friends he grew up with much like many of the star senior players so often do. He was born in and grew up outside of Regina, Saskatchewan where he played all of his youth or, as they say in Canada, minor hockey and only played his high school hockey in Minnesota.

Despite not being listed among the 210 North American skaters included in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings as a senior, Archibald again found the road less traveled to his liking when he was selected in the sixth round (174th overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2011 NHL Draft.

Fortunately for Archibald, he had a well-respected advocate right in his back yard. Chuck Grillo, owner of Minnesota Hockey Camps in nearby Nisswa, had the opportunity to observe Archibald regularly in his position as an amateur scout for the Penguins and clearly had Pens GM Ray Shero’s ear.

“He called me on draft day and it was right when they were going to select me and he basically just said, ‘How would you feel being a Pittsburgh Penguin?’” Archibald recounted. “He just held up the phone and they announced my name.

“It was a surreal moment for me and definitely a dream come true.”

Blais is confident, with another year to mature and some added bulk to his frame to allow him to endure the 82-game NHL schedule, Archibald will be ready to step into the Pittsburgh lineup following his senior season.

“When he signs he’ll be ready, they’ll put a uniform on him and he’ll play the game,” Blais said.

The post Path to success is unique for Nebraska Omaha’s Josh Archibald appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.