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.”

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Swaney’s double-overtime winner lifts UMD to Frozen Faceoff title

St. Paul — With their NCAA tournament seeding secured and only Minnesota Duluth’s region placement fate to be determined there would not seem to be much to play for between St. Cloud State and UMD on a late March Saturday night in St. Paul. Don’t tell that to the Huskies and Bulldogs, though, as the two in-state, intra-conference rivals went at each other hard and fast in the first-ever NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship overtime game at Xcel Energy Center. 

“Anytime you get the top two teams in the country in the same building you know you’re going to have a good game,” UMD forward Billy Exell said. “When you get into these battles both teams are preparing and they don’t want to lose.”

But someone must lose and, in this battle between two NCAA tournament top seeds, Minnesota Wild prospect, and Lakeville native, Nick Swaney scored the game winner at 7:29 of overtime to give Minnesota Duluth a 3-2 win over the Huskies. The Bulldogs captured the school’s second Frozen Faceoff title overall and first since beating North Dakota 4-3 in the 2017 championship game.

“It’s certainly exciting to to win this championship again against a great team,” Minnesota Duluth coach Scott Sandelin said. “It didn’t look so good early but our guys just stuck with it and kind of grinded through it and found a way. We’ve played five times this year and we’ve had unbelievable games with them so I have a lot of respect for their team.”

Despite his team coming up short, first-year St. Cloud State coach Brett Larson, who until this season was an assistant under Sandelin at UMD, expressed what most observers of the game would say, regardless of the result.

“For me, being around college hockey for a long time, that was one hell of a hockey game,” St. Cloud State coach Brett Larson said. “Two unbelievable teams getting after it and if you’re a fan college hockey you like that one for sure.” 

The winning play began with UMD freshman forward Jesse Jacques blocking St. Cloud State Hobey Baker Award top 10 finalist Jimmy Schuldt’s shot which sparked a 2-0n-1 featuring fellow freshman Tanner Laderoute and Nick Swaney with SCSU freshman Spencer Meier the lone defenseman back. Laderoute picked the puck up at his own blue line, carried it into the Huskies’ zone and slid a pass to Swaney who lifted a short-side backhand shot past St. Cloud State goaltender David Hrenak.

“He made a great pass and I was fortunate to find the back of the net,” Swaney said of Laderoute. “It was all him.”

Swaney nearly did not get the opportunity to be the hero as the Bulldogs trailed the Huskies 2-1 with less than five minutes to play in regulation and Jacques in the penalty box serving a tripping penalty. But that’s when the UMD penalty kill, which limited SCSU to just one goal on six power-play chances, made its biggest play of the night.

Laderoute took advantage of a poor cross-ice pass by Jack Achan in his own zone, stole the puck and fed Exell between the circles who buried just his second of the year with 4:51 remaining to tie it up and eventually send the game to overtime. 

Even that goal may not have mattered had a bounce not gone UMD’s way in the third period.

After a scoreless second period, the Huskies started the third with 47 seconds of power-play time but only needed 28 seconds of it when Patrick Newell corralled a loose puck in the high slot, spun 180 degrees and fired a shot through traffic which beat Shepard for a 2-1 St. Cloud State lead. 

St. Cloud State nearly made it 3-1 midway through the final period when Blake Lizotte’s shot hit iron and the puck traveled post-to-post without going in. The official behind the net initially ruled it a goal but, after a lengthy review, the goal was overturned.

Newell said the Huskies, winners of 13 straight coming into the game, learned at the right time they are not invincible.

“We came with a 12 or 13 game win streak, two of those games were against that team and credit to them for for a hell of a battle,” Newell said. “Obviously, this one stings and it’s something that we really wanted to get done but, you know, luckily for us there’s more hockey to be played and that’s what we’re going to look forward to this week.”

The familiar foes were all square at 1-1 after 20 minutes with the Huskies applying heavy pressure to the tune of a 15-6 shots on goal advantage while the Bulldogs applied plenty of heavy hitting. Shepard stood tall in the opening period, keeping UMD close with 14 saves despite plenty of traffic in front of him.

