MHM 2018 Oct-digital

— PRO AND COLLEGE PRIMER ISSUE — 

PLUS: 

Gilbert 

column 

MINNESOTA 

M A G A Z I N E .COM 

FALL 2018 w MINNESOTAHOCKEYMAG.COM w VOL. 7, ISSUE 4 

COLLEGE MEN’S PRIMER: 

‘DOGGED 

PURSUIT 

CAN MINNESOTA DULUTH 

REPEAT ITS FEAT? 

WILD PRIMER: 

HEALTHY, PRODUCTIVE PARISE 

KEY TO WILD’S SUCCESS 

SPECIAL FEATURES: 

INTRODUCING THE NEW WOMEN’S 

PRO TEAM, THE WHITECAPS 

NCHC MEN: BULLDOGS, HUSKIES 

SHOULD BE CONTENDERS 

WCHA MEN: MAVERICKS 

EXPECTED TO DEFEND TITLE 

BIG TEN MEN: KEEP AN 

EYE ON THE BADGERS 

WCHA WOMEN: PANNEK RETURNS 

TO U AS WORLD CHAMPION 

YOUTH HOCKEY HUB: TEAMS 

AND PLAYERS TO WATCH 

AND MUCH MORE! 

Newsstand price $4.95 

Display until 12/15/18

FROM OUR PUBLISHER 

Welcome all readers to our Fall Issue. We 

look forward to another season of covering the state of 

hockey. This issue is focused on the college hockey level, 

and in this state, the game has never been better. 

To see the strength, I only need to recall this past spring, where 

I saw a classic hard fought 2-1 University of Minnesota-Duluth 

Bulldogs victory over Notre Dame at the Xcel Energy Center in St. 

Paul, with the Bulldogs capturing the National Championship. 

The Bulldogs come into the season as the top ranked team in 

the country, and if their first game is any indication, the parity in 

Minnesota colleges is extremely close. 

With a great rivalry game to open up the season, I witnessed 

another hard fought game, as the Bulldogs and Gophers battled 

to a 1-1 overtime tie. It was also the beginning of the Bob Motzko 

era, with Motzko moving over from the strong St. Cloud State 

Husky program he built, to taking charge of the Gophers. 

The Gophers are no longer the given as the top college team in 

the state. By most polls, they are ranked as the fourth-best team 

in the state, behind UMD, St. Cloud State and Mankato State. The 

Gophers are still ahead of Bemidji State, but with that program 

on the rise, that gap is closing. Sunday’s rematch in Minneapolis 

showed that Motzko is poised to get back to the top with a solid 

win over the ‘Dogs. 

Last season, it was the Bulldogs who edged out the Gophers 

by .001, for the last spot for the Sweet 16 in the Pairwise Rankings 

that determines the NCAA tourney field. 

Last year, little did anyone know at that time, how important 

the Ice Breaker game in Duluth was. On opening night, in 

overtime, I witnessed a Bulldog win. Without that win, they don’t 

make the playoffs, and the Motzko era may not happen. 

We are very grateful to our sponsors who have made this 

issue possible. Without their help this magazine would not be 

possible. All of the ads on the digital version link back to our 

sponsors’ website. Please support them and take a look at what 

they have to offer. 

Right now, whether you found us in print, or digitally by 

twitter, Facebook or our e-Edition, we have a reach approaching 

40,000 and want to continue to add readers. If you would like to 

get your company or services before our hockey crowd, please 

contact me below. Our advertising rates are very affordable. 

We are here to serve the hockey community and our team is 

blessed to be able to tell the stories that make this game special. 

If you like what you see, please share this with a friend, and tell 

others. If you don’t, or want to nominate someone for our North 

Star in the Stars of the North section, please contact me. 

Sincerely, 

Scott Tiffany 

President & Founder 

Minnesota Hockey Magazine 

MinnesotaHockeyMagazine.com 

scott@mnhockeymag.com 

phone: 715.222.6460 

Publisher 

MINNESOTA 

M A G A Z I N E .COM 

Tiffany Media Company 

Founder & President 

Scott Tiffany 

scott@mnhockeymag.com 

(715) 222-6460 

Sr. Vice President/GM 

Bill Rossini 

bill@mnhockeymag.com 

Staff 

President 

Scott Tiffany 

Executive Editor 

Brian Halverson 

Contributors 

John Gilbert 

Heather Rule 

Mick Hatten. 

Shane Frederick 

Declan Goff 

Dustin Nelson 

John Gilbert 

Drew Cove 

Nate Ewell, College Hockey Inc.. 

Vineeta Sawkar Branby 

Youth Hockey Hub 

Chief Photographer 

Jeff Wegge 

Photo Contributors 

Jonny Watkins 

Rick Olson 

Tim Kolehmainen 

Design/Production 

Tim Kolehmainen 

Social Media Manager 

Scott Ludwig 

Advertising 

advertise@mnhockeymag.com 

Website 

minnesotahockeymag.com 

E-Mail 

info@mnhockeymag.com 

Cover photo by Jonny Watkins 

MINNESOTA HOCKEY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2018 

5

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

— PRIMER ISSUE — 

Pro: Wild / Whitecaps 

NEW AND IMPROVED 

The Minnesota Whitecaps, the “newest” 

of Minnesota’s professional teams, hosted 

their home opening series against the 

Metropolitan Riveters, while the NHL’s 

Minnesota Wild opened by hosting the Vegas 

Golden Knights at the Xcel Energy Center. 

• PAGES 14 AND 20 

College Men 

‘DOGS SOAR, GOPHERS REBOUND 

Minnesota Duluth is coming off it second 

national championship in the past six years, 

while the University of Minnesota is hoping 

to get back into the NCAA tournament after 

a hiatus — caused by the Bulldogs. 


CONFERENCE PREVIEWS 

MHM staff Brian Halverson, Declan Goff, 

Mick Hatten, and Shane Frederick break 

down the three main men’s Division I 

conferences that have local programs: the 

Big Ten (Minnesota), NCHC (Minnesota 

Duluth and St. Cloud State), and WCHA 

(Minnesota State and Bemidji State). 

• PAGES 34, 40, AND 50 

College Women 

PANNEK ATTACKS 

Donning the maroon and gold for the 

first time in more than a year, Gophers’ 

captain Kelly Pannek is back to try to bring 

a national title back to the Twin Cities. 

Also, MHM’s Dustin Nelson looks at all the 

teams in the WCHA, including defending 

regular season champion Wisconsin. 


Youth 

WHO TO WATCH 

In their inaugural MHM 

article, the Youth Hockey 

Hub staff looks at teams 

and players to keep an 

eye on this upcoming 

hockey season. 

• PAGE 68 

Community 

WHITE BEAR OPENS 

MHM’s Brian Halverson 

introduces the reopening 

of the remodeled White 

Bear Lake Sports Center, 

which should be a boon 

to youth players. 

• PAGE 72 

John Gilbert 

NORTHERN HOCKEY 

The men’s and women’s 

college double-header 

between UMD and 

Minnesota should become 

an annual event, according 

to John Gilbert. 

• PAGE 84 

And more! 

Additional features on Hall of 

Famer Bob Johnson, a new 

Hockey Mom Unplugged 

column from Vaneeta 

Sawkar Branby, and our 

new Stars of the North 

segment honoring hockey 

contributors across the state. 


7

PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY PRIMER 

PRO PRIMER: 

WILD AND 

WHITECAPS 

Left: The Whitecaps’ Hannah Brandt (20) 

celebrates her goal in the second period of the season 

opener against the Metropolitan Riveters; Top: The 

Minnesota Wild salute fans at their home opener 

Friday, Oct. 5 against Las Vegas; Bottom left: Ryan 

Suter (20) looks up ice during the Wild home opener; 

Bottom right: It was all smiles for Katie McGovern as 

the Whitecaps defeated the Riveters, 4-0. 

Photos by Rick Olson 

OCTOBER 2018 MINNESOTA HOCKEY MAGAZINE MINNESOTA HOCKEY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2018 

8 9


Left: Nino Niederreiter snaps a shot during 

Friday’s home opener against Las Vegas; Top: The 

Minnesota Whitecaps line up before their first-ever 

home game Friday night; Bottom left: Amanda 

Leveille stares down a Riveters’ shooter; Bottom 

right: Wild coach Bruce Boudreau looks on during 

Friday night’s game. 



10 11


Top: The Minnesota 

Whitecaps bench kept a 

close eye on the action 

Friday night, Oct. 5 in its 

home opener. 

Left: Young fans were 

introduced with the 

Whitecaps at the Tria Rink 

in St. Paul. 


Opposite page top: 

Mikael Granland (64) looks 

for an outlet pass; Opposite 

page bottom left: Mikko 

Koivu (9) returns as the 

Wild’s captain this winter; 

Opposite page bottom 

right: Nino Niederreiter 

(22) tries a pokecheck 

against a Golden Knights’ 

forward. 

Photos by Rick Olson

MINNESOTA WILD 

WILD PRIMER: 

HIGH GOALS 

NOT CHANGING 

HEALTHY, PRODUCTIVE PARISE KEY TO WILD’S SUCCESS IN 2018-19 SEASON 

Minnesota assistant captain Zach Parise (11) has his sights set on a 

healthy and productive winter. 

Photo by Jeff Wegge 

By Heather Rule 

Six years. 

It’s a timeframe that’s 

been highlighted for 

the Minnesota Wild. For the past 

six years, they’re one of just three NHL 

teams to make the playoffs, a group 

that includes back-to-back Stanley 

Cup winners, the Pittsburgh Penguins 

in 2016 and 2017, and the Anaheim 

Ducks, who made it to the Western 

Conference Finals twice in that span. 

For the Wild, they haven’t made it past the second 

round and have been ousted in the first round the 

past three seasons. 

The goal for the Wild is always the same, 

according to left winger Zach Parise: Make the 

playoffs. 

“And we’ve got to get over the hump and make a 

little deeper run in the playoffs then we have in the 

last few years,” Parise said. 

Indeed, a deep run would be welcomed. The 

Wild finished the season with a 45-26-11 record 

(including 24-10-8 with Parise in the lineup) before 

an early exit in five games to Winnipeg in the first 

round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

Six years ago, the Wild rang in the Fourth of July 

holiday with the dual signing of defenseman Ryan 

Suter and Parise to 13-year, $98 million contracts. 

The deals skyrocketed the expectations of the 

Wild franchise and fans, with the goal of bringing a 

Stanley Cup to the state of hockey. 

It’s been six years, and the Wild are without a 

Cup and have seen the ups and downs of Parise’s 

career. Most of the downs have been thanks to 

injuries. Last season, everything appeared to be on 

track for him, until microdiscectomy surgery on Oct. 

24 kept him out for the first 39 games of the season. 

“...we’ve got to 

get over hump 

and make a 

little deeper 

run in the 

playoffs than 

we have in the 

last few years.” 

This year, it’s a different story for Parise. He’s 

recovered from his injury last spring, had a healthy 

preseason and is ready to start the 2018-19 season 

with a clean slate. He said he felt great about his 

summer from everything to his training, skating 

and just overall “feeling normal again.” After his 

surgery last season and catching up to the rest of 

the players when he returned, Parise started to ask 

himself if he was ever going to be the player he was 

before, physically. The short answer is yes. 

“It was hard, but I think just, expectation-wise, 

I just feel like I’m back to being the player that I’m 


— Zach Parise 

Continued on next page 

15

MINNESOTA WILD 

HEALTHY, PRODUCTIVE PARISE KEY TO WILD’S SUCCESS IN 2018-19 SEASON 

Continued from previous page 

capable of being because my body’s allowing me 

to,” Parise said. 

The rest of the squad will start the year healthy, 

too, (plenty of fingers are likely crossed to make 

sure it stays that way). After the Wild played 

with at least one player injured in 73 of the 82 

regular-season games last year, the health factor is 

something captain Mikko Koivu recognizes. 

“I’ve never experienced something like what 

we had last year,” Koivu said. “For sure, mentally 

it’s not ideal. I know it’s part of the game, and that 

happens. I think coming into the season, you really 

appreciate it. Now, it’s all about starting to build 

again with this team.” 

Parise suited up for his first preseason game and 

scored the lone goal for the Wild in a 3-1 loss to the 

Dallas Stars. He tipped in a Koivu shot as he cruised 

in front of the net. The goal didn’t mean any less to 

him because it came in the preseason. 

“You’re always hungry to score,” Parise said after 

the game. “It was a really nice play by Mikko. You 

want to get into those habits early of getting to the 

net, and getting goals from around the crease.” 

Coach Bruce Boudreau was pleased with Parise’s 

play, saying postgame that he played him, along 

with Koivu, 22 minutes in the game. They didn’t 

seem to run out of energy, Boudreau said. 

“I played him a lot on purpose just to… see how 

he could handle it,” Boudreau said, of Parise. 

When the Wild shutout Colorado 7-0 in the next 

preseason game, Parise scored the final goal of the 

night on the power play. Again, it was puck that 

came from a Koivu shot in the circle, and Parise was 

once again camped out front. All he had to do was 

tap it in, to borrow a line from the movie “Happy 

Gilmore.” 

Putting the fact that it’s the preseason aside, it’s 

good to see those types of goals from Parise. For 

years, he’s has made his home on the ice in front 

of the net, taking plenty of crosschecks in shoving 

matches with defenders in the process. He said 

he’s worked over the summer to broaden his game, 

but he knows where he needs to be on the ice, and 

that’s right around the crease. 

“I think I can probably count on two hands how 

many goals I’ve gotten from outside 10 feet,” Parise 

said. “It’s not a lot. 

“I know what my strengths are.” 

At just under 6 feet, Parise is certainly not the 

biggest guy on the ice but makes up for it with his 

gritty play and ability to put the puck in the net. 

Since his arrival, he’s been one of the leaders on the 

team both figuratively and on the stats sheets. 

He’s coming off a season where he played just 

42 games, the fewest he’s played in a season since 

wearing a Wild sweater. His first game wasn’t until 

the calendar flipped to 2018, when the Wild hosted 

Florida on Jan. 2. He scored 15 goals and 9 assists in 

the second half of the season before scoring a goal 

in each of the first three playoff games against the 

Winnipeg Jets. Then he fractured his sternum in 

game three, which not only ended his season but 

made things much tougher for his teammates to 

win in the series as well. 

Maybe this is the year Parise can finally stay 

healthy. That’s the hope, anyway. 

For Boudreau, he knows how good it is to have 

Parise back for the team, but it’s really more than 

that. 

“I think it’s a real boost for Zach,” Boudreau 

said after Wild practice the day before the season 

opener. “He’s going into the game tomorrow (in) 

as good of condition and feeling as physically well 

as he’s done in years. If I’m him, I’m really excited 

about, ‘hey, this is me now. I’m back.’” 

Since joining the Wild, Parise has not played a full 

season of games. To be fair, the NHL lockout in 2012- 

13 disrupted things for everyone. But after that, 

Parise has played in 67, 74, 70, 69 and then 42 games 

during the regular season for the Wild. Compare 

that to his first seven years in the NHL with New 

Jersey, where he suited up for either 81 or 82 games 

in six of the seven seasons out east. His biggest 

outlier in the games-played column came when he 

suffered a knee injury Oct. 30 in a game against Los 

Angeles. He played just 13 games in 2010-11 thanks 

to the injury, tallying three goals and three assists. 

Blame injuries or the rough-and-tough play in 

the blue paint, but this now-34-year-old player 

hasn’t had the durability on the stat sheet anymore. 

