St. Thomas netminder Calla Frank is that type of player as she not only is pursuing her dream of being an airline pilot, but she’s also trying to help fly the Tommies to a WCHA championship.

As different as those two jobs may be, Frank said they complement each other well and they help her stay mentally sharp.

“I noticed with being a goalie and being a pilot, mentally, they’re very similar,” Frank said. “In a game as a goalie, you’re the last line of defense. The score kind of depends on you. If you make a mistake, it goes up on the scoreboard. Also, as a pilot, if you make a mistake, you’re going down if something really bad were to happen. So, they’re very similar mentally, and I was able to, throughout my career learning as a pilot, to take those lessons I’ve learned from hockey and flying and kind of implement them into each other.”

“You’ve got to be mentally clear most of the time because things are going to happen and you’ve got to stay sharp mentally. And same thing as a pilot. If things don’t go the way you’re expecting, you’ve got to be quick and react and make that next move. One of the focal points of flying is always making sure you’re ahead of the airplane. Making sure that your tasks are done, so you’re not overworking yourself and falling behind. And same thing when you’re a goalie, stay ahead of the play.”

Calla Frank eyes the puck in last season’s Hall of Fame game against Minnesota State. (Photo courtesy of University of St. Thomas)

All in the family
Frank said that being a pilot is a “family thing” as her grandpa was her first flight instructor and her dad was also a pilot. She picked up her private pilot’s license right before she started her freshman year of college.

“You get a whole different perspective of the world than just being on the ground,” she said. “It’s really cool to go flying and you’re looking at stuff out the window, and I’d never see that if I wasn’t flying. It’s just a lot of fun. I enjoy it a lot.”

In addition to helping her enjoy flying, Frank’s dad also got her to become a goaltender after testing her at home.

“So, when I was 8 (years old), I first noticed the (goalie) pads and I thought that was pretty cool,” she said. “Then they let me put them on, and I thought that was sweet. Then my dad really wanted to make sure that I was a goalie. So, he took me down to our basement that was unfinished at the time. We had a little net and a little shooting area. He put me in the pads and everything and starts whipping slap shots at my head. And I loved it. So, from then on, I was a goalie.”

Frank admits though that goalies are “different” from other players. She’s grown to accept that image.

“I would say we’re weird considering we want to see pucks and have them hit us,” she said, with a laugh. “We’re definitely a different breed. I embrace it 100%. Me and my goalie partners are all very weird so we all get along. On the ice, people look at us and are like ‘We’re just gonna let them do their thing because they’re just a little different.’”

Frank started her collegiate career at Minnesota State where she got a chance to play hockey and pursue an aviation career. The Mavericks logo also may have played a minor role in that decision and was a small bonus.

“I was like 8 to 10-ish, and we would always go to the (Minnesota) Gophers games,” she said. “And for some reason, every time, they were playing Mankato, and I just always was like ‘I want that purple cow to win.’ So naturally, when it was time to pick a college, Mankato and the purple cow. I’ve been cheering for them forever at this point, and I always wanted them to win. It was just a really good fit for me.”

Calla Frank makes a save in the Oct. 4, 2024 game against Post University. (MHM Photo / Ryan Stieg)

While at Mankato, Frank got her commercial rating, which allows her to get paid to fly, but not for an airline. She also picked up her certified flight instructor license back in August and will be getting an extension of that license sometime next year. She says that she’s currently at 400 flight hours and needs to get to 1,000 hours before she can fly for an airline.

“It’s very mentally taxing at times, especially when you’re working toward a new rating,” she said. “It’s not easy. You have to study a lot, so I think the studying part and always showing up mentally prepared to go through a lot of stuff. That’s definitely the hardest part.”

From one ‘purple’ school to another
After four years with the Mavericks, Frank transferred to St. Thomas last season where she’s pursuing a master’s degree in information technology, which she said will help her as a pilot.

“It actually complements aviation pretty well,” she said. “It’s a lot of coding and some of my classes actually talk about aviation because aviation is going to be a lot more automated. So, having that knowledge of coding and automation kind of translates into aviation pretty nicely.”

