At this time last season, Lurie found himself on the outside looking in, struggling to crack Omaha’s lineup and sitting in the stands as a healthy scratch. The left-shot forward appeared in just four games during his freshman season, three of which came in a two-week stretch. Lurie was scratched for Omaha’s first seven games this season too.

However, Omaha has been decimated by injuries and up until their past two series, the Mavericks had struggled mightily offensively – paving the way for more playing time.

It’s safe to say Lurie is both enjoying and making the most of it so far.

“At the end of the day, when you get an opportunity, you have to take advantage of it,” Lurie said Monday afternoon. “If you don’t do that, the coach has no reason to play you. So, when guys get hurt, it’s an opportunity for other people to step up and rise to the occasion.

“You’ve got to be prepared mentally and physically to do that and not fold under the pressure.”

Lurie made his season debut on Nov. 9 as Omaha fell to Western Michigan at home, 4-2. He earned an assist in the loss and also fired four shots at the Bronco net, which has been a staple of his game so far.

Lurie’s 15 shots are already tied for 10th on Omaha’s roster and his per-game average (3) is tied for third.

Lurie remained in the lineup the following weekend at Arizona State and scored his first NCAA goal during a second-period power play. He added another power-play marker this past Saturday as the Mavs skated to a dominant 8-1 win and a sweep of Miami.

Charlie Lurie is a 6-foot, 187-pound forward who initially committed to Omaha in November of 2019. “I think it came down to the staff and the facilities,” Lurie said. “I thought the staff put a lot of time into getting to know me when I was just 15 and 16 years old, and I thought they had a plan in place for me. They care about you here, they recruit great humans, and it’s a team-first mentality here.” (Photo courtesy of Carley Pappas / Omaha Athletics)

Especially with Omaha’s top two returning scorers – Tanner Ludtke and Zach Urdahl – out with injuries, contributions from players like Lurie have been a welcomed sight.

“The amount and run of injuries we’ve had is certainly unfortunate, but it’s been great to see guys like Charlie take advantage and perform how they have,” said Omaha coach Mike Gabinet. “He’s always done a tremendous job of showing up and continuing to put in the work, and when you do that good things usually happen.

“So, I give Charlie a lot of credit because he’s always wanted to be in the lineup, and obviously it wasn’t working out that way. But he always did the extra work and stayed ready. He’s done exactly that and he’s getting rewarded with some quality minutes.”

“He’s been awesome,” added Bloomington’s Tyler Rollwagen, who centered Lurie’s line this past weekend and also scored in Saturday’s win. “He comes to the rink every day with the same attitude and makes the most out of the opportunity he has earned. It’s been a lot of fun seeing his success as of late.”

Putting in the work
While it’d be cliche to say that success wasn’t earned overnight, it’s exactly the case with Lurie.

The left-shot forward learned at a young age that in order to be successful, you have to put in more time, work and effort than everyone else. So, earning his opportunity is nothing new.

“Everything I’ve ever had in my hockey career has been earned, and nothing’s been given to me,” Lurie said. “I was fortunate enough to go to Shattuck (St. Mary’s), but I wasn’t ever the best player and I was always trying to catch the guys that were better than me.

“Even going back to when I was a squirt in Minnetonka. My first year I made the B team, and the second year I was placed on the B team again while all my friends were on the A team. So I think that’s kind of what lit a spark in me and jump-started my career. Then the following year I made the Peewee AA team as a first-year player, and I never looked back from there. So, I think the important lesson for younger kids to know is that just because you’re not on a team now doesn’t mean you can’t make a team later, and at the end of the day you have to do the work.”

Lurie and the Mavs are coming off the above-mentioned sweep of Miami and have two series remaining in the first half – at St. Cloud State and home against Lindenwood.

No. 24 wants to be in the lineup for both and keep contributing, especially on the power play – which is where Lurie’s presence has been noticed the most.