With seven years left on his contract with the Wild 

– through the 2024-25 season – Parise still has a 

chance to turn that around and get his numbers 

back up again. 

Looking at his career, he’s a six-time 30-goal 

scorer, last reaching the mark with 33 tallies in 

A healthy return for Zach Parise will be key to the Minnesota Wild’s hopes of advancing past the first round of the NHL playoffs. 


2014-15 and netting a career-high of 45 in 2008-09 

with the Devils. Parise also leads the Wild franchise 

in playoff goals, power-play goals and is second in 

shots on goal. He has 333 career goals, the leader 

among active American-born players. 

If the Wild want to push their playoff streak to 

seven years, they’re going to need Parise to not 

only stay healthy, but get back to his goal-scoring 

roots for a 20-to-30 goal season. It may be a lot of 

pressure on just one player. There’s just no denying 

how valuable Parise is to the Wild. 

“Seeing what he went through last year, first 

we’re just happy for him that he can be back and 

start fresh right away and start healthy,” Koivu said. 

“But then for sure for the team, it can be a huge 

piece that we were missing pretty much all early 

last, whatever months he was out. 

“I think it goes both ways. He’s going to help us, 

but we’re trying to help him as much as we can. 

That’s the way it goes for the team.” 6 


16 17

715-796-2500 

Paul E. Nelson, D.D.S. 

Kyley Liebens, D.D.S.

MINNESOTA WHITECAPS 

WHITECAPS PRIMER: 

MEET THE 

WHITECAPS 

“NEW” TEAM ENTERS LEAGUE WITH LONG HISTORY, FAMILIAR FACES 

The Minnesota Whitecaps’ 

Lee Stecklein (left) and 

Amanda Kessel (right) 

opened up with a victory 

over the Metropolitan 

Riveters Friday, Oct. 5. 

Photo by Rick Olson 

by Dustin Nelson 

There’s nothing else 

like it in the U.S. The 

National Women’s Hockey 

League (NWHL), now in its fourth season 

of operations, has brought professional women’s 

hockey to the States. Players are finally getting 

paid. (Though, there’s room for growth.) Fans can 

finally watch top talent play post-collegiate hockey 

outside of annual international tournaments. And 

Minnesota is finally getting a team. 

The league’s first three seasons featured four east 

coast teams, loads of Olympic talent, passionate 

fans, and lots of Minnesotans wondering when the 

State of Hockey would get a team. But, now, the 

Whitecaps have arrived in the NWHL Minnesotans 

have taken up the cause in droves. On the team’s 

season-opening shutout of the Metropolitan 

Riveters on October 6, the team was met by a rowdy 

sell-out crowd carrying signs and lining up to don 

Whitecaps sweatshirts and Shirseys. 

While the team is new to the NWHL, it’s far from 

a new organization. However, the team isn’t exactly 

new. The Whitecaps have been an outstanding 

training ground for Midwestern players since 2004, 

playing for years in the now-defunct Western 



20 21

MINNESOTA WHITECAPS 

“NEW” TEAM ENTERS LEAGUE WITH LONG HISTORY, FAMILIAR FACES 


Women’s Hockey League (WWHL) and against 

Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) teams. 

But the team has been without a league since 

2011. Though it has carried National Team talent 

like Hannah Brandt, Stephanie Anderson, and the 

Lamoureux twins, its seasons have been limited to 

practices and scattered exhibition games against 

high school, collegiate and, occasionally, NWHL 

teams. 

Now, the team joins the NWHL with a refurbished 

roster, salaries, and a boatload of reasons for fans 

to head to St. Paul’s Tria Rink throughout the 16- 

game season. Though the season is young, people 

have already been showing up. The Whitecaps sold 

out the first two games and shocked the NWHL’s 

reigning champions with 4-0 and 3-1 wins. 

THE TEAM 

While some may predict the Whitecaps to sit 

outside the championship game in the team’s 

inaugural NWHL season, Minnesota is not a team to 

sleep on. 

Logistically, the team will face challenges. They 

only play back-to-backs because of the travel 

involved in being the only team not on the east 

coast. Moreover, every back-to-back has them 

playing in different rinks each night. That could 

make for tough games on the back-end since most 

of the roster is holding down a full-time job during 

the week. (NWHL salaries are part-time salaries.) 

There are also schedule oddities other teams 

aren’t dealing with, like not playing a single league 

game from January 20 through March 2, when the 

Whitecaps start their season-closing series on the 

road. That could be a real disadvantage heading 

into the playoffs. 

On the ice, the biggest question the Whitecaps 

face is how their depth will measure-up against 

the league’s established teams. Each of the other 

four rosters faces turnover year-to-year because 

all NWHL contracts are for one year. Nonetheless, 

teams frequently retain some core players and 

coaches. 

That’s not to say the Whitecaps enter the season 

without any chemistry. There are 16 players who 

have been with the Whitecaps before, and many of 

the players skated together in college. The roster 

features 19 Minnesotans and 17 former WCHA 

players. Though, only one skater has previously 

played in the NWHL. 

The team is headlined by Olympic stars Lee 

Stecklein, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Brandt. 

However, what might slip under the radar is the 

kind of talent the team will get from top collegiate 

skaters who haven’t been in the spotlight of the 

National Team or the NWHL yet. Those forwards 

include former Gopher Kate Schipper, former 

Bulldog Katie McGovern, former North Dakota 

standout Amy Menke, and veteran speedster Allie 

Thunstrom. 

The lines are far from set in stone, but the 

Whitecaps opened the season with a top line 

featuring Brandt at center, flanked by Coyne 

Schofield and Schipper. It’s a fast line that has 

already shown great chemistry. It’s not hard to 

see this being one of the toughest lines to play 

against in the league, especially when Stecklein and 

Amanda Boulier are paired up behind them. 

In net, the Whitecaps landed a pair of former 

NWHL goaltenders, including former two-time 

NCAA National Champion with the Gophers and 

2018 NWHL Goaltender of the Year Amanda Leveille. 

Likely to share time with her is Sydney Rossman, 

who skated with the Connecticut Whale last year 

and is just one year removed from an impressive 

career at Quinnipiac. Last season, Rossman posted 

an .885 save percentage in 16 starts, but she was 

backstopping a team that struggled throughout the 

season en route to a 3-11-2 record. Former St. Cloud 

netminder Julie Friend is also on the roster. 

THE COMPETITION 

Boston Pride: The Pride has outstanding 

goaltending between former NWHL Goaltender of 

the Year Brittany Ott and Boston College standout 

Katie Burt. The blueline is led by Warroad’s Gigi 

Marvin. Up front, Boston has dangerous forward 

threats like Haley Skarupa, Amanda Pelkey, and 

Jillian Dempsey. The team should be better than its 

4-8-4 record last season, in no small part because of 

Burt. The team struggled to keep pucks out of the 

net when Ott wasn’t between the pipes. 

Buffalo Beauts: The big get for the Beauts 

— owned by Pegula Sports, which also owns the 

Sabres, Bills, and Rochester Americans -- may be 

U.S. National Team goaltender Nicole Hensley 

and legendary Canadian 

netminder Shannon Szabados. 

They’re also carrying plenty of 

offense in Julianna Iafallo, Kelly 

Babstock, and former Gopher 

Dani Cameranesi. However, the 

big threat in Buffalo is a deep 

blueline, led by Emily Pfalzer 

with Lisa Chesson, Jordyn 

Burns, and the underrated Blake 

Bolden. 

Connecticut Whale: The 

only of the original four teams 

without an Isobel Cup looks like 

one of the weaker teams again 

this year. Yet, there’s plenty of 

talent and faces Minnesotans 

will recognize, like former 

Bulldogs forwards Michelle 

Löwenhielm and Katerina 

Mrázová. It’ll still be tough 

sledding for the Whale this year. 

Metropolitan Riveters: 

Their partnership with the New 

Jersey Devils may serve as a 

blueprint for the partnership 

between the Wild and 

Whitecaps. (Both NWHL teams 

play in the practice facility of 

their NHL partner.) It’s served 

the Riveters well. They enter the 

season as the reigning Isobel 

Cup champions. The Rivs return 

players from last year’s squad, 

as well as Olympian Amanda 

Kessel, who played with the 

Riveters the season prior. 

The team also carries a 

loaded blueline with Kelsey 

Koelzer, Michelle Picard, Kiira 

Dosdall, and former Badger 

Jenny Ryan. But there’s plenty 

of offense in long-time Riveter 

Madison Packer, Erika Lawler, 

Rebecca Russo, Miye D’Oench 

and others. Along with the 

Beauts, the Riveters are the team 

to beat. 6 

The Minnesota Whitecaps Kendall Coyne-Schofield. 


22 23 

Photo by Rick Olson

COLLEGE HOCKEY PRIMER 

COLLEGE PRIMER: 

MINNESOTA 

MODEL 

Left: The Gophers’ Garrett Wait (14) and Bulldogs’ Noah 

Cates (21) battle for the loose puck; Top: Minnesota Duluth’s 

Maddy Rooney (35) eyes the puck into her glove against 

Minnesota; Bottom left: The Bulldogs’ men’s team raises its 

2018 championship banner; Bottom right: Men’s goaltenders 

Mat Robson (40) and Hunter Shepard (32) head to their nets. 

Photos by Brett Groehler (women) and Terry Cartie Norton (men) 


24 25


Top: Sarah Potmak (26) 

of Minnesota looks to feed a 

teammate; Bottom left: Gophers’ 

defenseman Clayton Phillips holds 

off a Bulldogs’ attacker; Bottom 

right: Bulldogs’ defenseman Mikey 

Anderson (24) tries to clear the 

front of his net. 

Photos by Brad Rempel, Gopher Athletics 

(women) and Terry Cartie Norton (men) 

Top: Minnesota Duluth sophomore Nick Swaney crashes the 

Gophers’ net; Bottom left: Swaney moves up ice, watched by 

Sampo Ranta of Minnesota; Bottom right: The Bulldogs’ Naomi 

Rogge will be one of the team’s key veterans this winter. 

Photos by UMD Athletics (women) and Terry Cartie Norton (men) 


26 27


COLLEGE TO PROS: 

MINNESOTA’S 

WELL-WORN PATH 

COLLEGE PROVIDES STATE OF HOCKEY’S COMMON PATH TO THE NHL 

By Nate Ewell, College Hockey, Inc. 

Like each grade in school, the 

various levels in a young hockey 

player’s career provide the skills 

and knowledge necessary for success 

at the next step. 

Few places in hockey is that step-by-step 

approach more evident than a Minnesotan’s path to 

the NHL. For each of the last 58 Minnesotans who 

have reached the NHL, the march to the top of the 

sport has included development at the NCAA level. 

That path produces great results at each rung 

of the ladder. Year after year, Minnesota produces 

more NHL players than any other state. Not 

surprisingly, it produces the most NCAA Division I 

players as well, as players coming out of the state’s 

community-based model are ready to make an 

impact at the college level. 

“The best state at producing hockey players 

is Minnesota,” said Rand Pecknold, who has led 

Quinnipiac to two NCAA championship games as 

head coach. “Nothing even comes close to touching 

the Minnesota youth and high school model.” 

The 2017-18 season saw Minnesotans Travis 

Boyd (U. of Minnesota), Steven Fogarty (U. of Notre 

Dame), Shane Gersich (U. of North Dakota), Blake 

Hillman (U. of Denver), Justin Holl (U. of Minnesota), 

Justin Kloos (U. of Minnesota), Vinni Lettieri (U. of 

Minnesota), Alex Lyon (Yale), Casey Mittelstadt (U. 

of Minnesota), Neal Pionk (U. of Minnesota Duluth), 

Tucker Poolman (U. of North Dakota), Mitch Reinke 

(Michigan Tech), Nick Seeler (U. of Minnesota), 

Dominic Toninato (U. of Minnesota Duluth), Andy 

Welinski (U. of Minnesota Duluth) and Adam Wilcox 

(U. of Minnesota) make their NHL debuts. 

It was a remarkable influx of NHL talent all from 

one state. That group also showed the far-reaching 

impact Minnesotans have in the NCAA ranks. It’s not 

just the five in-state schools that benefit from NCAA 

talent, as 50 of the 60 Division I programs boasted 

at least one Minnesotan in 2017-18. 

“The best state 

at producing 

hockey players 

is Minnesota. 

Nothing even 

comes close...” 

— Rand Pecknold 

That should continue as teams prepare to drop 

the puck in 2018-19. In the state, returning All- 

Americans like Scott Perunovich (U. of Minnesota 

Duluth), Jimmy Schuldt (St. Cloud State) and Tyler 

Sheehy (U. of Minnesota) are prepared to lead 

their teams. Outside the state lines, national title 

contenders like Notre Dame (four Minnesotans) and 

Ohio State (three) are fueled in part by contributions 

of players from the state. 6 

The Minnesota Wild’s 

Justin Kloos is one of 

many Minnesotans to 

reach the NHL after 

playing college hockey. 

Photo by Russell Hons 

28 

OCTOBER 2018 

MINNESOTA HOCKEY MAGAZINE


GOPHER MEN: 

MINNESOTA NOT 

MISSING OUT 

SEASON’S STUNNING FINISH, NEW LEADER MOTIVATE GOPHERS 

At top: Tyler Sheehy and the University of Minnesota missed out on the NCAA playoffs last year by the tiniest of margins. 

Above: Bob Motzko on the bench with the St. Cloud State men’s hockey team. Motzko was hired to take over the Gophers’ 

program after Don Lucia stepped down in the offseason. 

Photos by Jonny Watkins 

By Brian Halverson 

Unbelievable. 

That’s the word University 

of Minnesota men’s hockey 

captain Tyler Sheehy used to describe 

what will likely be remembered in Gopher lore as 

the 2018 St. Patty’s Day Massacre. 

“I can’t remember the odds of what happened 

happening,” Sheehy said. “But it just kind of 

unfolded and we were kind of sitting there and our 

heads just started sinking when that last game was 

going on.” 



30 31

COLLEGE HOCKEY PREVIEW 

SEASON’S STUNNING FINISH, NEW LEADER MOTIVATE GOPHERS 


What happened was Minnesota was on the verge 

of making its second straight, and 37th overall 

NCAA tournament berth official, needing just one 

of six conference tournament finals to go its way to 

clinch the coveted spot. 

One by one, against all odds as Sheehy said, it 

happened. 

Six games, fittingly concluding with Notre 

Dame’s 3-2 overtime win over Ohio State in the Big 

Ten final, conspired to leave the Gophers on the 

outside looking in. The win by then-coach Don 

Lucia’s alma mater meant Minnesota finished .001 

of a point in the Pairwise rankings (the system used 

to select the at-large NCAA Tournament teams) 

behind Minnesota Duluth for the 16th and final 

NCAA at-large bid. 

The Bulldogs made the most of their good 

fortune by making a historic run to an NCAA title 

and celebrating it’s Frozen Four win less than eight 

miles from Mariucci Arena. 

“Just one more point here or there could have 

changed our season,” senior assistant captain 

Darian Romanko said. “Thinking back to some of 

the games that we had leads and we blew, we didn’t 

know that could turn around and bite us. We just 

need to take every game seriously like it was our 

last game.” 

Within three days, Gopher players witnessed the 

resignation of Lucia, who had guided the program 

to two NCAA titles (2003 and 2004) in five Frozen 

Four appearances, 11 regular-season conference 

titles, four league playoff titles and a 457-248-73 

record in 19 seasons. 

A week later, they welcomed Bob Motzko as 

the 15th men’s hockey coach in Gopher history. 

