St. Thomas players Ryder Donovan and Jake Ratzlaff dodged career-enders last year, but their seasons still came to an unfortunate early end. Both of them have a unique story to tell.

The two players met playing hockey in the elite league in high school and, eventually, they met up again at Wisconsin, but strangely, in different sports. While Donovan suited up on the ice for the Badgers, Ratzlaff went a different route and played linebacker for the football team. Despite that, the two managed to reconnect a couple of years ago.

“Oh yeah, I knew who he (Ratzlaff) was just from the Minnesota hockey mill,” Donovan said. “He was two years younger, but I knew who he was. He was a higher-rated hockey player, and then he chose the football route. So, I knew him in Madison, not great, but he would come skate with us sometimes. (Tony) Granato, who was our coach at the time, had a really good relationship with Paul Chryst, who was their football coach. Here and there some days, when it wasn’t a super-intense practice day or where we’d scrimmage or something, Ratz would come. All of a sudden, you’d see a stick in the locker room that wasn’t one of our team sticks. So, we’d be like ‘alright, someone’s here.’ We’d let him skate with us in some preseason stuff before we had real practices, but then when we would have a Monday or Tuesday practice, he would come skate after we got off. He’d be in the locker room saying hi to guys and stuff.”

Jake Ratzlaff, a defenseman, is listed with a 6-2 height and 215 pounds with St. Thomas for the 2024-25 season. (Photo courtesy of University of St. Thomas)

Donovan also said that Ratzlaff, a Rosemount native, stood out from the crowd due to his size and that he looked a little awkward, but that it was obvious that he could play the game well.

“He was definitely a little heavy out there in the boots,” Donovan said with a laugh. “I think his shoulder pads went above his ear loops on his helmet. His shoulders were so big compared to ours. So, it was a pretty funny hockey visual picturing him in hockey gear then. Obviously, he was pretty rusty, and I can’t imagine how his body felt after three-a-days on the football field and film, but you could tell that this guy definitely played hockey, and he was a good player. Maybe not a little fine-tuned, but he’s just a physical freak. I think that he could pick up any sport in a couple of months and it’d be like ‘holy smokes, this guy could probably make our team.’ I knew when he was at Madison in the USHL and he started to drop his football weight, but he was still a monster. Even here now, he’s been playing hockey for a year plus, and he had injuries last year with his hips, but he’s just a physically freak athlete. All he thinks about all the time is sports, so it’s no surprise that he was able to make the transition back and be just fine.”

Ratzlaff said that his appearance has changed quite a bit since his football days and that he’s trying to mold himself back into a skater.

“I’ve definitely lost some weight,” Ratzlaff said with a chuckle. “I think at the heaviest I was 236 or 237 (pounds). I’m about 225, which is about 12 pounds down. I went heavier in the offseason so I could add some more muscle mass. Going into the season if I could go down to 220 or 225, it would work. I think my body type is different too. My upper body used to be bigger. Football players need those big upper bodies to be able to take on the blockers. I’m a little bit more leaned out in my face and everything, which is good. I hope I look different because I’m trying to mold myself more into a hockey player.”

Ratzlaff said that he went to as many Badgers hockey games as he could when he was at school. He missed being on the ice.

“My freshman year, my dorm was right next to the Kohl Center,” Ratzlaff said. “Just in walking distance. So, I would go from the dorm, especially in the wintertime when we were just doing our lifts, I would go to all the games. Sometimes I went by myself, sometimes some of the football guys would come with me. I loved playing football, but it was hard to watch those guys play and not be out there. I knew all the guys on the team. Even guys that weren’t Ryder and (St. Thomas forward) Liam (Malmquist). It was tough to not be out there, but it was fun to watch them.”

Ryder Donovan was sidelined for much of last season after getting injured in an off-ice incident. (MHM Photo / Ryan Stieg)

Donovan transferred to St. Thomas last season
Going into last season, Duluth East grad Donovan knew that the Badgers were going to hire a new coach and decided he hadn’t “reached his full potential” playing in Madison. In the 2019, NHL Draft, the Vegas Golden Knights drafted Donovan in the fourth round (110th overall). Enticed by UST’s rise to Division I and its coaching staff, he decided to enter the transfer portal and join the Tommies. Donovan played in three games and ended up scoring the game-winning goal during the season opener against St. Cloud State, but after that early success, things went downhill for him through no fault of his own.