Looking to help out on the power play
Omaha (5-7-0, 3-3-0) opened the season a dreadful 2-for-24 on the man advantage, and although its current 8-for-45 mark (17.8%) still doesn’t look exactly great on paper, the Mavs are generating many more chances and getting the puck to the net.

Omaha netted three power-play goals last Saturday and is 6-for-21 over its past five games, which coincides with Lurie’s addition to the unit.

Charlie Lurie played for four USHL teams – including the Omaha Lancers – over his two USHL seasons. He played 42 games for the Lancers during the 2022-23 season before returning to Omaha last fall. “We recruited him as a very young man out of Shattuck, and I just think he’s always had a knack for shooting the puck and finding the scoring areas,” Gabinet said. “I think that’s something he does really well and he puts himself in a position to get shots off, and he’s a very high-character kid too.” (Photo courtesy of the Omaha Lancers)

“When a guy has a certain talent or skillset, you want to maximize it. And one of those for Charlie is shooting the puck,” Gabinet said. “So it’s nice to have that threat out there, and he’s helped get our power play rolling.”

Now the next step is to build on it.

Lurie initially committed to Omaha nearly five years ago – Nov. 30, 2019 – and took a winding road to the school, as he spent time with four different USHL organizations after spending four seasons at Shattuck-St. Mary’s.

Lurie recorded 68 points (30-38-68) and 90 penalty minutes over 122 career USHL games, following a successful career at Shattuck – a place that Lurie is “beyond grateful for” and said “has made his career” to this day. Yet he wants to add another chapter in Omaha.

It’s been a good start, but the sophomore is far from satisfied.

“My goal for the rest of this season is to be in the lineup every night,” Lurie said. “The last three weeks have been nice. It’s nice to get in the lineup and earn some of that privilege that I have being on the power play, but I just want to keep going and not give my spot up.

“I want to be in the lineup every night and give my team the best chance to win.”

The post Charlie Cashing In appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Cooking, laundry and simply balancing school with hockey are just some of the adjustments that come with the junior lifestyle. That’s along with living with a billet family, as the 18-year-old goaltender finds himself in his first full USHL season with the Omaha Lancers.

The jump to the USHL is an adjustment for every player. However, Hendrickson has handled that adjustment with flying colors so far.

“You’re a little timid the first few weeks because you’re living with a new family and you don’t know the customs around the house, and the hockey is an adjustment in itself. But I feel like I’ve really settled in,” Hendrickson said. “I know we haven’t had the most amount of success yet, but each week I think we’re building and the culture is great. And we’ve got a really good group here.

“I’d say the biggest thing has been the trust and dedication we have in each other. The boys give their all for me when I’m in net, and I know I have to leave everything out there for them. So, it’s just been really fun.”

It’s been an interesting fall for the reigning Frank Brimsek Award winner, as the Lancers made a coaching change just four games into the season. Omaha (5-9-2) currently sits seventh in the eight-team Western Conference and has scored the USHL’s fourth-fewest goals (36).

Finding his footing
Hendrickson’s season got off to a shaky start, too, as he allowed six goals on 26 shots in his first start at the USHL Fall Classic on Sept. 19.

However, the UConn commit has excelled from there and is currently 3-3-2 with a .916 save percentage and 2.53 goals-against average. Two of those three wins were also shutouts, as Hendrickson has made 228 of a possible 249 saves this season.

“I’ve just really tried to keep things simple,” he said. “Honestly, I didn’t know much about the organization or junior hockey in general until last year, but Omaha has been nothing but good to me.

“I was grateful enough to get some games and get some experience here last year, too, and I was able to pull away with a few wins. And I think that was a huge step towards getting acclimated to the league and having success this year. It’s a fast league and there are a lot of growing pains, but you have to grow up quick. I think as a team we’ve done a good job of holding each other to a high standard.”

