Minnesota State All-American transitioning to pro hockey in Iowa

DES MOINES — Late in the season as college hockey players see their seasons and collegiate careers come to an end, many of them get an opportunity to show what they can do in the professional ranks. One of those players is Minnesota native Zach Palmquist, who made his American Hockey League debut on April 3 for the Iowa Wild.

The South St. Paul native didn’t waste any time making an impact on his new team, notching an assist in his first game, a 6-0 win over the Rochester Americans in Des Moines. The win was the first on home ice for the Wild since Jan. 18, snapping a 14-game home losing streak.

Iowa coach John Torchetti said Palmquist gets back and gets to the puck on defense quick, but will be able to make an impact on the offensive side of the puck as well.

“He’s what we need,” Torchetti said. “We need a good puck-moving defenseman. So far he’s played pretty good and he’s going to have to learn the little things in d-zone coverage that most players have to. He’s going to join the rush, activate our rush so we’re four up and bring a little more speed to our breakouts.”

Palmquist said that it was “nice” to be able to contribute on the scoreboard with an assist in his professional debut. He had the secondary assist on the last goal of the game, which was scored by Joel Choinard and also assisted by Michael Keranen.

“The team played well that night and before the game a lot of the guys just said ‘just play your game and have fun,'” Palmquist said. “So that’s what I try to do out there and any way I can try to contribute I’m going to try to do my best and give the guys my best effort every night.”

Palmquist joins the Wild organization after finishing up a four-year collegiate career at Minnesota State University in Mankato where he played 160 games and tallied 96 points (25 goals, 71 assists), including a career-high 29 points (8 goals, 21 assists) his senior season. He also had 107 penalty minutes in four seasons.

The Mavericks entered the NCAA Tournament this season as the No. 1 overall seed, but were upset by Rochester Institute of Technology 2-1 in the first round.

Palmquist tallied 18 points (4 goals, 14 assists) and a minus-18 rating in 59 games his third and final season  with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League before heading to Mankato where the coaching Minnesota State staff turned him into more of a two-way player which prepared him a lot for his shot in the AHL.

“It elevated my game each year,” Palmquist said. “I think I was a one-dimensional player going into Minnesota State and I think I grew into more of a two-way player … played more of a defensive role going into my junior, senior year. Also being that offensive defenseman that I like to be too, but I think I improved and the coaches helped me a lot to become a better defensive player and be a plus player every night too, which is big in today’s game.”‘

Palmquist said he and his father, Dave, who coaches the girls’ varsity hockey team at South St. Paul, used to attend Minnesota Wild games when he was a kid and that he’s been a fan since the team started playing in St. Paul in 2000.

“It’s been fun watching them grow up and it’s just been such a dream come true to actually be in the organization now,” said Palmquist.

As far as what Torchetti wants him to accomplish in the last few games of this season, he said it’s about getting the system down fundamentally.

“I think that we play a different type of breakout system and it’s a little difficult,” Torchetti said. “We play more of a three-man system on the breakout and if you’re not used to it, it’s something you’ve got to get used to and he’s a good enough skater that it should be an easy transition for him, so that’s one good thing that I’ve noticed.”

Torchetti said that Palmquist getting some games in at the end of this season is like a “pre-training camp” and will help him become more detailed as he trains in the summer for next season.

Seeing progress late

The Wild have struggled all season long as their 23-46-2-2 (50 points) record indicates and even went 14 straight games without a win on home ice between Jan. 18 and April 3. But in their most recent four-game homestand, which wrapped up Friday, Iowa won two games in shutout fashion.

The Wild beat the Rochester Americans 6-0 April 3 before losing 6-4 to the Texas Stars April 7. They fell again April 9 5-3 to the Rockford Ice Hogs before defeating the Oklahoma City Barons 4-0 Friday.

The two shutouts were just the second and third of the season for the Wild and the first two for Iowa goaltender John Curry.

“I think the team’s just been playing better,” Curry said. “It’s been a little up and down and obviously the results haven’t been as consistent enough but I think that in many pictures of every game, we’re doing things better. It’s just a matter of putting it together for 60 minutes and I thought that was the difference tonight.”

With wins like the one’s they’ve had on the last homestand, Curry said it feels really good, even though in the end it “doesn’t really mean much.”

“We’ve had a tough year and we’re not in a position for these points to really matter, but it’s been stressful and … there’s not any guys in that room that don’t take this seriously so the losses hurt and we’ve had a lot of them,” Curry said. “So to have a win, to have success and hopefully we have more down the line, it does feel good and it builds the confidence in the young players and the old players heading into the summer and the offseason.”