“Well we didn’t have the puck in the first period so we had to do something,” Sandelin said of UMD’s physical opening period.

The Huskies struck first on a delayed tripping penalty on UMD’s Peter Krieger when Robby Jackson pounced on a rebound to tap in his 19th goal of the season at the 7:45 mark.

“We loved our jump, we were winning races to puck, we were getting there first.” Larson said.  “We had gone through four line changes before they had gone through two and hemmed them up in their zone pretty good.

“After that first 10, 12 minutes, I thought it was real even, really good hockey game but we really liked the momentum we created with the start.”

Per NCHC rules, Krieger still had to serve his time so SCSU was immediately a man up after Jackson’s goal. UMD’s physical play rolled on through the power play but it ultimately cost them when Louie Roehl was tagged for boarding with four seconds remaining on Krieger’s penalty. The officials reviewed Roehl’s hit but determined it not severe enough to be classified as a major.

With the teams skating 4-on-4 due to an Easton Brodzinski tripping call, St. Cloud State’s Nick Perbix nearly doubled his team’s lead when the freshman defenseman found a lane to the UMD net but was denied by Shepard. Just 14 seconds later, however, Minnesota Duluth picked up the equalizer on sophomore defenseman Mikey Anderson’s fifth of the season. 

UMD’s Parker Mackay banked a drop pass off the right wall in the SCSU zone to Scott Perunovich whose backhand pass found Anderson just off the bench and streaking across the blue line. Anderson quickly launched a blast from between the circles past Hrenak’s outstretched glove with 9:11 remaining in the period.

St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth head into the NCAA tournament next week as the top two overall seeds with Minnesota State right behind for a Minnesota top-3 sweep. The Mavericks rallied from a two goal deficit with under two minutes to play at home against Bowling Green on Saturday to win the WCHA championship in overtime as well.

“It was a big win for our guys,” Sandelin said. “It’s really exciting to move into the tournament after a win like this tonight.”

Note:

When the puck dropped to open  Saturday night’s game against St. Cloud State, 2018-19 ALL-NCHC first team goaltender Hunter Shepard made his 77th consecutive start for Minnesota Duluth dating back to Oct. 21, 2017. Shepard eclipses the mark set by current UMD volunteer goalie coach Brant Nicklin from Oct. 12, 1996 to March 15, 1998. 

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Shepard, UMD shut out DU to set up all-Minnesota NCHC final

St. Paul — Postseason goals in hockey are never easy to come by anyway but a playoff game featuring the reigning National Collegiate Hockey  Conference (NCHC) Goaltender of the Year going head-to-head with the 2018-19 NCHC All-Rookie Team goalie makes the task even that much more difficult. Minnesota Duluth’s Hunter Shepard and Denver University freshman Filip Larsson proved that and more in UMD’s 3-0 NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinal on Friday night at Xcel Energy Center.

The win sets up an all-Minnesota Frozen Faceoff championship game between the No. 4 Bulldogs (24-11-2) and No. 1 St. Cloud State (30-4-3) on Saturday night. The Huskies knocked off Colorado College 5-2 in the other semifinal on Friday afternoon.

“We played a lot of games that are really, really close and that’s kind of what it came down to again today,” Minnesota Duluth coach Scott Sandelin said. “But it took a good third period for our team to win and we’re excited about playing tomorrow.”

UMD freshman Cole Koepke’s shot past Larsson through a Parker Mackay screen 42 seconds into the third period turned out to be the game’s only goal scored with a goaltender in the crease. Sophomore defenseman Louie Roehl would later score into an empty net and Koepke would add his second of the game, and seventh of the season, into the same vacant Denver goal.

All three goals were unassisted.

Shepard and Larsson matched each other nearly save-for-save through two periods with Larsson making 21 stops to 19 for Shepard. UMD made a hard push late in the second but Larsson stood his ground and denied all comers. Shepard finished with 25 saves with Larsson stopping 30 UMD shots for the game.