Motzko, who was an assistant coach under Lucia at 

Minnesota from 2001 to 2005, had spent the past 

13 seasons compiling a career record of 276-192- 

49 at St. Cloud State and led the Huskies to NCAA 

tournament berths in eight of the past eleven 

seasons, including the 2013 Frozen Four. 

A 1987 graduate of St. Cloud State, Motzko 

served as an assistant under Herb Brooks at his alma 

mater for Brooks’ one season behind the Huskies’ 

bench. The Austin, Minn. native takes over a Gopher 

program led exclusively by Minnesotans since 

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan’s Glen Sonmor resigned 

eight games into the 1971-72 season to take over 

the World Hockey Association’s Minnesota Fighting 

Saints. 

“How fortunate do I feel at this stage that I’ve 

gotten to be an assistant coach at two of the (state’s 

D-I) programs and a head coach at two of the 

programs?” Motzko asked, rhetorically. “Somehow 

the footprints that I followed have led me right 

back to the same program where a coach like Herb 

Brooks and Doug Woog and Don Lucia … it’s pretty 

humbling, I can tell you that.” 

“We just need 

to take every 

game seriously 

like it was our 

last game.” 

— Darian Romanko 

Motzko brought assistant, and St. Cloud State 

alum, Garrett Raboin with him from St. Cloud and 

filled out his staff days before the season opener 

at Duluth by adding former Gopher Ben Gordon 

to the mix. In addition, two more former Gophers, 

Stu Bickel and Ryan Potulny, came aboard as 

undergraduate assistants for the 2018-19 season 

as they complete their degrees at the University of 

Minnesota. 

“The experience of our alumni is one of our 

program’s greatest strengths,” Motzko said. “All 

three of these guys know what it means to be part 

of this program and what it takes in order to be 

successful here.” 

Like with any coaching change, the challenge 

early on for both coaches and players is to get 

familiar with one another and be on the same page. 

“You’ve kind of got two camps,” Motzko said. 

“You’ve got coaches getting to know players and 

players getting to know coaches and it’s that feeling 

out period with the limited time that we have on 

the ice right now. 

“I’m not real familiar with a lot of the players; we 

were in two different conferences, though we did 

play the last couple years.” 

From a player perspective, Sheehy says the 

feeling out period has gone pretty well. 

“Anytime you get together with a new group or 

a new coaching staff it’s a little different,” Sheehy 

said. “They’ve taken the time to get to know us this 

past summer and then, obviously, got to see us on 

the ice here a little bit so far. Just getting to know 

their system, getting to know what they like to see 

and what they want us to do out there.” 

Sheehy enters his senior season with 108 

career points (44 goals, 

64 assists) which ties 

him for second among 

active NCAA skaters. 

He and fellow captain 

Brent Gates Jr. lead an 

experienced group of 

forwards which includes 

six seniors among eight 

upperclassmen overall. 

Motzko singled out 

Sheehy and junior Rem 

Pitlick as players who 

“really jumped out of the 

blocks” early on in terms 

of leadership and effort in 

preseason practices. 

“You follow it up with 

Brent Gates and Scott 

Reedy and (Brannon) 

McManus, guys that are 

excited right now to 

take on bigger roles on the team and they’re really 

showing that,” Motzko said. “And then you’ve 

got the two workhorses in Romanko and (fellow 

assist captain Jack) Ramsey who bring that work 

ethic every day and that’s something that I think is 

starting to bleed into our team right now.” 

Youth is not an issue for Minnesota in goal either 

as Motzko inherits a senior in Eric Schierhorn (12- 

12-1, 2.69 GAA, .901 save percentage) who started 

Minnesota’s first 20 games a year ago and enters the 

season with 101 NCAA games under his belt. Also 

returning is Junior Mat Robson (7-5-1, 2.11 GAA, .933 

save percentage), who emerged as the team’s No. 

1 goalie in the second half of his sophomore year 

when he started 14 of the Gophers’ final 19 games. 

The blue line is a different story with five 

Minnesota’s Darian Romanko drives the net. 

Photo by Jonny Watkins 

underclassmen combining for 25 games of D-I 

experience among eight defensemen overall. Lone 

senior Jack Sadek and juniors Ryan Zuhlsdorf and 

Tyler Nanne combined for six goals and 28 points 

among them a year ago and will be tasked with 

mentoring freshmen Robbie Stucker, Ben Brinkman 

and Matt Denman. 

“It’s going to take a while for our defense to sort 

itself through,” Motzko said. “That’s going to take a 

little bit more time but what we’re encouraged by 

is we think it’s going to be 

there.” 

Romanko stressed that 

the forwards must share 

the load when it comes to 

getting the young defensive 

corps acclimated to Big Ten 

hockey, particularly in the 

defensive zone. 

“We need to be stronger 

in our systems, especially 

on the back end,” Romanko 

said. “Centers will have an 

important role. Everyone 

will have to help out in the 

defensive zone and just try 

and help the younger guys.” 

“This freshman class 

has just got great energy,” 

Motzko raved. “They don’t 

know anything from the 

past; they come in wideeyed. 

(Forwards) Sammy Walker and Sampo Ranta 

really are off to a great start right now.” 

Motzko’s words proved prophetic as Ranta, a 

Naantali, Finland native, scored his team’s lone 

goal in his collegiate debut giving Minnesota a 

season-opening 1-1 tie against defending national 

champion MInnesota Duluth at Amsoil Arena. 

It will be up to Minnesota’s seniors to impress 

upon its rookies the urgency with which they need 

to play on a nightly basis. With the Big Ten sending 

three teams Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan) 

to the 2018 Frozen Four, there’s no such thing as a 

throwaway game. 

As Sheehy says, “You can tell when the Pairwise 

comes down to it at the end of the year, every game 

is extremely important.” 6 


32 33


BIG TEN PRIMER: 

CONTENDER CENTRAL 

WISCONSIN LOOKS TO BE A TOP CHALLENGER FOR THE BIG TEN TITLE THIS WINTER 

Michigan’s Jack Becker. 


by Declan Goff 

The Wisconsin Badgers 

haven’t been to the 

NCAA Tournament 

since 2014 but that streak could 

end this season. 

Wisconsin 

Wisconsin features a top-heavy blue line which 

includes Wyatt Kalynuk, who enters his sophomore 

season as a unanimous selection for the Big Ten 

Preseason Watch List after posting 25 points as a 

freshman. Kalynuk isn’t the only defender gathering 

attention as Hopkins native K’Andre Miller might 

be one of the most talked about players in the Big 

Ten. Miller was a first-round pick last June by the 

New York Rangers and his head coach Tony Granato 

envisions the blue liner playing a big role in 2018-19. 

“He likes playing on our No. 1 power play unit 

Notre Dame’s Dylan Malmquist. 


Ohio State’s John Wiitala. 


right now,” Granato said. “He’s going to get a lot 

of minutes. He’s extremely athletic and he’s a little 

bit raw in the position, he’s just over two years 

playing as a defenseman. We definitely want him 

to be an offensive player as well – I think the size 

and physicality that he’ll be able to play with is 

something that will make him a strong defensive 

player. I think he’s going to get a good look to make 

the World Juniors team. So I think what you can 

expect is an exciting player who will be on the ice a 

lot for us.” 

Notre Dame 

The defending Big Ten Champion Notre Dame 

Fighting Irish were picked to finish third in the 

conference this season after finishing the 2017-18 

season as runner-up to the national champion 

Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs at the Frozen Four in St. 

Paul. Junior goaltender Cale Morris staked his claim 

as the best goaltender in college hockey last season 

by posting a 1.94 GAA and a .944 save percentage. 

The First-Team All-American was awarded the Mike 

Richter Award as the nation’s top goaltender. 

On the offense, Edina native Dylan Malmquist is 

poised for a big year and the senior was named an 

alternate captain for the Irish. Notre Dame coach 

Jeff Jackson says Malmquist had his best season as 

a junior and thinks he will be a huge factor for the 

Irish as a senior. 

“He’s moving back to his natural position of 

center so I’m excited about Dylan,” Jackson said. “I 

think he’s got his head in the right direction; he’s 

learned what commitment is all about and now 

hopefully he can take that next step which we’re 

going to need.” 

Ohio State 

The Ohio State Buckeyes were able to put it all 

together last season. Always known for its potent 

offense, the Buckeyes had stability on the defensive 

side and in net as they punched their first ticket to 

the Frozen Four for the first time since 1998. Led 

by head coach, and Hill-Murray alum, Steve Rohlik, 

Ohio State is the preseason favorite to win the 

Big Ten conference in 2018-19. Mason Jobst and 

Tanner Laczynski were unanimous selections for the 

preseason watch list. Although he may not light up 

a box score, Lakeville native John Wiitala is a player 

to keep an eye on. 

“He’s been put in a lot of situations: he’s killed 

penalties, he’s been on the power play, he’s 

played regular shifts,” Rohlik said on the Big Ten 

conference call. “I think more of his production as 

a 200-foot player, that’s my biggest thing with him, 

and right now he’s had a good offseason that I can 

see. I think he’s going to make some improvements 

in all areas of his game.” 

Michigan 

What a difference a year can make. The Michigan 

Wolverines made it to the Frozen Four last season 

after winning just 13 games in 2016-17. Mel Pearson, 

who took over for the legendary Red Berenson, 

guided the Wolverines back to prominence 

and now second-year coach is poised to bring 

another National Championship back Ann Arbor. 

Only Boston University and Boston College had 

a younger roster than Michigan a year ago. With 

just three seniors on their roster this season, the 

Wolverines appear to be a threat for years to come. 

Sophomore forward, and Dellwood, Minn., native 

Jack Becker, had 15 points in his freshman season 

but over the course of the year, Becker continued to 

impress. 

“He’s probably our most improved player,” 

Pearson said of Becker. “What I like about Jack is 

he does everything the right way. He wants to 

be a player, he trains hard, he’s an exceptional 

student and competent student-athlete. But he’s 

had tremendous growth in his game and we’re just 

talking the other day, we would like one of Jack 

Becker on every line just because of what he brings 

to the table.” 

Penn State 

Entering just its seventh season at the Division 

1 level, Penn State has already made its mark in 

college hockey. The team has secured back-toback 

NCAA Tournament bids but they did lose top 

scorer Andrew Strutz. However, most of the offense 

returns and their 138 goals were the third most in 

college hockey. Juniors Dennis Smirnov and Nate 

Sucese were nearly point per game players last 

season and were named to the preseason watch list. 

Michigan State 

Michigan State may have been picked to finish 

last in the Big Ten conference but its top line of 

Taro Hirose, Patrick Khodorenko and Mitchell 

Lewandowski is one of the best in college hockey. 

All three players were named to the preseason 

watch list. John Lethemon started 34 games 

last season for the Spartans but he’ll have some 

competition in highly-regarded goaltender Drew 

DeRidder who played last season with the U.S. 

National Team Development Program’s Under-18 

Team. 6 


34 35

TALKING NORTHERN HOCKEY 

JOHN GILBERT: 

DEPTH CHARGES 

UMD ADDS DEPTH IN ATTEMPT TO DEFEND NCAA TITLE 

Minnesota Duluth’s Parker 

Mackay celebrates a goal 

during last year’s NCAA 

tournament. 


By John Gilbert 

The carryover from one college 

hockey season to the next can 

distinguish a great hockey 

program from merely a good one, 

because consistency is an elusive thing 

when teams lose six or eight players 

every year to graduation and pro 

signings. 

For the UMD Bulldogs, the carryover factor 

has been a consistent asset, despite diametrically 

opposed circumstances the last two seasons. 

When they had built a strong, veteran team two 

years ago, they justifiably reached the NCAA men’s 

tournament; and last season when they had to fill 

enormous holes in scoring, on defense, and in goal, 

and had no projections for success, the Bulldogs 

not only rose to the playoffs, they won the national 

championship. 

Now what? 

The projections are off the scale with the stillyoung 

but now-experienced Bulldogs, and it was 

suggested to Sandelin that if a year’s experience 

means anything, the only thing left for the 2018-19 

UMD team is to go undefeated! 

He laughed, but cautioned that every season is 

a different challenge, even for a team making the 

impressive transformation from NCAA champion 

to preseason No. 1 ranked team in the land. “What 

looks good on paper doesn’t necessarily transform 

onto the ice,” said Sandelin. “But it will be a tough 

group to break into.” 

In reality, the total number of job openings 

needing to be broken into is four. Hunter Shepard 

became a standout last season and is a fixture in 

goal as a junior, and all six defensemen, five of 

whom were over-achieving freshmen last season, 

are back, leaving an impressive incoming group of 

freshmen with speed and scoring ability to battle 

for playing time with established returnees for four 

forward openings. 

Shepard is back in goal as a proven junior 

standout. Nick Wolff is assistant captain as a junior 

on defense, and those five freshmen defensemen 

are all back as tournament-hardened sophomores. 

Scott Perunovich, Dylan Samberg, Mikey Anderson, 

Louie Roehl and Matt Anderson not only were 

outstanding on defense, but Wolff, a tough, 

physical presence who insisted he would never 

score, backed up the freelancing Perunovich by 

scoring seven goals, without setting foot on the 

power play. 

It was suggested to Sandelin that there was good 

news and bad news in Perunovich leading the team 

in scoring a year ago: The good news was it tells 

how immensely skilled Perunovich is, and the bad 

news is ...can’t any of the forwards score? 

Sandelin got a chuckle out of that, too, and took 

us back to last season as reason he anticipates goals 

could come a bit easier this season. New-found 

depth should ease the replacement of the three 

departing senior regular forwards, Karson Kuhlman, 

Jared Thomas and Blake Young -- all of whom were 

assets with their work-ethic and leadership, but 

are not entirely irreplaceable. When junior Joey 

Anderson chose to sign a pro contract over the 

summer, it meant a fourth opening up front. 

Of last year’s seniors, Kuhlman, the captain 

from Cloquet-Esko-Carlton, and Thomas, from 

Hermantown, were perfect role-models for hard 

work and perseverance, which may have been 

more important cogs than scoring 20 goals. They 

had spent four years mostly hustling and working 

without scoring in significant numbers. But if 

effort and leadership made them prominent in the 

lineup, they were rewarded in storybook fashion 

by coming through for their biggest career goals at 



36 37


UMD ADDS DEPTH IN ATTEMPT TO DEFEND NCAA TITLE 


tournament time. 

In the championship game against Notre Dame, 

Kuhlman scored his 13th goal of the season midway 

through the first period, and 10 minutes later, 

Thomas scored his 11th goal of his season after 

Kuhlman had forechecked the puck free to him. 

That made it 2-0, and the Bulldogs kept hustling, 

while Shepard took control from there, yielding 

only a second-period power-play goal to anchor 

the 2-1 victory.When it ended, Shepard let it all out, 

racing to the corner of the rink for a high-jump into 

the boards that would have won Olympic Gold if 

they had high jumping in goalie pads as an event. 

The championship was as surprising to Sandelin 

and his staff as it was to all the opposing teams who 

took the Bulldogs too lightly until it was too late, 

then were helpless to stop the momentum. 

UMD allowed only 16 goals in its final 12 games 

last year, evidence of Shepard’s talent and the 

rapid development of the five freshmen and a 

sophomore on the kiddie-corps defense. The final 

twist of statistics was more frosting on the cake: 

Most of the Frozen Four emphasis going in was 

on No. 1 ranked Notre Dame and its top-rated 

goaltender Cale Morris. The 2-1 UMD victory still 

left Morris with an exceptional 1.94 goals-allowed 

average, but the unheralded Shepard wound up 

1.93. 