While at Mankato, Frank was flying three times a week for three or four-hour blocks, but now, she says she flies every two weeks or so, just so she can keep up her proficiency and build up more hours. While on the ice, she says she takes her analytical pilot mindset with her and doesn’t partake in superstitions and rituals.

“I get asked this a lot, but I don’t, which is very different from a lot of goalies,” she said. “A lot of goalies have to do this and this before the game, and I just kind of go with the flow. Every game is different, and as a pilot with that mentality, you don’t know what’s going to happen next. So, I just kind of go with the flow and take stuff as it comes.”

Looking toward the future, like most pilots, Frank says she’d like to fly for one of the major airlines. She recently got her seaplane rating, so there’s one more task to check off her list.

“It’s very different because with land planes, you’re flying in and there’s not much around the airport,” she said. “Whereas with seaplanes, you’re flying and you’re 50 feet above the trees, and it’s just a whole different atmosphere. Landing on water is very different as well, but it’s really fun because you’re able to go to the lake and see a lot of things you really wouldn’t see.”

Even though her future may literally be up in the air, Frank said she’s also trying to stay grounded in the present. She’s happy she made the decision to come to UST. She also notched her first shutout as a Tommie, with a 7-0 win over Post University on Oct. 4. 

“I just want to enjoy it,” she said. “It’s my last year and I just want to continue to love the game.”

Just a goalie staying steady with her eyes on the horizon.

The post Eyes On The Horizon appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

But the women’s representatives from Minnesota deserve to be recognized for their prominence, too. A look at the week before Christmas national rankings show that five of the top eight teams are from the WCHA, starting at the top:

1. Ohio State, 14-2
2. Minnesota, 13-2
3. Wisconsin 13-3
6. UMD, 10-5-1
8. St. Cloud State, 12-5

The 1-2-3 punch at the top had to survive the sort of upsets that never used to happen in the WCHA.

St. Cloud State, clearly the surprise of women’s college hockey this season, invaded Columbus and, after falling behind 1-0 in the first period, scored twice in the second period. Finnish import goaltender Sanni Ahola stifled the Buckeyes the rest of the way for a shocking 2-1 upset. Ohio Sate had lost only one game all season, and while everyone anticipated a tough game, nobody expected a Huskies win.

St. Cloud’s Addi Scribner said that after that upset, an Ohio State fan came up to her and said: “Your goalie is unreal. She’s a Cyborg!”

The Buckeyes came back in the second game and broke a 1-1 tie with four straight goals in the second period to gain a 6-2 victory and a split. While being upset by St. Cloud could have cost Ohio State the No. 1 ranking, it didn’t. That’s because No. 2 Wisconsin suffered a similar weekend, against Duluth.

UMD went to Wisconsin and lost 3-0, solidifying the Badgers position on Saturday. However, the Bulldogs battled the Badgers through two scoreless periods in their Sunday afternoon rematch, and were determined to make their effort stand up in the third. UMD won that second game 3-2 for the split. 

A victory by the Badgers would have elevated them back to the No. 1 ranking.

The upsets weren’t over when the weekend ended, though, because the Gophers had a one-game matchup Tuesday against St. Cloud State. Peyton Hemp gave the Gophers a 1-0 lead but Scribner tied the game in the second period. The game went to overtime and a shootout. Allie Franco’s shootout goal gave the Gophers, who came in on an eight-game winning streak, the extra WCHA point. 

But it seems there are no such things as upsets anymore in the WCHA. At least going into a frantic pre-holiday-break weekend that features Wisconsin at Minnesota, and UMD at St. Cloud State, with Bemidji State at St. Thomas for good measure among Minnesota’s teams.

Minnesota teams have always dominated with NCAA championships
For statistical evidence, it’s not as though the Minnesota teams and the West are just emerging on top. Go back to the year 2000-01, which was the first year the NCAA conducted a national tournament for women’s teams. In the first 13 years it was held, Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota virtually owned the championship.

UMD won the first three NCAA titles, with spectacular players such as Jenny Schmidgall, Maria Rooth and Caroline Ouellette leading the way. Under Shannon Miller’s coaching, UMD won five championships in all, with the 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008 and 2010 trophies still filling the school’s trophy case. Minnesota won championships in 2004, 2005, 2012 and 2013 — meaning that the Bulldogs and Gophers won nine of the first 13 NCAA women’s championships.