“You gotta get in their good goalie’s space,” Sandelin said. “I thought they were doing a pretty good job of that and we weren’t and I thought we did a better job of that in the third period.”

Shepard, meanwhile withstood some flurries of his own and slammed the door on Cole Guttman’s breakaway opportunity 20 seconds into the second period.

“There’s a reason he’s, you know, won awards last night in this conference and I thought he was seeing the puck really well,” Denver coach David Carle said. “Did we have some second chance opportunities? Yeah, but he did a great job sealing the bottom of his net and, unfortunately, we weren’t able to get any past him.”

Added Sandelin on Shepard, “They were doing a good job around our net and that’s what you have to do against good goalie. It was it was nice to see Shep seeing the puck and making some of those saves for us because, again, that game could have gone either way.”

But it was UMD and Kopeke who broke through when the Hermantown native came off the bench, picked up a loose puck and, with Mackay blocking Larsson’s view, ended the stalemate.

“Larsson’s a great goalie and anytime you can try and take the goalie’s eyes away just increases your chance of scoring,” Koepke said. “So I thought Parker’s positioning was pretty, pretty key on that goal.”

Minnesota Duluth and Denver split their four regular-season meetings with Denver winning 2-0 and 1-0 games but this time the tables were turned.

“I thought it was a good hockey game, tight checking, similar to most of our games against Duluth,” Carle said. “There wasn’t a lot of time and space out there, it came down to execution and they made one more play than we did and that was ultimately all that was needed.”

The Bulldogs briefly thought they had taken a 2-0 lead when Jesse Jacques pounced on a loose puck behind Larsson. After a lengthy review, however, the officials ruled Riley Tufte had interfered with Larsson and the goal was overturned.

Minnesota Duluth now turns its attention to St. Cloud State, a team the Bulldogs have dropped three of four games to this season, although all were fairly tight games including a pair of 4-3 losses (one in overtime) two weeks ago in St. Cloud.

“We had two great games with them at the end of the year, so I expect it to be the same thing,” Sandelin said. “Hopefully, we can find a way to solve them, keep this going and, you know, keep building off of the last few games for our team.” 

 Photo Gallery by Rick Olson for Minnesota Hockey Magazine. Follow Rick on Twitter at @rickolson77.

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St. Cloud State back in NCHC Frozen Faceoff title game with 5-2 win over CC 

St. Paul — St. Cloud State and Colorado College faced each other four times during the regular season, twice with the Huskies ranked No. 2 in the country while Friday’s NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinal meeting marked the third time the Tigers took on SCSU as the nation’s top-ranked team. Each of the first four meetings saw St. Cloud State come from behind to beat the Tigers and the fifth time was no exception.

After spotting CC a lead midway through the first period, the Huskies (30-4-3) answered quickly and pulled away to a 5-2 win to advance to Saturday’s Frozen Faceoff championship game for the fourth time in five years.  SCSU awaits the winner of the evening matchup between Minnesota Duluth and Denver University.

“You can tell that they’ve been battle tested and playing really tough games and fighting for their life,” St. Cloud State coach Brett Larson said. “Give CC full credit because I really liked their team, I liked their game and they were certainly tough to play against tonight.”

Patrick Newell scored a huge first-period goal and added an assist, Robby Jackson scored a highlight-reel goal in the second while Blake Lizotte and Kevin Fitzgerald chipped in a pair of assists each. SCSU goaltender David Hrenak made 31 saves, including 13 in the third period when Colorado College employed an unusual power play strategy in an effort to get back in the game.

Larsson said the word Hrenak’s performance brought to mind was sharp.

“Sometimes when goalies are sharp, in a way they almost make it look easy because they’re not flying all over the place,” Larson said. “They’re just in the right positions and making the right save and that’s how I thought he played tonight.”

The Tigers (17-19-4) struck first in the opening period when Cloquet’s Westin Michaud fired a left circle shot that beat Hrenak at the 9:47 mark just 19 seconds after SCSU’s Robby Jackson went off for interference. Jackson’s release from the penalty box was short-lived as he was assessed a 10-minute misconduct before the ensuing faceoff, presumably over something he said to an official.

