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The post MHM October 2018 College/Pro Preview appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Gopher goalie Sidney Peters wins 2018 Hockey Humanitarian Award

Northeastern’s Adam Gaudette wins Hobey Baker Award 

St. Paul — Sidney Peters woke up Friday, April 6 with a notification on her phone for a missed call. It was the phone call she’d hoped for and put so much work in for.

The University of Minnesota goaltender, who just wrapped up her collegiate career less than a month ago in the NCAA quarterfinals, was informed she’d been accepted to the Uniformed Services University in Maryland. There, Peters will continue her education for a career in medicine while serving in the Air Force.

And to top the day off, Peters accepted the Hockey Humanitarian Award Friday evening at Roy Wilkins Auditorium.

“Today has been the coolest day of my life,” said Peters, who came to Minnesota from Geneva, Ill. “I had a missed call from the Dean at the Uniformed Services University so I called him back and he offered me a spot with the Air Force. It’s the coolest accomplishment I’ve been a part of.”

The award honors “the college hockey player that most personifies true community spirit through the selfless commitment of leadership, effort and time” and players, male or female, in all three divisions are eligible. Peters won the award over Camil Blanchet (Bowdoin College), Courtney Pensavelle (Yale), Luke Rivera (SUNY Fredonia) and Lauren Spring (Ohio State).

Peters’ numbers may not have been considered the elite of the elite her senior season, but they were certainly above average and provided the Gophers with a backbone on which to build their 24-11-3 season.

She posted a 1.93 goals against average (18th-best in the country) and a .922 save percentage, numbers that give any team a chance to be successful, but it takes a lot more than these statistics to win this award.

How about 830 volunteer hours served in various communities for a qualifying stat? Peters is a certified Emergency Medical Technician with the U of M Emergency Medical Services, working on campus and namely Gophers football games.

“We work with a lot of drunk kids,” said Peters, a kinesiology major with a minor in biology. “I also work a lot in one of the hospitals on campus.”

Peters volunteers with Maroon and Gold Impacting the Community (a development program that sends student-athletes all over the Twin Cities to schools and children’s hospitals). She was also a goaltending coach at Hockey Ministries International in Chicago, but the defining piece of volunteer work she’s completed was an eight-day trip to Haiti to help serve with her favorite charity, Project Medishare in 2016.

The Hockey Humanitarian Foundation donated $3,000 to Project Medishare on Peters’ behalf.

“I felt like I came away with a lot of lessons and a new perspective on my career and life in general,” Peters said. “It makes a bad day at the rink not look that bad at all.

“It also made me realize there’s so many people out there that we can help and there’s so much more we can do.”

And with all that on the schedule, one could wonder how she ever found time for hockey.

“It’s difficult, but it’s rewarding. I got used to working with half a battery,” Peters said. “I’ve enjoyed the last five years. I wish I had more time in college, but I know with this next step, I’ll have more opportunities to be excited about.”

Peters has wasted no time moving on to a new chapter in her life, completely different from goaltending, now that her hockey career is complete. She’ll complete officer training school in Alabama this summer before school starts in August in Maryland.

“I just left my team a month ago, so to find a new team to find a new team to group of people to care about will be special,” Peters said.

The Humanitarian Award announcement proceeded the unveiling of the men’s AHCA Division I All-Americans.

Northeastern forward and D-I leading scorer (30 goals and 30 assists in 38 games) Adam Gaudette earned the Hobey Baker Award, edging Henrik Borgstrom of Denver and Harvard’s Ryan Donato.

Gaudette is the first Northeastern player to receive the award and was the only finalist to attend the ceremony. It was the first time in Hobey history that two out of the three finalists had to miss the presentation. Borgstrom (Florida) and Donato (Boston) are playing for NHL teams competing for playoff positions.

Minnetonka native Jimmy Schuldt (St. Cloud State defenseman) and Forest Lake native C.J. Suess (Minnesota State forward), both First-Team All-Americans, were the Minnesotans among the top 10 finalists.

The post A Heart Of Gold appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

SCSU women work overtime to beat Bulldogs by a nose

St. Cloud — The St. Cloud State Huskies and the University of Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey teams enjoyed the great outdoors so much they didn’t want to leave. Sixty minutes plus overtime wasn’t enough to decide the Hockey Day Minnesota encounter, with the game not decided until the sixth round of the shootout.

SCSU captain Brittney Anderson’s goal turned out to be the game winner after Huskies’ goaltender Janine Alder stopped UMD’s Sydney Brodt to seal the 2-1 victory for the hosts on Saturday afternoon along the frozen shores of Lake George.

