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Pro football: Vikings’ Sutherland had ‘big laugh, a big smile and huge hands’

Jamey Malcomb — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 01:18:42 GMT

SUPERIOR — On road trips with the Minnesota Duluth football team in the late 1990s, there was one person that most of the players and coaches gravitated towards: Doug Sutherland.

Sutherland had a reputation for telling great stories and players loved them, perhaps because of the 12 years he spent in the NFL and playing in three Super Bowls for the Minnesota Vikings.

“When we went on the road, Doug would order us pitchers of beer,” former UMD defensive coordinator Vince Repesh said. “Doug would order one for himself and then once we would get going, he would be surrounded by everybody. Everybody wanted his stories.”

Sutherland, 73, a member of the team’s famed “Purple People Eaters” who was named as one of the “50 Greatest Vikings,” died Tuesday.

The 6-foot, 3-inch, 250-pound Sutherland came to Wisconsin-Superior as a defensive lineman and a shot-putter for the Yellowjackets. He earned all-conference and All-American honors in football, but Repesh said it was track that gave him the trait that set him apart: speed.

“He was very fast, that’s what got him where he was,” Repesh said.

John McFaul, a fellow UWS Hall of Famer, played one season with Sutherland for the Yellowjackets before he left for a “brief career” with the American Football League’s Boston Patriots. After his time in professional football, McFaul returned to coach at UWS with legendary coach Americo J. “Mertz” Mortorelli.

“He could probably have gone anywhere to play, certainly he could have gone over to UMD and played for Jim Malosky,” McFaul said. “But he chose to stay in Superior and play ball for four years at UW-Superior for Mertz Mortorelli.”

Sutherland was drafted in 1970 by the New Orleans Saints and was almost immediately on hand for a piece of NFL history. Sutherland was one of two Saints players to carry kicker Tom Dempsey off the field following his record-breaking 63-yard field goal.

After a year with New Orleans, the Vikings acquired Sutherland, where he filled in for linebacker Lonnie Warwick and in 1974 he stepped in to make eight starts for Gary Larsen, one of the original Purple People Eaters.

When Larsen retired prior to the next season, Sutherland won the starting job.

"When Gary Larsen left, Doug Sutherland came in and was the perfect fit. There was no drop-off in play," former Vikings coach Bud Grant said in a release from the franchise. "When I think of the Purple People Eaters, I always think of Doug Sutherland as part of that group. He was a very good football player and an equal part of the Purple People Eaters. Playing with those three guys elevated his play, his position and his value."

Sutherland recorded a career-high seven sacks in 1976, according to pro-football-reference.com, and started Super Bowl XI for the Vikings. Sutherland also started Super Bowl IX and played in Super Bowl VIII for the Vikings.

After a year with the Seattle Seahawks in 1981, Sutherland called it a career and returned to Superior. He spent time as a volunteer coach for Repesh when he coached the UWS football team while also launching a career in real estate.

More importantly, Sutherland remained committed to the community and UWS. McFaul helps organize the annual golf outing at Nemadji Golf Course to raise money for the Mortorelli Scholarship at UWS. Sutherland was a regular participant, but he tended to show up with some of his NFL buddies like Green Bay’s Ray Nitschke or the Vikings’ Bobby Bryant.

“He never forgot his roots,” McFaul said. “He stayed loyal to Superior and UW-Superior.”

When Repesh moved across the bridge to coach for UMD legend Jim Malosky, it wasn’t long before Sutherland was his defensive line coach — though he was still a volunteer.

“If you knew Malosky, nobody got paid,” Repesh joked. “If he could find a volunteer he’d take them.”

At the end of the day, though, Repesh remembered Sutherland as not just a football player, but a man who cared about his community and, most importantly, his family.

“He was a guy with a big laugh, a big smile and huge hands,” former Repesh said. “He was a storyteller and the ballplayers loved him. I can’t tell you all the stories, but I went hunting with him, went fishing with him and he was bigger than life. He was a professional football player, but he was a great man.”

This story was updated at 3:13 p.m. on April 6 with details from John McFaul. It was originally posted at 8:18 p.m. on April 5.

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Vasichek replaces MacMillan as head coach of St. Scholastica women’s hockey program

Forum News Service — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 19:28:16 GMT

DULUTH -- Former Minnesota Duluth women's hockey standout Julianne Vasichek was named head coach of the St. Scholastica women's hockey team on Monday after serving the past two seasons as an assistant coach.

Vasichek has been with the Saints' program for the past five seasons, but was elevated to full-time assistant coach in 2019. She replaces Jackie MacMillan, who on Monday announced her resignation after guiding the program for all 11 seasons of its existence.

In the announcement, St. Scholastica said MacMillan resigned "to pursue other opportunities."

MacMillan (149-107-32) capped her career at CSS in 2020-21 with the program's one and only Northern Collegiate Hockey Association regular season title. Last season was the Saints' last in the NCHA as both the men's and women's programs are moving to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference starting in 2021-22.

MacMillan was named NCHA Coach of the Year in two of the last three seasons (2019 and 2021) as she led the program to three-straight NCHA postseason finals. Her teams featured four All-Americans, including four-time All-American and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist Nina Waidacher of Switzerland.