But back-to-back goals by Newell and Nolan Walker 24 seconds apart put the Huskies up for good three minutes later. St. Cloud state defenseman Jimmy Schuldt said what was clear from the first four meetings with CC is the Tigers are a team that really plays off momentum.

“They wanted to get a lead right away and they did and then they were going,” Schuldt said. “We made a couple good plays to get a lead and that’s definitely a turning point in the game and then and then I think we started rolling from there.”

A scary incident occurred between Michaud and Newell’s goals when St. Cloud State’s Ryan Poehling lost an edge and tumbled awkwardly into the end boards to the right of the Colorado College net. The brunt of the impact was taken by Poehling’s facemask and the former Lakeville North star was tended to for several minutes on the ice before skating off mostly under his own power but he did not return. 

Larson said it was too soon to know the severity of Poehling’s condition, revealed only as an upper body injury, with further evaluation of one of his top scorers (8 goals and 31 points) to come on Saturday.

“Obviously, it doesn’t matter who it is that was a scary moment,” Larson said. “I know everyone’s holding their breath on the bench, but I can tell you he is going to be okay; we’ll just see how bad the injury is by the morning.”

Another Poehling went down hard and was slow to get up at the 15:54 mark when Ryan’s brother Jack absorbed a huge hit from Colorado College’s Trevor Gooch. The high hit earned Gooch a major penalty for contact to the head and a game misconduct. 

Leading 2-1 halfway through the second period, St. Cloud State struck again when Spencer Meier lofted a puck toward Tigers’ net before Jackson re-directed it out of midair and past stunned CC goaltender Alex Leclerc for a 3-1 lead.

“Spencer Meier made a great play, didn’t take any time, threw it at the net and Robbie obviously made an incredible play batting out of the air,” Lizotte said. “That’s just a credit to Robbie and his talent and ability.”

The Huskies carried that lead into the third period and extended it to 4-1 on defenseman Jack Achan’s 6th of the year with just 12:39 remaining in regulation. The final period was not without its drama, however, as Colorado College had a golden opportunity to chip away at lead.

With the Tigers already on a power play and trailing 4-1, St. Cloud State’s Jon Lizotte hit Michaud into the boards from behind in the left corner. The hit drew a major checking from behind penalty and a game misconduct on the senior defenseman and gave CC a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:25 with just over nine minutes to play. 

Colorado College coach Mike Haviland wasn’t satisfied with the two-man advantage and made the aggressive move of pulling Leclerc for a 6-on-3 edge. The tactic proved unsuccessful and Leclerc returned to the crease 1:21 later.

Schuldt said he found the rare situation to be “really fun.”

“If you’re killing a 5-on-3 you have certain set lanes are to cover but a 6-on-3 is a whole different animal,” Schuldt said. “It just kind of comes down to being in the right place at the right time, I think.”

The Tigers did cut the deficit to 4-2 on Brian Yoon’s goal with 58 seconds left on Lizotte’s penalty but Nick Poehling scored two minutes later to restore the three-goal cushion.

Photo Gallery by Rick Olson for Minnesota Hockey Magazine. Follow Rick on Twitter at @rickolson77.

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Nathan Burke heats up as Gophers earn split

Nathan Burke addresses the media. (Photo by Declan Goff)

MINNEAPOLIS — Its gold paint may be chipping away revealing its all-white origins and its maroon “M” logos may have seen better days, but the hard hat, emblematic of the University of Minnesota men’s hockey team’s Player of the Game, fit Nathan Burke perfectly on Saturday night.

Burke, the first Arizona native to ever suit up for the Gophers, had just scored scored the first two Minnesota goals — the first points of his collegiate career — in a 3-0 win over St. Lawrence at Mariucci Arena. The freshman’s performance helped  Minnesota salvage a split with the Saints after a devastating 4-3 overtime loss in Friday night’s series’ opener.