“It was an off-ice incident,” Donovan said. “Just the team hanging out and he didn’t mean to do it, but someone not in their right state of mind came up and flipped me from behind in a house in a doorway. We were playing the Gophers that weekend, and I was already out with a lower-body injury that I was dealing with from our preseason training camp and the first couple games. I played against St. Cloud and I was fine. Played the first game against Minnesota at the X (Xcel Energy Center), and I realized I could barely push off on my leg. So, I was going to be out for just a couple weeks, maybe. Not a big deal, but I ended up having my life literally flipped upside down and my body flipped upside down in an off-ice incident. Thought it was just a concussion at first. I told the coaching staff, and I was obviously really frustrated because it was kind of a freak accident that I didn’t expect. I realized I had a lot bigger issues going on with my neck and my brain overall. I probably could’ve broken my neck and I thankfully didn’t.

“So, since last October and through this summer, I really couldn’t do much. I just had to start from scratch and try to do a pushup without a headache or run without a headache and get back on the ice. I went to Vegas’ camp over the summer and they just had me down there for physicals and to meet with their medical personnel and be around the guys. I couldn’t even skate in July, so I’m really thankful for where I’m at right now. It wasn’t too far long ago, but at the end of July and August I started to get back on the ice without getting headaches and neck pain and build from scratch and get everything back. So, it’s been a bit of a journey.”

Ratzlaff overcomes injuries, switches from football to hockey
It’s also been a journey for Ratzlaff, who ended up switching from football to hockey thanks to some nagging injuries. He also joined the Tommies last season. However, his year was also cut short halfway through, thanks to an injury, and he ended up going under the knife.

Jake Ratzlaff is back on the ice this season after working his way back from multiple injuries. (MHM Photo / Ryan Stieg)

“I had double hip surgery,” he said. “Both labrums had been torn previously, football injuries. When I came into last season, I had my shoulder done that previous season. I was in the USHL, and I played 10 games or whatever and I had to get surgery. Last season, I played the first half of the season and then after Christmas, I got surgery on both of my hips. I’m back playing now, and I feel good. It was just one of those things. I’ve had four surgeries in the last three years, so it’s been a test on my body for sure. I’ve been staying resilient and enjoying the process. As many sports as I played in high school and then having the opportunity to go play football, it took a toll on my body. I was trying to do everything and, at some point, my body started to break down on me a little bit and those surgeries had to happen. Thankfully, we have people in this world that can put you back together, but it’s tough to go through that. I just try to keep that positive mindset. I’m thankful to be playing the game and being healthy, for the most part.”

Both season-ending injuries were rough on the two Tommies as Donovan spent the majority of his time on his own seeing medical specialists, while Ratzlaff spent the summer “trying to figure out his game” after recovering from surgery and trying to get back to being a hockey player. However, both are back on the ice and feel like they’re back to their old selves.

“Nobody is fully 100% in a physical sport,” Donovan said. “I got to the point where I thought I was in the best physical shape I’ve ever been in. Usually in the offseason you’re doing fun stuff with the guys more, and I had to keep it pretty strict and keep to a strict routine of workouts and visiting medical people I’d been working with, and our team trainer is great. I was a little unsure about hitting and physical play would go. We kind of leaned into it and with our preseason starting in September, we did more scrimmages and contact. I dealt with some symptoms, but I knew I was turning the corner coming into the season. I’ve taken plenty of blows, and I know I’m fine. It’s just another injury like someone blowing out their knee. You just try to stay ahead of it and make sure you’re protected.”

Added Ratzlaff: “Over the summer, I put in a lot of work to improve my skating and to improve a lot with my game. I worked with a skating coach, which I hadn’t done the previous summer, and I do feel like throughout the summer, I was getting to 100% and then once the season started, especially in the preseason, I felt like I was at 100%. In terms of 100% in the games, I think it takes a little bit now. I played half the season last year, which was great, but the first game went fine, and I think as I go along this season, I’ll keep building and getting better. But in terms of my body, I feel good.”

The twosome (three, if you add Malmquist) sometimes talk about their times in Madison, but right now, they’re focused on helping the Tommies win a CCHA Championship and enjoying the ride.