Iowa has also seen improvement on the other side of the puck. For the season the Wild have averaged 2.30 goals per game but in that last homestand, they scored 4.25 goals per game.

“I think we’re just paying a little more attention to detail, just trying to execute our game plan a little more, we want to shoot the puck a lot and it’s working out,” Iowa rookie Zack Mitchell said after tallying a goal and an assist against Oklahoma City on Friday.

Getting more shots on goal and pucks to the net has been a point of emphasis for the Wild recently, said Mitchell.

“It’s a big part of the game,” said Mitchell. “You watch all the best NHL teams, they all shoot the puck a lot and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Iowa had 28 shots on goal Friday against the Barons.

The Wild will play their final home game Tuesday when they host the Toronto Marlies at Wells Fargo Arena at 7:05 p.m. before wrapping up the regular season on Friday and Saturday at Oklahoma City against the Barons.

The post Palmquist takes his game to next level appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

EDINA, Minn. – Feb. 3, 2015 – Career milestones for veteran leaders and the continued stellar play of a freshman goaltender highlight the men’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Players of the Week for games of Jan. 30-31, 2015. The honorees are: Michigan Tech senior forwards Tanner Kero and Blake Pietila (Co-Offensive Players of the Week), Minnesota State senior defenseman Zach Palmquist (Defensive Player of the Week) and Bemidji State freshman goaltender Michael Bitzer (Rookie of the Week).

WCHA Co-Offensive Players of the Week
Tanner Kero– Senior, Forward, Michigan Tech
Blake Pietila – Senior, Forward, Michigan Tech

Michigan Tech senior co-captains Tanner Kero and Blake Pietila each had five points – while both also recorded their 100th collegiate point – to lead the Huskies in a WCHA series sweep of Alabama Huntsville. After recording an assist in Friday’s win, Kero reached the career century mark with a third-period helper Saturday – part of a four-point game that included two goals and two assists.

Pietila scored a goal and had an assist in Michigan Tech’s 5-0 win Friday, and then tallied three helpers on Saturday, including a third-period assist for his 100th career point. Kero now ranks sixth in the country and leads the WCHA with 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists), while Pietila – a New Jersey Devils draft choice – has 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) for the fifth-ranked Huskies.

Also nominated: Bryce Gervais, Jr., F, Minnesota State; Brendan Harms, So., F, Bemidji State; Sali Salminen, So., F, Northern Michigan; Kyle Schempp, So., F, Ferris State

WCHA Defensive Player of the Week
Zach Palmquist – Senior, Defenseman
Minnesota State University

Palmquist excelled on both ends of the ice to lead top-ranked Minnesota State to a WCHA series sweep over visiting Ferris State. The senior from So. St. Paul, Minn. assisted on Matt Leitner‘s power-play goal and an even strength tally by Bryce Gervais during Friday’s 5-1 win, before assisting on the game-winning, power-play strike from Gervais in a 5-1 triumph Saturday. Palmquist also helped anchor a Mavericks defense that held Ferris State to just 40 shots and two goals. Palmquist now ranks third among all defensemen in Minnesota State’s D-I history with 89 career points (23 goals, 66 assists).

Also nominated: Jamie Phillips, Jr., G, Michigan Tech; Matt Prapavessis, Sr., D, Bemidji State

WCHA Rookie of the Week
Michael Bitzer – Freshman, Goaltender
Bemidji State University

Bitzer helped Bemidji State run its unbeaten streak to four games – all against top-10 opponents – and capture three of four points against Bowling Green in a WCHA series. The freshman from Moorhead, Minn. recorded 41 stops and a .911 save percentage, held the Falcons scoreless in seven power-play opportunities and posted a 1.93 goals against average on the weekend. Bitzer recorded 18 saves in Friday night’s 5-2 victory, before logging 23 stops in 64:31 as Bemidji State rallied from a 2-0 deficit to earn a 2-2 tie Saturday.

Also nominated: Joel L’Esperance, F, Michigan Tech; Nolan Valleau, D, Bowling Green

The post MSU’s Palmquist, BSU’s Bitzer honored by WCHA appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

WCHA Women

Amanda Kessel

University of Minnesota forward Amanda Kesselscored her team and nation-leading 15th goal of the season to go with 3 assists leading  No. 1 Minnesota to a sweep at Minnesota Duluth and capture the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week award. The junior from Madison, Wis. assisted on both game winning goals. It is the second such honor for Kessel who also won on Oct. 3.

Hanna Brandt

Gopher forward Hanna Brandt‘s four assists in Duluth earned the freshman from Vadnais Heights, Minn. her third (Oct. 3 and Oct. 24) WCHA Rookie of the Week award. the four points raise her overall season total to 33, good for tops in the nation and one point ahead of Kessel.