“After last night it was definitely cool to bounce back and help my team out,” Burke said. “I have great linemates, (Sammy) Walker and (Blake) McLaughlin, and they did all the work. I just happened to go to the right places.”

The all-freshman line’s six-point night included Walker’s second of the season and a pair of assists by McLaughlin.

“It’s a good statement for him,” Motzko said of Burke who played just his third game of the season after sitting out Friday night. The Gopher coaching staff has been cautious with Burke’s recovery from a bout with mononucleosis which cost him much of the preseason and the beginning of the regular season.

“We can see Burkie’s skill in practice and he got a shot and did his thing,” said goaltender Eric Schierhorn who shut out the Saints with 12 saves. “His second one should probably be on SportsCenter.”

(Brace Hemmelgarn/University of Minnesota Athletics)

Schierhorn was referring to the play in which Burke received a pass from Walker toward the bottom of the right circle, spun away from a St. Lawrence defender, drove to the net and buried his second career goal behind Saints netminder Emul Zetterquist at the the 7:43 mark of the second period.

“I don’t know about that,” Burke said when told of Schierhorn’s SportsCenter suggestion. “But I mean, if it happens, it happens, that’d be cool for sure.”

The well-traveled Burke grew up in Scottsdale, Ariz.where he sandwiched two stints with the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes around stops with the Los Angeles Jr. Kings and the Cleveland Barons before moving on to the North American Hockey League’s Aberdeen Wings for the 2017-18 season.

“It’s definitely cool to represent my state a little bit,” Burke said. “I know (Toronto Maple Leafs star) Auston Matthews is doing a great job at the pro level so I’ll do what I can at the collegiate level.”

When a reporter playfully asked if he was crowning himself the Auston Matthews of college hockey, Burke was quick to refute that assertion.

“No, definitely not,” Burke said with a laugh. “Don’t put those words in my mouth.”

In Aberdeen, Burke led his team and the NAHL in goal scoring with 32 goals in 60 games last season and his 56 points ranked first on the Wings and seventh in the league. The All-NAHL Second Team and All-NAHL Rookie First Team honoree’s 16 power-play goals in the regular season also led the league.

“He’s a hard worker, loves to play around the net,” Motzko said. “That’s where he’s best, right around the goaltender.”

Burke, who originally committed to St. Cloud State back in February, decommitted from the Huskies when coach Bob Motzko departed for Minnesota at the end of last season and brought assistant coach Garret Raboin with him.

“Rabs recruited me really hard and I just felt comfortable,” Burke said. “My mom always said when you know you’d know and I just felt right with them. Frankly, if they went anywhere else, I think I’d follow them there too.”

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Freshman making case for SCSU’s No. 1 goalie spot

ST. CLOUD — It had been a couple of years since Zach Driscoll caught a Gophers game at Mariucci Arena, but this time, he watched from a different seat and he wasn’t wearing maroon and gold as he used to.

The kid from Apple Valley said he fulfilled the obvious obligation to ditch his Minnesota hockey season tickets as soon as he committed to play goaltender for in-state rival St. Cloud State.

“I had those tickets since I was four years old and knew what hockey was,” Driscoll said Saturday night after his second collegiate victory.

Friday night in Minneapolis, Driscoll turned from spectator on the bench to stabilizer in net when he entered the game in relief of SCSU starter Jeff Smith the third period with his Huskies trailing the Gophers by three goals.

He didn’t need to do much to stop the bleeding, outside of a sprawling save right after he took over, and finished the game with two saves as the Huskies completed a 6-5 overtime comeback win.

“I didn’t get too much action Friday, but for my confidence, playing at Mariucci, that was big and that translated to tonight,” said Driscoll, a freshman who spent last season at the junior level with Penticton of the BCHL.

“It was just a great all-around effort by our guys. Once I got in there, the ice totally shifted.”

The battle for SCSU’s No. 1 goaltending spot has taken a turn and it appears Driscoll is in control after his performance in Game 2 of the weekend series at home in St. Cloud.