“You know, I always tell myself not to do it ‘cause it doesn’t work,” Anderson said. “But I always go to that so yes, I’d say that’s my go-to move. I’ll change it [now].”

Alder and fellow St. Cloud State goaltender Emma Polusny split time in the SCSU net and combined for 43 saves to stymie the Bulldogs’ offense.

St. Cloud State coach Eric Rud was very proud of his team’s effort.

Minnesota Duluth’s Naomi Rogge celebrates her goal in UMD’s 2-1 overtime loss to St. Cloud State on Hockey Day Minnesota in St. Cloud. (Photo by Tom Kolehmainen / Breakdown Sports USA)

“For our athletes it was truly a special moment,” Rud said. “We don’t get this kind of fanfare a lot and media coverage and all that. I was very proud of the way they came focused and ready to go. We were able to enjoy the experience and still play well at the same time so it was really fun.”

Sophomore Hallie Theodosopoulos opened the scoring for St. Cloud at the 4:42 mark of the first period and the Huskies held that lead heading into the first intermission.

However the Bulldogs’ offense came out firing in the second period, racking up 19 shots and eventually Naomi Rogge netted an equalizer at the 11:00 mark. After forty minutes of play, UMD chalked up 30 shots on net to just 12 by SCSU.

Rogge said after the game that the excitement of playing on Hockey Day reminded her of her youth.

“It was kind of indescribable” Rogge said. “You know you’ve always kind of dreamed of being to be able to be in Hockey Day and being able to get a goal to get our team back even. It was pretty exciting.”

The post Huskies Win Dogfight appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Menke taking young Hawks under her wing

North Dakota senior and Shakopee native Amy Menke has had a trying season. On the one hand, she was named an alternate captain for her senior season and she’s continued to be an offensive leader. She is ushering in the team’s next generation in a year where the Fighting Hawks are fielding six freshmen forwards.

On the other hand, her production has lagged in her final season. She’s putting up 0.70 points per game after a junior year in which she posted 1.14 per game. Meanwhile, the Fighting Hawks, once lodged at the bottom of top-10 polls, have fallen off the national polls and had to go to overtime of game three against Ohio State in the opening round of the WCHA playoffs.

From the outside, it might be easy to misunderstand the season. North Dakota has had some struggles, but the box score doesn’t tell the whole story for Menke.

“It’s hard to get frustrated when you know you’re still playing as hard as you can,” she said following a game at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. “I guess it’s a little frustrating when the bounces don’t go your way. I think we’re still having fun. If anything, we’re still growing as a team.”

(Photo courtesy of Russ Hons)

Menke rides the line between not taking things too seriously and having an understanding of what is actually important. She’s able to see the forest for the trees even just moments after a loss, and this kind of levelheadedness is disarming. “I know even if I can just help out the younger players for the upcoming years, it’s still a victory for us,” she said only minutes removed from a loss to a team she calls their biggest rival. That’s also a team she was intimately familiar with growing up. “I’m not going to lie,” she said, “I’ve been to a few Gopher games as a kid.”

She is undoubtedly helping the younger generation. She’s frequently skated on a line with a pair of freshmen that includes Emma Nuutinen and the team’s leading scorer Ryleigh Houston. “I knew a lot of the pressure would be on us upperclassmen for the offense of the team because you know a lot [of freshmen] take until Christmas to really get in the groove of college hockey,” Menke said.

Her calm even surfaces while talking about her senior season, where the second half of the year can serve as an informal farewell tour to four years of college hockey.  “I know here [at Ridder], hopefully, we’re coming back for the playoffs. But it’s weird every time you play one of your friends. You’re like, ‘Well, that might be the last time I play them.’ It’s fun and it’s sad, but it’s kind of cool at the same time.”

With a berth in the Final Face-Off assured, the conference’s top four teams will be competing and being the bottom ranked of those four teams doesn’t faze Menke. “We know no team wants to take us in the playoffs,” she said. “No one wants to battle us because we fight hard and we compete hard. Teams don’t like to play us, I know.”

Their hopes for a NCAA berth go through the WCHA championship and at least two of the top five teams in the nation. Yet, they’re undoubtedly a team capable of surprising. It’s always a possibility with leadership like Menke, Canadian national team defenseman Halli Krzyzaniak, Gracen Hirschy, senior goaltender Lexie Shaw, and other upperclassmen who are leading the way this year and laying the groundwork for the program’s future success.

The post Calm, Cool & Respected appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Get up to speed with Dustin Nelson’s women’s WCHA  postseason primer

The WCHA playoffs start this weekend, featuring three teams that rank in the top four nationally. It’s yet another year where a WCHA team could grab a national championship, but with more parity in the conference this year, there’s also the chance for a significant upset.