Kam Hendrickson started playing hockey as a 6-year-old kid and rotated playing goalie with his teammates. Hendrickson said he truly committed to playing goalie full time around age 10. “Most kids probably don’t want to play goalie and get hit by pucks, but I enjoyed the thrill of it and I guess I had the natural talent for it,” he said. (Photo courtesy of Kam Hendrickson)

If you talk to anybody around the Lancers organization, the first thing that stands out is Hendrickson’s competitive nature. The 6-foot, 171-pound goaltender is a good skater and pairs that with quick hands and a good IQ at the position.

He’s also continued to make timely saves and give his team a chance every night – something Hendrickson said he prides himself on.

“I believe the person makes the player and every single day he brings the intensity and the willingness to make everyone around him better,” said Omaha coach Colten St. Clair. “He’s just a competitor and he understands what he needs to do to be successful. And whether we’re in the offensive zone and the other team gets a breakaway or we’re trapped in our end, he knows he has to make a save.

“No matter how dangerous the chance is, he knows he has to make a save, and that’s his mindset. He has a one-shot mindset, and he finds a way to keep us in every game, and I think that’s the best compliment you can give a goalie.”

Added Sean Bloomfield, Hendrickson’s coach at Chanhassen High School: “Kam’s a competitor, that’s the best word to describe him, and he’s just clutch back there. It didn’t matter if it was practice or in the state championship in front of 20,000 fans, he competes for every single puck, and he’s a vocal leader. And every game he makes a few saves that you look at the other coaches and shake your head in shock. You’re just thankful to have him back there.”

Playing for Chanhassen was a ‘blessing’
Hendrickson joined Chanhassen before the 2022-23 season after spending his freshman and sophomore years at Holy Family. Hendrickson won 40 games over his two seasons and helped the Storm reach the Class 2A state championship game last March, ultimately falling to Edina.

Kam Hendrickson went 23-6-0 for Chanhassen last season with a .951 save percentage and 1.01 goals-against average. “He won the Brimsek Award as the best goalie in the state, and he truly was. His numbers speak for themselves, and when the lights were at their brightest, he was at his best. That’s what you want out of a goalie, and he’s someone that hopes to play the game for a long time.” (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Hendrickson said the move to Chanhassen was “one of the biggest blessings” of his life, and his game continued to improve at the school.

“I’d say the biggest growth we saw was with his consistency,” Bloomfield said. “Not that he was necessarily inconsistent his first year with us, but he dealt with an injury and he just continued to work on his craft, and he’s got a really good mental side of his game too.

“He’s never been a kid that gets down on himself and loses confidence, but I actually think it makes him better. He takes it personal every time he gets scored on and he locks in from there, and he’s a tough kid to beat. I think he’s someone that has a lot of fun out there, too, and that’s what makes him so fun to coach. We’re happy to see him having the success he is because he’s earned it.”

Hendrickson’s high school experience has paid dividends this season too.

“It’s helped me a lot, especially considering we played in a lot of big games and with the talent and work ethic we had at Chan every day,” Hendrickson said. “You don’t get that many games in high school so you have to compete and make the most of it, and you have to be at your best – which is really important (in the USHL).

“You don’t see too many Minnesota high school goalies coming straight to the USHL – I know there’s been a few recently, but I feel like before people kind of looked over Minnesota kids, too. So, I just want to prove a point that Minnesota high school goalies can produce and play at this level.”

As the calendar churns through November, Hendrickson is enjoying life in the USHL, but he knows there’s a lot of season left.

He was one of six active USHL goalies to land on Central Scouting’s Preliminary Watch List late last month and hopes to hear his name called during the 2025 NHL Draft.

Kam Hendrickson has shared the Omaha crease with New Jersey draft pick Mikhail Yegorov this season and the two hope to back-stop the Lancers back to the playoffs. “They have such a great relationship but with Kam specifically, he’s earned his opportunity to play big minutes, and he’s such a great human being,” said Omaha coach Colten St. Clair. “He’s had a good start and we want him to stay in the moment and keep that competitive drive, and we know Kam’s going to do exactly that.” (Photo courtesy of Omaha Lancers)

Hendrickson was also named to the U.S. Junior Select Team earlier this week and will represent his country next month at the World Junior A Challenge.