That .01 difference brought back the .001 edge 

-- one ten-thousandth of a point -- in the NCAA’s 

performance index ratings that let UMD slip past 

Minnesota for the 16th and final spot in the NCAA 

tournament field. Notre Dame’s move to the Big 

Ten and its domination there raised the computer 

profiles of the whole Big Ten, and despite clear 

evidence that the NCHC remained the strongest 

conference in college hockey, three of the Frozen 

Four teams were from the Big Ten, and Minnesota 

was close to making it all four. 

UMD remained under the radar despite having 

beaten Minnesota 4-3 in an overtime thriller for 

the nonconference season opener last season, and 

head-to-head play figures into the computer. Close 

as it was, the Bulldogs outshot the Gophers in all 

four periods that night for a 44-21 total, and won 

on a goal by Parker Mackay, this year’s captain, and 

another prospect for scoring more than in his injury 

limited junior year. Observers say winning that 

game paid off in the final computer analysis for the 

.001 edge, but if that victory meant so much, why 

was Minnesota ever ranked ahead of the Bulldogs? 

Last year’s opening victory sent them against 

Minnesota in this year’s opening series having 

beaten the Gophers an amazing eight straight 

times. 

Most likely, it was a matter of respect, something 

that Sandelin and the UMD program have worked 

hard to gain. The Gophers have historic respect 

as one of the vital programs that hoisted college 

hockey into the realm of big-time sports. It has 

taken over a decade for many to realize that the 

Gophers are no longer the reigning top dog among 

Minnesota’s five Division 1 programs, as St. Cloud 

State, Minnesota State and Bemidji State have all 

risen in competitive strength. UMD may finally 

have attained that elusive respect, after beating 

the Gophers for the eighth consecutive time, then 

ignoring theories about young defense and a lack 

of scoring, and compensated with hard work and 

goals-by-committee to keep hanging with the 

NCHC leaders. 

At the end they squeezed into the NCAA 

tournament’s selected 16 teams by that 

computerized eyelash, and stayed hot to win the 

West Regional with come-from-behind one-goal 

victories over WCHA champ Minnesota State and 

upstart Air Force to reach the Frozen Four at Xcel 

Energy Center in Saint Paul. 

Once there, sophomore goaltender Shepard 

continued to be rock solid, and the five freshmen 

and a sophomore “veteran” on D were even more 

impressive. The Bulldogs knocked off Ohio State 2-1 

in the semifinals, then beat top-seeded Notre Dame 

by the same 2-1 count to claim their second NCAA 

title at the same site as their first championship, in 

2011. This time, UMD singlehandedly knocked off 

three Big Ten entries in the Frozen Four, providing 

the NCHC with its third consecutive national 

championship in four years of existence. 

“I don’t notice any difference in attitude of our 

guys this year,” Sandelin said. “But we can’t take 

anything for granted, because getting to the NCAA 

tournament doesn’t just happen. At the same time, 

our guys might be even more hungry to prove that 

we deserve that respect. We’ve got good leadership 

from our captains, because Parker Mackay, Nick 

Wolff and Mikey Anderson are all a lot like Karson 

was. 

“We’ll have to make sure we keep working hard, 

and that we’re not getting too far over our ski tips. 

We need to have short-term focus, and not the idea 

we’re going to get there at the end.” 

Two years ago, UMD made it to the NCAA Frozen 

Four with a solid and experienced team, but after 

that spring of 2017, graduation and early signings 

sent some Bulldogs into pro hockey and left UMD 

with some glaring holes. It didn’t seem to matter to 

Sandelin that he would have one lone defenseman 

returning, and he was Nick Wolff, only a freshman. 

Defying dour predictions about the lack of proven 

goal-scorers, needing to solidify a promising but 

unproven goaltender, and having to write in the 

names of five freshmen to join sophomore Wolff 

on defense every game, Sandelin whistled past the 

doom and gloom forecasts in the NCHC like a Pied 

Piper in hockey breezers. 

Sandelin gives strong credit to his staff. Brett 

Larson and Jason Herter were his top assistants, 

and all three had been defensemen as players. 

Larson, a primary recruiter of the first UMD 

championship team, left to become head coach 

in the USHL, then became top assistant to Steve 

Rohlik at Ohio State, where he recruited most of the 

Buckeyes team UMD defeated 2-1 in last spring’s 

NCAA semifinals. Eventually, Larson returned 

to UMD and helped recruit most of the current 

Bulldogs, but now he’s gone to replace Bob Motzko 

as head coach at St. Cloud State. Larson’s loss will 

hurt, and while Sandelin is certain Larson will do 

a great job leading the Huskies, he moved on by 

making Herter an associate head coach, and hired 

former two-year UMD captain Adam Krause to 

leave pro hockey and become his second assistant. 

His youth, 28, should be an asset in communicating 

with the team’s young players. 

Sandelin may turn up the wick on his laid-back 

theory of scoring more, knowing how tenuous it 

was last year, when the Bulldogs always seemed 

to get just enough contribution from everybody 

on all four lines, plus that big boost from the 

rambunctious defensemen. 

“We expect more scoring from the forwards,” 

said Sandelin. “But I don’t mind who scores, as 

long as somebody scores. We have some returning 

players who should score more. I expect Riley Tufte 

to maybe get up to 20 goals, and Nick Swaney, 

Peter Krieger and Justin Richards could also score 

more. And we have some freshmen, who, in time, 

might add to the scoring, because all of them put 

up good numbers in junior hockey.” 

Up front, Krieger and Tufte were together and 

may remain a tandem, possibly joined by Swaney 

on their right wing. Richards and captain Parker 

Mackay -- another forward who could add more to 

the offense -- were linemates and may start being 

centered by freshman Noah Cates. His brother, 

Jackson Cates, opened at center on another line, 

and returnees Jade Miller and Billy Exell are now 

experienced and will be joined by several other 

incoming freshmen to form units. They can feel 

secure in knowing that under Sandelin’s new and 

improved strategy, the lines will be balanced, and 

the fourth line is allowed to outplay the first line 

and earn immediate promotion. 

“We’ve got some freshmen who are ready to step 

in and see what they can do, and it’s a nice problem 

to have, being able to shift guys around with more 

depth,” said Sandelin. “We’re deeper through the 

middle, and we’ll move guys around more easily.” 

Sandelin also fulfilled his plan of a tough 

nonconference schedule, which also helps the 

selection committee’s computer decide who gets 

the nod in final ratings. “We’ve got a tough first 

month,” said Sandelin. “We always pride ourselves 

on a tough nonconference schedule, and this year, 

after Minnesota, we go to Michigan Tech, then 

we come home against Maine, and then we go to 

Notre Dame.” 

Ah, Notre Dame. And we promise (wink-wink) to 

not bring up the fact that UMD beat Notre Dame 

in the semifinals of the 2011 Frozen Four before 

knocking off Michigan for the school’s first title, and 

again beat the Fighting Irish 2-1 in the NCAA final 

last spring in the same Xcel Center. That’s all history 

now, of course, and the future is now, couldn’t look 

brighter. 6 


38 39


NCHC PRIMER: 

MINNESOTA IS 

GROUND ZERO 

BULLDOGS, HUSKIES EXPECTED TO BE ON FRONT LINES OF NCHC SUPREMACY BATTLE 

Minnesota Duluth 

goaltender Hunter 

Shepard (32) stays cool 

during a game against 

Denver University last 

season. 


By Mick Hatten 

For the first five seasons 

of the NCHC, the 

two men’s hockey 

programs from the state of 

Minnesota have been in the thick 

of the race for a lot of hardware. 

Expectations are that will remain the same this 

season. 

Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State are travel 

partners in the conference, which means they play 

one another four times a season at a minimum. St. 

Cloud State has won two NCHC regular season titles 

and played in three NCHC championship games 

and Minnesota Duluth has played in two NCHC 

championship games. 

Between the teams, they’ve played in six NCAA 

regional championship games in the last five 

seasons. 

Now throw in that now former Bulldogs assistant 

coach Brett Larson was named the Huskies’ new 



40 41


BULLDOGS, HUSKIES EXPECTED TO BE ON FRONT LINES OF NCHC SUPREMACY BATTLE 


head coach in the offseason and the rivalry figures 

to continue to heat up. 

“Both teams have had some success in the 

last five years and the games will be good,” Scott 

Sandelin, who is 

beginning his 19th 

season as Bulldogs 

head coach and has 

18 players returning. 

“It will be unique 

for both Brett and I 

when we play. 

“I went through 

that when I coached 

against (former head 

coach) Dean (Blais) 

at North Dakota,” 

said Sandelin, a 

former North Dakota 

assistant coach. “I 

told him I still would 

throw a water bottle 

at him if I had to. 

(Brett and I) will talk 

before and after and 

in between (games). 

He’s competitive and 

I’m competitive.” 

Larson, a former 


captain, had two 

stints as Sandelin’s 

assistant coach with 

the Bulldogs. He 

was on the Bulldogs’ 

first round. 

“I don’t know if there’s been any major surprises 

yet, but it’s more excitement and the biggest 

excitement is over how good of kids there are in the 

locker room, getting 

to know them and 

seeing what the 

culture is like and 

how committed they 

are to the program 

and each other,” 

Larson said. “It 

shouldn’t come as 

a surprise with how 

well the program has 

been doing.” 

The similarities 

between St. 

Cloud State and 


have become a bit 

more pronounced 

to Larson since he 

accepted the job in 

April. Larson and his 

assistant coaches 

– Mike Gibbons 

and Nick Oliver – 

have gotten verbal 

commitments from 

11 players. 

St. Cloud State’s Jimmy Schuldt battles for a puck with a North Dakota 

forechecker. 


“There were a 

lot of kids I was 

recruiting at Duluth 

that I told to forget 

about everything I 

Bulldogs got off to a 2-7 start in the NCHC after 

having to replace their starting goalie, five of the 

team’s top six defensemen and the bulk of their 

scoring from the previous season. 

But Hunter Shepard, who is from Cohasset and 

entering his sophomore season, had a .940 save 

percentage and 1.52 goals-against average in the 

last 25 games of the season to help the Bulldogs 

win the title. 

“Minnesota Duluth won a national championship 

and what got their team going was when Shepard 

took off as goalie,” said Andy Murray, a former NHL 

coach who is beginning his eighth season as head 

coach at Western Michigan. “We can talk about (the 

Bulldogs’) unbelievable defense and everything 

and they matured. But they got goaltending … and 

that’s huge.” 

Shepard returns in goal as a sophomore and 

so do the Bulldogs’ top six defensemen from last 

season, led by Scott Perunovich, a sophomore from 

Hibbing. Perunovich was the NCHC Defenseman of 

the Year, a first team All-American and the national 

Freshman of the Year last season. 

“We stress a defensive game and we’re going 

to be hard to play against,” said Bulldogs senior 

forward Parker Mackay, whose team won their last 

three NCAA games by identical 2-1 scores. “At the 

same time, we need to work on our offensive side 

of the game as well. We’ve got to be able to score 

more goals than our opponent and we can’t just 

focus on our defensive strengths. 

“At the same time, it’s definitely a good starting 

point for us.” 

Voters in the NCHC preseason poll of the media 

that cover the conference agree. The Bulldogs 

received 20 of the 27 first-place votes and were 

picked to win the regular season conference title. 

State for the third straight season. 

“I couldn’t wait to get back to school and that’s 

the biggest thing that tells me that I’m in the right 

place,” Schuldt said. “Everyone I’ve talked to who 

went back and played their senior year, they said, 

‘You can’t replace it.’ 

“So far, it’s been awesome. My roommates are 

like my brothers. My teammates are some of my 

best friends. That’s not something I’d have forgiven 

myself for if I would have signed.” 

Schuldt is also looking forward to trying to 

defend the NCHC regular season title, battling 

against Minnesota Duluth and trying to make a 

deeper run in the NCAA playoffs. 

“Both teams 

have had some 

success in the 

last five years 

and the games 

will be good.” 

— Scott Sandelin 

“It’s going to be a battle for all the teams in 

our conference,” Schuldt said of the NCHC, which 

has had the last three national champions (North 

Dakota in 2016, Denver in 2017, UMD in 2018). “Our 

conference is so deep and so tight together. 

“We’re the team that plays UMD twice (in series) 

every year no matter what, so that rivalry in itself is 

huge, particularly with the accolades that both of 

our teams have had in the past year.” 

Schuldt and Huskies senior forward Robby 

Jackson were named to the Preseason All-NCHC 

team. Perunovich and Shepard were also named to 

the team. The other two players named to the team 

are Colorado College forward Nick Halloran and 

Western Michigan forward Wade Allison. 

In the preseason poll for the NCHC race, after the 

Bulldogs and Huskies, North Dakota was picked to 

finish third, followed by Western Michigan, Denver, 

Colorado College, Nebraska-Omaha and Miami. 

bench from 2008-11 and 2015-18 and concluded 

each tenure with national titles, first in 2011 and was telling them before,” Larson said with a smile. 

again last spring. Between those two stints, he was “But it’s been fun because Mike Gibbons used to 

an assistant coach at Ohio State where he helped use the line of, ‘Hey Lars, you and I shop in the 

Saint Cloud State 

recruit several of the players that played in the same aisle all the time (recruiting),’ because we’d be 

Frozen Four in April only to be beaten by UMD in bumping into each other everywhere. 

St. Cloud State received six first-place votes and 

the semifinals. 

“It’s a similar player and a similar kid that the 

was picked to finish second. While there may be an 

This will be his first stint as a college head coach. schools recruit.” 

unknown for the Huskies with a new head coach, 

But Larson has also inherited a roster with 21 

St. Cloud State got another boost in the offseason 

returners from a team that won the NCHC regular 


when defenseman Jimmy Schuldt decided to return 

season title, played in the NCHC championship 

for his senior season. 

game and was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA 

Minnesota Duluth has played in the last two 

Schuldt, a first team All-American from 

tournament before being upset by Air Force in the 

national championship games and surprised many 

Minnetonka, turned down a bevy of offers as an 

on its way to the national title last season. The 

undrafted free agent to be a captain for St. Cloud 

6 


42 43

NORTHSTAR CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 

FEATURE: 

IF YOU BUILD IT... 

NORTHSTAR CHRISTIAN ACADEMY SHINES BRIGHTLY IN ALEXANDRIA 

by Scott Tiffany 

When proven leaders 

unite in a vision and 

have backers from the 

NHL, PGA and NFL behind it, great 

things happen. 

The Northstar Christian Academy was birthed 

through the partnership of a few local Alexandria, 

MN businessmen and FCA Hockey (Fellowship 

of Christian Athletes-Hockey). Rick Randazzo, 

Executive Director for FCA Hockey, his wife 

Shannan, and their five children were nearing the 

end of powerful 50 State 50 City Tour where they 

devoted 5 years to investing Christian principles in 

hockey coaches and athletes all over the country 

The 50 State 50 City Tour began in August 2011. 

Starting in Maine, the Randazzo family spent 30 

days in one city per state providing free hockey 

clinics to those interested. They worked with 

athletes, coaches, and teams at all levels, and 

sought to serve physical and spiritual needs of local 

families. Rick shared, “It’s been remarkable to see 

how the Lord has used our family to till the soil, get 

out there, and meet so many people.” 

In 2015, as the Tour neared its end, they prayed 

“Lord, now what?” With the vision to create a 

home for FCA Hockey, a school based on Christian 

principles, and also a sports complex that could be 

used for FCA Hockey events, and to impact athletes, 

coaches, and a local community long-term. They 

had 5 different cities vying for the home of FCA 

Hockey to be in their state. 

