For 50 years, the St. Paul Capitals Hockey Association has provided generations of players – from mini-mites to Bantams – the opportunity to learn, compete and enjoy the sport on hometown rinks in their own community.

The organization has evolved from its inception as the Highland Hockey Association, which, in 1973, was one of many organizations supporting neighborhood and local park teams.

Highland joined forces with the Midway neighborhood of St. Paul in 1987, eventually becoming the Highland Central Capitals. In 2014, its current incarnation, the St. Paul Capitals as it is known today, became permanent.

Much has changed since the early days of the organization, but much has stayed the same, according to Capitals board president Julie Bustos, who’s been involved for years as a board member as well as a parent, having three kids participate in the program.

In the buildup to the 50th anniversary celebration, Bustos connected with a number of people involved in the early years of the association and heard first-hand how their shared experiences forged lasting bonds.

“There’s a lot of pride built into that,” Bustos said. “It was amazing to hear their stories about how much hockey meant to players both on the ice, as well as skills and things that they applied in their life off the ice, the friendships that they made that they still have.”

Matt Funk is the athletic director and boys hockey coach at Cretin-Derham Hall and knows the value the Capitals provide not just the community, but his program as well. Funk’s grandfather, Bill, coached at the University of St. Thomas, and in 1973, was one of the founders of the association, creating opportunities for three generations of Funks who went to play and coach in St. Paul high schools and colleges.

The St. Paul Capitals Hockey Association started as the Highland Hockey Association. (Photo courtesy of St. Paul Capitals Hockey Association)

“We’re rooted in St. Paul hockey. It’s not just a game. It’s about the lifelong skills you learn and the memories and friends you make,” Funk said. “The history here is remarkable and we need to keep that going for generations to come.”

Mike Vannelli also knows all about hockey friendships and lasting traditions. The Vannelli family is synonymous with hockey in St. Paul. Mike’s father, Tom Vannelli, played for Herb Brooks at the University of Minnesota, and was a freshman in 1974 when the Gophers won their first national championship. As a sophomore, the elder Vannelli was second in scoring for the WCHA champion Gophers.

Tom was head coach at Cretin-Derham Hall and co-head coach with his brother, Greg, at St. Thomas Academy. Mike played his high school hockey for his father at Cretin; and he played four years for the Gophers under Don Lucia, where he won a national championship before several seasons in Europe.

But prior to skating at Mariucci – or for the perennially powerful Raiders – Mike Vannelli came of age with the Highland Central Capitals.

“There’s a phenomenal sense of community,” Mike Vannelli said. “There’s a lot of kids that are playing in the association that are second, third, some are even fourth generation. And so, it’s pretty special in that regard. And it’s a very tight knit community.”

Today, Mike Vannelli’s son and daughter play in the Capitals program, where he is doing double time as vice president of boys hockey, as well as coach of his son’s squirt team.

“There’s so many things that as a parent and coach that you see that they’re able to get out of it,” Mike Vannelli said. “First and foremost, it seems like they’ve built some amazing friendships that they’ll be able to carry with them the rest of their lives.”

Mike Vannelli points to the fun he sees his kids having with teammates – in practices and in games, both structured and unstructured, inside arenas and outdoors in parks – as invaluable experiences, providing not just enjoyment, but lifetime lessons.

“The qualities that they begin to get instilled in them through competition, accountability, just learning to be a good teammate; what that means, essentially translates to being a good person on and off the ice,” he said.

How can the Capitals keep moving forward? 
After decades of creating those experiences for thousands of St. Paul kids, the Capitals are now faced with an existential challenge: how to keep the organization vital and thriving for the next 50 years and beyond. Ice time has grown scarce, and expensive, while participation costs continue to increase.

During the 2023-24 season, fees for squirt and 10U were $1,220; and that number only rises for older players.

The Capitals are working to keep the program viable for future generations. (Photo courtesy of St. Paul Capitals Hockey Association)

“We’re challenged with finding ways to try and keep that cost as manageable as possible,” Mike Vannelli said. “And there’s some folks within our association that have done an amazing job with some fundraising efforts that they’ve kicked off.”

With rising costs and dwindling numbers already having claimed most of St. Paul’s youth programs, the Capitals are working in-season and out to keep their program viable for future generations.

“It’s a little bittersweet to be honest with you,” said Jim Runyon, director of fundraising for the Capitals and a lifelong St. Paul resident who grew up playing in the Central Hockey Association.

Runyon can’t help but think of the thriving programs in the parks and recreation system when he was growing up. Associations like Battle Creek, Phalen and Conway, among numerous others, no longer exist.

“There were probably 25 organizations in St. Paul that offered really good, quality competitive hockey,” Runyon said. “So, to celebrate our 50th was great because you feel like ‘Wow, this is a long time that kids have been playing hockey here,’ but you also look at who’s still around and it’s kind of sad to see.”

But Runyon is quick to call out the silver lining the Capitals have sought: New fundraising efforts which are now the lifeblood of the program.

Kelly Rand, the association’s gambling coordinator, has set the course for the Capitals to raise funds as suburban programs like Woodbury, White Bear Lake, Eagan and Edina have through legalized gambling or, more specifically, pull-tabs and Bingo, through exclusive agreements with local establishments.

“A year and a half ago, we became licensed. We started with one bar, and a bar and restaurant,” Runyon said. “We now have two up and running and we’re trying to play catch up.”

Creating financial stability as hockey costs rise
The goal is to generate more than just fast funding – which is needed – but to create generational stability for the association.

“The costs of hockey are going up too fast,” Runyon said. “And in order to sustain it, we had to put on the brakes, and the only way to do that was to set up some sort of endowment.”

The growing need inspired the St. Paul Capital’s Legacy Fund, which will maintain proceeds for investment, with a small percentage coming out each year to fund the program.

“We have to work a little bit harder, but more importantly, we have to be smarter about what we do with our money,” Runyon said. ‘That money is dedicated and restricted so that for the next 50 years, kids in St. Paul will have an opportunity to play hockey.”

The results are encouraging for coaches, parents and their kids. And for leaders like Bustos, who’s seen hockey evolve since her playing days, before girls hockey was ever a thought.