As he looks ahead at the rest of this season though, his mindset goes back to a message one of his coaches instilled in him at a young age — one shot, one period, one game at a time.

“I just want to help my team the best I can,” Hendrickson said. “One of my goals this year is to be the best goalie in the league but more than anything, I just want to win. I want to be the best I can be every night, and I know there’s still a lot I can work on and get better at, but you can’t get caught up in everything. You can’t get too high or too low.

“At the end of the day, it’s the same game. You’ve just got to keep it simple and have fun each day.”

The post Kam Klutch appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

What is interesting is that as time has evolved, there is no question that women’s Division I basketball has caught and passed the men from the standpoints of technical excellence and creative playmaking. Plus, they shoot 3-pointers as though they invented them.

Another interesting footnote to the NCAA’s wild and crazy climax to the winter sports season is that somehow the NCAA convinced the rest of the world to reserve the first weekend in April for the basketball semifinals and finals — the Final Four in both men’s and women’s basketball. That forces the NCAA hockey tournament to play down to its final four — which are known as the “Frozen Four” — and then put its game on hold before being allowed to finish its peak competition. It’s grown to now-popular status and fills up big arena. But it must wait to be decided a week later.

We have a vested interest this year, because the men’s hockey Frozen Four will be held at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center. The semifinals are on April 11, with the two winners coming back to collide on April 13 to decide the championship.

That means a two-week break from the wind-up to the intensely heated and competitive play in four regionals around the country, which led to some very surprising survivors to convene in St. Paul. In the first semifinal, it will be No. 2-ranked Boston University facing No. 3 Denver at 4 p.m., followed by the 7:30 p.m. game between No. 1 Boston College and Big Ten stalwart Michigan.

If it appears that all six of Minnesota’s Division I hopefuls got locked out of their home facility, we must admit that there could probably not be four more potent heavyweights in the college hockey world than the ones in the Frozen Four.

Men’s hockey regionals set Frozen Four
We were all hoping to see two or three of Minnesota’s teams reach the Frozen Four, but they fell like dominos leading up to or into the regionals. The Minnesota Gophers was the only team from the state to reach a regional final. That was in Sioux Falls, where the Gophers got a couple of incredibly lucky breaks to score goals and subdue Omaha 3-2 in the semifinal, only to fall 6-3 to Boston University.

At Springfield, Mass., Denver escaped Massachusetts 2-1 in overtime after Cornell came back and whipped Maine 3-1 in the semifinals. In that final, Cornell banged Denver around with speed and strength, and the Pioneers — who spent the season banging around NCHC rivals — were fortunate to win 2-1 to gain the Frozen Four in the slot against BU.

At Providence, Boston College had a tough opener against upstart Michigan Tech from the CCHA before erupting in the third period for a 6-1 victory. Defending NCAA champ Quinnipiac rallied to stun Wisconsin 3-2 in overtime. Quinnipiac then gave BC all it could handle before the Eagles battled from behind four times to catch the Bobcats and only gained the lead once — in overtime, for a 5-4 victory.

That left Maryland Heights, Mo., where Big Ten arch-rivals Michigan State and Michigan battled through a classic championship game before Michigan got third-period goals 12 seconds apart, from Dylan Duke and Gavin Brindley, and beat the Big Ten champion Spartans 5-2.

We’ve got another week to let the ice chips land where they might and ponder the Denver-BU game and the BC-Michigan match. What will astound the NCAA is that this year, instead of brushing off the hockey finals, the men’s basketball final will serve as the appetizer for what should be a fantastic Frozen Four.

And the NCAA women’s basketball finals will put on a show that may attract more attention than the men get — or deserve.

Final Fours in men’s, women’s hoops set with intriguing matchups
What could save the men’s Final Four is that UConn — the driving force in women’s basketball — will also be in the men’s field, and faces Alabama in the second semifinal on Saturday (7:49 p.m. CT). The first semifinal, at 5:09 p.m., features two Cinderella stories when Purdue, from the Big Ten, makes its first Final Four appearance against North Carolina State.