The other four titles were won by the emerging power at Wisconsin, meaning that those three WCHA teams won all of the first 13 women’s national championships. The Badgers won in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2011, and their 2007 team went 36-1-4 to eclipse the 31-3-2 of UMD in 2003 and the 36-2-2 by the Gophers in 2005.

But in 2013, the Golden Gophers had a load of talent throughout their lineup and set the record for all time with a splendid 41-0-0 championship season.

It was the following year, in 2013-14, that Clarkson broke through and claimed the first NCAA title for women for the East, and Clarkson also won championships in 2017 and 2018. And that’s it. Only three times did a non-WCHA team win the title, and all three times it was Clarkson.

All NCAA tournaments took a year off during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. When they resumed, Mark Johnson led his Badgers back for their sixth championship, with Ohio State emerging to capture the 2022 title. Last spring, Wisconsin was a surprise winner of its seventh title, and the same WCHA teams seem clustered for another run this season.

St. Cloud State women marking their mark
But maybe there will be an additional team in the mix, after St. Cloud State pulled off the seemingly impossible task of upsetting Ohio State on the road and coming home to tie the Gophers. That takes care of the top two-ranked teams, and now they get to take on old rival UMD, which upset No. 3 Wisconsin.

The games at St. Cloud State’s Herb Brooks National Hockey Center are expected to be tight, low-scoring battles, because both teams have two outstanding goaltenders. UMD has record-setting Hailey MacLeod, who is setting records for goals-against and save percentage, alongside freshman Eve Gascon, from Montreal.

St. Cloud State has an interesting duo, with Ahola capturing the spotlight in net. She’s paired with Jojo Chobak, who spent a season at UMD before transferring to St. Cloud State because she had grown weary of backing up Swedish Olympic star Emma Soderberg, who decided to stay another year.

Both teams depend on depth, getting scoring from their three top lines, and four for St. Cloud State. Both play tough defensive hockey but with defensemen who can readily move up into the play to help the rush or fire lasers from the points.

“We hung our hats on being a tough defensive team last year,” said St. Cloud State coach Brian Idalski. “We haven’t changed that and still want to play tough defense, but we’ve added some new players and I think we’re capable of scoring more goals this year.

“Especially coming off two tough games at Ohio State, then tying the Gophers on Tuesday. We’re getting contributions from all four lines, and we’re approaching this weekend like we’re preparing for the playoffs.”

From Duluth’s end of the transition from last weekend’s upset to this weekend’s rivalry series, the sound was similar. Center Mannon McMahon praised third-line center Jenna Lawry, who was cool and poised as she scored the game-winner at Madison.

“It was super cool to see how Jenna and her line have stepped up, and now they’re being rewarded,” McMahon said. “A lot of us were disappointed at losing 3-0 in Saturday’s game, but we were confident enough to not let that happen again on Sunday.

“Our response from the first game to the second was what I was most proud of. Now we have to carry that through to St. Cloud. It’s going to be tough. They just don’t quit, and they love to battle.”

The post Women Take Command appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Last season, the Gophers defeated UMD all five times they played, four in the regular season and once in the playoffs. Doubtful that even that landslide completely made up for the sting Minnesota felt when its previous season ended on home ice in a 2-1 loss to the Bulldogs in the 2022 NCAA West Region final.

That’s the sort of thing that is hanging in the balance whenever these two teams meet.

“It’s always a good game,” said UMD defenseman Nina Jobst-Smith. “A lot of players on both teams played against or with each other growing up. That helps raise the level of intensity to some extra animosity. That always makes it more fun. They’re quick, and very offensive from their forwards back to their defense, and they’ve got good goaltending.”

But none of the players, or coaches, involved with the two programs can recall the intensity that was born when the UMD program was born 25 years ago. Minnesota had already been playing for a couple of years, with only Division III Augsburg as an area competitor. When UMD started its hockey program, it was also the first year that enough other Western teams started that the Western Collegiate Hockey Association also started. Both the WCHA and the Bulldogs are celebrating their 25th anniversary this season.