In 2016, Alexandria, Minnesota became the 

home of FCA Hockey, as well as the Northstar 

Christian Academy (NCA). With local sports heroes 

like Tom Lehman and Matt Cullen on board early, 

over 4 million dollars were raised. The school 

opened adjacent to the Alexandria public High 

School in 2016. 

Soon later, in October 2017, the dream for a 

sports complex started to become reality. In a large 

step of faith, the Northstar Group broke ground in 

October 2017 on the Northstar Sports Complex 

Randazzo recalls praying on September 18, 

2017, with Gary Steffes, a former pro hockey player 

who serves full time on staff with FCA Hockey, on 

flat land. “We prayed for a building, an arena, and 

a boy’s hockey team here in Alexandria, MN that 

could be skating inside a new building. 

“It’s been 

remarkable to 

see how the 

Lord has used 

our family to 

till the soil, 

get out there, 

and meet so 

many people.” 

— Rick Randazzo 

To say this was really something that would 

require divine help was an understatement. Funds 

still had to be raised for the Northstar Sports 

Complex, sanctioning was needed from USA and 

Minnesota Hockey, acceptance into a league, and 

a complete team of coaches and players all in less 

than a year, all committing to play for a team in a 

league that was unknown and in a rink that was yet 

to be built. 

One year later, miraculously, it happened. 

On October 4th, 2017 the Sports Complex broke 


The new Northstar Christian Academy 

in Alexandria opened up its new facility 

this year. 

Submited photos 


44 45

NORTHSTAR CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 

NORTHSTAR CHRISTIAN ACADEMY SHINES BRIGHTLY IN ALEXANDRIA 


ground. Today, over 7 million of the necessary 

$8.1 million dollars have been raised and the 

Sports Complex is nearly completely constructed. 

According to Randazzo, the 70,000-square-foot 

facility includes a field house, hockey rink and 

chapel on a 40-acre campus, with space for 

expansion. 

PGA Champion and Player of the Year Tom 

Lehman says, “I am incredibly excited to se the 

Sports Complex come alive in my hometown of 

Alexandria, 

Minnesota 

as I know it 

will impact so 

many Coaches 

and Athletes 

across the 

country. FCA in 

Alexandria has a 

special place in 

my heart and I 

look forward to 

being a part of 

this project for 

years to come. 

Matt Cullen, 

a multiple time 

NHL Hockey Stanley Cup Champion, expressed “I 

am very excited to see the Sports Complex become 

a reality here in my home state of Minnesota. It will 

have a huge impact on both players and coaches 

through the Midwest by providing opportunities in 

sports, all while promoting the core values of FCA. 

The thought of having a first-class facility here for 

kids to grow in their athletics and faith together 

is really exciting and something I look forward to 

becoming a part of when my playing days are over.” 

During the past year, the NCA Knights Prep 

Hockey Program was also launched. USA Hockey 

and Minnesota Hockey sanctioned the program in 

February. The newly formed NAHL Prep League, 

which calls itself “a premier training ground for the 

development and exposure of high school, Prep 

and Academy teams throughout North America” 

accepted the NCA Knights for the 2018-19 season. 

John Olver, who has 35 years of professional, 

collegiate and junior coaching experience, accepted 

the position as head coach, and a full roster of 

athletes was finalized. 

Miraculously, on September 19, 2018, literally 

a year to the day, Rick, Gary, and members of the 

Northstar program stepped onto fresh ice, in the 

new Northstar Sports Complex, with a team of 

twenty-two players from eleven different states 

present to play for the first Northstar Knights Prep 

Hockey Team. 

In an interview with the Echo, local Alexandria 

Cardinals head coach Ian Resch commented, 

“I know 

community 

members are 

concerned 

about the 

impact the 

Academy will 

have on our 

high school 

program. 

Personally, I am 

not concerned. 

Players and 

families are 

looking for the 

program that 

best fits their 

needs.” Resch took his team all the way to the High 

School boys’ Class A championship game last year, 

finishing second, after a loss to Orono. 

The vision has become reality. The Northstar 

Christian Academy and Northstar Sports Complex 

are established. The facilities will be national 

headquarters to FCA Hockey and a place for 

many athletes and coaches at all levels of hockey, 

football, soccer, softball, baseball, and golf to grow 

spiritually, and physically. 

This October will mark the historic Grand 

Opening of the Northstar Sports Complex. The 

Northstar Group and FCA Hockey would love to 

invite everyone interested to come join us for the 

celebration. The event will begin at 4:00 pm on 

Sunday, October 14, 2018. There are many lodging 

options in Alexandria, Minnesota. Please contact 

Gary Steffes at gsteffes@fca.org for questions. 6 


48 49


WCHA MENS PRIMER: 

MAVERICKS 

SEEK REPEAT 

MINNESOTA STATE EXPECTED TO DEFEND TITLE; BEMIDJI STATE WILL MISS BITZER 

By Shane Frederick 

For the better part of 

the last three years, 

the MacNaughton Cup, 

the 105-year-old silver chalice 

that goes to the WCHA’s regularseason 

champion, has been housed in 

Minnesota. 

Minnesota State won it three times, and Bemidji 

State won it once. 

The cup currently sits in a trophy case in the 

Mavericks’ facility inside the Verizon Center in 

downtown Mankato after Minnesota State won 

it outright last March. The Mavericks first won it 

in 2015 and shared it with Michigan Tech in 2016 

before Bemidji State claimed it in 2017. 

As the 2018-19 season begins, both the 

Mavericks and Beavers have big holes to fill, 

graduating several players who played key 

roles during championship runs, including the 

conference’s last two players of the year, Minnesota 

State center C.J. Suess of Forest Lake and Bemidji 

State goaltender Michael Bitzer of Moorhead. 

Minnesota State 

Minnesota State is the favorite to win the 

league again, despite the loss of the All-American 

Suess, and fellow forward Zeb Knutson, who each 

racked up 43 points last season, along with 2017 

All-American defenseman Daniel Brickley and 

goaltender Connor LaCouvee. 

“We’re going to be a different team,” coach Mike 

Hastings said. “We need some individuals to step 

up and fill those roles.” 

It appears that the other league coaches believe 

that will happen as they picked the Mavericks to 

win another MacNaughton Cup. After all, Minnesota 

State’s 151 victories over Hastings’ six seasons there 

are more than any other team in college hockey. 

“I don’t think any of us know anything other than 

we all feel strongly that Mankato is going to win 

the league again,” second-year Northern Michigan 

coach Grant Potulny said, “because history tells you 

they will.” 

“...we all feel 

strongly that 

Mankato is 

going to win 

the league 

again, because 

history tells 

you they will.” 

— Grant Potulny 

The cupboard isn’t bare in Mankato, that’s for 

certain. 

Back on the team are forwards Marc Michaelis 

and Jake Jaremko, the WCHA’s last two rookies of 

the year. Michaelis has recorded 76 points in his 


Minnesota State’s Riese Zmolek 

returns as one of the Mavericks’ top 

defensemen. 



50 51




first two college seasons, and Jaremko, the 2015 Mr. 

Hockey winner out of Elk River, had 39 points in his 

rookie campaign. 

“We’re going to lean on those guys up front to fill 

the ice time and the responsibilities of those guys 

who are no longer with is,” Hastings said. 

Defense is also a strength. Blaine High School 

alum Ian Scheid had 50 points in his first two 

seasons, while sophomores Connor Mackey and 

Rochester native Riese Zmolek logged a lot of 

important minutes as freshmen. 

The biggest question for Minnesota State is 

in goal where three new faces, including two 

freshmen and Mathias Israelsson, a graduate 

transfer from Northern Michigan, are competing to 

replace LaCouvee. 

“We’re very unproven back at the goaltending 

position,” Hastings said, “the most important 

position that you can have on a team.” 

While the Mavericks appear to be reloading, the 

Beavers might be rebuilding. 

Bemidji State 

“For us, it’s kind of a new year, a different team,” 

said Tom Serratore, who is entering his 17th season 

as Bemidji State’s head coach. “Every four years 

we all have that one cycle where you kind of don’t 

know where you’re at. That’s probably this year for 

us.” 

Bitzer is the most significant loss. There’s been 

little to no question over the last four years as to 

who was going to be in goal for the Beavers. Bitzer, 

an All-American in 2017, played in 138 games, 

winning 65 and stopping more than 92 percent of 

opponents’ shots. 

“Take a look at what Bitz accomplished,” 

Serratore said. “Statistically speaking, he has to be 

one of top goalies to play college hockey.” 

Also gone are the Fitzgerald triplets — Gerry, 

Miles and Leo — and Kyle Bauman, four forwards 

who played a total of 527 games. 

Bemidji State was picked to finish fifth by the 

WCHA coaches. The team does return experience 

on defense with three experienced seniors, captains 

Justin Baudry and Bemidji native Dillon Eichstadt, 

and Dan Billet and junior Tommy Muck. 

Senior Jay Dickman of St. Paul Johnson High 

School, junior Adam Brady and sophomores 

Brendan Harris and Charlie Combs are the top 

returning forwards. 

Here’s a look around the rest of the WCHA at the 

start of the 2018-19 season: 

Bemidji State’s Dillon Eichstadt. 

Photo courtesy of BSU Athletics 

The contenders 

There are three teams that should give 

Minnesota State a run for its money this season: 

Northern Michigan, Bowling Green and Michigan 

Tech. 

Northern Michigan took second place last 

season after Potulny arrived from the University 

of Minnesota, his alma mater, where he was an 

assistant coach for eight seasons, and has several 

top players back at each position. Senior Atte 

Tolvanen was the top goalie in the league last 

season, while senior forwards Adam Rockwood and 

Troy Loggins had 48 and 47 points, respectively. 



52 53




“We are going to rely heavily on our seniors,” 

Potulny said. “If you look at the history of college 

hockey and teams that have been successful, most 

of the time they have seniors and most of the time 

their seniors have great years.” 

Tolvanen, Rockwood, Loggins and junior 

defenseman Philip Beaulieu were preseason allconference 

players, along with Michaelis and 

Bowling Green junior All-American defenseman 

Alec Rauhauser. 

Bowling Green also has veteran returners at each 

position. Besides Rauhauser, sophomores Brandon 

Kruse and Lakeville’s Max Johnson and senior 

Stephen Baylis were all 30-plus point scorers last 

season. Both goaltenders, Florida Panthers draft 

pick Ryan Bednard and WCHA all-rookie selection 

Eric Dop are back. 

In the first five years of the new WCHA, the 

Falcons have finished third in the standings four 

times and were the playoff runner-up once. 

“As far as expectations go, we feel it’s time,” 

coach Chris Bergeron said. “We’ve been close, 

and around here, close isn’t good enough. We 

feel it’s time for us to kick that door down and 

really compete for a regular season or playoff 

championship.” 

Michigan Tech has won the last two playoff titles, 

earning the WCHA’s automatic bid into the NCAA 

tournament. 

Although there are notable losses from last year, 

Patrick Munson returns in goal after taking the 

Huskies on their postseason run. His cohorts at the 

position, Devin Kero and Robbie Beydoun, also are 

back for second-year coach Joe Shawhan. Senior 

forward Jake Lucchini is coming off a 39-point 

season, while senior and Tartan High School grad 

Jake Jackson and sophomore Gavin Gould give 

Tech plenty of experience up front. 

Middle ground 

The top four finishers in the WCHA get home 

ice for the first round of the playoffs. While the 

Mavericks, Wildcats, Falcons and Huskies are the 

favorites, there are a few teams, including Bemidji 

State, lurking on the outside waiting to pounce. 

“This league just seems to get deeper and 

deeper, tighter,” Hastings said. “I think this is going 

to be the most-competitive year that we’ve had 

(over) time that we’ve been together as the new 

WCHA.” 

Besides the Beavers, Ferris State and Lake 

Superior State could be the league’s sleeper teams. 

For the Bulldogs and 27th-year coach Bob 

Daniels, there are good players back at all three 

spots, notably senior forward Corey Mackin (76 

career points), junior defenseman Ryker Killins and 

junior goalie Justin Kapelmaster. 

Coach Damon Whitten’s Lakers, meanwhile, 

graduated leading point producer J.T. Henke, but 

have their next five scorers back, starting with 

junior Max Humitz and senior Diego Cuglietta, as 

well as a pair of solid goaltenders in senior Nick 

Kossoff and sophomore Mareks Mitens. They 

missed out on the playoffs last year but appear 

ready to rise up the standings. 

Bottom of the order 

The ninth- and 10th-place teams in the WCHA 

don’t get to play in the postseason, and the race to 

stay out of the cellar could be interesting. 

Alabama Huntsville is coming off a seventhplace 

finish but lost their top two scorers and 

top goaltender. Coach Mike Corbett’s Chargers 

have some solid seniors, including forward 

Hans Gorowsky of Centennial High School and 

defenseman Kurt Gosselin. 

Alaska and Alaska Anchorage, meanwhile, both 

enter the season with new coaches. 

The Nanooks elevated assistant coach Erik 

Largen to the head job.With Zach Frye and Justin 

Woods graduating, Alaska not only lost two of 

its top four scorers but its top two defensemen. 

Sophomore Steven Jandric and junior Colton Leiter 

were the team’s top two scoring forwards a season 

ago. 

Going south from Fairbanks, the Seawolves’ 

Matt Curley has more work to do in Anchorage. Not 

only did he inherit a four-win team but one that 

graduated a star goalie, Olivier Mantha, and four of 

its top six scorers. Senior Nicolas Erb-Ekholm was 

second on the team in scoring last season. 6 


54 55


GOPHERS WOMEN: 

PANNEK 

ATTACKS 

KELLY PANNEK RETURN 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. 

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. 


Kelly Pannek (19) returns to the 

ice for the Gophers for the first 

time in 18 months — and plenty 

has changed in her life. 

Photo by Brad Rempel / Gopher Athletics 


56 57


KELLY PANNEK RETURN TO THE GOPHERS A HUMBLE WORLD CHAMPION 


“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 

Kelly Pannek. 

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. 

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. 

6 

Photo courtesy of USA Hockey 

58 

OCTOBER 2018 

MINNESOTA HOCKEY MAGAZINE


WCHA WOMENS PRIMER: 

BADGERS DIG IN 

WISCONSIN WON LAST YEAR’S REGULAR SEASON TITLE — CAN THE BADGERS REPEAT? 

Above, Minnesota goaltender Sydney Scobee is back to 

help lead the Gophers into a new WCHA season. 

Photo courtesy of Jim Rosvold, Gopher Athletics 

At left, St. Cloud State 

goaltender Janine Alder. 

Photo by Maddie MacFarlane 

Above, Bemidji State University’s Emily Bergland tangles 

with a Clarkson player. 

Photo courtesy of BSU Photo Services 


Minnesota Hockey 

Magazine presents 

capsules on the 

WCHA women’s programs for the 2018- 

19 season. 

Bemidji State 

uuCOACH: Jim Scanlan, 5th season 

uuLAST SEASON: 16-19-3, 5th in the WCHA (9-13-2-1, 

30 points) 

uuKEY 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. 

uuKEY 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 

uuTOP NEWCOMERS: Five freshmen step onto the 

team, including Lexi Cheveldayoff and Ellie Moser, 

who have both previously received camp invites 

from USA Hockey. 

uuOUTLOOK: 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 

uuCOACH: Brad Frost, 12th season 

uuLAST 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. 

uuKEY 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. 

uuKEY 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. 

uuTOP 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. 

uuOUTLOOK: 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 



60 61


WISCONSIN WON LAST YEAR’S REGULAR SEASON TITLE — CAN THE BADGERS REPEAT? 