The story of the NC State Wolfpack men’s team means that institution also has both men’s and women’s teams in the Final Four, but NC State spent most of the winter sputtering and struggling to finish 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference. NC State lost its final four games of the regular season. But everybody gets into the conference tournament and, for no apparent reason, the Wolfpack took off — and hasn’t lost since!

NC State won the South Region by blitzing arch-rival Duke 76-64, and the Wolfpack extended their winning streak to nine games, through the playoffs. How refreshing to not have the usual high-end basketball powers dominating the headlines this year. Purdue would be Cinderella if NC State didn’t also have glass sneakers.

In the women’s Final Four, NC State and UConn also made those fields, and NC State gets to take on South Carolina, which comes in behind the steamroller of a 36-0 record. The field became solidified Monday night when Iowa got a 41-point performance from Caitlin Clark to outlast defending national champion LSU. In the other game that night, UConn blew a 12-point third-quarter lead to allow the University of Southern California to catch up. But former Hopkins High School star Paige Bueckers finished a brilliant 28-point performance to lead the UConn Huskies to a 80-73 victory over USC.

As hype goes, nothing in men’s or women’s basketball can approach the Clark-Bueckers showdown between two of the best guards ever in women’s basketball.

The upset-filled men’s and women’s basketball have been exceptional, and they had to be to coax us to suspend our evaluation of the Frozen Four for another week. Warm up the TV and fill the popcorn bowls with fresh stuff, and enjoy yourselves.

No, none of the six Minnesota teams reached the Frozen Four, so we’ll have to be content to bask in the glow of holding the Frozen Four in our “State of Hockey” palace on West Seventh Street in St. Paul. We just have to wait a week.

The post Hockey Goes On Hold While Basketball Shines appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The scattering of various college conferences has made it more difficult to keep track of all the action, but this is the week when it blossoms. And it happens among both the men’s and women’s leagues.

The disparity in how leagues run their playoffs is a drawback, because they don’t all do the same thing to get to the same objective — which is the NCAA tournament itself.
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For example, the NCHC has had a long, rugged season. But in the closing weeks, North Dakota captured the championship, finishing 15-8-1, to narrowly edge preseason favorite Denver (15-7-2), season upstart Colorado College (14-8-2) and sputtering but potent St. Cloud State (11-9-4).

To end the regular season, fifth-place Omaha swept North Dakota, while seventh-place UMD swept St. Cloud State and Western Michigan secured sixth place ahead of UMD. But NCHC plays its quarterfinals as a best-of-three series, which pretty much assures upsets will be at a premium, if evident at all.

Winter wonderland in Denver, not Duluth
One of the most ironic parts about the system is that UMD — from the usual winter wonderland of Northern Minnesota — has not had a single snowstorm this year and the brown grass and fields look more like mid-October than March. So, as the Bulldogs gathered for their flight to Denver to play the team that looked like the NCHC’s best when they swept UMD in Duluth a few weeks ago, they were unprepared for an 11-hour delay and an overnight stay in a Minneapolis hotel before finishing their trip.

The reason was a near-foot-deep snowstorm that hit Denver recently, closing businesses, closing freeways and shutting down the airport. In a normal season, the Denver players and staff may look apprehensively to an upcoming trip to Duluth because of possible blizzards, but this time, it is the Duluth traveling party that had to fly to Denver in order to experience winter!

UMD’s sweep of rival St. Cloud State may have been more timely than the snows of Denver, because UMD snapped a losing streak in the process and seem poised to prove that if they are on their game they can beat anybody.

North Dakota shouldn’t expect any problems with last-place Miami, and could easily prove their last-series losses were just resting up their top guns for this weekend’s series at Grand Forks. Omaha, which has been tough to beat for all NCHC foes all season, is also fighting this week’s wintry weather to make it to Colorado Springs for the three-game series against CC. And the most competitive and intriguing series of the whole first round could well be Western Michigan’s trip to St. Cloud to play the Huskies.