Driscoll allowed two goals to Minnesota in the first period, but stopped the final 22 shots he faced as the Huskies overcame another multi-goal deficit to win 3-2.

Saturday was a more eventful night for Driscoll, finishing with 29 saves and surviving a mad scramble by the Gophers with a power play for the final two minutes.

“That was a crazy last couple minutes, but our penalty kill did a great job and all four guys bought in,” Driscoll said.

Zach Driscoll (Photo by Maddie MacFarlane /Courtesy of St. Cloud State University Athletics)

Driscoll was a two-time all-conference goalie at Eastview, helping the Lightning reach the Class 2A state tournament in 2013. He made his rounds in the junior ranks after he graduated high school in 2015, spending time in Austin (NAHL) and Omaha (USHL).

He landed in Penticton last season, and that’s where he began to shine at a higher level with a .933 save percentage, 1.90 goals against average and a 21-4-0 record.

When Charlie Lindgren, a three-year starter in goal for the Huskies, signed with the Montreal Canadiens following SCSU’s loss in the NCAA playoffs, a wide-open competition broke out among three goalies unproven at the collegiate level.

“He’s a tough goalie to replace, obviously, but in terms of coming in and playing, nothing’s ever handed to you,” Driscoll said. “Whether it’d be competing with Lindgren or competing with Smith and Zevnik, you work with what you’re given, so I don’t think it would really matter who it was. You always have to compete.”

Smith, a sophomore transfer from Massachusetts-Lowell, struggled in six games for the River Hawks in 2014-15. Last season, he returned to Powell River, the junior team for which he earned the BCHL Goalie of the Year award in 2013-14.

David Zevnik, a three-time all-state goaltender for St. Thomas Academy, who led the Cadets to three Class A titles didn’t see any action last year as a freshman and hasn’t played this season.

The season-opening series at Minnesota State is one both Smith and Driscoll would probably rather see erased from the record books.

“The three of us push each other really hard in practice and that’s the best that all three of us can ask for,” Driscoll said. “When you’re competing every day and enjoy the guys you compete with, it’s a recipe for success.

“We’ll continue to push each other and support each other throughout the year.”

Like both games against Minnesota, the Huskies faced early deficits, only then, they didn’t recover.

Smith got the nod in the season-opening game against the Mavericks, allowing four goals on 24 shots.

Driscoll started the second game in Mankato but was pulled halfway through when he allowed his fifth goal on 22 shots. Smith took over and made 10 saves on 11 shots.

“We are a young, young hockey team and we have such a long way to go,” SCSU coach Bob Motzko said after Saturday’s game. “(Driscoll) gives up five on 22 shots a week ago and then he bounces back. I think it helped that he came off the bench Friday (at Minnesota).

“We didn’t have to tell him the day before (that he was starting). You know, just go play. That helped him settle in.”

Though it’s too early to award anyone the No. 1 spot, Driscoll might’ve given the folks in St. Cloud a better feeling about the goalie situation than it had going into the weekend.

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It was June 20, 2015. Her named was called out 12th, the third of four University of Minnesota juniors. Though there was no lectern or freshly pressed jersey handed off in front of photographers, it was nonetheless significant. Gopher goaltender Amanda Leveille had been drafted by the Buffalo Beauts in the inaugural National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) draft.

Though the league had yet to play a game, it was historic. It was one of the earliest actions taken by the first North American professional women’s hockey league actually paying athletes. Following Harvard’s Emerance Maschmeyer, Leveille was the second goaltender selected. On April 28, she became the first draft pick to sign a contract in league history.

All that’s left now is the actual season.

“I was really honored,” Leveille says, remembering that day in June. “It was really nice to see that women’s professional hockey was starting up.”

It will be a new experience not just because it’s a professional league or that she will be playing closer to home. The big change may be going from playing on a dynastic team to a franchise that will start the season as underdogs.

For the last four years, she has been backstopping college hockey’s dominant force in Minneapolis. The Gophers won three national titles while she was part of the program, including a 41-0 run her freshman year that was the second of four total national titles in the last five years. The year they didn’t win, they made it to the national championship.