Bustos competed exclusively with boys in the Tartan Area youth league until Bantams. So for her, the focus is always about providing opportunities for kids to participate – now and well into the future.

“How do we keep this association and the service that it brings to the community alive and vibrant?” she asked, rhetorically. “We want to produce the same kind of emotional connections and life connections and athletic development that we’ve been providing for the last 50 years.

“My dad coached me and now I’m coaching my kid and I want to make sure that my kid has a chance to coach their kids.”

The post 50 Years And Counting appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

That, and the advancement of the concept that you should never pick against Patrick Mahomes when the Super Bowl itself comes down to the closing seconds with everything on the line. Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs — for those who might have been in seclusion for the last week — came through with a vital little touchdown pass with 3 seconds left in overtime to beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in a game that droned on as a defensive showdown for three quarters.

Showdowns will become more prevalent in men’s college hockey in the next few weeks in the Big Ten, NCHC, and CCHA. But the future is now for the WCHA’s women, who have only two weekends remaining before league playoffs.

WCHA women’s hockey battles down the stretch
The University of Minnesota is in the thick of two huge rivalries to end the regular season, as they battle to find consistency against the top contenders. Ohio State continues to dominate the standings with a leading 23-1 record, good for the runaway No. 1 rank in the nation as well. Wisconsin is second with a 20-4 record that would be spectacular if the Buckeyes weren’t around. The Golden Gophers are third at 18-5-1.

The spotlight of the weekend, though, finds Minnesota at Wisconsin, with a shot at sneaking past the Badgers with a sweep. If that wasn’t enough drama, the Gophers return home next week and face Minnesota Duluth, which is not in contention but is perhaps Minnesota’s most fierce rival.

UMD has its own mini-drama, because the Bulldogs are battling to move into contention but also to free themselves of the new threat to their status of fourth-best in the league, coming from St. Cloud State. The Huskies lost two tough games to Minnesota last weekend, while UMD swept two games at St. Thomas, which vaulted UMD ahead of the Huskies and into a five-point lead for fourth place and the final home-ice spot in the first round of the WCHA tournament.

This weekend, St. Cloud State goes to Duluth to face the Bulldogs, and the interesting thing about that series at AMSOIL Arena is that one victory by UMD will assure them of the fourth spot and home-ice advantage. But in the first round of playoffs, the fourth-place team plays fifth place, so after this weekend’s series, both teams know they are going to be facing each in the best-of-three first round, with the only question being which will be the home team. On the final weekend next week, UMD goes to Minnesota while St. Cloud State plays at Bemidji State, and the highlight series will be Ohio State at Wisconsin.

The WCHA Women’s tournament is always a season treasure with close, tough, single-elimination games — usually an overtime of two — at Ridder Arena on the Gophers campus in Minneapolis. So, after all the posturing for playoff position, whoever wins between UMD and St. Cloud State gets the honor, undoubtedly, of taking on No. 1 Ohio State in the league semifinal.

Hunt has productive weekend vs. UST 
Last weekend, UMD’s sweep at St. Thomas was pretty much because of the presence of Reece Hunt. She played four years at Bemidji State, and with no sniff of playoff advancement, she jumped into the transfer portal and went to UMD as a graduate student for her fifth year.

How effective was she at St. Thomas last weekend? Well, completed a natural hat trick and scored all four UMD goals by the second intermission in the eventual 4-1 victory. Rylee Bartz scored the UST goal in the second period. 

The next night, Hunt scored to open the second period and break a 1-1 tie, with what stood up as the game-winner in a 5-1 victory. For the weekend, Hunt scored five goals and she also assisted on Olivia Wallin’s third-period goal for a six-point series.

“Reece Hunt is a massive addition to our program, and a great person,” said UMD coach Maura Crowell. “I never care who scores; whoever scores, I’m happy. But Reece always knows where to go and how to finish.”

Hunt was asked which of her four Friday goals was her favorite.

“The first three, because all three of us on our line were involved,” Hunt said.

UMD stands 1-1 against St. Cloud State this season, and the Bulldogs have a perfect 12-0 record against the bottom three teams in the league, but are 1-9 against the top three — Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

As compelling as the UMD-St. Cloud State series is, both games will start at 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at AMSOIL Arena, because the prime-time night schedule has the UMD men hosting preseason-favorite Denver both nights at AMSOIL.

High school sections, St. Scholastica splits, Rivalry Series
It’s altogether fitting and proper that we watch the girls high school hockey sections get decided this week with some outstanding games, and their ever-increasing skill level makes the games and the sections more competitive than ever. The same holds true for Division III college hockey, where St. Scholastica split two captivating games against St. Mary’s last weekend. Despite the heavy emphasis on Division I college hockey, the caliber of Division III has risen amazingly, both in skill and tempo.

The Saints split two games with St. Mary’s, losing 2-1 in overtime Friday after the Saints saw a 1-0 lead disappear with 1:19 remaining. But then the Saints came back against the favored Cardinals on Saturday night at Mars-Lakeview Arena. It was a tough game, and thankfully the Saints had sophomore Makenzie Cole, from Grand Rapids-Greenway, in the nets. She stopped 60 shots in the first game, and was just as spectacular in blunting the St. Mary’s attack on Saturday afternoon. The Saints won a highly emotional shootout victory.

After the series, which drew a hearty and loud crowd, Saints coach Julianne Vasichek, who is originally from Montana, made a quick trip to St. Paul to watch former teammates play on both sides in the seventh and deciding game of the Rivalry Tour, won 6-1 by Canada over Team USA at Xcel Energy Center. The United States won the first three games in the series, but Canada stormed back to win the next three, including the game seven blowout.

It was a deserving celebration for Vasichek. It was her birthday, as well as nine years since she survived a liver transplant at the Mayo Clinic. Last week, she was announced as a member of UMD’s all-time 25-year all-star team. Vasichek was a two-time NCAA champion and All-America for the Bulldogs and remains in contact with former UMD coach Shannon Miller, who now lives in Palm Springs, Calif.

Not a bad way to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports week.

UMD men’s coach looking for urgency vs. Denver
Denver is not exactly dominating NCHC after a strong start. The Pioneers have slipped to fifth behind North Dakota, St. Cloud State, Western Michigan and Colorado College in the tightly bunched NCHC.