Vasichek — nicknamed "Montana" because she hails from Great Falls, Montana — played four seasons for the Bulldogs from 2001-05, helping the program win back-to-back national championships in 2002 and 2003. She was an All-American in 2003-04 and 2004-05 and played on the U.S. Women's National Team in 2003-04.

Vasichek was also on the Bulldogs' staff in 2010 when the program won its fifth NCAA title.

The Saints are scheduled to open the 2021-22 season Nov. 2 against Wisconsin-Superior at Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth.

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Minnesota Duluth's quest for three-peat ends with OT loss to UMass

Matt Wellens — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 03:44:38 GMT

PITTSBURGH — Minnesota Duluth’s quest for a third consecutive NCAA championship and fourth in program history came to an end Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh via a 3-2 overtime loss to Massachusetts in the Frozen Four semifinals.

The Minutemen, who lost the the Bulldogs two years ago in the national championship game in Buffalo, took advantage of a UMD turnover and got the puck into the crease, where former Minnesota Golden Gopher Garrett Wait — the lone Minnesotan on the team and a University of Minnesota transfer hailing from Edina — was there to put the puck in the back of the net.

UMass will take on St. Cloud State for the national championship at 6 p.m. Saturday in Pittsburgh. Both schools are chasing their first national championship.

After getting outshot 16-6 in the second period and allowing UMD to take a 2-1 lead, Minutemen junior wing Anthony Del Gaizo tied the game at 2-2 with 11:35 to play in the third period by crashing the UMD net. It was only Del Gaizo’s second goal of the season.

The Bulldogs and Minutemen went into the first intermission tied 1-1 after UMD junior wing Tanner Laderoute tied the game a mere 2 minutes and 17 seconds after UMass took a 1-0 lead.

Laderoute, scoring only his third goal of the season, was able to muscle his way to the top of the crease, where he was able to knock in a rebound that came off the shot of sophomore wing Quinn Olson.

Junior wing Cole Koepke, the Hermantown native, put UMD ahead 2-1 a tick past the 11-minute mark of the second period by driving the net, grabbing his own rebound and firing a bullet into the back of the net that UMass senior goaltender Matt Murray — nor any goalie for that matter — had a chance to stop.

UMass took a 1-0 lead via a power play goal 15:33 into the game when sophomore defenseman Zac Jones used a screen to beat Bulldogs freshman goaltender Zach Stejskal cleanly via a shot from the point.

The UMass 1-0 lead marked the first time in 332 minutes and 32 seconds that UMD trailed in an NCAA tournament game going back to a 2019 NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal against Bowling Green in Allentown, Pa. It was also the first time UMD trailed in a Frozen Four since the 2017 national championship game vs. Denver in Chicago.

Both UMass and UMD were missing players Thursday night due to COVID-19 protocols.

The Minutemen were without four players, including leading goal scorer and senior wing Carson Gicewicz and two of their three goalies — starter Filip Lindberg and third-stringer Henry Graham. UMass suited up senior student equipment manager Zac Steigmeyer to backup Murray.

The Bulldogs were without sophomore goaltender Ryan Fanti due to COVID-19 protocols. Like the four UMass players, he also did not make the trip to Pittsburgh for the Frozen Four. Redshirt junior Ben Patt — suiting up for his third Frozen Four as a Bulldog — backed up Stejskal.

Thursday was the Bulldogs' second overtime game in two 2021 NCAA tournament games. UMD needed five overtimes to get by North Dakota 3-2 in the regional final 12 days prior in Fargo.

UMass also has some familiarity with overtime in the NCAA tournament. The Minutemen needed OTs two years ago in the semifinals of the Frozen Four in Buffalo to get by Denver and set up a national championship showdown with UMD.

After COVID-19 canceled last year’s NCAA tournament, UMD came to this year’s Frozen Four still the reigning two-time national champions and hopeful about becoming only the second school ever to win three consecutive NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey championships, joining the 1951-1953 Michigan Wolverines.

Of the previous seven teams to go after a three-peat, only Michigan has come as close as UMD has, having done so in 1952-53. The Wolverines, who won six of the first nine NCAA men’s ice hockey championships, almost three-peated again between 1955 and 1957, but lost to Colorado College in the ‘57 NCAA championship game.

The 2017-2021 Bulldogs are the 11th program to ever reach four straight Frozen Fours and first since North Dakota did so between 2005-08.

Already one of just five teams to have made three consecutive NCAA title games along with Boston College (2006-08), Minnesota (1974-76) and Michigan, twice (1951-53 and 55-7), the Bulldogs were trying to be the first school to appear in four straight national championship games.

Minnesota Duluth 1-1-0-0—2

Massachusetts 1-0-1-1—3

First period

1. Mass, Zac Jones 9 (Matthew Kessel, Oliver Chau) 15:33 (pp)

2. UMD, Tanner Laderoute 3 (Quinn Olson, Connor Kelley), 17:50

Second period

3. UMD, Cole Koepke 15 (Noah Cates, Nick Swaney), 11:01

Third period

4. Mass, Anthony Del Gazio 2 (Josh Lopina, Bobby Trivigno), 8:25
Overtime

5. Mass, Garrett Wait 9 (Trivigno, Lopina), 14:30

Saves — Zach Stejskal, UMD, 4-6-3-12—25; Matt Murray, Mass, 9-15-10-2—36.