The winners of those four NCHC series will advance to St. Paul and take over Xcel Energy Center — home of the Minnesota Wild — for the last convening of the Final Faceoff for NCHC semifinals and finals before the teams scatter to play at higher home sites. There are some who already miss the chance to show their stuff to the major Twin Cities media and population centers, which have proven so popular over the years.

Big Ten, CCHA playoff status
The Big Ten has only Minnesota among state teams, and the Gophers face a major challenge in a one-game showdown against Michigan. After winning the last two titles, Minnesota finished third (13-7-4) behind Michigan State (16-6-2) and Wisconsin (16-7-1), and ahead of fourth-place Michigan (11-11-2), which has a disappointing record for such a talent-laden team. It is Michigan that returns to 3M Arena at Mariucci to face Minnesota this weekend, and the Wolverines blew a big lead before subduing Minnesota in overtime two weeks ago in the second game of their season.

The strange thing is that Minnesota-Michigan is a one-game showdown, just as the other semifinal series when Ohio State plays at Michigan State, having already upset second-place Wisconsin, although the Badgers will surely get voted back into the NCAA field. Instead, the Badgers get a week’s rest.

The biggest turmoil is happening in the CCHA, where the whole season has been a wonderful, storybook twist. Bemidji State won the league (15-7-2) ahead of St. Thomas (12-11-1) and the deadkick for third between Michigan Tech (12-10-2) and Minnesota State Mankato (12-10-2). Lake Superior State finished seventh at (11-12-1), tied with Bowling Green, before the Lakers went to St. Thomas and ruined the Tommies season by splitting 4-1 victories in their best-of-three and then Lake Superior State stunned St. Thomas 3-2 in overtime in game 3.

That reversal sends Lake Superior State to Bemidji State, while MSU-Mankato plays at Michigan Tech.

When all the league playoff shooting subsides, we can dust ourselves off, put the snowshovels aside, and get ready for what is certain to be controversial NCAA selections.

But for now, the league playoff theory remains intact as the most exciting, we just have to stay alert to find out if our favorite league playoff ends this week, or ends net week, or overlaps to encompass both this weekend and next. All we know is they will be exciting.,

The post College Hockey Playoffs Are The Best appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

From the NCHC release:

In Friday’s 4-3 loss, the Minnesota Wild prospect tried to rally the Mavs, scoring on the power play late in the third period to pull UNO within a goal. The next night, Peterson tied a career high with three points, having a hand in three straight goals after Omaha fell behind 1-0. He scored back-to-back goals in the second period, the first of which tied the game, while late in the period he struck again for the game-winning goal to put UNO up 2-1. Early in the third period, he had the primary assist on another goal to extend the Mavericks’ lead. Peterson posted a +3 rating and put four shots on goal in the game Saturday while earning first star of the game. He finished the series with a +1 rating and seven shots on goal.

The post Peterson earns back-to-back NCHC Rookie of the Week honors 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.

Ex-Brainerd star named NCHC Offensive Player of the Week

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The National Collegiate Hockey Conference announced today that Omaha junior forward Josh Archibald has been named the Bauer Offensive Player of the Week.  It’s the second time he’s picked up the honor.

Archibald led the Mavericks in scoring last week with three goals and an assist in a pair of road games at New Hampshire.  The Mavericks lost, 6-3 and 5-2.

Josh Archibald
(UNO/Jeff Beiermann)

Archibald scored the first goal of the game on Friday and tallied the second directly after blocking a shot in the third period.  He also had the game’s first goal on Saturday.  He scored the three goals on just five shots for a shooting percentage of 60 percent and also had two blocks for the weekend.

Archibald leads the Mavericks in goals with 14 and points with 21.  His goal total ranks first in the NCHC while his point total is fourth.  He is tied for third in the nation in goals and ranks third with an average of .78 goals per game.  The native of Brainerd, Minn. is just five goals from tying his career high.

The post Archibald Receives NCHC Honor appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.