“Denver has strong lines, and they play with continuity and don’t give up the puck,” said UMD coach Scott Sandelin. “We have to take care of the puck because they’re a good transition team, and a strong defensive team. They don’t turn pucks over, and if you’ve got the puck, they get on you and can frustrate you.

“Just like every team in our league. We’ve got eight games left, and we need some guys to play better. I’ve been waiting for that for quite a while now. We need overachievers, not underachievers, and any contributions we get from anybody means a lot.

“If you don’t have urgency now, you’ll never have it.”

In the Super Bowl, Mahomes won the MVP award, for the back-to-back Super Bowl wins. But despite the assembled gang of television analysts that insisted on spewing endless superlatives as if they were unique in their opinions, they all agreed that a victory would mean the Chiefs were a dynasty. But let’s get one thing straight: This modern-day NFL doesn’t have room for dynasties. Parity dominates, and on any given Sunday, any team can beat any other, and even the Vikings could take down the 49ers in the right circumstance.

But while I thought the Detroit Lions lost to the 49ers in a day of botched officials calls, and Baltimore, Buffalo and Dallas were all extremely strong, we can declare that the Chiefs and the 49ers were the best two survivors, and when the big trophy was on the line, Mahomes proved again that he is the best survivor of them all. Very Brett Favre-like.

The post Hockey outlasts Super Bowl Weekend appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

But last week’s action involving Minnesota’s six Division I college hockey teams resulted in some impressive goaltending performances that made headlines in the Big Ten Conference, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, the Central Collegiate Hockey Assocation, the women’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association for women, and even the NHL.

The Minnesota Gophers stayed at the top of national men’s ratings, despite splitting two games at North Dakota, with the goaltending of Justen Close. He was responsible for the Gophers’ 4-0 victory in game one, and he couldn’t be faulted when he made 32 saves when the Fighting Hawks came back to beat Minnesota 2-1 in the rematch at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks.

Close’s first-game victory gave him back-to-back shutouts. But the Hawks got 21 saves from Ludvig Persson, their goaltender of the hour, in game two. Minnesota’s loss didn’t cause it to drop out of the No. 1 national ranking because both Boston University and Michigan, ranked No. 2 and No. 3, also lost over the weekend. The only movement among the top five was North Dakota, which appropriately moved up from fifth to fourth and served notice to their NCHC rivals that they are, indeed, equipped for contention.

Frost gets 2-year extension; WCHA packs top-10 rankings
The Gopher women, also ranking high at No. 4 in the WCHA, gave coach Brad Frost a two-year contract extension because he simply forms a contending team year after year. They stand No. 4 after running up a 5-0 record in the early going, including a WCHA midweek match with ever-improving St. Cloud State. The Gophers lost a lot of offensive firepower from last season, causing Frost to proclaim that it will take a more defensive posture to win this year, and beating the Huskies was a clear example.

Frost’s goaltender was Skylar Vetter, who was trying for the fourth-straight Gophers shutout. Avery Farrell spoiled the shutout big with a goal with 5.2 seconds left in the third period. Minnesota had gained the advantage when Ava Lindsay scored midway through the second period, and Taylor Stewart, a fifth-year transfer from University of Minnesota Duluth, scored a short-handed goal into an empty net with 47 seconds left. Fifth-year goaltender Jojo Chobak — another transfer from UMD — was pulled for a 6-on-3 skater edge. The Gophers won 2-1.

The Gopher women have a big challenge this weekend, with a trip to Ohio State (5-1), which is ranked No. 2 in the WCHA-dominated top 10. Wisconsin, Ohio State, Colgate and Minnesota make up the top-four ranked teams, followed by unbeaten Quinnipiac and Yale. UMD (4-2) is ranked No. 7 with St. Cloud State (7-2) rising to No. 10. 

UMD swept Minnesota State Mankato in WCHA play by 3-1 and 4-1 margins. Mary Kate O’Brien, Reece Hunt and Hanna Baskin scored for the Bulldogs in game one. In the second game, Gabby Krause scored a pair of goals to go with goals from O’Brien and Jenna Lawry. Bulldogs freshman goaltender Eve Gascon made 21 saves in the second game, and she was named WCHA Rookie of the Week for her stinginess. 

An interesting part of this coming weekend’s UMD trip to Bemidji State is that it will be a homecoming of sorts for Hunt. She transferred from Bemidji State to UMD for her fifth year, seeking a master’s degree in business with UMD’s curriculum.

Bemidji State’s Mattias Scholl watches his blocked UMD shot trickle past him. (MHM Photo / John Gilbert)

Cohasset natives shine in net at college, NHL levels
Minnesota-Duluth’s men may have good reason to help the good folks of Cohasset, Minn., a tiny mining town on the Western tip of the Iron Range, build a statue to goaltenders. Hunter Shepard, a Cohasset native, is a former Grand Rapids High School standout who guided the Thunderhawks to the Class 2A state tournament before playing junior hockey on his way to UMD. He was the MVP as the Bulldogs won back-to-back NCAA championships. Shepard recorded 15 shutouts in his days at UMD.

While he continued to do his hometown of Cohasset proud by winning the American Hockey League’s Calder Cup trophy for Washington’s AHL franchise, he was called up to start his first NHL game for the Washington Capitals vs. New Jersey on Oct. 25. That was the same day that current UMD goaltender Zach Stejskal was named NCHC Co-Goaltender of the Week for recording his first collegiate shutout in last Friday’s 4-0 victory over Bemidji State before also surviving a wild, power-play-filled shootout to beat the Beavers 5-4 in overtime Saturday in Bemidji.

“I know I came close a lot of times,” Stejskal said, of getting a shutout victory. “I remember one game we were tied 0-0 against St. Cloud, and they beat us 1-0 in overtime. When we’d win and I’d give up a goal late, I’d always say that shutouts didn’t matter, winning was what was important. But now that I finally got a shutout, I’ve got to admit, it’s pretty neat.”

Both nights, Stejskal had to outduel Bemidji State’s Matthias Scholl, who was victimized by a three-goal first period for the Bulldogs, all on power-play tallies from Matthew Perkins, Luke Bast and Aaron Pionk. The next night was not a pleasant one for either Stejskal or Scholl.

