Hockey Day conjures up special memories for Eden Prairie alums

Kyle Rau scored one of his many hat tricks in an Eden Prairie High School jersey during an outdoor game against Hermantown on Hockey Day Minnesota 2010. As his coach Lee Smith put it, Rau put on an offensive show that day at the outdoor rink and it wasn’t even Rau’s most memorable Hockey Day.

That came in 2012 when Rau was a freshman with the Gophers. After the Gophers dispatched Colorado College 2-1 in the afternoon, Rau’s day wasn’t done.

“My brother was playing for the Wild that night, so I rushed out of the rink and went and watched his game,” Rau said. “So that was probably my most memorable Hockey Day Minnesota.”

Indeed, older brother Chad Rau got the call for his NHL debut with the Wild that night. Fittingly, he also scored his first NHL goal in the 5-2 Wild victory over Dallas.

A few years later, Kyle made his Minnesota Wild debut on Hockey Day 2018, recording an assist in the win over Tampa Bay. Kyle’s played at the high school, college and pro levels on Hockey Day. This year, he’ll play as a center for the Iowa Wild.

Along with Kyle, current Minnesota Wild defenseman Nick Seeler was part of the Eden Prairie squad that played on Hockey Day in Hermantown nearly a decade ago. The Eagles were the defending Class 2A champions, facing a perennial Class 1A power in Hermantown under then-head coach Bruce Plante. Rau, Seeler and Smith all remember it being a great experience.

Smith, now in year No. 26 coaching Eden Prairie, acknowledged the different challenge it presented for a coach to prepare a team for such a high-profile game.

“It’s easy to get caught up in all the hype,” Smith said. “But at the end of the day, you’re still playing a game. And even though it feels like an exhibition game, when you only have 25 games, it does matter and it counts on your record. You have to be prepared to play the game.”

Nick Seeler fires away. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

Part of the preparation for Hockey Day included some outdoor practice time back home. Then-Gophers coach Don Lucia even came out to watch one of them, as he was there recruiting Kyle. The whole idea of playing a high school game outdoors is a bit of a throwback to mites or squirts days.

“Obviously playing outside with some of your best buddies, your lifelong buddies, is something that’s really cool,” Kyle said. “I think leading up to the game, you kind of soak it all in because not everyone gets to do it. Once the game starts… everything else kind of goes into the background. It’s just hockey again.”

For the game itself, Smith recalled three different parts of the game – all because of the changing weather conditions. The ice went from soft and mushy, to snowy, and slushy again as temperatures continued to drop each period.

The puck was jumping everywhere, Kyle said, who had his hat trick by the 11:42 mark of the second period.

“It was just outdoor hockey,” Seeler said, who fondly remembers putting on the face paint for the outdoor conditions, too. “It kind of brought you back to when you were a younger kid and you grew up playing on the ponds and stuff.”  

One of the other unique factors about the setup was the chicken wire along the boards instead of glass.

“So if you rim a puck and it hits there, it goes right down,” Seeler said. “You don’t want to get hit into it either.”

The Eagles won 4-3 and went on to a 20-4 season in 2009-10, falling short of the state tournament with a section-final loss to Minnetonka. But Kyle and Seeler helped the Eagles win another state title in 2011, capped with Kyle’s championship-clinching goal in triple overtime against Duluth East in a thriller.

This weekend marks the 13th annual Hockey Day Minnesota, a day with outdoor hockey and hours upon hours of coverage on Fox Sports North. It’s become a tradition that showcases different parts of Minnesota and various hockey programs. It’s been a benefit for Minnesota high school hockey and keeping it relevant, according to Kyle.

“Instead of guys wanting to go play juniors, you have guys that want to stay and play Minnesota high school with their best friends because other guys have done it,” Kyle said. “So I think it’s good for high school hockey, and Minnesota youth hockey in general, too.”

Seeler agrees, adding that it’s important to encourage kids to get into hockey if they aren’t already. Anything that can promote hockey in the state is important, Smith said.