The first time coach Shannon Miller took her Bulldogs team to face the Gophers, UMD won the Dec. 3, 1999 game 5-4. That led to a very interesting bit of intrigue between the two. Minnesota coach Laura Halldorson used her influence to get the first-year WCHA champion invited to participate in a coaches association four-team, postseason invitational tournament in spring of 2000 at Northeastern.

Several times during that season, I asked Halldorson: Since UMD was surprisingly strong, wouldn’t it be great for the WCHA if the top two teams could go to that tournament to make it two East against two West teams? Halldorson was less than tactful when she said, “No. There will be only one West team and it will be us.”

As fate would have it, UMD went on what still stands as a school record 22-game unbeaten streak that first season, and knocked off the Gophers to win the WCHA title, earning the slot in the invitational tournament. That caused Halldorson to pull in all her chips and get the Gophers invited, too, so it ended up being two East and two West teams.

I told Miller that it would be good for the WCHA to have two representatives, but Miller disagreed.

“She insisted all year that there would be only one West team in that tournament, so now she should have to live by what she said,” Miller said at the time.

After I wrote Miller’s comments, Halldorson decided not to speak to me during or after that tournament. 

Tournament organizers put UMD and Minnesota against each other in the semifinals of the tournament. Minnesota won that game on the way to winning the invitational tournament championship.

One year later, in the 2000-01 season, the NCAA decided to start holding an NCAA championship for Division I women’s hockey teams, structuring a full regional playoff to determine the four entries. UMD, in its second season, won that first national championship with a powerful team led by goaltender Tuula Puputti, plus Jenny Schmidgall and Maria Rooth — the two top goal scorers in UMD history — plus Hanna Sikio, Erika Holst, and defensemen Navada Russell, Brittny Ralph, and Pamela Pachal.

UMD also won the second and third NCAA tournament championships. The Bulldogs were national champions in the first three national tournaments ever held, starting in their second year of operation.

Of course, that didn’t sit well with anyone connected with the Gophers, who worked feverishly to find a way to get an NCAA title of their own. They finally managed, and reached an elite level of play they have never wavered from. But while they were getting there, Miller led the Bulldogs to two more NCAA championships.

So, in what amounted to the dark of night, the Gophers unceremoniously started referring to that first and only invitational tournament title as a “national championship,” which closed the gap on their reviled “Duluth Branch.”

In later years, Gopher teams caught up and slipped ahead of UMD. Thanks to a team with U.S. Hockey Hall of Famers Krissy Wendell and Natalie Darwitz, the Gophers even went undefeated through a whole season, culminating with an NCAA title. But while nobody else seemed to notice, except me, there is one banner hanging in Ridder Arena amid the six legitimate NCAA National Championship banners, which proclaims 2000 as a “national championship” year.

That would give Minnesota seven national championships, to UMD’s five. But it also means that if you count up all the NCAA national tournaments, there would be one more “championship” than there have been NCAA national tournaments. Current Gopher women’s coach Brad Frost defends the sleight-of-hand, insisting in retrospect that the 2000 invitational tournament at Northeastern was, indeed, a national tournament.

Not true, Brad.

“I never knew that background,” said current UMD coach Maura Crowell. “They can’t just do that, can they?”

That’s just another reason why this weekend’s series between the U of M Gophers and the UMD Bulldogs has that little extra edge, which players on either team might be unable to explain.

In the WCHA, both Minnesota and UMD are rebuilding a bit, while Wisconsin and Ohio State have run off side-by-side to stand tied for first place. This weekend, while Minnesota (5-2) is at UMD (6-2), Wisconsin (8-0) is facing Ohio State (8-0) for the early lead.

In the ranking, Wisconsin is No. 1 in the women’s poll after being unrated to start the season.

Men’s hockey upate
The St. Cloud State men’s team, which struggled a little against a deceivingly tough early schedule, got everything back in order just at the right time to start the NCHC regular season, and reeled off sweeps of 3-2, 6-0 against Miami and 3-2, 3-0 against Western Michigan. SCSU coach Brett Larson said he thought those two teams would be tough later in the season and has warned his troops to not be complacent this weekend when Minnesota Duluth — his alma mater — comes to town for a series.