Playing there, she’s rarely had a taste of losing, posting a 98-9-5 record with a .947 save percentage. “I knew the Gophers were a talented team when I came in as a freshman, they had just won a national championship, but I didn’t think we would go 41-0 that season,” she said.

“I remember just looking around the room my freshman season and seeing players like Amanda Kessel, Megan Bozak, Noora Raty, Hannah Brandt and thinking wow these are my teammates, they’re so talented. And then each year [head coach Brad Frost] would recruit very talented players and good people off the ice. We all clicked and the chemistry we had led to a lot of our success.”

The off-ice chemistry proved important to Leveille while she was a part of the program, and it left an impression on her as she started moving toward the next chapter of her career.

“I was a little different than most people on the Gophers,” Leveille said. “I didn’t grow up in-state watching the Gophers like most people did. [Frost] recruited me at the beginning of my senior year of high school. When I came down on an official visit with the team, that’s when I knew it was the perfect fit for me

“The team culture really grabbed me. I wanted to be a part of something the Gophers demonstrated. They’re a very good hockey team, but they also have a high standard of how they want people to act off the ice.”

Those same considerations of team culture and her place in the larger picture came into play as Leveille began determining what her post-collegiate career would hold. “Being a Canadian, I thought I was going to play in the [Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL)] because that had been established, but when I got drafted I felt really honored and thought I should learn more about the program that drafted me.

“[Beauts general manager Ric Seiling] called me and explained a lot to me about the opportunities I would have in Buffalo. That it wouldn’t just be on the ice, but off the ice as well. We talked training and his experience in the NHL, which is something I thought separated him as a coach from other coaches in the NWHL. The location is also ideal for me. It’s right on the border of Canada. My family will be able to watch me play for the first time in four years without any difficulty.”

While getting paid is no doubt alluring — the CWHL does not pay a salary, but does have some compensation — the two leagues are largely split along the border. Canadians play in the CWHL, with a lot of the national team spending the regular season with one of that league’s five clubs. Meanwhile, Americans play in the NWHL (or with the Minnesota Whitecaps), where a majority of the U.S. National team skates during the regular season.

As an Ontario-native, Leveille’s decision wasn’t the obvious route.

“I think both leagues have players that are extremely talented,” she said. “I hope one day the two leagues can join and create something very special for female hockey players. The ’N’ was just a great fit for me at this point.”

That fit will have her battling for the Beauts’ net with U.S. National Team goaltender Brianne McLaughlin, who is returning to Buffalo after having been the team’s starter last season, helping lead them to the Isobel Cup Final where they were swept by the Boston Pride in two close contests.

This season will be a new challenge. The Beauts aren’t the NWHL’s powerhouse, though they have plenty of talent with Kelley Steadman, who was electric in very limited time last season, as well as former Whitecaps defenseman and St. Cloud native Anne Schlepper and former Gopher teammate Megan Bozek. Leveille stands to face some stiff challenges, like the league’s reigning champion Boston Pride, who feature National Team players like Hilary Knight, Meghan Duggan, Brianna Decker and Boston College’s Alex Carpenter. She’ll also face former teammate Amanda Kessel, who is about to become the face of league’s gritty flagship team in New York.

But until those challenges rise, there’s training and the space to be able to step back and appreciate the larger picture.

“When I was a little kid, I used to watch hockey with my dad and dream about playing professional hockey,” said Leveille. “As I grew up I realized that wasn’t a possibility. But now women have the option of playing professional hockey and I think that’s fantastic.

“I want to be a part of a league that will give young girls hope that they can play professional hockey just like their guy peers.”

The post Opportunity Knocks appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Minnesotans combine for eight points as UND wins Frozen Four

TAMPA, Fla. — Brock Boeser was not the MVP of the Frozen Four, but his numbers in the two games should grab any hockey fan’s attention.

Boeser, a freshman from Burnsville, had a goal and three assists and was a plus-4 to help the University of North Dakota men defeat Quinnipiac 5-1 on Saturday before a crowd of 19,358 at Amalie Arena.