Power plays — UMD 0-1; Mass 1-1. Penalties — UMD 2-4; Mass 1-2.

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College women's hockey: Bulldogs push comes too late as Gophers finish sweep

Matt Wellens / Forum News Service — Sun, 29 Nov 2020 00:40:26 GMT

DULUTH -- The University of Minnesota Duluth hosted its first home athletic competitions in 265 days this weekend when the Gophers visited the Bulldogs in women’s hockey.

The UMD athletic department will have to wait at least another week to celebrate that first home victory since COVID-19 shut down everything in March, however, after Minnesota followed up Friday’s 4-2 win with a 2-1 triumph on Saturday to sweep UMD in WCHA play.

“It just took us a bit to get going,” said UMD senior defenseman and captain Ashton Bell of Saturday’s loss. “If we had some more urgency right off the hop, it would have been a different game for us.”

Bell scored the Bulldogs’ lone goal Saturday with 10:36 remaining in regulation for her team-leading seventh point of the season.

It was part of the push the Bulldogs made late in the third as they outshot the Gophers 15-7 in the final period. Junior center Kylie Hanley nearly tied the game with under two minutes to play, but her shot just missed the target and caught the post instead.

Emily Brown put Minnesota ahead 1-0 nearly eight minutes in and Emily Oden extended the Gophers’ lead to 2-0 with a 4-on-3 power play goal late in the second. Oden’s power play goal came with three Bulldogs in the penalty box. Bell was called for hooking with under four minutes to go in the second and 31 seconds later she was joined by fellow defensemen Maggie Flaherty and Taylor Stewart, with Steward’s boarding penalty coming during Flaherty’s delayed interference call.

Bulldogs coach Maura Crowell called it an “incredibly undisciplined” late second period for her team, who a week ago took five penalties in a 10-minute span in the second period at Minnesota State-Mankato. The penalties are “definitely a concern,” and being addressed, she said.

“It could have cost us that game last Saturday and I think it cost us the game today,” Crowell said. “It's really tough to recover from that. We have three kids in the box at once and, gosh, our five-on-three (kill) was really good. It went to four-on-three and I thought we did a really nice job, but we couldn't get our player out of the box.”

UMD junior goaltender Emma Soderberg, who was pulled for the final 1:40 Saturday, finished with 30 saves and Gophers senior graduate transfer Lauren Bench had 31 saves, with just under half coming in the final 20 minutes.

The series started out in the Bulldogs' favor on Friday as UMD jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Minnesota rallied to tie and take the lead in the third period.

The Bulldogs are back at Amsoil Arena next weekend to host St. Cloud State at 6:07 p.m. on Friday and 3:07 p.m. on Saturday. As of Saturday, those are the UMD women’s hockey program’s final scheduled home games at Amsoil Arena, as the WCHA has yet to release a schedule beyond 2020.

“Any time we get to play games right now, it's a great opportunity and I'd like to play with a lot more passion,” Crowell said. “We never know when our season might end. So that that was a frustrating point of contention for us this weekend, just not getting everybody going. We had some players that played great on Friday and then didn't play so hot on Saturday we need them to be really good all the time.”

The Bulldogs men’s hockey program is scheduled to host St. Cloud State on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021 for their home opener this season after starting 2020-21 in a pod in the NCHC’s pod in Omaha.

Minnesota 1-1-0—2

Minnesota Duluth 0-0-1—1

First period — 1. MIN, Emily Brown (Taylor Heise, Grace Zumwinkle), 7:52.

Second period — 2. MIN, Emily Oden (Madeline Wethington, Abbey Murphy), 18:42 (pp).

Third period — 3. UMD, Ashton Bell 2 (Anna Klein, Naomi Rogge), 9:24.

Saves — Lauren Bench, MIN, 11-6-14—31; Emma Soderberg, UMD, 14-9-7—30.

Power play — MIN 1-for-4; UMD 0-for-3. Penalties — MIN 4-8; UMD 5-10.

College women's hockey: Bulldogs push comes too late as Gophers finish sweep

Goaltender Emma Soderberg (30) of Minnesota Duluth deflects a shot on goal against Minnesota during Saturday's game at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. (Clint Austin/caustin@duluthnews.com)

Maggie Flaherty (29) of Minnesota Duluth and Abbey Murphy (18) of Minnesota compete for the puck during Saturday's game at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. (Clint Austin/caustin@duluthnews.com)

Clara Van Wieren (25) of Minnesota Duluth controls the puck near Abbey Murphy (18) of Minnesota during Saturday's game at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. (Clint Austin/caustin@duluthnews.com)

Goaltender Emma Soderberg (30) of Minnesota Duluth stops a shot on goal against Minnesota during Saturday's game at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. (Clint Austin/caustin@duluthnews.com)