“We get Duluth when they’re sure to be in a bad mood, having lost twice to North Dakota,” said Larson, who coached at UMD in two terms, helping them win three NCAA men’s titles. “I think the league is going to be tough as ever, and it will be no surprise if any of the eight teams beats any of the others. There are no upsets in the NCHC. You’ve got to be ready every game.”

St. Thomas just made its presence felt in the CCHA, hitting the road to Bowling Green and sweeping. First, the Tommies won 4-1 behind two goals from Liam Malmquist in the first period. Then they followed that up with a 4-3 with two goals in the third period after Cooper Gay scored twice early for the Tommies.

The post Women’s Hockey Rivalry: Gophers vs. Bulldogs appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Although it wasn’t included in Bally Sports North’s slate of televised games, Minnesota State took to the outdoor ice with a team loaded with experience on Hockey Day Minnesota’s biggest stage. In fact, of the seven Mavericks who have participated in the event previously, six of them skated their second games on Hockey Day ice in Mankato.

“Both experiences were great on their own … but I think this one was extra special because it’s been a week long event and just to be able to close it out, it’s been pretty great,” said senior Taylor Wemple, who skated for St. Cloud State in the Huskies’ shootout win over over Minnesota Duluth in 2018 on the shores of St. Cloud’s Lake George. 

The list includes senior defenseman, and team captain, Anna Wilgren, who sat out the outdoor game, as she will her team’s remaining games this season, to preserve eligibility after missing much of her senior year on the U.S. women’s hockey residency roster. Wilgren, who played in MSU’s bitterly-cold 2-1 win over Bemidji State in 2019′ event, was one of Team USA’s final three cuts prior to the 2022 Olympic roster reveal at the NHL’s Winter Classic. 

Senior assistant captains Jessia Kondas, Brittyn Fleming and Claire Butorac are also Bemidji veterans along with fellow senior Brooke Bryant. Meanwhile, another transfer, junior Sydney Shearen, skated for the Gophers in their 2-1 win over Ohio State in 2020 at Parade Stadium in Minneapolis.

Butorac, a former Andover High School star, had the added benefit of hosting her alma mater which shut out Edina 4-0 to open Hockey Day’s televised action on Saturday morning. She spent time with the team showing them around the rink at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.

“It was fun just to see all the little girls I used to coach that are in high school now and see my high school coaches and just wish them luck before they got to come out here and experience Mankato,” Butorac.

Teammates who had yet to play in the Hockey Day environment asked those who had for advice going into the weekend but it mostly came down to preparations for the cold. The majority of the conversations, the players said, concentrated on sharing memories they’ll hold onto forever.

“The key of these games is to just have fun,” said Shearen, a Hugo, Minn. native who played her high school hockey for White Bear Lake. “You only get this opportunity once in a lifetime; I was lucky enough to get twice.”

Butorac says this experience easily ranks in her top five as a Maverick.

“It’s awesome, this is a great stadium to play in,” Butorac said. “This town supports our school so much, so I’m very grateful to be a Maverick, especially today.”

The post Twice in a Lifetime Experience 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.

Kelly Pannek returns to the Gophers a humble world champion.

It’s difficult to encapsulate everything that happened to Kelly Pannek since the last time she put on the Gophers’ “M” for a game. It was March 17, 2017 in a 3-4 loss to the eventual national champion Clarkson Golden Knights. It capped off a season where she led the nation in points and was a top-10 Patty Kazmaier Award finalist. That was just 18 months ago.

Since that game, the Gopher captain received a somewhat unexpected invite to the Team USA senior camp, participated in a boycott that changed women’s hockey, won gold at the 2017 World Championships, made the Olympic roster, and won gold at the Olympics.

GANGNEUG, REPUBLIC OF KOREA – FEBRUARY 7: Team USA Portraits – PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF Images)

Looking at her skill set and her impressive on-ice vision, it seems almost inevitable she’d be carrying the accolades she has, but it wasn’t a given to Pannek. “I didn’t know where I stood [prior to Worlds],” she says standing in Ridder arena, not far from a mural of Gopher Olympians that has yet to add her face. “I’d made a few camps, and I’d been a part of the program itself for a while, but never felt like I was at that point where I’d be getting a chance to be on the team.”