No. 1 – University of Wisconsin Badgers

(Photo by David Stluka)

The Badgers are the team to beat. They’ve been number one in the nation since the first preseason poll and lead the nation and the WCHA in almost every statistical category.

With an in-conference record of 22-2-4-3, the only team that was able to split their season series with them was the Gophers. They’re the only team in the nation that allowed less than one goal per game on average at 0.91 per game. Amazingly, it was even less when starting Ann-Renee Desbiens was between the pipes. She leads the nation with a 0.741 goals-against average.

The Badgers start the playoffs with a series against the eighth-ranked Mavericks. In four games against the Mavs this season, the Badgers went 4-0 with a 16-2 goal differential. There’s an expectation that they’ll be able to march through the first two rounds with relative ease.

PLAYER TO WATCH:

Annie Pankowski, Jr, F — Though Desbiens is the one who is capable of single-handedly stealing games, Pankowski has been outstanding after an early-season slump. Considering she didn’t score at all in the first nine games of the year, it’s amazing she finished the regular season ranked seventh in points.  She put up 20 goals and 16 assists in the final 20 games of the year. 

The post It’s Playoff Time appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

After lean times Minnesota State is rounding the corner

EDINA — Through the first half of the first semester, Minnesota State was predictably near the bottom of the WCHA. They swept a non-conference series against RIT and tied St. Cloud State. Otherwise, it was a loss-filled start to the season that saw them go 0-10-1 through their first 11 conference matches.

But then something happened.

The Mavericks started rounding the corner. Since that rough start, they’ve gone 3-2-0 in-conference and 4-4-1 overall. And it hasn’t been easy. They had to beat a resurgent Ohio Sate, a defensively sound Bemidji State, and the nationally-ranked Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

Minnesota State sophomore Corbin Boyd (Minnetonka) scored twice against No. 2 Minnesota in a Jan. 8 game at Edina’s Braemar Arena. (Photo courtesy of Minnesota State University Athletics / Mark Vasey)

Most recently, they returned from the midseason break and gave the Gophers a run for their money in the woefully named U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Women’s Face-Off Classic at Edina’s Braemar Arena. The Mavericks outshot the Gophers in the first period and closed the gap to 4-3 in the third when Corbin Boyd scored her second of the game (and season) with just 57 seconds remaining.

“I think we’ve gotten better and we’ve gained some confidence by those wins and it has made us a better team,” said second-year coach John Harrington after the game. “It’s such a big thing to have the confidence that you can win hockey games.”

Their success is one of the big variables as the second half kicks off. With wins against tough competition logged, could their continued success shake up the middle of the WCHA standings?

It may just be three conference wins, but don’t underestimate how significant that is. They didn’t win a single in-conference game last season. To find the last time the Mavericks beat a WCHA opponent you have to track back to the 2014-15 season and a Feb. 2 game against St. Cloud.

“I think it’s our experience,” Harrington said. “Last year, we only had one senior. We had 21 freshmen and sophomores. I think the one thing is just having that year under our belt, where we’re familiar with the league. We still only have three seniors on our team. We’re still a young team.

“We’ve had a lot of young players not only get the experience of being in the league but the experience of playing in a lot of situations. That’s helped us and certainly, we’ve had a couple freshmen who have come in and made some solid contributions.”

He may be underselling just how reliant they are on the team’s youth. Though their senior class includes goaltender Brianna Quade — who Harrington calls “the backbone” of the team — there is reason to believe their recent success matters.

Last year’s team included just four total upperclassmen. Of their 24 players this season, seven are juniors, eight are sophomores, and six are freshmen.

And it’s not just the raw numbers. The production is coming from their youth as well. Four of their top seven scorers are sophomores, including Emily Antony, who leads the team in goals (5) and points (12), as well as Boyd, who shares the team lead with Antony for assists (7). There isn’t a single senior in those top seven.

And having just three seniors is itself a rarity. Inside the WCHA, only Ohio State has fewer. After that, it’s UMD with five and the Gophers and Badgers with six each. The Mavericks are a young team and they’re getting key contributions on both offense and defense from young skaters.

“They compete real hard. They’re fast,” said Minnesota coach Brad Frost after the Gophers’ 5-3 win at the Hall of Fame Game. “They’re improving. You can see why they beat Duluth and you can see why they’ve gotten some conference wins this year.”

Nonetheless, the Mavericks are goal starved. Carrying an underwhelming 5.3 shooting percentage, they’re averaging just 1.27 goals per game, down from last year’s 1.52. But the defense is notably improved. They’re allowing just 3.14 goals against per game, which is the school’s lowest mark since the 2013-14 season when Danielle Butters (.924 save percentage in 30 games) and Erin Krichiver (.943 save percentage in eight games) made a huge difference in net.