Here’s the link to the full release.

Hockey East Women

Lexi Slattery

Defenseman Lexi Slattery of Lino Lakes, Minn. scored her first collegiate goal and added an assist in helping her Providence College team to a series sweep at Maine and earn the Hockey East Rookie of the Week award. Slattery now has six points (1-5–6) through 10 games played for the Friars this season.

Here’s the link to the full release.

WCHA Men

Zach Palmquist

Minnesota State’s one-goal loss and upset win over then No. 2 Minnesota was recognized by the league with a pair of awards. Mavericks defenseman Zach Palmquist captured WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors. The sophomore from South St. Paul, Minn. registered a power-play goal in Friday’s 3-2 loss and an assist in Saturday’s 5-3 MSU win while helping hold the Gophers to just two even-strength goals in the series.

Dylan Margonari

On the strength of his first career goal, which just happened to be a game winner, Minnesota State forward Dylan Margonari is the WCHA’s Rookie of the Week. The freshman forward from Greensburg, Pa. scored at 16:19 of the third period on Saturday to lift the Mavericks to a 4-3 lead on their way to a 5-3 win.

Here’s the link to the full release.

CCHA Men

Anders Lee

With three goals and an assist in a split with Western Michigan, Notre Dame captain Anders Lee was named CCHA Offensive Player of the Week. The junior forward from Edina, Minn. was not shy about firing the puck in releasing 12 shots over the weekend and Lee also finished with a +4 plus/minus rating in the series.
Here’s the link to the full release.

The post Honoring this week’s top performers appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Zach Budish’s goal on Friday, the first of the season for the Minnesota captain, turned out to be the difference in a win over Minnesota State (Photo: University of Minnesota Athletics)

A Zach Budish power-play goal at 5:40 of the third period–Minnesota’s third of the night with the man advantage–lifted the University of Minnesota men to a 3-2 win over a plucky Minnesota State team in the first game of a home-and-home series between the in-state rivals at Mariucci Arena on Friday night.

“It was a good hockey game, we’ve just got to find a way to kill a penalty,” said Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings. “It’s something that we’ve talked about and we’ve got to get better at but I thought the compete was better tonight.”

Minnesota State sophomore defenseman Zach Palmquist got the Mavericks on the board first against Minnesota on Friday. (Photo: Minnesota State University Athletics)

The teams traded goals in the first two periods with sophomore defenseman Zach Palmquist and freshman forward Teddy Blueger giving the Mavericks one-goal leads in each period. Palmquist’s first-period goal, off of a pretty back-door feed from Jean-Paul Lafontaine, was, itself, a power-play goal for MSU (2-3-2, 0-3-0 WCHA) which was 1-3 with five shots in such situations.

“I thought Teddy [Blueger] was good tonight, not only offensively, but defensively and I think I’ve got to find a way to get him more ice,” Hastings said of the rookie. “I thought he was a good hockey player tonight and he’ll get more ice tomorrow.”

But Travis Boyd and Nate Schmidt answered for the Gophers (5-1-0, 2-1-0 WCHA) with Schmidt’s blast from the high slot at 15:07 of the second tying the game 2-2 heading into the second intermission. After the Mavericks failed to clear their zone, Schmidt stepped around a would-be shot blocker and fired a rocket over Mavericks goaltender Phil Cook’s left shoulder.

Minnesota finished 3-6 with the man advantage firing nine shots on Cook who turned away 29 Minnesota shots in taking the loss, but played well and perhaps deserved a better fate.

“One thing about [Minnesota’s] power play is if you don’t get clears when you have an opportunity to clear, as you saw with Schmidt’s [goal], he can shoot the puck,” said Hastings. “If you give them another opportunity they have a tendency to, once you’re down, to be able to find late guys and he just shot it through them.”

The Mavericks were giving the Gophers all they could handle through 40 minutes but what Hastings referred to as his team’s “Achilles heel” cost them once again. Minnesota State’s Brett Knowles went off for interference 4:49 into the final period and Budish poked in a loose puck through a scrum just 51 seconds later giving Minnesota its one and only lead.

The Mavericks pressed hard late but were unable to bury the equalizer behind Minnesota goaltender Adam Wilcox who finished with 23 saves.

“Tonight was a step from the compete end but, at the end of the day, it’s about wins and losses and we’ve got to find a way to get that first win in the WCHA,” Hastings said.

The Mavericks get that chance tomorrow night in Mankato when they host the Gophers in the series finale.

The post Special teams the difference as Gophers topple Mavericks appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.