Lizi Norton (6) of Minnesota Duluth controls the puck against Anne Cherkowski (11) of Minnesota during Saturday's game at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. (Clint Austin/caustin@duluthnews.com)

Naomi Rogge (9) of Minnesota Duluth controls the puck near Catie Skaja (3) of Minnesota during Saturday's game at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. (Clint Austin/caustin@duluthnews.com)

College women's hockey: Bulldogs push comes too late as Gophers finish sweep

Goaltender Emma Soderberg (30) of Minnesota Duluth deflects a shot on goal against Minnesota during Saturday's game at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. (Clint Austin/caustin@duluthnews.com)

Maggie Flaherty (29) of Minnesota Duluth and Abbey Murphy (18) of Minnesota compete for the puck during Saturday's game at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. (Clint Austin/caustin@duluthnews.com)

Clara Van Wieren (25) of Minnesota Duluth controls the puck near Abbey Murphy (18) of Minnesota during Saturday's game at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. (Clint Austin/caustin@duluthnews.com)

Goaltender Emma Soderberg (30) of Minnesota Duluth stops a shot on goal against Minnesota during Saturday's game at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. (Clint Austin/caustin@duluthnews.com)

Lizi Norton (6) of Minnesota Duluth controls the puck against Anne Cherkowski (11) of Minnesota during Saturday's game at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. (Clint Austin/caustin@duluthnews.com)

Naomi Rogge (9) of Minnesota Duluth controls the puck near Catie Skaja (3) of Minnesota during Saturday's game at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. (Clint Austin/caustin@duluthnews.com)

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NCHC turns to Omaha, University of Nebraska Medical Center to get 2020-21 season off the ground during COVID-19 pandemic

Matt Wellens — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 21:46:29 GMT

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference announced Friday they will drop the puck on the 2020-21 season on Dec. 1 at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Nebraska, where the league will play 10 games in three weeks to start the season.

With the COVID-19 pandemic that cut short the 2019-20 season still ongoing in the United States and throughout the globe, the NCHC will begin 2020-21 in a pod at the home of the University of Nebraska Omaha before returning to home rinks such as Amsoil Arena in Duluth in the New Year.

Centrally located in a league that spans three time zones — Mountain, Central and Eastern — NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton said starting the season with everyone in Omaha helps alleviate travel and keeps everyone safe.

“We've been focused on the health and safety of everybody associated with our campus and communities from the start,” Fenton said Friday afternoon in a video call with media. “We believe it's our best opportunity to start the season successfully; knowing that all teams will be in a centralized location, under a consistent set of protocols including testing, and that we can get the season started off on a good foot.”

In addition to the Mavericks hockey program, Omaha is also home to the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and Nebraska Medicine, which both have extensive experience with infectious diseases .

Americans from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan were taken to UNMC and Nebraska Medicine during the initial stages of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. In 2014, the hospital treated three Americans who contracted Ebola in West Africa.

UNMC and Nebraska Medicine are home to the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit

— commissioned by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2005 after the Sept. 11 attacks — and the National Training, Simulation and Quarantine Center , with is part of UNMC’s Global Center for Health and Security. Experts there have developed playbooks and guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic for everyone from meat processing facilities to court systems to K-12 and higher education.

UNMC will conduct medical support and COVID-19 testing for all eight NCHC teams in the pod. The Global Center for Health and Security is currently developing medical protocols and testing strategies for the entire NCHC season, the league said in its release.

Decision making during these times can be very hard. However, the collaboration among the @TheNCHC membership over the past few months has been incredible! This is what makes the Conference very special.

Now the real work begins! #NCHCHockey #NCHCFamily https://t.co/TsjwYPgTIG
— Josh Fenton (@Fenton_JC) October 16, 2020

Fenton said testing and medical support was the league’s top priority when considering the concept and ultimate location of a pod to start the season. The league has already been working with the Global Center for Health and Security for two months now, and Fenton said he’s excited for that partnership to continue.

“With the scope and scale of just the medical center there, we certainly have a lot of trust and faith in them that they'll be able to to handle it,” Fenton said.

Baxter Arena will host a total of 40 games in a three-week span, with up to two games per day Monday through Friday and up to three games on Saturdays and Sundays.

According to the league’s FAQ , individual teams will play between 3-4 games per week, but only back-to-back games twice during the three weeks in Omaha. Team schedules during final examination periods will be limited.

Minnesota Duluth coach Scott Sandelin said it’s good the league now knows what direction it is going in this season, and he’s excited to finally get planning for 2020-21 with a start date on the calendar.

“I’m glad we’ve got a decision on where we’re going so we can move forward,” Sandelin said. “I think it will be great. I want to get there and get going.”

The NCHC has divided the league into two divisions based on geography this season in order to limit travel during the pandemic. The Bulldogs are in the East Division along with St. Cloud State, Miami and Western Michigan. Omaha, North Dakota, Denver and Colorado College are in the West.

Teams will play each of their three divisional opponents six times for 18 games total, plus their cross-division opponents twice for a 26-game league schedule. All cross-divisional games will take place in Omaha to help alleviate travel. Teams will also play two games against one divisional opponent in Omaha.