“Hockey’s a great sport whether it’s played on a lake or on a river or in a park or in an arena,” Smith said. “When it’s played right, it’s the best sport on earth.”

The post Frozen Flashbacks appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Minnesotans shine in Hockey Day win over Lightning

St. Paul, Minn. — The twelfth Hockey Day Minnesota ended at Xcel Energy Center with a 5-2 Wild win over the Tampa Bay Lighting with all four of the team’s Minnesota native skaters getting points.

Nate Prosser’s goal in the second period ended up as his second Hockey Day Minnesota game winner, and Kyle Rau earned a secondary assist on the play during his debut with the Wild.

“Nate loves Hockey Day Minnesota, he’s a point a game player on Hockey Day,” Zach Parise said. “I think you see the excitement from the rest of the team when he scores, and that says it all. He’s very well liked guy on our team, great person, and you want to see guys like that do well.”

Prosser got the crowd going early in the game when he stepped up to scrap with the Lightning’s Ryan Callahan following a hit on Tyler Ennis in the neutral zone. It was a play his coach though the team appreciated, got the crowd even more amped up, and kept the team’s adrenaline going.

Parise was the first of the Minnesota natives to get on the board, tallying his first goal of the season late in the second period by getting a stick on a Ryan Suter shot. Parise said his conditioning and energy has been fine since coming back to the lineup, but tonight was the best he felt handling the puck.

Matt Cullen was the fourth Minnesotan on the scoresheet tonight, when he got his 700th point assisting on Marcus Foligno’s third period goal.

The win came off of a bye week for the Wild and it was a night where they seemed to have the most energy despite an NHL trend of teams struggling their first game back.

“Yesterday’s practice, everyone was upbeat, probably the loudest practice as far as guys being talkative, and the same with morning skate today,” Bruce Boudreau said. “It would have been a crime if they didn’t come out with same energy they did the last two days.”

Rau wasn’t one of the players coming in off a bye, but off of a call-up from Iowa and contributed a simple, smart, intelligent and fast game with the big club. The former Gopher was so excited to play in his sixth Hockey Day Minnesota that he couldn’t settle in for his pre-game nap.

Rau didn’t see much ice in the first period as he settled into the speed of the game with a couple wall battles on the breakout early, but saw a regular shift during the second on a line with Charlie Coyle and Joel Eriksson Ek. Boudreau liked the line and thought Rau stepped in, didn’t look out of place and his speed and intelligence really wore off. The coach didn’t have any special messages for him other than asking how many tickets did he have to buy.

Rau had a bunch of high school buddies in the rink for the game that saw him get 6:56 of ice time, two shots, one assist and ending up plus one for the night.

“Good play by Rauser, he played well tonight,” Prosser said. “It’s just cool that this Hockey Day thing has become such a big deal, all the guys kind of yelling about, Minnesota guys money on the board, stuff like that, we all got up there, big win.”

Prosser said he told Rau to just play his game, make plays and skate.

“When your feet are moving, the rest of your game usually follows and he was skating well,” Prosser said.

Rau became the 24th Minnesotan to play for the Wild during the franchise’s history, his brother Chad Rau is one of the others, and they’re the first pair of brothers to play a game for the Wild. Chad’s debut was on Hockey Day Minnesota 2012, when he scored the game winning goal. The Gopher Hockey alum also became the 21st player from the University of Minnesota to play in the NHL this season, tying Michigan for the most in college hockey.

“I think this is my sixth [Hockey Day Minnesota], so it’s kind of cool to be able to say that,” Rau said. “Then to be able to contribute on the scoresheet obviously that’s something that you want to do.”

The post Locals Lead Wild To Win appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Four Minnesotans were among twenty NCAA men’s hockey players who were selected as candidates today for the 2014-15 Senior CLASS (Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School) Award. The in-state nominees are Minnesota Duluth’s Adam Krause (Hermantown), St. Cloud State’s Andrew Prochno (Minnetonka), North Dakota’s Nick Mattson (Chanhassen) and Minnesota’s Kyle Rau (Eden Prairie).

