A year ago, Kaitling Groess was watching many of the best women’s hockey players in the world compete at the collegiate level. Now, she’s playing against them.
“I still think they’re insane,” Groess said. “It’s crazy, I can’t really comprehend that I’m playing against them right now. You kind of just go with the flow. But yes, it’s crazy to me that I’m playing against them, when last year, those girls were idols to me.”
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Groess, a Lino Lakes native, was a senior at Centennial High watching players like Minnesota's Abbey Murphy and Wisconsin’s Laila Edwards play for Team USA in the Rivalry Series against Team Canada in December 2023. Groess had already committed to be their opponent in the WCHA.
In January 2024, Groess decided to become a Beaver, which meant she’d get to play in college hockey’s toughest conference against the best players in the world when it was her time to stand in net at the Sanford Center.
That time, however, came sooner than expected.
The Beavers entered the 2024-25 season with some nagging goalie injuries. Sophomore Eva Filippova and fifth-year Josie Bothun were nursing ailments, which opened the door for Groess to make her debut in BSU’s second game this season.
It was against the defending national champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
“As a goalie, the (college) game is a lot faster,” Groess said. “The speed is a lot quicker. You always have to be ready because players can score from anywhere. The shots are a lot harder.”
Groess saw 55 shots in her debut. She stopped 52 of them in a 3-0 loss, enough to earn another start.
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The freshman took the opportunity and ran with it. Groess made 17 saves in a 2-0 loss against Robert Morris on the road a week later, then made 47 saves on 50 shots in two games against St. Cloud State.
It took less than a month for Groess to make a name for herself.
“Coming into the WCHA, no matter what position you play, it’s a transition for everyone,” head coach Amber Fryklund said. “Her coming in and getting an opportunity to play, she just ran with it. To see her confidence from that first game and how she’s continued to play with confidence, it’s been really cool to see.”
Groess is starting to receive recognition on a league-wide scale. She picked up her first WCHA honor as the league’s Rookie of the Week on Monday, helping the Beavers to a sweep of St. Thomas with 69 saves in two games.
“We know that goaltending is a big piece of the team puzzle,” Fryklund said. “With Kaitlin back there, she’s done a good job of keeping us in games. She’s made some huge saves. I think that helps our team with confidence knowing they have someone back there who’s going to make big saves. Hopefully, we can continue to build on that and get more confidence from her.”
First option
Typically, a goalie with Groess’ high school pedigree would’ve committed to play college hockey sooner than last January.
Groess played in 29 games for Centennial/Spring Lake Park as a junior, turning in a goals-against average of 2.02 and a save percentage of .927. She won 15 games in her penultimate high school season, setting the table for an even better senior year.
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By the time she graduated, Groess was considered one of Minnesota’s top goalies. She led the Cougars to the state tournament, posting a record of 23-2-2 with a .955 save percentage and a 1.19 goals-against average.
Groess was a Jori Jones Award finalist, which is given to Minnesota’s best girls hockey senior goaltender.
“I owe a lot of that year to my teammates,” Groess said. “It was super fun going into college knowing that I had the experience I thought I needed from high school hockey to come to college and play.”
Amid her stellar prep career, collegiate interest trickled in.
“It was a little slow at first,” Groess said. “The first coach who ever texted me was Jim Scanlan. It was a little slow after that when I was a junior. I didn’t really get anything much recruiting-wise right away. Bemidji State was always my first option. When I was a senior, I (fell) back on that feeling.”
When Groess signed her National Letter of Intent to play for Bemidji State, one Beaver in particular was excited. Sophomore Shelby Sandberg was her opponent playing for Blaine in the youth ranks.
“I played against her all throughout my hockey career,” Sandberg said. “I was very excited for her to join the team this year because I knew what she would bring. It’s very cool to see her get rewarded.”
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However, rooted in the speed of the game, the difference between high school and college hockey is vast. Though, Fryklund remains impressed with Groess’ ability to make that transition so smoothly.
“She’s made it seem (easy),” Fryklund said. “She’s been very calm about that transition, and it’s been really cool to see. Every single athlete who comes in takes a different path with that transition. She’s come in and has absolutely done a great job with it.”
Goalie U
Maybe there’s something in the water, but Bemidji State’s ability to recruit high-end men’s and women’s goaltenders has been an unflappable constant.
“It goes all the way back to our first era of goaltenders,” Fryklund said. “If you walk down the hallway and look at the goaltenders on that wall who have done great things here, we have two All-Americans in (Brittni) Mowat and (Zuzana) Tomcikovam who had really great careers here. … It’s cool to see that continued tradition of success in our goalies.”
Other names have come and gone who live in BSU lore, names like Emily Brookshaw, Bre Dedrickson, Lauren Bench, Jill Luebke, Hannah Hogenson and more. It extends to the men’s team as well, with names like Michael Bitzer, Zach Driscoll, Tom Bend, Matt Dalton and Mattias Sholl.
It’s too early to say if Groess’ name will live amongst the others when it’s all said and done, but .916 save percentage and a 2.75 goals-against average in her first 11 games is a promising start.
“I was nervous at first, nervous of coming into a whole new team,” Groess said. “But having all of the freshmen recruits in my class doing it with me makes it a lot easier. They’re just awesome, and this team is just so open and nice. … Our coaches are great, they’re good at communicating what we need to get better at. It helps, going to the next level, to have someone there making sure you get the feedback you need.”
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Groess has also leaned on Bothon for guidance in her rookie season. Bothun played in 112 games in four years at Penn State before transferring to BSU, notching a record of 70-32-9 with a .924 save percentage and a 1.79 goals-against average.
“Josie especially, she took me under her wing,” Groess said. “We’re super close. I think that was a really big part of making it more comfortable for me to play here, having someone with that much experience and being a great goalie. I watch her and learn things from her.”
But Groess’ teammates pull things from her game, too.
“It’s so nice to have her,” junior forward Mya Headrick said. “I mean, how many games has she stood on her head for us? It’s just nice to see her get rewarded tonight.”
“For all freshmen, it’s tough coming in,” Sandberg said. “But she’s proved everybody wrong. She’s standing on her head for us every game, and she’s having an awesome start to the year. It’s great to see.”
What’s impressed Fyklund the most about Groess is her ability to keep things light. She knows a regular night in the WCHA means Groess is seeing at least 30 shots on goal. Fryklund also knows that an important aspect of rebuilding a program into a contender takes players committed to the vision.
“She’s always smiling, she’s always laughing,” Fryklund said. “She always has something funny to say. But when she’s on the ice, she’s always dialed in and focused. She’s got a really good balance of being loose and being serious. Every single weekend, we know it’s going to be a challenge, so to have fun with the game, love what you’re doing and have that focus, she does a good job with that.”
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As for Groess, she isn't concerned with where she’ll end up on any all-time Bemidji State goaltending leaderboard. She’s just happy to be playing the game she loves against her “idols.”
“(BSU) is everything I wanted,” Groess said. “We’re in the best league, in my opinion. The team is great, the community is great. I love the hockey rink. Everything about it has been amazing. … I think I can definitely prove myself (at any level). I’m trying to do that here, and they’re giving me the opportunity, which is super awesome. I just want to keep working harder and keep doing better.”
The Trust Project