Fenton said in a typical season, teams throughout the league take anywhere between 20-30 flights, but now the entire league is down to possibly fewer than five in 2020-21. Fewer flights will keep teams safe, and provide some extra funds to help teams pay for relocating to Omaha for three weeks.

"Bulldog athletics is excited for our student-athletes to get back on the ice this season and want to thank the leadership of the NCHC and all member institutions as well as the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha," UMD athletic director Josh Berlo said in a statement. "This concept puts the health and safety of the student-athletes, staff, coaches, campuses and community as our top priority while also enabling the start of competition this season. We look forward to dropping the puck soon in pursuit of a fourth national championship and to hosting games at Amsoil Arena in January."

The NCHC will push the pause button on the season after the three weeks in Omaha before starting the second half of the season the first weekend of January. Those games will be played back in all NCHC venues.

Teams will play 16 games in the second half — eight at home and eight on the road — against just their divisional opponents — for the Bulldogs, that’s the Huskies, RedHawks and Broncos — on weekends over a 10 week span. The regular season will conclude March 5-6.

The league is building in multiple and consistent bye weekends during the second half to allow flexibility with the schedule, which will be released at a later date.

The NCHC postseason schedule remains unchanged at this time. The league also said any decisions about nonconference games will be made at a later date.

NCHC 2020 Divisions

EAST

Minnesota Duluth

St. Cloud State

Miami

Western Michigan

WEST

North Dakota

Nebraska-Omaha

Denver

Colorado College

FIRST HALF SCHEDULE

December

At Baxter Arena

Omaha, Nebraska

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NCAA approves college hockey's move to 3-on-3 overtime across the sport

Matt Wellens — Thu, 23 Jul 2020 13:30:40 GMT

The NCAA officially approved changes to college hockey’s overtime format on Wednesday, ending what had become a fragmented system across the different leagues while also bringing the sport closer to alignment with the National Hockey League.

Starting with the 2020-21 season, games that are tied after regulation with go straight to a five-minute 3-on-3 overtime period. If no one scores in overtime, the game will officially end in a tie, however, a three-person shootout will be allowed in conference play for league points and in regular-season tournaments for advancement.

“Finding a way to align NCAA ice hockey overtime rules with those of other hockey leagues has been a thoroughly debated topic in recent years,” the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel wrote Wednesday in its announcement. “Once again, NCAA Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey Rules Committee members had comprehensive discussions before deciding on this proposal.”

Men’s and women’s college hockey and the Division I and Division III level had still been using a five-minute, 5-on-5 overtime period to break ties, but after that, it varied between leagues as to how ties were broken in conference play.

In 2019-20, four of the six men’s leagues — NCHC, WCHA, Big 10 and Atlantic Hockey — and the women’s WCHA used 3-on-3 followed by an, if-necessary, sudden-death shootout to break ties in conference play. Hockey East and the ECAC men’s and women’s leagues continued to let games end in ties after 65 minutes.

Results from 3-on-3 or shootouts previously didn’t count toward the NCAA selection process — games that ended tied after 65 minutes were ties — though now the result from 3-on-3 OT periods will count. The value of a 3-on-3 OT victory as compared to a regulation win will be determined by the NCAA ice hockey championship committees.

Minnesota Duluth coaches Scott Sandelin and Maura Crowell were both heavily in favor of the format that was originally pitched by the NCHC during the spring, recommended by the NCAA rules committee in June and formally approved Wednesday.

“I want a winner. There’s a reason why we play games. I want to see a winner, whether that’s for league points or RPI points,” Crowell said in May. “I think that’s what fans want, I think that’s what our players want and certainly as a coach that’s what I’m looking for. So whatever would keep us from ending in ties is what I’m interested in.”

Added Sandelin in May: “The biggest thing is we need a uniform policy. I like that it is in line with the National Hockey League and that’s where a lot of our guys want to go.”

Conference postseason tournaments and the NCAA tournament will still use 20-minute 5-on-5 overtime periods.

In other rules changes approved Wednesday:

Attacking teams will be able to choose which faceoff circle the puck will be dropped at the start of a power play or icing violation. Also, a warning will be issued instead of an ejection of the center for an initial faceoff violation. A second violation by the same team during the same faceoff will result in a bench minor penalty for delay of game. Both changes are similar to international rules that Sandelin and Crowell said they enjoyed playing under while coaching U.S. national teams the past few years.

The rule in the handbook requiring handshakes after a game has been removed. Handshake protocols will be left up to the conferences and schools.

Spin-o-ramas, where a player does a 360-degree turn with the puck en route to the goal, will not be allowed during shootouts. No reason was given as to why.

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College hockey programs look to bolster coaching staff with third assistant

Matt Wellens — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 22:30:00 GMT

Editor’s note:

In the finale of a three-part series looking at the lives of NCAA Division I men’s hockey assistant coaches, what impact would a possible third full-time assistant coach make if the NCAA would allow it? Part 1 of the series — which covers the challenges faced by modern day assistants — can be found here. Part 2 — which looks at how recruiting has become a year round job — can be read here.