Pannek had never received an invite to a U.S. Women’s Team senior camp. Then the call came. “After getting that call it was crazy. It was a whirlwind. I just tried to focus on surviving at that level, to be honest.” Though, she says, the speed with which she was thrust onto the national team helped her to not think ahead to the possibility of the Olympic roster. “I didn’t really think at all about what was going on afterward because I had no time to. I think I was a little naïve, and that was kind of a blessing.”

She made the U.S. roster for the 2017 Women’s World Championship, but she almost didn’t get the chance to prove she belonged on hockey’s biggest stage.

The U.S. Women’s National Team threatened to boycott Worlds, which were taking place in Michigan. The players protested the program’s compensation for women and an inequitable treatment of the girls’ and women’s programs compared to the boys’ and men’s programs. It was an unprecedented victory for the women’s program that resolved only days before the start of the tournament.

“It’s something the veterans really explained to us: This isn’t about us, this isn’t about our team,” she says. “I think it’s easy to have those doubts, like ‘Will I have another chance after this?’ But one thing we always talk about with Team USA is that you’re part of something bigger than yourselves. That was a moment where that was the most accurate it could be.”

Worlds was a jarring transition from college hockey. “Before my first shift, my family was in the stands, and they saw the first shift. They were like, ‘Can she do this? Is she going to be fast enough?’” she recalls. She didn’t register any points as the U.S. ran through the tournament with five straight wins to grab gold. But she played well. It was enough to get an invite to centralization and, eventually, the U.S. Olympic roster and a gold medal in Pyeongchang.

Kelly Pannek/Gopher Athletics)

Though, throughout that process, the Gophers weren’t far from her thoughts. “I tried to watch as many [games] as I could,” she says with a smile. “I lived with [Duluth goaltender] Maddie Rooney last year so we watched the games against Duluth. I made sure to keep in touch and ask how things were going, just to be a sounding board for some of the players last year, but also just to watch and be a big fan.”

Coming back to the University of Minnesota hasn’t been a difficult transition despite a wild year away. “I prefer it,” she says. “I was excited for my first day of school. It’s been exciting to be back with the team on a daily basis. It’s a different feel being in the college environment. It’s really fun.”

Her return after a year of growth sets up the Gophers to again be a powerhouse in the WCHA. She returns with Sarah and Amy Potomak, who weren’t on Canada’s Olympic roster, but participated in Team Canada’s centralization and didn’t play last year. Add returning talent and young standouts like Grace Zumwinkle and Taylor Heise, and the Gophers have a good shot at making Pannek’s run of success continue well into 2019.

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Wisconsin won last year’s regular season title – Can the Badgers repeat?

Minnesota Hockey Magazine presents capsules on the WCHA women’s programs for the 2018-19 season.
BEMIDJI STATE

Coach: Jim Scanlan, 5th season

Last season: 16-19-3, 5th in the WCHA (9-13-2-1, 30 points)

Key losses: Six seniors graduated, including goaltender Erin Deters (12 starts, .916 save percentage) and Alexis Joyce and Emma Teres, who ranked fourth and fifth on the team in scoring last year.

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Key returnees: Haley Mack and Emily Bergland, who tied Terres for the team lead at 11 goals, return. As do veteran defenders Melissa Hunt and Briana Jorde. However, one of the biggest impacts is expected from sophomore Clair DeGeorge, who spent part of the summer playing with the U.S. Women’s U22 team, where she made her presence felt against Canada with the opening goal in the final game of the three-game series.

Top newcomers: Five freshmen step onto the team, including Lexi Cheveldayoff and Ellie Moser, who have both previously received camp invites from USA Hockey.

Outlook: It’s a young team and a program that continues to be on the verge of making noise in the conference. They’re easily the favorite among the bottom tier in the conference, which includes Minnesota State and St. Cloud. It’ll be an uphill battle for the Beavers, but there’s no doubt there’s talent on this team. The top of their lineup will be sturdy defensively and has offensive threats that could turn a game.