The award celebrates the loyalty of seniors who honor a four-year commitment to their university and recognizes them for their accomplishments in their sport and their community while remaining in school.

According to the release, the candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2015 NCAA Men’s Frozen Final Four® in April.

The post Senior CLASS Award names quartet of Minnesota candidates appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Justin Holl’s buzzer beater vaults Minnesota to title tilt against Union.

PHILADELPHIA — Mix Minnesota’s maroon and gold with North Dakota’s green and white, add ice, stir and the result is utterly unpredictable.

Such was the case on Thursday night as no one could have foreseen Minnesota senior defenseman Justin Holl scoring his first goal of the season, shorthanded mind you, with 0.6 seconds remaining to defeat UND 2-1 in the Frozen Four semifinals at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

But that’s precisely what unfolded, giving Minnesota its third win in five NCAA Tournament meetings with North Dakota.

“No better time for Justin to score his first goal of the season than tonight,” Minnesota coach Don Lucia said. “But that’s our team. We haven’t relied on any one guy. A new guy has to step forward each and every night.”

As the final seconds of regulation ticked down and the Gophers shorthanded, Holl carried the puck through the neutral zone and fed it to Kyle Rau who carried it across the North Dakota blue line. With time running out, Holl chose to jump into the play offensively and, when Rau’s shot deflected off of UND’s Jordan Schmaltz, the puck found its way to his stick and his shot through a screen slid just inside the right post and the on-ice bedlam ensued … for a moment.

An officials’ review was required to verify the puck crossed the line before time expired, which it did, and the celebration was on again.

”It’s a great feeling, but it doesn’t mean anything if we don’t do well on Saturday,” Holl said. “So we’re looking ahead to Saturday and we’re excited for that game.”

Holl’s defensive partner Brady Skjei could not be happier for him.

“He’s one of the biggest team guys we have on our team,” Skjei said. “That’s his first goal of the season, which is crazy because he’s been playing so well. I think he saved it for a good time.”

Rau assisted on both goals adding to his team-leading points (39) and assist (25) totals and goaltender Adam Wilcox was spectacular in making 36 saves and raising his record to 26-5-6 on the season.

“We really had to be good defensively and when you’ve got Wilcox in goal, you can give up a couple and he really stood on his head tonight,” captain Nate Condon said. “We don’t go anywhere without Adam.”

“Adam made some critical saves, like he always does,” Lucia said. “Like I’ve said most of the year, we’re a good team with a great goalie. Adam gives us a chance to win and he certainly did tonight”

Though their bitter rivalry was lost after both teams departed the WCHA after last season for “greener pastures”, it was allowed to briefly rekindle for this one-night-only engagement with each team’s season on the line and an opportunity to play for a national title at stake.

The score was 0-0 through two and a half periods until Minnesota’s Sam Warning scored his 13th of the season, backhanding a Rau rebound behind UND goaltender Zane Gothberg, who finished with 26 saves, to break a scoreless tie at 10:51 of the third period. But North Dakota’s Connor Gaarder answered just 32 seconds later to knot the game once again.

Gaarder drove hard to the net from the left side, getting off a backhand shot Wilcox stopped but could not control. As he headed behind the Minnesota goal, the Edina native reached up with his forehand and batted the puck out of midair past Wilcox for his ninth of the year and third of the postseason.

With time winding down in a tie game and the certainty of overtime growing, Gopher defenseman Mike Reilly was called for holding with just 1:39 to play putting UND on a power play for potentially the rest of regulation and into overtime. Holl’s heroics took care of all that.

The Gophers move on to face Union in the national title game on Saturday night at 6:30 pm on ESPN. The Dutchmen beat Boston College 5-4 earlier in the evening. The championship game will be the fourth meeting all-time between Union and Minnesota. The Gophers hold a 2-1 advantage in the series.

“That was the goal at the beginning of the year, to be playing at the end of the season,” Condon said. “We’ve realized that goal but I don’t think anyone comes here to lose.”