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. 


uuCOACH: Maura Crowell, 4th season 

uuLAST SEASON: 15-16-4, 4th in the WCHA (10-11-3- 

2, 35 points) 

uuKEY LOSSES: Duluth lost a whopping seven 

seniors, including Katerina Mrazova, who put up 

eight goals and 13 assists last year. 

uuKEY 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. 

uuTOP 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. 

uuOUTLOOK: 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 

uuCOACH: John Harrington, 4th season 


9 points) 

uuKEY 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. 

Minnesota Duluth’s Ashton Bell. 

uuKEY 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. 

uuTOP 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. 

uuOUTLOOK: 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 

Photo courtesy of UMD Athletics 

uuCOACH: Nadine Muzerall, 2nd season 

uuLAST 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. 

uuKEY 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. 

uuKEY 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. 

uuTOP 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. 

uuOUTLOOK: 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. 

Saint Cloud State 

uuCOACH: Eric Rud, 5th season 


23 points) 

uuKEY LOSSES: Three seniors graduated, including 

Alyssa Erickson and Emma Turbyville, who ranked 

fourth and fifth in scoring last season, respectively. 

uuKEY 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. 

uuTOP 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. 

uuOUTLOOK: 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 

uuCOACH: Mark Johnson, 16th season 

uuLAST 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. 

uuKEY 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. 

uuKEY 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. 

uuTOP 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. 

uuOUTLOOK: 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. 6 


62 63


ACHA PRIMER: 

MEMORABLE 

SEASON AHEAD 

COLLEGIATE CLUB HOCKEY WELL UNDERWAY ACROSS THE NATION 

While NCAA hockey is just getting 

underway, many teams in the 

American Collegiate Hockey 

Association (ACHA) are well into their 

seasons. This year, the ACHA boasts over 500 

collegiate hockey teams in 49 states, spread across 

three men’s divisions and two women’s divisions. 

Here in Minnesota, ACHA hockey has found a 

place among what can sometimes be a crowded 

hockey landscape. In particular, the Western 

Collegiate Club Hockey Association (WCCHA) 

features teams from Universities in Minnesota, 

North Dakota and Wisconsin. An ACHA DII 

conference, the league boasts 12 full members and 

1 associate member this year, with the conference 

champion guaranteed a spot at the Central 

Regional Tournament. 

WCCHA ENTERS 16TH SEASON OF 

PLAY WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS 

Adopting a new league format in 2017-2018 

that will once again be used this season, the 

WCCHA features two division of six teams each, 

the Northwest and Southeast. Teams play 

divisional opponents twice, with the the top three 

teams guaranteed a spot at the 8 team WCCHA 

Tournament in February. In addition, every WCCHA 

team plays at least 4 games against interdivisional 

opponents, with a league-wide KRACH Ranking 

system used to grant the final two wild card spots 

into the 8 team tournament field. 

Coming into the season, last year’s division 

winners - the University of Minnesota in the 

Northwest and the University of Wisconsin in the 

Southeast - are poised to challenge once again. 

The Gophers return some big guns, including 

Dylan Ross (Powder Springs, Ga.) and Dylan Klehr 

(Lino Lakes), but will need goaltender Andrew Kash 

(Barrington, Ill.) to step up after the loss of ACHA 

Central Region All-American Clay Knutsen (Orono). 

Wisconsin graduated some firepower, but WCCHA 

Offensive Player of the Year Matt Masterman (Edina) 

returns to lead the Badgers once again. Sophomore 

Jake Cohn (Prior Lake) also returns after a big 

freshman season. 

In the Northwest, North Dakota State is one team 

to watch for. A team that is strong as any at home, 

the Bison have talent at every position, including 

at goalie with Jordan Elliot (Fargo, N.D.) returning 

for his second season. Bethel can also be expected 

to push for top spot in the division after a strong 

debut season, while North Dakota is always a tough 

competitor. Having missed out on the tournament 

last season, St. Cloud State and Minnesota-Duluth 

have both reloaded in hopes of pushing for a 

tournament berth this year. 

In the Southeast, Minnesota State-Mankato 

will almost surely be in the mix, with last year’s 

WCCHA 2nd Team All-WCCHA goaltender Waldemar 

Sunden (Lerum, SWE) back between the pipes 

along with last season’s leading scorer Justin 

Novak (Farmington). UW-Eau Claire, led by WCCHA 

2nd Team All-WCCHA defenseman AJ Romanoski 

(Hudson, Wisc.), should also be a threat to unseat 

the Badgers. The University of St. Thomas comes 

in as a very strong dark horse challenger, with a 

talented and improved roster this season. Finally, 

UW-La Crosse and UW-Superior will look to 

surpass expectations, as both have strengthened 

significantly in the offseason after a 5th and 6th 

place finish, respectively, last year. 

The regular season will culminate with the 2019 

WCCHA Tournament, which will once again take 

place at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine from Feb. 

8-10. The winner this year will not only get to lift 

the Carla Berg Memorial Cup, but will also gain 

the honor or representing the WCCHA at the 2019 

Central Regional Tournament. 

WCCHA SET TO HOST 2019 ACHA DIVISION 

II CENTRAL REGIONAL TOURNAMENT 

For the first time, the ACHA Division II Central 

Regional Tournament will take place in Minnesota 

in 2019. The ACHA selected the WCCHA’s bid to host 

the event at the Schwan Super Rink from March 1-3, 

2019. 

The event features 10 of the top teams in the 

Central Region in a single-elimination tournament, 

with the last two teams standing earning spots at 

the 2019 ACHA Division II National Tournament. 

Teams earn qualification by finishing in spots 3-12 

in the ACHA Regional Rankings, although league 

autobids - including the WCCHA - could take 

the place of a few teams if those teams are not 

otherwise qualified by ranking. 

Commissioner Ryan Donovan, on the bid award: 

“We’re honored to be selected and to have the 

opportunity to host this event here in Minnesota, 

the State of Hockey. The ACHA has never hosted a 

men’s regional or national event here in the state, 

and so we’re excited to be hosting this important 

tournament that will showcase some of the best 

collegiate club hockey the region has to offer.” 

6 

Submitted photo 


64 65

YOUTH HOCKEY 

YOUTH PRIMER: 

HUB OF 

ACTIVITY 

Top: Cameron Lantz of Greenway scores in the final 

seconds to send the boys’ Section 7A final to overtime last 

winter. 

Bottom left: Warroad’s Genevieve Hendrickson led the 

state in assists in a state runner-up season. 

Bottom right: Joey Pierce of Hermantown was one of the 

top Bantam AA prospects in the state. 

Photos courtesy of Youth Hockey Hub and Tim Kolehmainen 


66 67

YOUTH HOCKEY 

YOUTH HOCKEY HUB: 

RINK VISION 

YOUTH HOCKEY HUB BREAKS DOWN THE TEAMS AND PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2018-19 

YOUTH HOCKEY HUB 

STARS OF THE NORTH 

Teams to watch 

uu 

Hermantown Squirt A 

Rarely does a team at the Squirt level enter a 

season with proven talent that has competed on 

an international stage. This year, the Hawks will 

feature two of those talents, with Brick Invitational 

standouts Victor Plante and A.J. Francisco. With 

Plante powering the Hawks’ attack and Francisco 

taking care of the back end, the Hawks will be a 

strong-skating team that can move the puck. 

uu 

Woodbury Peewee AA 

Yes, the defending Peewee AA state champions 

lose offensive firepower as players make the jump 

to the Bantam level. Yes, the Predators lose one 

member of the one-two goaltending punch in 

Bantam Elite League Minor Division netminder Jack 

Hodgins. Doesn’t matter. 

The Predators return one of the deepest 

defensive cores in the state, anchored by last year’s 

starting tandem Tanner Henricks and Will Skahan. 

Joining Henricks and Skahan this season will be 

defender Logan Hensler, rock-solid goaltender 

Andrew Lane, and speedy forward Lucas Mann. 

uu 

Stillwater 12UA 

The team that went 39-0-1 two years ago as 

a 10UA is still intact, and with the growing year 

out of the way, the Ponies are primed for another 

dominant season. The 12UB Ponies won the state 

title last season with a record of 40-4-2. Leading 

scorer Brooke Nelson played her way into 12UB 

State Tournament Most Valuable Player honors, 

while Josie St. Martin led the Girls Major Division at 

this year’s Peewee Challenge with four goals and 

eight total points. 

Players to Watch 

uu 

Max Plante, Hermantown Peewee AA 

Teamed with his brother (and Youth Hockey 

Hub Wiz Wyatt Award-Winner) Zam, Plante lit up 

opposing defenses last season for the state runnerup 

Hawks. In the summer of 2017, playing against 

the best Squirt Major competition on the continent, 

Plante led the North American Hockey Showcase in 

scoring with 13 goals and 27 points for the United 

States runner-up Great Plains squad. 

uu 

Alexa Niccum, Orono-Westonka 12UA 

The Maple Plain native tallied five goals in this 

year’s Peewee Challenge, cementing herself as 

one of the top skaters in the state for the 12UA age 

group. Niccum’s performance was good enough to 

lead the Girls Minor Division in both goals and total 

points, despite playing in just four of five possible 

games. 

uu 

Gavin McNeil, Apple Valley/Burnsville Squirt A 

Another North American Hockey Showcase 

standout, McNeil finished second in overall scoring 

at this summer’s version of The Show. McNeil, who’s 

skating and nose for the net allows him to routinely 

lead three-on-three tournaments in scoring, totaled 

10 goals and 18 points for Great Plains last June. 

Highlighting McNeil’s play in The Show was a threegoal, 

seven-point performance in a 10-2 win over 

Team North America. 

Joey Pierce, Hermantown 

Legends grow more rapidly in the northland, especially when it comes to 

hockey. Pierce is a curious case, a defenseman who played a season of varsity 

hockey for Ely as an eighth-grader before moving to Hermantown and playing 

for the Hawks’ Bantam AA team, keeping with the Hawks’ tradition of having 

ninth-graders play Bantams as opposed to varsity hockey right away. As an 

eighth-grader skating for the Timberwolves, Pierce finished second on the team 

in scoring with 14 goals and 34 points. As a member of a State Tournament 

participant Bantam AA squad, Pierce impressed again with his athleticism and 

strength on the blue line. 

Genevieve Hendrickson, Warroad 

On a team that returns an incredible amount of scoring, the sophomore 

forward could be the crowned jewel of the Warriors. 

As a freshman, Hendrickson led the state in assists during the regular season 

with 49 and added another five helpers as the Warriors took second at the Class 

A State Tournament, adding to her sparkling resume that included 13 assists and 

17 points as an eighth-grader. 

With career totals of 67 assists and 87 points, Hendrickson should eclipse the 

career 100-point mark very early in the 2018-2019 season. 

Cameron Lantz, Greenway 

As a defenseman, Lantz’s seven goals and 22 points are modest totals. But 

when one of your seven goals forces overtime against longtime Section 7A rival 

Hermantown in the section finals, you’ve etched yourself in Minnesota High 

School hockey lore - at least until you help your team past that final hurdle at 

Amsoil Arena. Lantz scored with one second remaining in regulation during last 

year’s Section 7A final for the Raiders, sending the crowd (and press box) into 

a frenzied celebration heavy on wide-eyes and what-the-hell-did-we-just-see 

expressions. Lanz and the Raiders appear primed for another deep postseason 

run, returning several key pieces from last season’s team. 


68 69

YOUTH HOCKEY 

WHITE BEAR LAKE: 

RINK REVIVAL 

HOCKEY ASSOCATION AND CITY TEAM UP TO SAVE WHITE BEAR LAKE SPORTS CENTER 

By Brian Halverson 

On a chilly, late- 

September day, hockey 

was in the air as a 

community gathered to celebrate the 

preservation and restoration of its city 

rink. The City of White Bear Lake held a ribboncutting 

ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 29 to officially 

re-open the White Bear Lake Sports Center (WBLSC) 

after a skateless summer. 

Members of the White Bear Lake Area Hockey 

Association (WBLAHA), the White Bear Lake Skate 

School, and the general public looked on as Mayor 

Jo Emerson ceremonially drove the building’s 

Olympia ice resurfacer through a red ribbon 

and onto the ice generated by the facility’s new 

refrigeration system. 

“We are very proud of this,” Emerson told the 

black and orange-clad crowd. “We want our hockey 

players and our figure skaters to have this home 

and I think it’s a great home and it will serve us well 

for years to come.” 

The festivities included performances by skate 

school alumni Sydney Berrier and Maria Starr, who 

have moved on to professional careers with Disney 

on Ice. 

In addition to the new refrigeration system, the 

$5.5 million project includes a new air exchange 

and monitoring system, all new LED lighting both 

inside and out, new ceiling tiles, roof and siding. 

Translucent panels have been added above a 

portion of the brand new bleachers to supplement 

the new lighting with an influx of natural light. 

The project is the result of a partnership 

between the city and the WBLAHA in which the 

association is contributing $2.5 million. WBLAHA 

President Kevin McFarlane delivered a $500,000 

down-payment check to the city council at its Sept. 

25 meeting with the remaining $2 million to be 

paid back over the next 20 years. 

It is a partnership that nearly didn’t happen, 

though, which would have dealt a devastating blow 

to the hundreds of young figure skaters and hockey 

players who depend on their hometown arena. 

As it approaches its 30th season of operation, 

the WBLSC has long been showing signs of aging. 

Outside of general disrepair, cracks in the rink floor 

had developed and the refrigeration system was 

starting to leak but WBLSC Supervisor Bruce Bates’ 

hands were tied by budget restraints. 

“We knew that the system was going to be 

breaking down and, on top of that, they were 

no longer making parts for our particular rink 

refrigeration system,” Bates said. “So we literally 

were going to rinks as they closed and remodeled 

like we just did. We were going to their site and 

stealing parts. They literally said come, bring a 

Sawzall, cut off a valve, a vent, that weren’t being 

made anymore. So we had quite the inventory here, 

for a number of years, of stuff on the shelf and it 

really saved us.” 

“We want our 

hockey players 

and our figure 

skaters to have 

this home and I 

think it’s a great 

home and it will 

serve us well for 

years to come.” 

— Jo Emerson 

The system experienced some breakdowns over 

the last year which completely depleted the used 

spare part inventory and from there Bates said they 

just kept their fingers crossed. 

“It was scary because you make commitments 

to people and you don’t want to call them and 

tell them, ‘Hey, we have a problem, we had a 

breakdown, we can’t have ice anymore,’” Bates said. 

The arena typically shuts down and removes the 

ice for a month in the offseason for maintenance 

purposes before hosting summer hockey training 



72 73

YOUTH HOCKEY 

HOCKEY ASSOCATION AND CITY TEAM UP TO SAVE WHITE BEAR LAKE SPORTS CENTER 


and skating. That idea was scrapped for the summer 

of 2017. 

“They didn’t take it out because they were 

nervous that if they took it out, thawed everything 

and re-froze it later they would have more issues,” 

McFarlane said. 

According to Bates, the city, at that point, 

was considering pulling the plug and selling 

the property if and when that next breakdown 

occurred. 

“That wasn’t going to sit with a lot of people,” 

Bates said. “This is a huge value to the community, 

even if you’re not a hockey player.” 

So McFarlane and Bates, among others, joined 

forces in a campaign to save the arena, not only 

for the short term, but for future generations. 

McFarlane brought his concerns to WBLAHA board 

members and got the green light to proceed. 