Even more importantly, they’re not allowing as many shots to opponents. Last season they allowed 34.75 shots against per game, which was their best mark since prior to the 2012-13 season. This year, they’ve tamped that down to 29.75.

“They come at you hard on the forecheck with two and in their d-zone, it seems like they’re always on you,” said Frost. “It doesn’t maybe look as structured, but you just don’t have a lot of time and space with the puck. They do a nice job.”

Minnesota State might not be challenging for the national championship, but they’ve made some major strides. It’s starting to show up in the standings and in their underlying numbers.

With a team sporting 14 sophomores and freshmen, and only three seniors, they’re a team that could become a frustrating presence for the top dogs in years to come.

The post Mavs’ Changing Tide appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Scanlan, Fryklund bench pairing not all that sets Bemidji State apart

The Bemidji State women’s hockey program is unique. If you talk to anyone about the team you’ll hear that word pop up and it’s justified.

“Bemidji is a unique school in the WCHA,” Head Coach Jim Scanlan said before a November series against the Gophers. “Obviously you’ve got Big Ten schools, Big Ten programs, Big Ten cities. Duluth, Mankato, St. Cloud, Grand Forks, they’re all much bigger than Bemidji State. We’re a unique school in those terms. We’re smallest in terms of enrollments. We’re a small community.

“You’re not going up there for the malls.”

It’s not just the school’s location and size that sets it apart, though. The way the coaching staff came together isn’t a common story. It reveals a lot of what is special about the program and what has it poised for continued growth.

Scanlan took the head coach position in the summer of 2014 when Steve Sertich stepped down after eight years at the helm. Among the finalists for the position were Scanlan, a former goaltender for the Beavers, and Amber Fryklund, who was not only a former Beaver but also an assistant under Sertich.

When Scanlan took the job he asked both Fryklund and assistant Shane Venkeer, who also attended Bemidji State, to stay with the program. Fryklund became the Associate Head Coach.

“For me, it was real easy. I just hoped she would want to stay on. I never thought at one time of not asking her to stay or not be a part of the team based on what I was told.” – Jim Scanlan on Amber Fryklund

To read more of this article, and many other great stories like it, click HERE to view the January, 2017 issue of our digital magazine and subscribe to have future issues delivered directly to your email inbox. 

The post Uncommon Bond appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Maturing Maddie Rooney breaking out for Bulldogs

If the WCHA had a Breakout Player of the Year award, the midseason front-runner might be Duluth’s Maddie Rooney. The Andover native may also be the team’s midseason MVP, playing a huge role in Duluth being nationally ranked every week since going 1-0-1 against Boston College in the season-opening series.

Heading into the winter break, Rooney’s .940 save percentage ranks sixth in the nation and third in the WCHA. That’s even more impressive when you note no goaltender in the top 10 except North Dakota’s Lexie Shaw has started every game. And, outside of Ohio State’s Kassidy Sauve, no one has seen as many shots as the 546 Rooney has faced. The closest is Connecticut’s Annie Belanger at 492 shots against. In fact, six of the top 10 have seen at least 103 fewer shots than Rooney.

The height of her achievement grows when compared to her freshman campaign when she split time with senior Kayla Black. That season she posted a 3.18 goals-against average and .899 save percentage in 19 contests.

What precipitated the change? The soft-spoken sophomore chalks a lot of it up to maturity.

“I think getting a season under my belt last year gave me a lot of confidence,” she said after a recent game in Duluth’s AMSOIL Arena. “I’m not really looking over my shoulder this year, competing with upperclassmen. I think I’m definitely more confident this year.”

Photo courtesy of Minnesota Duluth Athletics / Brett Groehler

She has plenty to be confident about. Her career has resembled a video game in some ways. She has had challenges placed in front of her, conquered them, and quickly moved onto the next challenge over and over.

After a standout junior year at Andover High School, she moved to the boy’s hockey program for her senior season. She took to the challenge and shouldered a lot of responsibility. “I never really played with a backup,” she recalls.

The next season, she moved on to the challenge of the WCHA. Then, in her sophomore season, she has taken over starting duties and earned an invite to her first USA Hockey senior national team camp. She didn’t make the December Series team, but just getting invited to camp with Team USA is big. The goaltender rotation for the national team is seldom changing and the chance to challenge for a roster spot is significant.

“I think I learned a lot as a freshman. It was definitely a different style of game coming from high school into college,” Rooney says. “I was a little inexperience last year in the WCHA.”