“I thought their goalie (Scholl) played great,” said UMD coach Scott Sandelin. “We looked really confident on our power play in the first game, but there were some unnecessary penalties that we will have to tighten up.”

After a miraculous recovery from cancer, UMD senior Zach Stejskal recorded his first career shutout against Bemidji State to keep the Bulldogs unbeaten at 3-0-2. (MHM Photo / John Gilbert)

Stejskal’s story has a double impact, because he, too, is from Cohasset, Minn., and was a state tournament star at Grand Rapids before playing at UMD. After one impressive season, however, Stejskal was stunned by the news in the fall of his sophomore season that he had testicular cancer and would miss the entire season during treatment. He made it through treatment, got a clean bill of health, made it back last season and has become the No. 1 netminder as a senior for the Bulldogs.

Somebody asked Sandelin what he thought Shepard would be going through in his first NHL start at Washington, and the coach said: “Knowing Shep, he’s probably nervous, excited, and probably won’t show it.”

Unlike the 6-foot Shepard, Stejskal is 6-foot-5, towering over the crossbar, the crease and just about everybody on both teams. Maybe they’ll need twin statues up in Cohasset.

The post Glory to Goalies appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Yet in reality, successfully mastering the move is the result of months and years of work behind the scenes.

For Minnesota State fifth-year senior forward Reggie Lutz, scoring a go-ahead wraparound goal in the Frozen Four against Minnesota is a move that he has been practicing on since the age of five when the Elk River native received a special incentive.

“Every time I would score a wraparound goal, my Dad would take me to McDonald’s, and I’d get a Happy Meal. I’ve been working on one for a while and it was pretty cool to see it work on the big stage,” he said after the Mavericks defeated Minnesota 5-1 in the Frozen Four semifinals. “It was able to pay off tonight, so it was pretty cool.”

Working for years behind the scenes is Minnesota State’s M.O. 41 NHL Draft picks descended to Boston from the Frozen Four teams. Only one, Nathan Smith, came from the Mavericks.

It did not matter to the only program to make a repeat Frozen Four appearance, as thousands of fans came from Mankato, Minnesota, and points elsewhere to cheer, to high-five, and enjoy a program-high against three of the sport’s traditional bluebloods. Thousands lined the TD Garden red carpet for both the April 7 semifinal and the April 9 championship game.

“We’re still building,” said Mike Hastings, who found his wife in the crowd before Thursday’s game. “Pretty special to be a part of it and to have the people travel that distance, spend the time away from work.

“We had some students hop on flights. I’m not sure where the pay came from, but they hopped on some flights out here to support us.”

Photo courtesy of Mansoor Ahmad

Lutz’s path to the Mavericks from Elk River included stops in Fairbanks and Chicago. The 25-year-old’s road to college is the norm for Minnesota State, who had one player debut before their 20th birthday. Burnsville’s Cade Borchardt won a USHL Clark Cup after high school, the culmination of three different teams in three years. Smith played high school hockey in Florida. 

Dryden McKay, the 2022 Hobey Baker Award-winning senior goaltender and men’s hockey all-time shutout leader, spent three straight seasons as a Mike Richter Award finalist without winning the award.

Even Hastings, celebrating his 10th anniversary being hired as Minnesota State’s head coach, has come a long way from an early season series against Denver where the Pioneers swept his Mavericks in Mankato. 

“You learn from the hard things. That was a hard weekend. I remember it vividly,” he said. “I thought we played well that weekend, and we didn’t get a point.”

That Mavericks team eventually made the NCAA Tournament, as did another six under Hastings. When Minnesota State broke through to make it to the Frozen Four in 2021, Borchardt said that he took in the moment, remembering the ones that got him there, before his latest.

In its second Frozen Four appearance, Minnesota State, who began the season sweeping the defending national champions in Massachusetts, made the most of its recent experience in comparison to Minnesota, Michigan, and Denver.

Relaxed, screaming, and happy pregame, the Mavericks players embraced their “we before me” team mantra. The group became one, utilizing its suffocating defense against one of the nation’s top offenses and dispatching Minnesota despite trailing 1-0.

McKay gave up a goal on the first shot he saw of the weekend on a 2-on-0. He did not give up another until the third period of the national championship game. Before Lutz, Benton Maass scored a wraparound goal.

“I think it’s right when you step foot on campus. Ever since Coach has been here in Mankato, he’s built a great culture of family, team first,” Lutz said. “Anything that gets thrown our way, you’re going to put our team first. We don’t have one selfish guy on our team.”

The same team that collectively learned from the hard things and took the long path to college quickly became a perennial national title contender. Walking around Boston was a fanbase, dressed in purple suits, Revolutionary War outfits, and the more traditional Mavericks sweaters, ready for a championship. They had been on the road from Day 1.

Facing the same Denver program Hastings learned from a decade prior, Minnesota State spent 45 minutes keeping the nation’s top offense in neutral. The Pioneers had 4 shots on goal in the national championship game’s first half before finding the back of the net.

Once Denver did, the lessons resumed. A 1-0 third period lead quickly wrapped around into a 5-1 defeat for the Mavericks and the first loss in 19 games. The rainbow that was over TD Garden pregame disappeared. 

“You look at the whole season. We hadn’t lost a game since around Christmas until tonight,” Borchardt said after the championship game. “I mean, obviously nothing’s going to solve this or make us happy right now. So I am proud of everyone, proud of the seniors. It stings.”

Boston was a special place for Minnesota State, who continues to present a difficult puzzle for any team to solve. It is a program long past the point of Providence, Palmquist being pushed, NCAA first rounds, and being a surprise national title contender.  

In a decade, Hastings has evolved the program into one that can reload and keep its identity. The only goal left to change the course of the program is one that barely eluded this group, the ones that came so close to the years of work paying off and wrapping their hands around the trophy.

“I’m incredibly proud of them because they’ve gone to work every day. We all know, your dailies are what make your week, what makes your month, which makes your year. These guys came to work every day with a smile on their face and made their dailies fantastic. The ride they took our staff on and our program on was special,” said Hastings after the title-game loss. 