Playing for his hometown Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs during the first half of the ’90s, current St. Cloud State head coach Brett Larson remembers the assistants of head coach Mike Sertich each having a distinct role when it came to recruiting.

Jim Knapp was always with the team. He’d recruit locally. Meanwhile, Glenn Kulik was on the road nonstop.

“I felt like there were months I never even saw Glenn,” Larson said.

These days it’s rare in college hockey to find a staff where one assistant coach pounds the pavement — and skies — while the other just coaches. Instead, the responsibility to scout and recruit players is spread amongst the entire three-person coaching staff. Today’s NCAA Division I men’s hockey assistant coaches take turns hitting the road in search of talent, a week at a time.

The death of month-long trips — at least in-season — doesn’t mean players are seeing all their coaches on the ice more often, however. With high school games to catch during the week and then junior games and midget tournaments on weekends, head coaches have found themselves alone on the ice at times working with 28-30 student athletes while their assistants are out recruiting.

That’s why coaches in the NCHC, such as Larson, would like to see the NCAA allow programs to have a third full-time assistant coach on staff. Teams are currently only allowed two full-timers and then a volunteer assistant — who often serves as a goaltending coach, working with netminders separately before or after practices.

Larson and others who support the addition of a third full-time assistant said it would improve the student-athlete experience on and off the ice, and help keep good coaches — who would like to spend less time on the road recruiting, and more time at home with their families — in the game longer.

“We really need to keep pushing for a third assistant. I think it's critical for college hockey,” said Larson, who was an assistant at UMD (2008-11, 2015-18) and Ohio State (2013-15) before taking over the Huskies program in 2018. “There are times where the only coach on the rink is your head coach at practice, and that's not good for player safety or for development. We need to have at least two coaches on the rink with these players. A 1-to-28 ratio at times isn't good enough. It doesn't happen too often, but when it does, I think it's a disservice to the players.

“We need to really push for that third assistant to retain really good assistants, to keep them in the game, and to give the student-athletes a better and better experience on the ice.”

Financial battle

North Dakota head coach Brad Berry, who was an assistant at UND for nine seasons (2000-06, 2012-15) before taking the head job in 2015, said the topic of a third full-time assistant coach comes up every year during the NCHC’s yearly meetings, as well as during the annual NCAA Division I coaches meeting at the American Hockey Coaches Association convention in Florida — that was cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has yet to gain the necessary support in the sport.

Opposition by other schools to adding a third full-time assistant coach is mostly financial. Not every program can afford to pay another full-time assistant coach, while those smaller budget programs that could afford to add another staffer may not be able to pay that person as much as other programs. A pay discrepancy among assistants at smaller and larger-budget schools already exists, and adding a third full-timer would only put those smaller programs at a further competitive disadvantage.

Of course, every athletic department is now in a budget crunch thanks to a coronavirus pandemic that is showing no signs of slowing down, at least in the United States. That makes the addition of a third full-time assistant even more unlikely for the foreseeable future, despite the need.

“We’re very sensitive on financial budgets of institutions and different things, but we find that you almost get overwhelmed dealing with 27-28 players, and some organizations have up to 30 players on their team,” said Berry, who would like to use the extra staffer in more of a developmental role with players rather than add another recruiter. “When you look at not just practicing, but you're looking at the academic side of it as far as making sure that they're getting a great education and support through their four years of college — and just the other student-athletes and taking care of them — you need an extra person in your group.”

Bulldogs head coach Scott Sandelin, an assistant at North Dakota for six seasons (1994-2000) before taking over UMD in 2000, is in support of the NCAA permitting a third full-time assistant coach for many of the same reasons cited by his former UND teammate, Berry, and his former assistant, Larson, and for another reason.

After being hired by Dean Blais at North Dakota shortly after his professional playing career came to an end, Sandelin said “opportunity” is always on his mind when hiring a new assistant coach. That is why he would support the NCAA allowing teams to hire graduate assistant coaches as a compromise in the quest to expanding coaching staffs.

“If we can't get a third assistant right away, I would really love to have the opportunity that a program can have a grad assistant or two, because it gives those guys an opportunity to get involved, maybe be on the ice and get going with coaching,” said Sandelin, who has given former Bulldogs Larson, Derek Plante (2010-15) and Adam Krause (2018-present) their first coaching jobs in the last 12 years. “A lot of those guys are going to be your alumni that you want around your program, you want around your players.”

More than a stepping stone

Sandelin is in the process of wrapping up an assistant coach search after associate head coach Jason Herter — another rookie college assistant hired by Sandelin back in 2011 — stepped down in late April after nine seasons at UMD. While looking to pursue other opportunities in hockey at the moment, Herter didn’t rule out a return to the college game someday.

And he wouldn’t be the first to step away, only to be lured back on campus.

Mike Gibbons, who retired this spring after 24 seasons as an NCAA Division I assistant at four schools, took a 13-season break to coach in juniors, the American Hockey League and at Eastview High �� in Apple Valley, Minnesota, before capping his career with 13 seasons at St. Cloud State.

Berry rejoined the North Dakota staff as an assistant again in 2012 after six years as a coach and scout in the AHL and NHL.