Minnesota is making its first championship appearance since 2003 and 12th title game appearance overall. The Gophers’ 2003 national crown was their most recent.

The post Gophers Advance to Frozen Four Championship appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Dzingel, Frey lead Ohio State over Minnesota for another St. Paul one-and-done.

SAINT PAUL—The confines of the Xcel Energy Center have been anything but friendly to the University of Minnesota in league tournament play over the past half dozen years and a change in conferences did little to help that.

The top-seeded Golden Gophers (25-6-6, 14-3-3-0 B1G) fell 3-1 to No. 4 Ohio State (18-13-5, 6-9-5-4 B1G) in the semifinal round of the Big Ten Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament in St. Paul on Friday night to continue a curious trend.

OSU’s Ryan Dzingel’s shot from the high slot using a Brady Skjei screen at 9:08 of the third period snapped a 1-1 tie and the Buckeyes held on to advance to Saturday night’s championship game against second-seeded Wisconsin which eliminated No. 6 Penn State 2-1 earlier in the day.

“I think I just closed my eyes and tried to shoot as hard as I could,” Dzingel said of his goal. “Didn’t come off as hard as I wanted it to, but it went in.”

The Minnesota loss comes six years to the day after its most recent conference tournament win at Xcel Energy Center, a 2-1 overtime victory over Colorado College in the semifinals of the 2008 WCHA Final Five. The Gophers dropped a 2-1 decision to Denver in the championship game the following night to begin what is now a five-game skid.

“We didn’t come out ready to go,” Minnesota captain Kyle Rau said. “When you play desperate teams, you have to play desperate with them.  We didn’t do that.”

But Gopher forward Travis Boyd saw a silver lining in the loss.

“Half our team has been through a situation like this,” Boyd said, referring to Minnesota’s Friday night exits from the Final Five in 2012 and 2013. “Going back to my freshman year two years ago, we were able to rebound and end up winning the regional.”

OSU goaltender Christian Frey continued his strong tournament with 30 saves, including 12 in a first period in which the Gophers were dominant in stretches. On the other end of the rink, Minnesota goalie, and Hobey Baker Award candidate, Adam Wilcox turned aside 22 Ohio State shots.

Despite the loss, the Gophers know they will be the No. 1 seed in the NCAA’s West Region and will host its regional tournament March 29-30 right back at Xcel Energy Center.

“Like I told our guys after the game, this is our last opportunity as a learning experience and we don’t get any more opportunities after that,” Minnesota coach Don Lucia said.

Ohio State, on the other hand, remains in a must-win situation against the Badgers if it is to advance to the NCAA tournament.

But Ohio State coach Steve Rohlik has been in this situation before as an assistant to Minnesota-Duluth coach Scott Sandelin when the seventh-seeded Bulldogs swept their way to a Final Five title and an improbable NCAA tournament berth. Rohlik said he assured his team it can be done.

“Yeah, it’s three games in three nights, but you also have another great opportunity to play another great team in Wisconsin,” he said. “You’re playing for a chance to win a championship and play in the NCAA tournament.

“I think our guys are pretty excited about that chance.”

The Buckeyes opened the scoring at 15:20 of the first period making quick work the game’s first power-play opportunity. OSU’s Tanner Fritz’s tape-to-tape pass from the left circle set up Nick Schilkey at the doorstep for his 13th of the season just 15 seconds after Minnesota’s Nate Condon went off for interference.

The assist was Fritz’s third point of the tournament after registering a goal and an assist on the game winner in Ohio State’s 2-1 victory over Michigan State on Thursday night.

The opening period did not come to a quiet conclusion as the Buckeyes nearly found themselves with a two-goal cushion at the first intermission. With the puck deep in the Minnesota zone, OSU’s Anthony Greco’s centering pass hit Wilcox in the back and trickled along the goal line as the final second ticked away.

Max McCormick managed to poke the puck over the line but the would-be goal was waived off immediately by the nearest official and replays confirmed time had expired before it went in.