“There will be time for reminiscing and thinking about the rest of it. Like I said, it’s a little raw now. And we’re going to learn from it and we’re going to move on. We’re going to be better because of what happened tonight and because of the journey that these guys allowed us to have together from the beginning of the year until now.”

Photo courtesy of Mansoor Ahmad

The post That’s A Wrap appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The problem is Perbix doesn’t, because he didn’t. Motzko’s triumphant return to the “House that Herbie built” Saturday night did not come without a little outside help.

In the opening moments of overtime, Minnesota’s Blake McLaughlin tugged hard on the back of the puck-carrying Perbix’s sweater, yanking him to the ice just to the left of Husky goaltender David Hrenak. So convinced of his guilt, McLaughlin stopped skating as he passed the NCHC official in the corner who watched the play unfold right in front of him. The Huskies did the same but Sammy Walker did not and once McLaughlin realized he had been spared a penalty, he picked up the loose puck and fed his Gopher co-captain who went in alone on Hrenak, burying the game winner 36 seconds into the extra session.

The controversial finish gave No. 4 Minnesota a split in its home-and-home series with No. 2 St. Cloud State and put a damper on SCSU’s homecoming celebration. Motzko improved his record at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center to 146-73-29 (.647) overall and 1-0-0 on the visiting bench.

“I eventually knew that it was gonna happen, you know; it’s different,” Motzko said of his return. “I have great memories here and then to see a crowd like this and the intensity. I’ve lived through this. This is a special place and … it was special tonight too.”

Considering Motzko’s contribution to the program, his “homecoming” might have been a bittersweet moment for some Husky fans under normal circumstances. However, things turned ugly as the standing-room-only crowd pelted the ice with beer cans, seltzer cans and anything else within its reach.

Amid all of it, players and coaches shook hands while St. Cloud State coach Brett Larson took a detour to berate the official responsible for ignoring the infraction. 

The explanation?

“No explanation,” a seething Larson said. “We just watched on video, it’s impossible, you can’t explain it. That’s why there’s no explanation; it’s impossible to explain.”

One observer, who I shall not name but it rhymes with Ryan, initially agreed with Motzko immediately after watching it in real time from behind the top row of Section 207, where students absolutely respected the area’s no-alcohol policy without exception.

His first instinct was, and I quote, “Elite dive.”

He even stood across from Motzko as the coach offered his opinion which seemed to confirm what the naked eye witnessed. Moments later, however, his son pulled out his phone and revealed the smoking-gun video proving otherwise and tarnishing his opinion of an otherwise phenomenal night of hockey.

“I’m embarrassed that that happened and that non-call really ruined a great hockey game,” Larson said. “Two teams that I thought played great tonight gave our fans just a treat, a back-and-forth game with two really good hockey teams. Unfortunately, that situation really left a tough taste in our mouth.”

2021 Minnesota Mr. Hockey Award recipient, Jack Peart, scored his first collegiate goal in Saturday night’s 4-3 OT loss to Minnesota. (MHM Photo / Rock Olson)

Decked out in retro uniforms resembling those worn in the 1985-86 season, Motzko’s final season playing for SCSU, the Huskies tilted the ice in their favor early on and jumped out to a 1-0 lead near the halfway point of the first period on a fluky goal credited to Sam Hentges. But Minnesota scored twice in the second on goals by Aaron Hulgen and Bryce Brodzinski to give the Gophers a 2-1 lead entering the third. 

In a reversal of Friday night’s contest, St. Cloud State wasted no time tying the score on freshman Jack Peart’s first collegiate goal just 19 seconds into the final period. This time, however, it was the Gophers who answered, with Walker quickly restoring the lead.

“We needed to do that,” Motzko said. “I wasn’t happy with a couple of those goals that we gave up, last night, especially. When you get in games like this, you know, with playoff intensity, you are going to make mistakes this early. Sometimes you’ve got to live through those mistakes to get to the other side, a learning experience.

“So, we’re learning.”

The Gophers were less than five minutes away from a regulation victory but a cross-checking call on Minnesota’s Ben Meyers with 4:16 to go put the Huskies a man up and Nolan Walker tied it just seven seconds later. Motzko felt, at worst, it should have been a 4-on-4 situation. 

“It shouldn’t have been in overtime, the guy was hooking Meyers and Meyers retaliated,” Motzko said. “You can’t do that but he let that go. So I felt we deserved to win that game and I know it’s going to be controversial how it played down, but it played the way it was supposed to tonight.”

That’s not exactly how Nolan Walker saw it, especially after his experience in the post-game handshake line.

“Even their own guy came up to everyone and said, ‘That’s horrible. It should have been a penalty,'” SCSU’s Walker said. “So that’s when you know, right there, that we got screwed.”

The post Unhappy Homecoming appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

In a record-breaking year for success, all five Division 1 college teams in Minnesota made the 16-teams selected by the NCAA to play in four regionals, with two-time defending champion Minnesota-Duluth forced to play in Fargo at the Midwest Regional where No. 1 ranked North Dakota was top seed, while Big Ten playoff champion Minnesota was the No. 1 seed at the West Region in Loveland, Colo., where WCHA season champ Minnesota State-Mankato was also positioned and won the final. In the Northeast Region, Bemidji State earned the right to play from the WCHA, as the fifth team from Minnesota.

The only interloper is Massachusetts, better known as UMass, in a return to the Frozen Four where they lost a 3-0 final to UMD two years ago in the last Frozen Four before the pandemic shut things down a year ago.

In an amazing display, all five Minnesota teams won their opening regional semifinal games, including Bemidji State’s huge 6-3 upset over Big Ten regular-season champion Wisconsin. The game was 5-1 midway through the third period before the stunned Badgers got two late goals. That sent the Beavers into the Bridgeport, Conn., region final, where they were struck down 4-0 on a pure hat trick by Carson Gicewicz and the shutout goaltending of Filip Lindberg.

In a cruel twist, Gicewicz and Lindberg were among four UMass players ruled out of the Frozen Four by positive tests for COVID-19, so they will be unable to help their team against UMD.