And then there is Dave Shyiak, who spent a season as an NHL scout after 10 seasons as an assistant coach at Northern Michigan and eight seasons as head coach at Alaska-Anchorage. He jumped back on campus to work for Andy Murray at Western Michigan in 2014, and this year starts a new job as associate head coach at St. Cloud State under Larson.

Once a stepping stone, the job of NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey assistant has become a coveted — while grueling — profession that many have turned into lifelong careers.

Shyiak said he and other coaches get a high coaching at this level.

“I’m one of the few people in the world that loves what he’s doing,” Shyiak said. “You find something you love doing and you stick with it. It’s been good to me. It’s been good to my family. The biggest part of all of it is building those relationships with kids and parents, giving them an opportunity to play Division I hockey and play for a championship and get an education. I think that's real rewarding, and you're meeting people from all over the world. Not many jobs can say that.”

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Non-stop recruiting takes its toll on NCAA men's hockey assistant coaches

Matt Wellens — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 22:30:00 GMT

Editor’s note:

In Part 2 of a three-part series looking at the lives of NCAA Division I men’s hockey assistant coaches, a look at how recruiting has become a year round job, and the toll that takes on assistant coaches. Part 1 of the series — which covers the challenges faced by modern day assistants, and how their jobs compare to others in the game — can be found here.

DULUTH, Minn. — When Derek Plante stepped down as assistant coach at Minnesota Duluth back in 2015, one reason cited by the Cloquet native was he’d seen his recruits play more than his own children in his five seasons on the job.

“It’s a very time-consuming job,” Plante, now a development coach with the Chicago Blackhawks, said in 2015. “I want to be able to spend a little more time with my family, which I haven’t gotten to do in the last five years.”

For anyone who has been an NCAA Division I men’s hockey assistant coach in the last decade, they know the feeling. While the games will eventually come to an end in any given season, recruiting never stops.

Coaches once had the summers to themselves just like the players they coach. But now — when the world is not in the midst of a global coronavirus pandemic — coaches find themselves in the Midwest scouting junior tryout camps, or in Buffalo, N.Y., attending USA Hockey select camps.

Newly hired St. Cloud State associate head coach Dave Shyiak, who has spent 16 seasons in the NCAA as an assistant or associate head coach in addition to his eight seasons as head coach at Alaska Anchorage from 2005-13, watches just as many hockey games out of season as he does in-season.

“Back when I started, in probably my first seven years at Northern Michigan, you didn't do much in the summertime in terms of recruiting because there were no USHL camps,” said Shyiak, who was an assistant coach and associate head coach at his alma mater under Rick Comley and Walt Kyle for 10 seasons (1995-2005). “There were some USA camps and then you do a couple home visits in July. And you weren’t recruiting kids as young as you are now.

“The age of recruiting has changed and the amount of time spent recruiting has changed. It’s more now than it’s ever been.”

Goodbye payphones, hello summer camps

Shyiak, who spent the last six seasons (2014-20) as the associate head coach at Western Michigan under Andy Murray, replaced Mike Gibbons on Brett Larson’s staff at St. Cloud State this offseason. Gibbons retired after 24 seasons as an NCAA Division I assistant coach, including the last 13 seasons under Larson and Bob Motzko at SCSU.

Gibbons also got his start under Comley at NMU, coaching there for five seasons from 1983-88 before working two years under Mike Bertsch at Colorado College (1988-90) and four seasons (1990-94) at Denver under Frank Serratore. In his 13 seasons away from the NCAA, he coached in juniors, the American Hockey League and at Eastview High �� in Apple Valley, Minn.

The job has changed so much over the years, Gibbons said. For instance, the advent of computers and cell phones means he no longer has to fight over the one payphone in Wilcox, Sask.

“I remember when you’re driving having to pull over into a parking lot and waiting for someone to tell her boyfriend, ‘No you go first! No, you go first! Ok, I love you!’” Gibbons said. “You’re sitting there waiting for a payphone.”

Recruiting, while big, was just a small fraction of the job in those early days, Gibbons recalled. Many of the duties now handled by full-time employees — academic advisor, strength and conditioning coach, director of operations — were done by assistant coaches. Gibbons said he was always the strength coach.

Oh, and he taught part-time at the universities as well, having to find his own substitute when he went on the road.

“We were almost like half teachers, half coaches,” Gibbons said. “That made it not as easy and not as full-time.”

But Gibbons did have his summers off. He’d still put in some work at hockey camps and schools, but used most of it just to recharge his batteries. That wasn’t the case when he joined Motzko’s staff in 2007, however. Despite wearing fewer hats, Gibbons said the work was more intense and it never stopped — especially with recruiting.

In addition to all the in-season recruiting — high school games on Tuesdays and Thursdays, junior leagues in the U.S. and Canada on the weekends — Gibbons and his fellow coaches spend the end of May and all of June scouting and recruiting at United States Hockey League tryout camps.

July is time for USA Hockey’s select camps. There’s also the Minnesota High Performance camps and leagues.

Come late August, it’s time to visit junior camps in Alberta and British Columbia. September is the North American Hockey League Showcase.