“We definitely talk about some of the good times that we had,” Ratzlaff said. “It was fun to get to know them. Their experience in Madison was interesting. It was different. My experience playing football and being over on the hockey side a little bit and going back and forth, it was different. We still talk about it every once in a while, but we’re all super thankful for the opportunity of what we have here at St. Thomas. We have an opportunity to do something special this year, and Ryder and I are both healthy. We’re really happy about this year, so I think we’re trying to stay as present as possible.”

Added Donovan: “It’s definitely a mutual excitement for all of us, for me, Ratz and Liam to be here and knowing that you’re a part of something pretty damn cool. Being able to build the program up and getting a new opportunity and still play the game you love and try to do it at the best level you can.”

The post Badgers To Tommies appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

But wait. For the current 2023-24 season a sixth Minnesota Division I program has vaulted into immediate contention, with the University of St. Thomas opening the season with a startling split with St. Cloud State and taking the then-No. 1 ranked Gophers to overtime before falling 6-5 before more than 11,000 fans at Xcel Energy Center.

The WCHA is, of course, no longer in operation. It shattered when Minnesota went off to help start a Big Ten hockey conference, prompting Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud State to start up with the new, and supremely powerful, National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) and leaving MSU-Mankato and Bemidji State in what was left of the WCHA. That league changed its name to the CCHA, recapturing the Central Collegiate Hockey Association call letters forced by Michigan when it branched off from the WCHA to form its “bus league.”

While St. Thomas, under proven mastermind Rico Blasi as head coach, raised all its sports to Division I status, nobody expected the Tommies to be the surprise of the state’s college hockey stalwarts this quickly.

Sophomore Ben Steeves scored a shootout goal as UMD solved a 2-2 tie with Michigan Tech. (MHM Photo / John Gilbert)

Regardless, we have to turn back to Minnesota Duluth to find the new king of bargain promotions in college hockey. The Bulldogs started off this season unbeaten through three games, while giving their fans the benefit of a bargain for their ticket prices. In two of their first three games, the Bulldogs skated to ties, then through scoreless overtimes, and then through shootouts before prevailing to turn those deadlocks into symbolic victories.

A young student, new to big-time hockey, saw the teams prepare for the shootout after UMD and Michigan Tech tied 2-2 in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game and asked: “Do they get a point if they win the shootout?” He was told no, that there was no tangible benefit, no points, no indication of winning, but only giving the fans the satisfaction of seeing the game end in something other than a tie.

He was unimpressed at the answer, but as the shootout saw Ben Steeves score a goal, and then freshman Anthony Menghini clinch it 2-1, the fans, all of whom stood in their AMSOIL Arena seats, erupted with a roar that would do a league playoff championship proud. The young man acknowledged, “OK, now I get it.”

A week later, in their first official non-conference game against Northern Michigan, UMD started with a 3-0 lead before allowing three unanswered goals and needing to rally to go back ahead 4-3 on Steeve’s second goal of the night, then fell behind 5-4. That left it up to Menghini, the freshman, to score another pivotal goal, tying the game 5-5 with 2:58 remaining. Then the Bulldogs and Wildcats sparred through six rounds of the shootout before Matthew Perkins, another freshman, scored to claim another 2-1 shutout victory. Again, however, it was not a victory, just an official tie. But don’t tell the 5,947 screaming fans that!

They went home happy and, thanks to the return of a previous promotional deal with area Culver’s restaurants, every fan turning in a ticket stub whenever UMD scores five goals or more gets a free scoop of frozen custard. How can you beat having extra-time hockey and free frozen custard after your team won the game — as far as you’re concerned.

The next night, UMD kept rolling through Northern Michigan in a second penalty-fest that saw a repeat of double-digit penalty calls with each team scoring three power-play goals and the Bulldogs getting an 8-5 victory and a sweep.

“These are games that test your inner strength,” UMD coach Scott Sandelin said afterward. “I thought we handled the adversity a little better tonight than in the first game, and fortunately our power play was clicking.”

Fears of struggling to score were washed away in that series sweep, thanks to Steeves and a couple of freshmen, starting a trend that seems to have engaged the whole team, which Sandelin will welcome as he tries to take his team off to the NCAA tournament in quest of his fourth national title at UMD.