“He’s been a special player for us all season long and big players come through in big games,” North Dakota senior left wing Drake Caggiula said of Boeser. “He definitely stepped up today.

“He’s a hell of a player, hell of a kid. It was an honor to play on his line all season long. He makes things happen out there and he definitely took charge today.”

Boeser had a point on each of the first four goals for North Dakota and ended up scoring the game-winning goal in the first period on a bit of an odd play.

Boeser and Austin Poganski, a St. Cloud Cathedral graduate, combined on what turned out to be the game-winning goal. The two forwards were on the ice killing a penalty and their aggressive play was rewarded.

“I was just finishing my check in the neutral zone and he tried to shoot it into a pad,” Poganski said of Boeser on the initial play. “But then Brock used his great speed.”

Quinnipiac goalie Michael Garteig came out of the net to play a loose puck, but shot it into Boeser, who ended up scoring his team-leading 27^th goal into an empty net at 14:16 of the first period to give North Dakota a 2-1 lead.

“I saw the goalie come out and I kind of read what he was doing and he kind of gave it away,” said Boeser, who scored the first short-handed goal in a championship game since 1999. “It went off my shin pad and then I had a wide open net.”

The Fighting Hawks (34-6-4) led 2-1 going into the third period before Boeser had assists on two goals by Caggiula — at 1:21 and 3:41 — to help North Dakota to a 4-1 lead.

He also had an assist on the game’s first goal, which was scored by Shane Gersich. Gersich, a freshman from Chaska, gave North Dakota a 1-0 lead at 11:56 of the first period.

“That was just a great play by (Boeser) to get the puck out of the (defensive) zone and he was able to get it to (defenseman Gage Ausmus) and he was able to get a nice shot on net and the rebound just happened to be right there,” said Gersich, a Washington Capitals draft pick.

Poganski, a 20-year-old right wing and St. Louis Blues draft pick, finished off the scoring with a goal at 10:41 of the third period to make it 5-1.

“You dream for that, for just helping the team succeed and for winning the national championship,” Poganski said of scoring his 10^th goal of the season. “I think everyone on this team had a little part in that today with blocked shots (14), big hits and big saves by (goalie) Cam (Johnson). Cam played awesome and it was a huge team effort.”

MINNESOTA CONTRIBUTIONS

Gersich had three shots on goal, a blocked shot and was a plus-1 in the game. He finished the season with nine goals, two assists and was a plus-15 in 36 games for the Fighting Hawks.

Trevor Olson, a sophomore right wing from Duluth, was the other forward from Minnesota in the lineup for the Fighting Hawks. Olson had four assists, 18 penalty minutes and was a plus-11 on the season.

Two of North Dakota’s defensemen in the lineup Saturday are from Minnesota.

Tucker Poolman, a sophomore from East Grand Forks and a Winnipeg Jets draft pick, had three shots, two blocked shots and was a plus-2 for the Fighting Hawks. For the season, he had five goals, 19 assists, four penalty minutes and was a plus-20.

Gage Ausmus, a junior from East Grand Forks, had two assists, four blocked shots, a shot on goal and was a plus-2 for North Dakota in the title game. Ausmus, a San Jose Sharks draft pick, had 11 assists, 31 penalty minutes and was a plus-14 on the season.

North Dakota’s Brad Berry, who played for the Minnesota North Stars from 1991-93, became the first rookie head coach to a national title. Berry, who set a school record for wins by a rookie coach, took over after Dave Hakstol left the university to coach the Philadelphia Flyers. Berry, who led North Dakota to the NCHC regular season title, spent nine seasons as an assistant coach before taking over as head coach of the Fighting Hawks.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Boeser, Caggiula, North Dakota defenseman Troy Stecher, North Dakota goalie Cam Johnson, Quinnipiac center Travis St. Denis and Quinnipiac defenseman Connor Clifton were named to the all-tournament team. Caggiula, who had four goals, an assist and was a plus-5 in the two games, was named Most Outstanding Player of the Frozen Four.

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