MINNESOTA

Coach: Brad Frost, 12th season

Last season: 24-11-3, 3rd in the WCHA (13-8-3-0, 42 points), won the WCHA Final Face-Off, earning a berth in the national tournament where they were shutout by Wisconsin in the first round.

Key losses: The Gophers lost four seniors, but they were significant losses. Captain Sydney Baldwin and starting goaltender Sidney Peters both graduated. Add in seniors Cara Piazza, and Caitlin Reilly, the team lost 30 goals and 50 assists between the three graduating skaters.

Key returnees: The big story isn’t the return of impact forwards like Grace Zumwinkle and Nicole Schammel, who led the team with 17 goals each last year. It’s the return of Olympic gold medalist Kelly Pannek, as well as Sarah and Amy Potomak who spent part of last season centralized with the Canadian national team. Those are three major offensive threats. In her junior season, Pannek led the nation in points.

Top newcomers: As ever, the Gopher rookies are impressive. Seven freshmen join the program, including Amy Potomak; Taylor Heise, who led the U.S. U22 team over the summer with two goals and three points; and Grace Ostertag and Catie Skaja, who have both spent time with the national team. Another big add is junior goaltender Sydney Scobee, who transferred from the University of Vermont where she faced plenty of stiff competition in Hockey East.

Outlook: It should surprise no one that the Gophers are one of the nation’s most formidable rosters. The defense might not be as strong as past years, but it should be solid. The only real question mark is in net. Sophomore Alex Gulstene grabbed 11 starts last year behind Peters, but she’ll be competing with Scobee, as well as senior Emma May and junior Serena D’Angelo.

MINNESOTA DULUTH

Coach: Maura Crowell, 4th season

Last season: 15-16-4, 4th in the WCHA (10-11-3-2, 35 points)

Key losses: Duluth lost a whopping seven seniors, including Katerina Mrazova, who put up eight goals and 13 assists last year.

Key returnees: Despite the losses, the team’s youth took the reins last season. The offensive firepower between Naomi Rogge, Ashton Bell, Jalyn Elmes, Sydney Brodt, and Ryleigh Houston is formidable. Also returning is gold medal-winning goaltender Maddie Rooney. She could steal games during her sophomore year. Now, she returns from a year of playing against the best competition in the world.

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Top newcomers: Duluth is going to have a young squad with nine freshmen vying for roster spots. (They also have eight sophomores.) Among those rookies are four players who have won gold with Team USA at a U18 Women’s World Championship tournament: Lizi Norton, Gabbie Hughes, Anneke Linser, and Maggie Flaherty.

Outlook: The team is without the top-tier firepower of the Badgers or the Gophers, but don’t sleep on their young stars just because their last names aren’t Clark or Pannek. They’re good. With Rooney in net, this team absolutely has the ability to surpass expectations. They start the season ranked fourth in the WCHA by coaches, but it’s not hard to see them finishing higher than that. Though, the young blueline will be tested in a year where the WCHA carries as much offensive talent as any year in recent memory.

MINNESOTA STATE

Coach: John Harrington, 4th season

Last season: 5-28-1, 7th in the WCHA (3-21-0-0, 9 points)

Key losses: Seven seniors graduated, including Lindsey Coleman and Hannah Davidson, who ranked fourth and fifth in scoring last year. Also departing is, ahem, key defenseman Anna Keys.

Key returnees: Seven is a good pile of seniors, but the team returns its top three offensive threats: Brittyn Fleming, Jordan McLaughlin, and Corbin Boyd. The team also keeps goaltenders Chloe Crosby and Katie Bidulka, who split time in net last year.

Top newcomers: Five freshmen will attempt to crack the roster, including Miss Hockey finalist Claire Butomac and Anna Wilgren, who twice won the Molly Engstrom Award for best defenseman in Wisconsin.

Outlook: Last season wasn’t great for the Mavericks, but Bidulka and Crosby held their own and, at times, kept the Mavericks competitive. Retaining both with a year more experience is a boon, as is getting freshman goaltender Abigail Levy, who will absolutely compete for time. But even with top performers returning, the Mavs only potted 57 goals in 34 games last year. They’re losing 18 goals in graduating seniors. Wins won’t come easy.