“Everybody jumped on board with what we 

wanted to do and the fact that we needed to save 

the rink,” McFarlane said. “Then it was a push to 

make sure the city would go along with it and that 

wasn’t easy.” 

With the WBLAHA’s boundaries consistent with 

the White Bear Lake Area School District 624 which 

serves all or parts of nine surrounding cities, White 

Bear Lake’s concern was why should the city bear 

the burden for renovating a facility used by so many 

who don’t generate property tax revenue for the 

city? 

“We looked at that in three ways,” Bates said. 

“One, if you live in [White Bear] Township or Vadnais 

Heights or Hugo and you ask them, ‘Where are 

you from?’ they say, ‘I’m from White Bear.’ It’s more 

of a White Bear proper, White Bear school district 

boundary feeling, if you will, I think a lot of people 

feel that way in this part of the town. Secondly, I 

think they looked at the economic impact. The third 

thing, I think, would be the city is turning over. A 

lot of the seniors in town are selling their homes 

and there’s a lot of young families moving in. I think 

some council members looked at that, as we tried 

to argue, what’s the draw to this town? 

“They looked at all those things and said, ‘You 

know what? That is an asset that does help draw 

people.’” 

McFarlane and Bates both credit White Bear Lake 

City Manager Ellen Hiniker with being instrumental 

in securing the city’s investment in the project. 

“She saw the rink as an asset, didn’t see it as a 

burden,” Bates said. “Another way that she’s looking 

at it is from a re-development perspective. We’re 

hoping that this is the start of a re-development of 

this area as kind of a gateway into town right here 

on Highway 96 where thousands of cars go by every 

day.” 

McFarlane says 90 percent of the WBLAHA’s 

contribution was raised via charitable gambling 

with rest coming from direct donations from 

families and area businesses. One such donor is 

Carlson Chiropractic owner Dustin Carlson, who 

grew up playing hockey with McFarlane and skated 

in the White Bear Lake Sports Center when it first 

opened. Carlson has pledged $25,000 per year for 

the next five years. 

Retired NHL and Minnesota Wild player Ryan 

Carter, who starred as a youth and high school 

player in White Bear Lake is happy to see what he 

calls the focal point of his youth hockey career 

saved from extinction. 

“It’s neat the city and community re-invested in 

it,” said Carter who delivered the Stanley Cup to the 

WBLSC in 2007 as a member of the Anaheim Ducks. 

“I understand the economics behind it and a lot of 

people other than the city are getting use out of it 

but I think it’s valuable to the community and I’m 

happy to hear that there’s been a commitment to 

it and people recognize the fact that White Bear’s 

a hockey town and they deserve a rink or maybe 

two.” 

Two Rinks, you say? Almost nothing makes 

McFarlane’s eyes light up more than the thought of 

what he call Phase II. 

“My big picture idea is another rink, one where 

the high school team can play, to actually play 

within the city of White Bear which they haven’t 

done since God knows when,” McFarlane said. 

“To have two sheets of ice here, potentially have a 

curling rink and more of a centerpiece for this side 

of town. 

“Right now, I think we’ve got Phase I. The main 

portion was making sure this rink was still here to 

use, which it wasn’t going to be.” 

McFarlane says he envisions an arena with threesided 

seating which emulates history and sense 

of community found in Duluth’s Heritage Sports 

Center and the IRA Civic Center in Grand Rapids. It 

is an ambitious vision which McFarlane and Bates 

both agree will require the participation of a school 

district whose varsity boys teams have not played 

within the city limits in decades. The White Bear 

Lake girls’ varsity team, on the other hand, will 

return to the WBLSC after several years of calling 

the Vadnais Sports Center home. 

“I believe they desperately need a facility for 

that high school and I would love to see it back in 

White Bear,” McFarlane said. “So if we can get the 

community and the school board involved in it, we 

shouldn’t have to fundraise the entire sum, but we 

do want to get involved and helped them out to 

get that built too.” 

With that in mind, Bates said extra money was 

built into the budget to prepare for the potential 

addition, including installing a refrigeration system 

capable of handling two rinks, setting it at the 

proper angle and doing the preliminary piping 

work required in order to connect to the new arena 

when the time comes. 

White Bear Lake City Engineer Mark Burch, a lifelong 

player and current referee, managed the the 

renovation of the one-time tennis and racquetball 

club just as he did in back 1989 after its property 

owners were convinced to sell it to the city at a 

reduced price for the purpose of converting it to a 

rink. 

“One of his first jobs when he started here, the 

City Manager said, ‘Hey, you’re a hockey guy, we’re 

contemplating buying a building and turning it into 

an ice rink,’ and, of course he jumped on board with 

that, he just loved the project.” Bates said. “He was 

going to retire and the city was in at that point and 

they said, ‘Mark will you stick around and manage 

this project and put off your retirement?’ and he 

did.” 6 


74 75

HERB BROOKS FOUNDATION 

FEATURE: 

GROWING THE GAME 

LEGACY LIVES ON IN FOUNDATION DESIGNED TO ADVANCE THE GAME OF HOCKEY 

by Drew Cove 

What man comes to 

mind when one thinks 

of hockey in the 

United States? In Minnesota? In the Twin 

Cities? On the East Side? 

The man is Herb Brooks, committed to growing 

the game of hockey — not only in Minnesota but 

across United States — and the architect of the 

United States Olympic Hockey team that surprised 

all and won gold in 1980. He was a legendary figure 

not only to the hockey community, but also the 

Minnesota and national sports community. 

Though Herb died in 2003, his legacy still lives on 

in his namesake, the Herb Brooks Foundation. The 

Foundation is committed to Herb’s long-term vision 

— growing the game of hockey. 

“What’s important is trying … to help young 

people get involved in hockey and build character,” 

said Jon Cherney, the Executive Director of the 



76 77

HERB BROOKS FOUNDATION 

LEGACY LIVES ON IN FOUNDATION DESIGNED TO ADVANCE THE GAME OF HOCKEY 


Herb Brooks Foundation. “Even though we use 

hockey as our platform, the goal is to help young 

people who might not have the means or the access 

to participate in sports in general and hockey in 

specifics.” 

The foundation does a lot of work now for kids 

who haven’t had much experience in hockey, but it 

started over 30 years ago in a somewhat different 

capacity. 

As the foundation existed 30 years ago, it was 

a fund for a scholarship for some high school 

students to keep playing hockey. 

“My dad had a foundation that he started in 

1986 to raise money for myself and some other top 

seniors in the state … so we could go play in these 

various [hockey] tournaments around the country,” 

said Dan Brooks, Herb’s son. “His buddies helped 

raise money, so we could go play.” 

Now that Dan is beyond his playing days, the 

foundation has changed tunes back to getting kids 

involved with the game of hockey. 

Herb’s friends kept the foundation operating 

until his death in 2003, then they turned it over to 

Dan. He then went and renamed it the Herb Brooks 

Foundation, worked closely with the National 

Sports Center in Blaine, Minn. and assembled a 

board of directors and got to work on keeping 

Herb’s legacy alive. 

Though the mission remains largely unchanged 

from the early years of the current state of the 

foundation 15 years ago, it has always been 

committed to getting young people into hockey. 

“We looked at trying to change the game of 

hockey itself, how the game was played” Dan 

Brooks said. “That was kind of a daunting task, so 

we just wanted to help kids, make people’s lives 

better through the game of hockey, and make the 

game of hockey better itself.” 

That mission of helping kids through the game 

of hockey isn’t better explained than their mission 

statement on the foundation’s website. 

“Introducing, providing, and maintain a variety 

of hockey-related opportunities, at no cost, for our 

youth — while growing the game.” 

Those hockey-related opportunities are not hard 

to find, either. The foundation runs summer and 

winter clinics each year, with multiple locations 

throughout the Twin Cities, primarily Minneapolis 

and St. Paul. 

Kalli Funk is Rink Rats program director for the 

Herb Brooks Foundation. She has lived the life of a 

young hockey player in the Twin Cities. As a player 

from Roseville, she made her way through the 

Roseville hockey association, Cretin-Derham Hall, 

then moved on to college to play at St. Cloud State 

before competing overseas. 

Once back in the United States, Funk was put 

in touch with the former executive director of the 

foundation, John McClellan, while she was coaching 

the girls’ team at Cretin and she became involved 

with the hockey side of the Foundation’s efforts. 

“This summer, at our St. Paul clinic, we had a lot 

of learn to skate participants, [that’s] kids who are 

just starting out skating” Funk said. “When I first 

started with the organization, I saw a few more kids 

who had been skating for a while.” 

In July, the foundation held a summer clinic 

twice a week for the whole month at the Charles 

M. Schulz Arena in Highland Park. Those clinics 

had learn to skate, power skating and learn to play 

hockey clinics. Kids as young as five years old and 

kids into their teens participated in each clinic to 

start playing hockey. 

The foundation doesn’t just put on summer 

hockey clinics, though. This winter, at three 

locations around St. Paul, the foundation will host 

clinics throughout January and February. 

Funk said unequivocally why she does this job is 

because of the difference she sees with the kids. 

“That’s why I do what I do. Just seeing the 

reaction, the belief that they can do it, you get chills 

down your spine,” Funk said. “We’re not trying to 

raise the next NHL star in our foundation, but just 

seeing that kids believe in themselves, then it’s one 

more thing they’re able work hard in and put their 

mind to it.” 

From the parents’ reactions to their kids at these 

clinics is another humbling experience for Funk. 

“The biggest reaction I see is gratitude,” Funk 

said. “They’re always so thankful that we offer these 

clinics, and especially, everything we offer is free 

of charge to them, so they’re so grateful that we’re 

able to do this.” 

Beyond the on-ice help, these clinics are free 

to the participants and their families. The money 

has to come from somewhere. So where does the 

money come from? 

That’s where executive director Jon Cherney 

comes back in. While he doesn’t get involved with 

the on-ice clinics, he is integral to the business side 

of the foundation and getting businesses to partner 

with the foundation and help provide money to 

accomplish the mission. 

“Hockey’s expensive,” Cherney said. “Thankfully 

we’ve got a lot of generous people, both donors 

and sponsors who have supported our cause over 

the years, but we need to do more.” 

Cherney said the foundation needs to expand 

its sponsor and donor base by asking people to 

help the cause who might have not been a part of 

the foundation before. Though he is a ‘walking PR 

campaign,’ Cherney said that usually once people 

hear what the foundation does, they are eager to 

get involved any way they can. 

One of the marquee events for the foundation 

each year is the Herb Brooks Celebrity Golf Classic. 

This summer, it took place at Victory Links Golf 

Course in Blaine, adjacent to the National Sports 

Center, where the foundation is headquartered. 

The event featured some high-profile hockey 

stars such as Jake Guentzel and Ryan Suter, along 

with coaches and other figures around the hockey 

world. In addition to the celebrities present at the 

golf classic, there were the sponsors; for the holes, 

the driving range, the putting green. All of it was 

in part to raise more money for the foundation to 

continue to provide those hockey opportunities 

for free. 

“We think going forward, we need to have big 

events all the time [in addition to the golf outing,]” 

Cherney said. “All of our events, I believe are big 

events. Some of them raise some more money than 

others … but when we’re out in the community, it’s 

a big deal.” 

Cherney said the golf classic had over 30 

foursomes to raise the foundations profile, but also 

to raise money with the sponsors and entry fees for 

what really matters: the kids. 

“What all that does is it allows us to raise money 

so that we can buy ice time, we can buy equipment, 

uniforms, provide coaching for the kids who might 

not be able to do so into the coming school year,” 

Cherney said. 

For the future of the foundation, Cherney wants 

to expand. Though the foundation now has a scope 

of both the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs, he 

wants the foundation to have a footprint in places 

beyond the metro area. 

Moving to cities to fundraise beyond Minnesota, 

including Chicago and Boston, could be plans for 

the foundation in the future. 

“The biggest 

reaction I see 

is gratitude. 

They’re always 

so thankful 

that we offer 

these clinics, 

and especially, 

everything 

we offer is 

free of charge 

to them...” 

— Kalli Funk 

Beyond expansion, though, the goal is still to 

live on Herb’s legacy and provide kids with access 

to hockey. That isn’t lost on Ross Bernstein, a 

bestselling author and Board President of the Herb 

Brooks Foundation, who knows what it means to 

play hockey the way Herb would have taught. 

“That was Herbie’s thing, play the game the right 

way,” Bernstein said. “We try to instill a lot of those 

values.” 

As for the end goal of Herb’s legacy, it is still 

living through the existence and acts of the 

foundation named after him. 

“He really had a profound impact on a lot of 

people,” Bernstein said. “I’ve interviewed hundreds 

of people: players, coaches, neighbors, family 

members, everyone just had a crazy, unique story 

about how Herbie touched their lives, how he had 

made a difference.” 6 


78 79


Mark Loahr — Totino Grace 

Recipient - 2018 Minnesota High School Hockey Coaches Hall of Fame 

MINNESOTA HOCKEY MAGAZINE 


This year, we are bringing honor to those deserving of special recognition through our Stars of the North. 

Every month, we will look to the hockey community to let us know who is deserving and will honor them in this section. 

In addition, we will be honoring one person as The North Star. This is based on contributions to the game of hockey, 

service to the community and overall character. 

THE NORTH STAR 

RICK RANDAZZO 

Executive Director FCA Hockey and visionary 

North Star Christian Academy and Sports Complex 

We are pleased to announce the first North Star 

for Minnesota Hockey Magazine is Rick Randazzo. 

Rick, through his vision and leadership, has been 

pivotal in the creation of the Northstar Christian 

Academy and Northstar Sports Complex in 

Alexandria, Minnesota. Please see the article in this 

issue for a full story. 

Gary Steffes has been an FCA Hockey staff 

member for several years. He has traveled the 

country and internationally alongside Rick, served 

at multitudes of events under his leadership, and 

has an office directly adjacent to the FCA Hockey 

National Director. Gary sees how Rick operates on a 

daily basis. 

“Rick Randazzo is an incredibly inspiring sacrificial 

servant leader. As a sacrificial servant leader, Rick is 

passionate, driven, and is an incredible, incredible 

example of a great mentor and friend. That man 

lays his life down, not only for his family, but for the 

ministry, and for others. He is constantly giving of 

himself. He sacrifices beyond what most people 

would do. This goes way beyond what most people 

are comfortable with. It is obvious his love of Jesus 

Christ and his love of people. For me to sit next to 

him and see how he operates, how he loves people, 

how he takes phone calls when he doesn’t have 

time, how he works late, how he sacrifices for his 

wife and five kids, driving hours on end to be there 

for them, how he loves his wife, runs a ministry and 

now runs a prep team. He does so many things. So 

for me he is incredibly inspiring and I have learned 

so much from him. I hope I can become just half the 

man he is.” 

For over 30 years, Loahr served as the head coach of his alma mater Totino Grace. Loahr led his team 

to the state tournament 4 times (1993, 1995, 2002, 2005). The Eagles captured the title in 2002, with 

runner up finishes in 1995 and 2005. Loahr became the 12th coach in state history to win over 500 

games. In addition, his Eagles teams won 10 section academic team titles. Besides hockey, Loahr 

coached the boys and girls golf, softball and bowling in high school as well as coaching hockey and 

football at the youth level for over 20 years in Roseville and St. Anthony. 

Randy Schmitz — Lakeville North 

Recipient of 2018 Minnesota High School Hockey Coaches Hall of Fame 

Spent 38 year coaching career in Lakeville included six state tournament births. Schmitz was awarded 

Sectional Coach of the Year five times from his peers in hockey. He also served as the head softball 

coach in Lakeville for 30 years earning six Section Coach of the Year selections, five state tournament 

appearances including two runner- ups. 