In the West regional, Minnesota jumped to a 3-0 first-period lead and cruised past Nebraska Omaha 7-2 behind two goals from Mason Nevers, while MSU-Mankato needed a sensational finishing rally to squeeze past Quinnipiac 4-3 in overtime in the other semifinal. Mankato trailed 2-0 after one, cut it to 2-1 on a goal by Jake Jaremko in the second, but fell back behind 3-1 midway through the third. Nathan Smith cut it to 3-2 with a goal for the Mavericks at 14:54 of the third, and with star goaltender Dryden McKay pulled for a sixth attacker, Cade Borchardt tied it with 1:02 remaining. The game went to overtime, and after 11:13 had elapsed, Ryan Sandelin — son of UMD coach Scott Sandelin — battled to the crease to score after spotting a loose rebound, for a 4-3 triumph.

On Sunday, MSU-Mankato, the pride of the WCHA, took on Minnesota, the last remaining hope of the Big Ten, which has yet to convince other college leagues that it has reached parity. That quest remains, because Mankato completely squelched the Gophers in Loveland, Colo., scoring two minutes apart in the first period as Ryan Sandelin set up Sam Morton’s opening goal, then scored himself for the 2-0 jump-start. There was no scoring in the second period, but goaltender Dryden McKay kept the Gophers off the board, and goals by Nathan Smith and Dallas Gerads in the third carried the Mavericks to a shocking 4-0 triumph.

It’s fitting, in a way, that the proud WCHA and all its 37 NCAA champions since 1951 will end its days as the top men’s conference in the country with one last representative heading for the Frozen Four. The league will cease to operate men’s hockey next season as a third uprising will see the formation of the “new” CCHA, following departures that started the Big Ten and NCHC operations.

Minnesota Duluth’s Kobe Roth (10), Hunter Lellig (8), Jackson Cates (20) and Matt Anderson (3) rejoice in what was thought to be Roth’s game-winning goal in the first overtime of the Midwest Regional Final. The joy was short-lived as the goal was reversed upon review. But the Bulldogs would have the last laugh, however, on Luke Mylymok’s winner four overtimes later.
Photo by Russell Hons

The NCHC, won by North Dakota in both regular season and playoffs, will have great camaraderie as well as solid representation from UMD and St. Cloud State. Scott Sandelin takes his UMD Bulldogs to their unprecedented fourth straight Frozen Four, in quest of their third consecutive championship. St. Cloud State is coached by Brett Larson, who twice assisted Sandelin in building two of those UMD champions.

The Huskies went to the East region and earned their way to the Frozen Four by dispatching Boston’s top two rivals in Albany. St. Cloud State spotted Boston University a 1-0 second-period lead before Micah Miller and Nick Perbix scored retaliatory goals, and after BU tied it 2-2, Easton Brodzinski broke the tie with a goal for a 3-2 St. Cloud lead. In the third period, the Huskies finished off the Terriers with precision, as Finnish imports Jami Krannila and Veeti Miettinen scored goals, sandwiching the second goal of the game by Brodzinski for a 6-2 victory. BU threatened, getting a major power play, but Krannila got hauled down on a short-handed breakaway and scored on the ensuing penalty shot.

That victory sent St. Cloud State back to Times Union Center to face top seeded Boston College, which took a 1-0 first-period lead on a goal by Matt Boldy, who was to sign an NHL contract with the Wild a few days later. The Huskies facilitated that move by burying the Eagles under a 3-goal barrage in the second period. Luke Jaycox, Will Hammer and Nolan Walker connected for a 3-1 lead, and Micah Miller scored his second in two days in the third period to clinch a 4-1 victory.

That will send St. Cloud to its first Frozen Four, where the Huskies will face off against Mankato, its biggest rival through the years in all sports, especially basketball and football, until hockey took both programs to Division 1.

UMD got an unexpected boost in Fargo, when Michigan was forced to drop out of the tournament with an outbreak of COVID-19 — leaving UMD without an opponent in the semifinals. North Dakota, meanwhile, crushed American International 5-1 in the semis and stormed back to Scheel’s Arena in Fargo for the showdown against UMD.

The game was called by many the best-played game of the season, and it took on legendary proportions when UMD broke a scoreless tie in the third period with goals by Jackson Cates and Cole Koepke barely a minute apart. Goaltender Zach Stejskal made the 2-0 lead stand until the closing two minutes, when the Fighting Hawks pulled their goalie and scored twice for a 2-2 tie that forced overtime. Make that “overtimes,” because they played into the fifth overtime before little-used freshman Luke Mylymok raced end to end up the left boards and sent a pinpoint shot between the legs of a screening defenseman and through the legs of goaltender Adam School for a 3-2 victory that ended the longest game in NCAA tournament history — 142 minutes and 13 seconds, spanning 6 hours and 12 minutes.

For more storylines, Stejskal made 57 saves before severe cramps knocked him out in the fourth overtime, and fellow-rookie Ryan Fanti stepped in to make six more saves in 17:36 to close out the game.

St. Cloud State teammates Kevin Fitzgerald, Nick Perbix and Seamus Donohue congratulate junior forward Sam Hentges on the Minnesota Wild prospect’s third period goal in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship game on March 16, 2021 in Grand Forks, N.D.
Photo by Russell Hons

In St. Cloud’s victory, scoring leader Easton Brodzinski was carrying the puck when a BC player delivered a hard, legal, but blindside hip check that dropped Brodzinski to the ice. He was helped to the bench and the dressing room, and then an Albany hospital where the injury was diagnosed as a fractured leg, to end his senior season on the sidelines. The Huskies vowed to keep going in the name of their fallen senior leader, and whipped BC as evidence.

“The toughest part is for him,” said coach Larson. “Here’s a guy who has poured his heart and soul into our program, and now he can’t be part of it. Our guys all know we want to do it for Easton, and all have bought into it a little bit more.

“Nobody picked us to be in the top 20 at the start of the year,” Larson added. “We knew it would be tough, because the NCHC is the toughest league in college hockey. We played North Dakota when we had our first nine games in the pod, and we played Duluth seven times. All of that helped prepare our resilience, and we didn’t ever get rattled.”

MSU-Mankato’s victory over Minnesota was its seventh in a row against the Gophers, spanning the years when the WCHA teams branched off and now the five Minnesota colleges play in three different conferences.