OHIO STATE

Coach: Nadine Muzerall, 2nd season

Last season: 24-11-4, 2nd in the WCHA (14-6-4-3, 49 points), made it to the Frozen Four and lost an overtime contest to Clarkson, the eventual national champions.

Key losses: Ohio State graduated six seniors. That group included Juliana Iafallo, whose 12 goals and 15 assists ranked fourth on the team in points. However, the biggest loss is undoubtedly the transfer of star goaltender Kassidy Sauve.

Key returnees: Top scoring threats Emma Maltais, Tatum Skaggs, and Maddy Field are all back in red. As is defenseman Jincy Dunne, whose star continues to rise. Despite the praise, she’s vastly underrated and should be a major player for the Buckeyes in her junior season.

Top newcomers: Of the seven freshmen, a handful have international experience and could make an immediate impact, including Finns Eve Savander and Sara Saekkinen, and Swiss Olympian Andrea Braendli. Defenseman Madison Bizal is another player to watch.

Outlook: Ohio State didn’t exactly surprise last year when it made a run to the Frozen Four, but, let’s say it surpassed rising expectations. Now, the expectations are high. The most lethal threats are back and Dunne anchors the team’s blueline. The biggest challenge will be replacing Sauve’s .938 save percentage posted in 32 games. Amanda Zeglen played well through seven games in net as a freshman, but Sauve was a next-level star who took on a major workload, playing 68 games over the last two seasons.

St,. Cloud State’s Janine Alder. Photo by Maddie MacFarlane.

CLOUD STATE

Coach: Eric Rud, 5th season

Last season: 8-20-5, 6th in the WCHA (6-14-4-1, 23 points)

Key losses: Three seniors graduated, including Alyssa Erickson and Emma Turbyville, who ranked fourth and fifth in scoring last season, respectively.

Key returnees: Goaltender Janine Alder split time last year between the Huskies and the Swiss Olympic team. Julia Tylke will be a leader among forwards this season, and the underappreciated talents of German forward Laura Kluge will also be crucial for the Huskies. Outstanding defender Abby Thiessen leads the blueline.

Top newcomers: Five freshmen look to crack the lineup, including Jenniina Nylund, who has spent time with Finland’s senior national team; and defenseman Olivia Hanson.

Outlook: They’re a step back from the conference’s top tier, but the Huskies will absolutely surprise some teams this year. Goaltender Emma Polusny showed she can hang with the best netminders in the conference last year, posting a .934 save percentage in 20 games. That earned her a trip to the USA Hockey National Team Evaluation Camp last month. Between her and Alder, they can steal games with either of two netminders. If those two can hold back the tide, the top line can score and St. Cloud can log some wins.

WISCONSIN

Coach: Mark Johnson, 16th season

Last season: 31-5-2, 1st in the WCHA (20-2-2-2, 64 points), made it to the Frozen Four but lost to Colgate in double overtime during the semifinals.

Key losses: The Badgers are down three seniors from last year. That includes Claudia Kepler who led the team with 22 goals last year and ranked second overall in the WCHA. Veteran leader Baylee Wellhausen also graduated.

Key returnees: The WCHA regular season champions come back with starting goaltender Kirsten Campbell, and top offensive threats Abby Roque and Presley Norby. They’re also getting Olympian Emily Clark and Annie Pankowski, who was a redshirt last year while she centralized with the U.S. National Team.

Top newcomers: The standout among the team’s five freshmen is Sophie Shirley, who spent last season centralized with the Canadian National Team. It’s no stretch to think she’ll make an immediate impact in the collegiate ranks.

Outlook: All this team did last year was turn opposing defenses inside out. Between Roque, Norby, Sam Cogan, Sophie Shaver, and Alexis Mauermann, they put up 53 goals. (That’s more than the entire St. Cloud roster and just four fewer than Minnesota State.) Add in the return of Clark and Pankowski with rookie Shirley and this Badger team could light up opponents even more than it did last year when the team averaged more than three goals per game.

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