The team clearly feels the difference. They beat the Boston College Eagles and the top-ranked Wisconsin Badgers. They also took the second-ranked Gophers to overtime at Ridder Arena. “I think we feel good about Maddie every weekend,” head coach Maura Crowell said after Rooney stopped 45 of 46 shots to beat the Badgers.

While Rooney deflects compliments, it’s clear she takes advantage of every opportunity placed in front of her. “Playing guys high school in my senior year definitely challenged me. It challenged me to play up to their level and get the speed of the game,” she says. “There are definitely harder shots and I thought that better prepared me for college.

“Also, off the ice was big too. I came in last year maybe not the most physically strong. I’ve worked on that and I think it shows on the ice too.”

Even now, finding a rhythm in a competitive league with a team leaning on her, she’s able to continue seizing opportunities. “We have a goalie coach this year,” she said. “We didn’t have one last year. I think he’s really doing a great job, especially after these games evaluating what I need to work on. Even the small things and I’m taking advantage of that in practice.”

Taking advantage of the opportunities is quickly making Rooney one of the toughest goalies in the WCHA and the Bulldogs are the benefactors. “I think we’ve made a name for ourselves,” Rooney says of the team’s 10-4-2 conference record headed into 2017. “It’s going to carry us through the rest of the season. I’m excited to see how it goes.”

The post Seizing the Moment appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Julia Tylke has found her comfort zone in St. Cloud

It has not been an easy path for St. Cloud sophomore Julia Tylke. She battled depression in high school and almost didn’t get to play her freshman season because of NCAA rules. But one year after coming in second on the team in scoring, she’s leading the Huskies and sees a bright future for the program.

“Way different start [to this season]. I have none of the nerves I had last year,” she said following a weekend sweep at the hands of the Gophers. “When I was younger I played on teams [that were underdogs]. I played in an organization that was lower on the leaderboards and by the time I left we were competing at the top of the nation. I kind of like that position because it forces you to go outside your comfort zone and to really push yourself and your teammates. I like it a lot.”

Only 10 games into the season, her seven goals and nine points are both high-water marks for the Huskies. They’re also a sign of the kind of leader she has become. She admits to being a quiet leader who leads by example, but there’s no doubt she’s setting an example. “This summer, I really worked on what was working for me and what wasn’t, just building off of that,” she says. “I think it’s really translating well this season. I’m trying to keep that up.”

Her positivity isn’t just about the play she’s shown, but the team as a whole. St. Cloud entered the season having lost important senior talent, including leading scorer Molly Illikainen. “We did lose a lot, but I feel like we’ve got a lot of young players who are going to be moldable into great hockey players,” she says. “We’re off to a good start and a lot of our freshmen are stepping up and they’re going to be the future of the program. I think they’re doing very well right now.”

The Huskies occupy a difficult middle ground in the WCHA, arguably the nation’s toughest conference. They’re good enough to take a game from some of the conference’s best, like North Dakota and Duluth. And they’re a step above the teams at the bottom like Minnesota State and Ohio State, but it’s a tough conference to climb. The Badgers and Gophers have been ranked number one and two in the nation since the first preseason poll of the year.

“We’re definitely a team that has to build off what we have as of right now,” Tylke says. “We’re the underdogs.  We really have to step up this year. Already we’re doing a lot better than we were last year on the bench positivity-wise. Behind the scenes, everyone is putting in a lot of extra effort to be a better team than we have been in the past.”

Tylke is leading the way in her second season. Between her and freshman goaltender Janine Alder, who is off to an incredible start with a .939 save percentage and 1.84 goals-against average, they’re showing the framework for success this year and into the coming seasons.

Tylke is taking the lessons she learned as a freshman, helping the program to grow. “I’m just trying to do what I did last year, but to take it a step further. I definitely try to be a leader and try to keep my cool. I try to put in that extra effort, offering help to some of the freshmen if they want it.

“I learned a lot from Molly [Illikainen]. She was a really great leader,” Tylke says smiling. “If I had any questions, she went above and beyond to explain it so I got it and would try new things with me, really put me in my comfort zone, especially in the second half of the season. Having a leader like that was very comforting, because, as a freshman, it was very nerve-wracking to be where I was.”

Though the Huskies are still hoping to see more goals from some of last year’s top offensive producers, the underclassmen are a source of hope for the second half of the season and beyond. Freshman Brooke Kudrika has shown fantastic speed and an offensive game ready to bloom, as has sophomore Hannah Potrykus. They’re building the framework of a team capable of surprising expectations, even if the cards are stacked against them, for now.

The post Ready To Take The Lead appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.