UMass goaltender Filip Lindberg was the seventh-round draft pick of the Wild in 2018, and he finished his senior year with a 9-1-4 record in Hockey East, where he led the league with a 1.33 goals-against average, and he led the league and the nation with a .946 save percentage. Gicewicz, a senior who transferred to UMass from St. Lawrence, wound up with 17 goals and 24 points after his hat trick against Bemidji State. The loss of the quarantined players leaves only senior Matt Murray as a goaltender. He went 9-4 in 13 of the first 15 games, with a .913 save percentage.

Coming out of the NCHC’s season-opening pod in Omaha, UMD faced St. Cloud State in four consecutive games, with UMD winning 4-3 in overtime and losing 3-1 at St. Cloud, then heading North, where St. Cloud State swept, winning 4-3 and then 1-0 in an overtime classic. The teams concluded the regular season with another series, with the Bulldogs winning a 5-1 blowout at AMSOIL Arena before St. Cloud State blew a 3-0 lead but won 4-3 in overtime at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. They weren’t done yet, as they collided again in Grand Forks in the NCHC playoff semifinals, with Chase Brand’s short-handed goal standing up to give the Huskies a 3-2 victory.

They could meet one more time, if St. Cloud State gets past Mankato and UMD can beat UMass, and that would pit coach Sandelin against former assistant Larson. Of course, if UMD beats UMass and Mankato gets past St. Cloud State, the Bulldogs and Mavericks would meet with coach Sandelin against his son, Mankato sophomore Ryan Sandelin.

The post Making a STATEment appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Perbix picks up first college goal but Leivermann, Irish take series finale

Jack Perbix is no stranger to the score sheet. The University of Minnesota freshman winger racked up 121 points in 74 games for Elk River high school from 2015 to 2018. 

After finishing his high school career at Elk River in the spring of 2018, Perbix split his 2018-19 season between the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers and the Des Moines Buccaneers, scoring 12 goals among his 49 points in 60 games. But in his first seven games Gopher he had been blanked other than a pair of assists, although not for lack of opportunity.

“I’ve had Grade-A chances that I want back but after getting that first one, you know, it was definitely monkey off my [back],” said Perbix, a 2018 fourth-round pick (No. 116 overall) by the Anaheim Ducks.

The monkey is gone after Perbix notched his first collegiate goal which gave the Gophers a 2-0 first period lead over No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday night. But a pair of goals by Eden Prairie’s Nick Leivermann helped lift the Irish to 5-3 win over Minnesota in the finale of the opening weekend of the Big Ten conference schedule for both teams.

Leivermann, picked in the seventh round (No. 187 overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Colorado Avalanche, scored twice in the second period, including a game-tying goal after which the Irish never trailed. The sophomore now has three goals to his credit at Notre Dame with all three coming at 3M Arena at Mariucci. 

“We’ve kind of seen what our good hockey can look like; it looks pretty good,” Minnesota coach Bob Motzko said. “We didn’t sustain it tonight.” 

The Gophers jumped out out to a 2-0 lead on a pair of first-period goals by Brannon McManus and Perbix 3:39 apart. McManus, a junior, finished a 2-on-1 with Sampo Ranta when he took Ranta’s feed and beat a sliding Morris from the right circle at the 12:34 mark.

Less than four minutes later, Perbix jumped on a loose puck off a turnover forced by fellow freshman linemate Jaxon Nelson and wheeled into the high slot before firing a shot high off the inside of the right post. 

“I came across the circle and I noticed that I couldn’t see the goalie’s face and that’s just telling me that he couldn’t see mine,” Perbix said. “So I knew that he was screened and I just picked open net and I hit it.”

“The Nelson line emerged looking like college hockey players this weekend,” Motzko said. “I think the first six games we’ve been waiting for a group of guys. We had much more energy at times throughout all of our lines were tonight.”

The Irish bounced back in the second period with a trio of goals, two of them by Leivermann. His power-play goal at 5:20 got the Irish on the board and Notre Dame tied it at 13:46 on a goal by Mequon Wisconsin’s Spencer Stastney. 

“(Coach Jeff Jackson) has kind of been preaching to our power play that we haven’t got enough pucks to the net,” Leivermann said. “So I mean, we just kind of moved it around, make five or six passes, and hopefully, one of them goes in.”

Motzko lamented missed opportunities on special teams on a night when Minnesota’s power play was 0-for-3 against the Irish.

“We lost the special teams battle in a big game when you need it,” Motzko said. “Our power play had a couple opportunities get us back in the game and it doesn’t.”

But the Gophers regained the lead just 42 seconds later on a pretty goal by Garrett Wait. The former Edina star carried the puck into the left circle and across the low slot — with a toe-drag to evade a sliding Irish defenseman — before patiently outwaiting Morris who went down as Wait lifted a backhand shot over him.

The lead lasted less than four minutes, however, as Leivermann cut across the slot and fired a shot from between the tops of the circles that beat Moe for his second goal of the game and just the third of his college career. 

“Both are goals that I had were plays made by other players so it’s nothing to be looked down upon me,” Leivermann said “But I think it’s really fun to play here and I know that the boys kind of get going, especially all of the Minnesotans. We’re excited to be here so it’s fun.”

Jackson said Leivermann, after struggling a bit on Friday night, bounced back solidly on Saturday. 

“He’s learning how to defend because he’s always had the offensive skill,” Jackson said. “We’re trying to be patient with him, trying to get him some playing time so we can build some confidence, and tonight I thought it was really good.”

Tied 3-3 to start the third, the Gophers could not mount any offense and were outshot 17-2 in the final period. Defenseman Charlie Raith’s goal, the sophomore’s first collegiate point, just 1:25 into the period held up as the game winner with Maple Grove’s Trevor Janicke finding an empty net with 11 seconds remaining. 

“The bad thing about tonight’s game in general is we got destroyed on the faceoff,” Motzko said of Notre Dame’s 41-18 faceoff advantage. “So you start the entire night on defense and that wears you down and give Notre Dame credit on that.”

The post Notre Dame Wears down Gophers appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Minnesota’s first family of women’s hockey takes reunion to the ice

Photo gallery by Rick Olson (@rickolson77) for Minnesota Hockey Magazine

MINNEAPOLIS — On any given summer Sunday afternoon families across Minnesota and beyond will gather in organized reunions, catching up on each other’s lives over pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad and green bean casserole. In many cases friendly, and not so friendly, competitions ritually ensue on the softball field, at a volleyball net or over an intense Cornhole tournament.