Gary Stefano — Maple Grove 

Recipient 2018 Minnesota High School Hockey Coaches Hall of Fame 

Head coaching at Park Center and then Maple Grove, Stefano compiled a career record of 249 -54-26. 

At Park Center, in 1993 earned Section Coach of the Year when he led his team to the state tournament. 

In 1996, took the helm of Maple Grove, where he served as the head coach for 17 more seasons 

earning Section Coach of the Year four times (2004, 2007, 2010, 2012). In 2012, he led Maple Grove to 

their first state tourney berth. 

Tony Sarsland — Elk River 


With over 40 years of coaching experience, fifth on all time coaching wins list with 588 wins in five 

different programs. Inspired by MHCA Hall of Famer Whitey Aus, Sarsland began his coaching career 

in 1970 in Hallock. He moved on to become an assistant coach at Columbia Heights, and from 1978-85 

was the head coach in Beloit WI where he led his team to a second place finish in the 1981 WI state 

tourney. From 1985-2012 Sarsland served as the head coach of the Elk River team, capturing 11 

conference titles and leading his team to six state tourney births, capturing the 2001 state title finishing 

with an overall record of 588-189-26. 

Bruce Plante — Hermantown 


In 28 seasons as a head coach, Plante amassed 547 wins, leading Hermantown to 13 state tournament 

berths including three state titles (2007, 2016 and 2017). His team played in the championship game 

an unprecedented eight straight times from 2010-17. He was selected the state’s coach of the year in 

Class 1A in a vote by his fellow peers 5 times. No other coach in either class has received the award 

more than twice. 


82 83


JOHN GILBERT: 

STATE SHOWDOWN 

UMD-GOPHERS MEN’S AND WOMEN’S DOUBLEHEADER COULD BE ANNUAL HIGHLIGHT 

Top: Minnesota Duluth coach Scott Sandelin talks to his team during their opening weekend series with the University of Minnesota; 

Bottom: Grace Zumwinkle (12) of the Unviersity of Minnesota looks for a pass. 

Photos by Jim Rosvold, Gopher Athletics(women) and Terry Cartie Norton (men) 

By John Gilbert 

One of the neatest stories during 

the transition year from the 

United States women’s hockey 

gold medal in South Korea was that 

center Kelly Pannek and goaltender 

Maddie Rooney became close friends 

as roommates on Team USA. Both were 

outstanding as Team USA beat Canada in the gold 

medal final, thanks to Rooney’s dramatic saves in 

the shootout after the teams tied. 

The games are now history, and the players 

have returned to their teams — including Pannek, 

back as top-line or senior center for Minnesota 

and Rooney as junior goaltender for UMD. The fact 

that they’ve continued to heckle each other about 

whether Pannek could score on Rooney, or Rooney 

could stop Pannek’s best shot, continued in a goodnatured 

vein when their teams met for a WCHA 

season-opening series at Duluth’s AMSOIL Arena. 

Favored Minnesota beat UMD 5-2 in the first 

game, spotting the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead when 

freshman Gabbie Hughes scored after only 1:07, 

then the Gophers scored four straight goals in a 

4-2 first period en route to a 5-2 victory. Rooney 

said later she was a bit off her game, and while all 

five goals came on rebounds, at least Pannek didn’t 

score any of them. 

“She’s such a great goaltender that our strategy 

was to shoot low, through congestion, hoping to 

take her eyes away, and leave us some chances on 

rebounds,” said Gophers coach Brad Frost. “If you 

noticed she didn’t make many glove saves because 

we didn’t shoot high enough for her to catch any. 

She’s so good that if she can see it, she’ll stop it.” 

The next day was Saturday, October 6, and if you 

love hockey, AMSOIL Arena was the place to be, 

because the Gophers and Bulldogs would stage 

their rematch at 3 p.m., followed by the seasonopening 

battle between the Minnesota men and 

defending NCAA champion UMD. 

After about six hours of hockey, both teams 

in both games played tenacious, tense hockey, 

and both games wound up in ties. Therein lies an 

interesting difference, because the women’s 2-2 

tie had as dramatic a conclusion after an overtime 

as any storybook writer could concoct, while the 

men’s 1-1 tie left an announced 7,382 fans silently 

waiting for something more in an anticlimactic 

ending. 

“After about 

six hours of 

hockey, both 

teams in both 

games played 

tenacious, 

tense hockey, 

and both 

games wound 

up in ties.” 

— John Gilbert 

More on that later. First, we all know that the 

women play at a high level these days, but they’ve 

never generated the strong fan support of the men. 

Maybe now with a new women’s pro hockey team, 

the Minnesota Whitecaps, playing their first season, 



84 85




things might improve. Especially if UMD can rise 

to its previous level and compete with the likes of 

Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

The caliber of play between the two has been 

irregular in recent years, since UMD began hockey 

20 years ago and won the first year of WCHA 

women’s hockey. The Bulldogs went on, under 

Shannon Miller, to capture the first three NCAA 

women’s tournament championships, and later 

added two more. 

The Saturday game on the league’s opening 

weekend showed promise for both teams, although 

it was overshadowed by constant stories about the 

two roommates from the Olympics going head-tohead. 

Freshman Gabbie Hughes from Centennial again 

scored the game’s first goal, on a second-period 

power play, and this time Anna Klein added another 

power play goal for a 2-0 UMD lead. Minnesota 

came back in the third, when Nicole Schammell 

knocked a rebound past Rooney at 6:09 of the third, 

and two minutes later, when the Gophers got a 

5-minute major power play, Pannek seemed to mishit 

a shot from the right circle that found its way 

through congestion and into the left edge, tying 

the game 2-2. 

It stayed 2-2 through the end of the third period, 

and through a scoreless 5-minute overtime. Next 

up, each team selected three players for a shootout 

to decide the game. UMD coach Maura Crowell, a 

quick-learner herself, sent Hughes out first and the 

freshman scored on Gopher goalie Sydney Scobee. 

Minnesota coach Brad Frost sent out Amy Potomak, 

the freshman half of the British Columbia first-line 

sisters with junior Sarah Potomak. Amy rushed in 

and was just about to make her move when Rooney, 

cat-quick, dived out and poke-checked the puck 

away from Potomak’s stick. 

Next up was UMD’s Ryleigh Houston, and she 

also scored. That meant the Gophers No. 2 shooter 

would have to score or the shootout would be over 

and give UMD the extra point after the tie. The 

second Gopher shooter was none other than Kelly 

Pannek. 

If they were still roommates, this one could 

have been for who would have to do the dishes or 

something. Instead, it was for that important WCHA 

point -- and bragging rights between the two 

forever more. 

Pannek skated in swiftly, made her move, and ‚ as 

recollections of Rooney’s gold-medal-winning save 

against Canada were regenerated — Rooney came 

up with the save. The game is officially a tie in NCAA 

records, but UMD owns a 3-2 “unofficial” victory in 

WCHA points. 

“The Saturday 

game on 

the league’s 

opening 

weekend 

showed 

promise for 

both teams...” 

— John Gilbert 

“Oh yeah, we had a little joust at the end,” said 

Rooney, flashing her trademark smile because she 

knows she’ll be running into her old roomie again 

this season. 

After a quick dinner break, the AMSOIL Arena ice 

was set up for the men’s game, which was preceded 

by the raising of the NCAA championship banner. 

It was also the first game as Gophers coach for Bob 

Motzko, who left after building St. Cloud State into 

an NCHC powerhouse to take the Minnesota job. 

It was a fast, tense game, with scoring chances at a 

premium. 

Sampo Ranta, a Gophers freshman from Finland, 

scored with a quick shot off a pass to the slot by 

Tommy Novak at 12:07 of the first period. The 

Gophers held the Bulldogs off the scoreboard 

through the second period, and early in the third, 

Kobe Roth shot off a great pass across the slot from 



86 87




Riley Tufte, and when Mat Robson blocked it, Peter 

Krieger was there to score on a quick rebound. 

The two teams finished the third period 1-1, and 

went into their 5-minute overtime. Now, while the 

WCHA has a rule for a 5-minute overtime and then 

a shootout to decide 

remaining ties, the 

Big Ten has followed 

the NCHC’s lead 

to use a 5-minute 

5-on-5 overtime, 

then a 5-minute 

3-on-3 overtime, 

and then a shootout, 

if necessary. But 

nobody in the 

building, except the 

coaches, officials, and 

maybe a few media 

types up in the 

sports-informationfilled 

press box 

had a clue what 

would happen in a 

nonconference game 

between NCHC and 

Big Ten teams. 

Both the Gophers 

and UMD had their 

chances as they raced 

up and down through 

the 5 minutes, but 

it remained 1-1. There followed a very interesting 

pause, as the fans sat there, silently, then rose and 

stood at their seats, still in silence. It wasn’t until 

the teams started to troop off the ice that the 

fans realized it was over. No second overtime, no 

shootout, no winner or loser even if only to satisfy 

the everlasting fans urge to see an outcome. 

Which was more dramatic? No question. The 

women ruled. 

NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton said, “The best 

thing would be if we could get all leagues to use our 

rule, with 5-on-5, 3-on-3, and then the shootout.” 

MINNESOTA ICE 

We have indeed established Minnesota as the 

Wild’s “State of Hockey,” and if so, what could 

Minnesota Duluth goaltender Maddie Rooney. 

Photo courtesy of UMD Athletics 

be better than to see the five Division 1 hockey 

schools in Minnesota win three different league 

championships? 

Most all hockey fans are still perturbed that 

the Gophers split off from the WCHA to help start 

the Big Ten, and then 

state teams at UMD and 

St. Cloud State left to 

start the NCHC, leaving 

Minnesota State-Mankato 

and Bemidji State in the 

WCHA. 

But there’s every 

chance that MSU- 

Mankato will repeat as 

WCHA champion and 

Bemidji State will rise in 

its role as contender, and 

there is every chance 

that UMD will make a 

run at the NCHC title, 

and that St. Cloud State 

will remain one of the 

strongest contenders for 

that crown. 

Now, if the Gophers 

can rise up to challenge 

Notre Dame for the Big 

Ten title, the State of 

Hockey would be paid off 

with more rich evidence 

of the excellence here. 

That opening night at AMSOIL led to an 

interesting idea, incidentally. Since any games 

the Gophers play against in-state rivals are 

nonconference games, why not stage an annual 

season-opening extravaganza between the 

Gophers and Bulldogs men and women? The 

women would play at one site at 3 p.m. and the 

men at 7, then the teams would all head to the 

other city for the next night’s rematches. It was a 

great show in Duluth this season, so why can’t we 

make it an annual happening? 6 


88 89

U.S. HOCKEY HALL OF FAME 

HALL OF FAMER 

BOB JOHNSON 

1991 UNITED STATES HOCKEY HALL OF FAME ENSHRINEE 

Minneapolis native Bob 

Johnson, a graduate of 

Minneapolis Central High 

School, went on to play left wing 

for the Gopher Hockey team from 

1954-55 under legendary Coach 

John Mariucci. Following a couple of high 

school coaching stints at both, Warroad, MN and 

Minneapolis Roosevelt, where he won four City 

Conference championships in six years, he took 

over the reins at Colorado College in 1963. 

After several years at C.C., he moved to the 

University of Wisconsin, where, in a period of 

11 years, he led the Badgers to seven NCAA 

tournaments, winning three championships and 

one second-place finish. It was there where the 

1977 NCAA Coach of the Year recipient was given 

the nick-name, “Badger Bob.” 

He also led the 1976 U.S. Olympic team to 

fourth-place finish at Innsbruck, Austria, and 

coached the 1981, 1984, and 1987 U.S. teams in the 

Canada Cup as well. In addition, he coached the 

1973, 1974, 1975, and 1981 U.S. National teams. 

Beginning in 1982, Johnson coached the NHL’s 

Calgary Flames for five seasons. IN 1990, he took 

over as coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, where in 

his first season, he led the team, which was led by 

superstar Mario Lemieux, to Stanley Cup victory 

over his hometown Minnesota North Stars, four 

games to two. 

A tireless promoter of American hockey, 

Johnson also served as Executive Director of USA 

Hockey for a three-year period in the 1980s. Then in 

November of 1991, Johnson tragically died of brain 

cancer at the age of 60. Johnson’s memory lives 

on forever, however, from his famous phrase which 

epitomized his love for the game: “It’s a great day 

for hockey.” 

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame 

Badger Bob was one of the greatest hockey 

coaches ever to hail from Minnesota. He was later 

inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, in Toronto, 

in 1992. 6 


91

HOCKEY MOM UNPLUGGED 

HOCKEY MOM UNPLUGGED: 

JOURNEY THRU JRS 

By Vineeta Sawkar-Branby 

So many hugs. 

Everywhere I looked 

outside of the Super Rink in 

Blaine, I saw people bracing for hugs and 

giving hugs. The North American Hockey League 

(NAHL) Showcase was in town and it was the first 

time many families were seeing their boys after 

they sent them off to different cities around the 

country to pursue a hockey dream. 

I was there with a friend whose son had just 

played. It was great to see his smiling face and get 

a picture of him hugging her. All the young men 

were coming outside with their “just showered” 

hair and dressed nicely in crisp suits. They each 

scanned the crowd looking for groups of family 

members beaming with pride. Each young man was 

slinging a hockey bag over his shoulders. 

Made me a little teary. 

I miss my boy. His dream has taken him out of the 

country. Jack is a goaltender for the Winnipeg Blues 

in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. I still can’t 

believe it. We knew he wanted to pursue junior 

hockey but we put down a deposit for college just 

in case. As the summer progressed, we had to make 

a decision. It was a dinner with our son that finally 

sealed it. We had a heart to heart talk and then he 

said the words that set us on this path, “I will regret 

it if I don’t give it a shot.” I guess that’s all we had 

to hear. 

So, we made the trek over the border in early 

September and after several weeks, he was 

handed the jersey with “Branby” on the back. He 

is a part of the Winnipeg Blues organization. He 

is experiencing his favorite sport in a nation that 

treasures it. Now he begins his journey through 

juniors. 

I am thankful for many things as we watch him 

chase this dream. Billet families are incredible. We 

have one of the best. Sweet Alice and her family 

welcomed Jack with open arms and a wonderful 

kitchen. When we said goodbye to him on her lawn, 

I was sad but so happy that he found a place with 

a family who will support him and be there for him 

Photo by Laurie Anderson 

when his parents can only offer advice through a 

crackly cell phone call. 

It’s fun to hear about his life in Canada. They use 

different words. They approach things in their own 

way. It’s all a part of the education of playing junior 

hockey. 

Hockey TV is such a gift. It is so nice to see all of 

the team’s games. It’s still hard for us to not be there 

in the stands but we watch online even if he is on 

the bench. 

This junior hockey experience is about growth. 

Growing in your game and growing as a person. 

This isn’t an easy journey for these guys. It is 

humbling, challenging and motivating at the same 

time. When he put on those goaltender pads for the 

first time as mite, we knew he was hooked. 

That love of hockey and of goaltending has 

directed him to this path. I am excited and nervous 

for him. In the end, I am so glad he is “giving it a 

shot.” No regrets. That is the best way to live your 

life. 

Editor’s note: Vineeta has started a Facebook 

group for other families who have boys in junior 

hockey. It is called Journey Through Juniors. She 

invites others to join the group and support each 

other as our boys go through this incredible 

experience. 6 


92 93

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