The Gophers got on the board just short of the five-minute mark of the second period and under a minute into their third power play of the game. As Travis Boyd was checked along the wall in the Ohio State zone he slid a pass to Taylor Cammarata who found Kyle Rau as he was streaking to the weak side post for Rau’s 12th of the year.

Minnesota stormed the Ohio State net with an outstanding shift by its top line of Rau, Sam Warning and Hudson Fasching surrounding the 12 minute mark of the final period. But Frey, with a little help from the crossbar, withstood the Gopher barrage.

Shortly thereafter the puck did find its way over the goal line behind Frey, much to the delight of the Gopher faithful. But after a review, it was correctly ruled that Seth Ambroz punched it in with his glove.

The delay may have robbed the Gophers of some momentum as they rarely threatened after that and struggled to get Wilcox off the ice for an extra attacker before Greco’s empty-net goal sealed it with 27 seconds to go.

Rohlik didn’t downplay the significance of his team’s accomplishment in beating Minnesota in its backyard but he’s looking forward to the challenge ahead.

“We just beat the best team in the country tonight,” Rohlik said. “It’s a good feeling, but we’re not done yet.”

The post Backyard No Advantage for Gophers appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Gopher junior forward Travis Boyd (Hopkins) was named the league’s No. 1 star of the week after leading all Big Ten players with a four-point weekend (two goals, two assists) in Minnesota’s win and tie at the Mariucci Classic. It’s the first Big Ten weekly award for Boyd who Tallied a career-high three points (one goal, two assists) in Saturday’s 6-2 victory over RPI and was named to the Mariucci Classic All-Tournament Team.

With two goals and an assist in the Mariucci Classic, Minnesota junior captain Kyle Rau was honored as the week’s No. 2 star. Rau’s assist on Boyd’s game-tying goal on Friday was the 100^th career point for the former Eden Prairie star to become just the third active Big Ten player to reach that milestone. Rau followed that up by scoring twice against RPI and earn his second career Big Ten weekly award after being named Third Star on Oct. 15, 2013.

Wisconsin junior defenseman Jake McCabe received the week’s No. 3 star for his three-point effort (2-1—3) in the Badgers’ split with Alaska-Anchorage in Madison.

The post Gophers Top Big Ten’s Three Stars appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Erik Haula’s goal salvaged a tie and a three-point weekend for Minnesota at Anchorage on Saturday night. (Photo: Sam Wasson/UAA Athletics)

No. 3 Denver (7-1-0, 5-1-0 WCHA) at Minnesota State (3-5-2, 1-5-0 WCHA)

Friday: DU 4  MSU 3
Saturday: DU 3  MSU 2

The Pioneers chased MSU starting goaltender Phil Cook in building a 3-0 lead in the first 23:28 on Friday night in Mankato. But goals by Jean-Paul Lafontaine and Eriah Hayes late in the second period closed the gap to one heading into the third. The Mavericks could not bury the equalizer, however, and Daniel Doremus score the eventual game winner for Denver with 6:17 remaining in the third. Lafontaine’s second goal of the game at 18:09 with the MSU net empty restored the one-goal margin, but that is as close as the Mavericks would come

Denver’s Chris Knowlton scored twice on Saturday, including the game winner with 3:12 to play and the Pioneers left Mankato four points richer with a series sweep. For the second straight night, Minnesota State dug itself a hole and trailed 2-0 midway through the first on goals by Knowlton and Doremus. But Hayes trimmed the deficit to one at 15:07 of the opening period and Josh Nelson tied it 2:42 into the third.

No. 6 North Dakota (4-3-1, 2-1-1 WCHA) at No. 15 St. Cloud State (6-4-0, 4-2-0 WCHA)

Friday: UND 3  SCSU 0
Saturday: SCSU 5  UND 2

North Dakota goaltender Clarke Saunders made 32 saves to shut out St. Cloud State 3-0 on Friday night in St. Cloud. UND’s Brendan O’Donnell scored the only goal his team would need just 48 seconds into the contest while Carter Rowney and Mark MacMillan added goals in the second and third periods, respectively.