University of Minnesota freshman defender Maddie Wethington’s family on the other hand — at least for one Sunday — took their battle to the ice.

Maddie Wethington (MHM Photo: Rick Olson)

Wethington stepped onto the Ridder Arena ice for Sunday afternoon’s exhibition game against the National Women’s Hockey League’s Minnesota Whitecaps with much more on the line than her Gopher teammates. As she surveyed the defending Isobel Cup champions as they warmed up, Wethington exchanged glances with two of her aunts, former Gophers Winny (Brodt) Brown and Chelsey (Brodt) Rosenthal, while her grandfather, Jack Brodt, watched from behind the visitor’s bench.

After the game, a visibly emotional Wethington looked toward her cousins Jack and Haley, Chelsey’s children, playing nearby and said, “I was these kids’ age, like five and under, when I got to watch them put on the ‘M.’ To be able to get to do that and then also play against them is something that’s really unbelievable and I will cherish for the rest of my life.”

Wethington, a six-time letter winner in both hockey and golf at The Blake School in Minneapolis, is a member of Minnesota’s most famous women’s hockey family. Her mother, Kerry, the first Division I women’s hockey head coach at St. Cloud State (1998-2002), is Winny and Chelsey’s sister and another of Jack’s daughters.

All three women play defense so opportunities for 1-on-1 battles were scarce on this day but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t any on-ice interaction. Rosenthal’s moment came as the teams were warming up.

“I gave her a little tap on the shins as we were both at center ice,” Rosenthal said. “Didn’t really say much but just gave her a look like ‘good luck.’”

Wethington said it really set in for her what the game meant when she locked eyes with Brown on a faceoff and was met with an ear-to-ear grin.

Minnesota Whitecaps D Winny (Brodt) Brown (MHM Photo: Rick Olson)

“I was smiling across the way, you know, when we were on the faceoff draw but we’re very competitive too,” said Brown, Minnesota’s first Ms. Hockey winner in 1996. “In our family, it’s competing all the time whether it’s on the ice or checkers, or you know, getting shotgun in the car. I think it’s kind of a culture that probably my parents have created that has kind of been passed on to my sister Kerry and her daughters.”

That competitive spirit propelled Wethington to become a four-time all-state, four-time all-conference, and three-time all-metro honoree as well as a two-time Minnesota Girls State High School Tournament All-Tournament Team member. She helped Blake to three state championships (2014, 2016 and 2017) and one state runner-up finish (2015) to go with six conference titles.

In addition, Wethington has competed internationally for several U.S. Under-18 teams and, not surprisingly, has played club hockey since 2012 for the Minnesota Junior Whitecaps. While it is been an honor to wear those colors, nothing compares to the realization of Wethington’s childhood dream of donning the maroon and gold sweater with the ‘M’ across the front and No. 5 on the back.

The number is significant in that she wears it in honor of her aunts who both wore it as Gophers, Brown from 1998-2000 and Rosenthal from 2002-06. That Wethington got to wear it as a freshman she says is a matter of the stars aligning for her.

“I realized that the defenseman that was leaving (Sophie Skarzynski) was number five,” Wethington said. “So it just happened to work out perfectly.”

The number choice is an emotional one for Brown and Rosenthal as well.

“Both me and Chelsey are honored that, you know, she respects us enough to want to carry on that number and represent the Gophers with it,” Brown said. “It’s pretty special.”

Rosenthal expressed her pride in her niece while praising her play and added the experience of playing against her was something she never expected to happen

Minnesota Whitecaps D Chelsey (Brodt) Rosenthal (MHM Photo: Rick Olson)

“It was very cool to see her wearing in the ‘M’ and she’s worked so hard, Rosenthal said. “I remember her being in a stroller and now I’m playing against her so that kind of just says a lot how … I’m getting old.”

Wethington said she believed Sunday’s game was the first time her grandfather had coached against her but the day’s events conjured up fond memories of coaching alongside him as a young girl.

“I remember growing up he would coach some of their WHAM (Women’s Hockey Association of Minnesota) league (games) with my mom even playing and and I’d be on the bench with him pretending to coach when I was five years old,” Wethington recalled with a smile. “At the end of last season, my senior year, he was like, ‘Just wait, I’ll have all these players on you forechecking you so hard.’ He was looking forward to it; I was looking forward to it; it was a great moment for my whole family.”

Brodt, who played hockey at Hamline University and co-founded the Whitecaps in 2004, said the game was a proud grandparent moment and he is confident Wethington will make her own mark at the University of Minnesota.

“My granddaughter is a good player and she’s been wanting to play against her aunts so it was fun,” Brodt said. “It wasn’t exactly the way we wanted it to turn out but, it is what it is.”

It turned out to be a 5-1 Gopher win which saw them outshoot the Whitecaps 57-12, despite trailing 1-0 after one period on Jonna Curtis’ buzzer-beater. The Gophers proceeded to reel off five unanswered goals — led by Taylor Heise’s three-point effort (2-1—3) and a goal and an assist from Grace Zumwinkle — to overwhelm their guests.

To be fair, the Whitecaps had practiced only twice and a labor dispute has them, and every other NWHL team, playing with a significantly depleted roster compared to the one fans celebrated with on the ice in March.

Minnesota Whitecaps coach Jack Brodt (MHM Photo: Rick Olson)

“It’s always fun to play the Gophers,” Brodt said. “We didn’t give them much of a test but when we originally scheduled, we figured we were going to have all our players. We’ve only had one and a half practices. They’ve been practicing for two or three weeks so you can see that we were slow to all the pucks. They just took it to us and I kind of figured that that’s what they were going to do.”

To the Gophers’ credit, they took full advantage of the opportunity and Wethington even got on the score sheet, chipping in an assist on Zumwinkle’s game-tying goal in the second period. But that was secondary to the win in Wethington’s eyes.

“I think I got a little bit of an advantage at the table when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Wethington said with a competitor’s grin. “But I’ll try not to rub it into their face too much.” 

The post Sunday Fun Day appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

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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