Snuggerud is back for the Gophers
Down Interstate 35 a couple of hours, Bob Motzko has assembled a flashy crop of talent led by Jimmy Snuggerud, who started off hot after several of his classmates turned pro after last season’s near miss at NCAA time. Motzko got his way by narrowing the Olympic-sized, 200-by-100-foot ice sheet at 3M Arena at Mariucci to a hybrid width, now 200-by-89 feet. With an inability to use the wider ice surface favored by the late Herb Brooks and Doug Woog to win his first national title with a dressing room filled with NHL draft choices, maybe a narrower rink will help.

At the start, Snuggerud made the plan work. After scoring the overtime winner against upstart St. Thomas to climax a rally from a 4-2 deficit in the third period, Snuggerud brought his teammates back to Mariucci for the second game and scored twice for a 2-0 lead that the Gophers expanded with an empty-net goal for a 3-0 victory and a sweep.

The media-heavy Twin Cities promotional backing may have helped the Gophers gain the No 1 ranking in the nation despite losing four players to early NHL contracts. But Snuggerud makes it appear they won’t be missed as the Gophers try to repeat as Big Ten champions.

Early adversity for St. Cloud State 
The St. Cloud State Huskies, who rose up from a disappointing season to make a run at the NCAA tournament last spring, lost some big scorers. But coach Brett Larson has proven to be a master at fashioning his talent into contenders as the season progresses. The Huskies were the first victim of St. Thomas, losing 5-4 in overtime, and had to go to the Mendota Heights home of the Tommies to battle for a 1-0 victory and a split.

But next came a huge rivalry series against MSU Mankato, which spotted the Huskies the first two goals before roaring back to tie the game 2-2 in the second period and beat St. Cloud 3-2 on Adam Eisele’s overtime goal. The next night, Mankato stung the Huskies 5-1 for a sweep.

New coach leads Minnesota State Mankato
Minnesota State Mankato suffered what seemed like crushing setbacks when Mike Hastings left to become head coach at Wisconsin, and several of his top Mavericks entered the transfer portal to go with him. New head coach Luke Strand, however, has regenerated the Mavericks right from the start.

They were heartened by the return to form of Sam Morton, a fifth-year captain who went out after only 10 games with a knee injury last season. Alex Tracy looks solid in goal. The Mavericks have retained a great tradition, as they blocked 23 shots in the 5-1 game against St. Cloud State.

Beavers host Ice Breaker Tournament
Bemidji State is another team joining Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech in trying to unseat MSU Mankato as CCHA champion, and the Beavers got an early taste of the competition by co-hosting the Ice Breaker Tournament with North Dakota to open the season. That came after losing 5-2 at Minnesota in an exhibition opener. Back home, Bemidji State dropped a 4-3 overtime game to Wisconsin and the reappearance of old rival Hastings on the visiting bench.

The next night, Army came to Bemidji’s sparkling Sanford Center and the Beavers made a determined rally to tie the Cadets 2-2 on Eric Pohlkamp’s goal at 7:30 of the third period. Lleyton Roed scored the game-winner at 0:59 of overtime for a 3-2 triumph. Roed also had a goal against Wisconsin, when the Badgers outshot Bemidji 61-19 and only the 57 saves by goaltender Mattias Scholl kept the Beavers in the game.

Toms roll in game one
The state’s newest DI team, the St. Thomas Tommies, served notice of their intentions not only against in-state rivals like Minnesota and St. Cloud State, but challenging the CCHA as a legitimate contender. Blasi established his skills in building Miami of Ohio into a solid team in the NCHC. After he was let go by Miami he was a natural choice to lead the Tommies into DI. So, his team’s early successes this year shouldn’t be a surprise.

Benefitting by the transfer portal, Blasi has assembled speed and talent that went on display in the season-opener at St. Cloud State. Goals by Jake Braccini, Cameron Recchi, Luke Manning and Matthew Gleason got the Tommies into overtime, where former Duluth East star Ryder Donovan scored at 1:11 to win it 5-4. It won’t be easy for St. Thomas to keep knocking off powerful rivals, but Blasi has made a name for himself by sending tough, tenacious teams over the boards.

Now that St. Thomas is planning a new arena for its future, about all they need is to find an ice cream shop — or maybe a St. Paul pizza joint — and come up with a promotion whenever they score five goals.

The post DI College Hockey Preview appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.