Drew LeBlanc scored twice to lead the Huskies over North Dakota on Saturday to split the series. (Photo: WCHA.com)

After falling behind North Dakota in the opening period for the second straight night, the Huskies bounced back this time for a resounding 5-2 win on Saturday night. Drew LeBlanc scored twice, including the game winner, and added an assist while SCSU goalie Ryan Faragher made 22 saves for the win. UND’s Drake Caggiula got UND on the board first at 11:18 of the first but Jonny Brodzinski answered with his second goal of the season just 1:01 later. LeBlanc scored twice in the first 12:23 of the second period, the first courtesy of one of Joe Rehkamp‘s three assists on the night, to give the Huskies the lead for good.

Bemidji State (2-3-1, 1-2-1 WCHA) at No. 19 Colorado College (7-3-0, 4-0-0 WCHA) at 

Friday: CC 3  BSU 2
Sunday: CC 6  BSU 3

Rylan Schwartz‘s goal at 16:19 of the second period, one of his two on the night, proved to be the difference in Colorado College’s one-goal win over Bemidji State on Friday night in Colorado Springs. The teams traded goals in a 2-2 first period as the Beavers erased two CC leads on goals by Jordan George and Danny Mattson, the first goals of the season for each. Archie Skalbeck assisted on both of Schwartz’s goals.

Behind two goals and two assists by William Rapuzzi, the Tigers completed a series sweep of BSU on Saturday. Both of Rapuzzi’s goals–including the game winner at 5:17–came in a third period which began with CC clinging to a 3-2 lead. Markus Gerbrandt scored to pull the Beavers within two at 18:32, but that’s as close as BSU would get. Cory Ward and Aaron McLeod also scored for Bemidji State while CC’s Skalbeck (two assists) and Schwartz (three assists) capped off big weekends on Saturday.

No. 2 Minnesota (6-2-1, 3-2-1 WCHA) at Alaska-Anchorage (2-3-3, 0-2-2 WCHA)

Friday: UM 4  UAA 0
Saturday: UM 2  UAA 2

Kyle Rau scored twice while Nick Bjugstad and Ben Marshall each scored a goal for Minnesota on Friday night in Anchorage. Minnesota continued its trend of reliance on the power play for its offense as the Gophers scored four times with the man advantage and Adam Wilcox stopped 14 Seawolves’ shots to post the shutout.

Erik Haula scored Minnesota’s only even-strength goal of the series at 13:31 of the third period on Saturday allowing the Gophers to escape Anchorage with a tie and three of four points on the weekend. The Gophers and Seawolves traded first-period goals and they remained knotted at 1-1 at the second intermission. But Alex Gellert gave UAA its only lead of the series at 5:38 of the third setting the stage for Haula’s big goal.

Minnesota-Duluth (2-5-1, 0-3-1 WCHA) at Nebraska Omaha (6-3-1, 4-1-1 WCHA)

Saturday: UNO 3  UMD 2
Sunday: UNO 6  UMD 3

Mike Seidel and Tony Cameranisi each scored late in the first period to pull the Bulldogs even with UNO at 2-2 after an early two-goal deficit. But the scoring dried up from there until Michael Young‘s goal at 12:12 of the third period lifted the Mavericks over UMD on Saturday night in Omaha. Josh Archibald and Ryan Walters also scored for UNO while Wade Bergman had two assists for the Bulldogs.

Dominic Zombo scored twice and Walters added a goal and an assist as the Mavericks completed a sweep of Minnesota-Duluth on Sunday afternoon. UNO goaltender John Faulkner made 31 saves in raising his record to 6-0-1 overall. Seidel and Joe Basaraba scored first period goals for the Bulldogs as the teams skated to a 2-2 tie after one period as they had the night before. But the Mavericks scored twice in the final 1:14 of the second period, including Zombo’s second of the game with 9.1 seconds left which would hold up as the game winner.

The post WCHA men’s weekend recap appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.