Gibbons said one summer when the Huskies were short an assistant coach, he spent 27 days on the road in June, 20 in July and 15 in August.

“I could coach another five years if I could do what I’m doing right now, which is sitting on my dock and go golf when I want, and not make any phone calls I have to make,” Gibbons said. “That’s impossible in today’s world.”

Recruiting a physical, mental grind

While tedious at times, Gibbons said he loved getting out on the road to recruit. He loved meeting people.

But he’d find himself up at night over a recruit that got away.

Former Bulldogs associate head coach Jason Herter, who stepped away from the Bulldogs this spring after nine seasons, said the same thing. Though Herter would not only wrack his brain over a recruit that got away, but over a missed opportunity to be out recruiting, even when coach Scott Sandelin would tell him to take some time off.

“It wears on you,” Herter said of recruiting. “Maybe at times I wasn't as smart as I should have been about how much I could go, but you always feel that need to be out.

“If you decide to take a week and miss an event and be with your family and go to the lake, take vacation or do anything like that, you feel like you missed out and let your program down. A lot of the time away from home is that inner competitive drive from individuals — just in coaches, in my opinion — that feels the need to always be out, and to impress their bosses and get the players and show that they're working.”

Because of COVID-19, college coaches aren’t missing anything this summer staying home with their families. All of this summer’s camps have been either cancelled or postponed. On top of that, the NCAA has banned all in-person recruiting since shutting down the season in March. The current Division I ban now runs through the end of August.

If anything good can come from this coronavirus, Herter said he hopes programs realize they don’t need to be out recruiting all summer long.

Gibbons has his doubts, pointing to the NCAA’s recent rule changes that went in place last summer to slow down the recruiting process. Programs can no longer make contact with a prospect until Jan. 1 of his sophomore year, and can’t make a verbal offer until Aug. 1 prior to the prospect’s junior year of high school. That hasn’t stopped coaches from still scouting Select 15 camps, or Bantam elite leagues, because just being there lays the groundwork for future recruitment, Gibbons said.

“The only way you’re going to have less and less going on is if they legislate no contact rules,” Gibbons said. “The nature and competitiveness of college recruiting, there is always going to be something to attend.”

Up next:

Being an NCAA men's hockey assistant coach is one of the sport's most demanding jobs

Matt Wellens — Wed, 01 Jul 2020 22:30:00 GMT

Editor’s note:

In Part 1 of a three-part series looking at the lives of NCAA Division I men’s hockey assistant coaches, former assistants Jason Herter, Brett Larson and Brad Berry summarize the challenges faced by modern day assistants, and how their jobs compare to others in the game.

DULUTH, Minn. — Former Minnesota Duluth assistant and associate head coach Jason Herter, who stepped down this spring after nine seasons with the Bulldogs, has been told by colleagues in professional hockey there is no harder job in the sport than being an assistant coach at the college level.

Brett Larson, the current head coach at St. Cloud State and former assistant with UMD and the Ohio State Buckeyes, has heard it from friends in the pros as well.

As for North Dakota head coach Brad Berry, no one has to tell him about how the job compares having worked as an assistant in the NCAA, AHL and NHL.

“There are a lot of demands. It’s probably not for everybody,” said Berry, who was elevated to head coach in 2015 after nine seasons as a Fighting Hawks assistant — with a six-year break to coach and scout in the pros. “At the end of the day, you got to love what you do. You got to love going to the rink and doing what you’re doing, even though that gets to maybe be a little bit of a grind.”

While modern day NCAA Division-I men’s hockey assistant coaches may not have to wear as many hats as they once did, the demands of the job have never been higher thanks to bigger budgets, the competitive nature of those in the profession and a recruiting cycle that can only be slowed down — but not halted — by a global pandemic.

It’s an underrated position in the game as well, one that doesn’t receive the accolades it deserves despite assistant coaches doing just as much work as the head coaches they work for, Berry said. The lack of recognition is something he and Larson say they both realize now, having moved on to become head coaches in the ultra-competitive NCHC.

“As an assistant coach you've always got this battle with your time, because a big part of your job may be working with one of the special teams, and either the forwards or the 'D,'” said Larson, the Duluth native who coached under Scott Sandelin at UMD for six seasons (2008-11, 2015-18) and at OSU for two seasons (2013-15) under former Sandelin assistant Steve Rholik.

“You have those day-to-day responsibilities," Larson said, "yet at the same time, a huge part of your job is recruiting — whether it's making phone calls and emails, touching base with junior coaches, high school coaches, midget coaches, advisors and the players themselves. You have two really important things pulling at your time every day.”

College vs. the pros

Current and former assistant coaches interviewed for this series — including longtime NCAA assistants Mike Gibbons and Dave Shyiak — said in-season, their time is split about 50-50 between recruiting and coaching, though once the season ends, it’s all recruiting — with this offseason being the exception due to COVID-19.

Meanwhile, their colleagues in the AHL and NHL are taking the summer off to spend time with family and recharge.

“You’re doing it all on the college side of it,” said Berry, who spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, two seasons as a scout with the Vancouver Canucks and two seasons as an NHL assistant with the Columbus Blue Jackets before returning to Grand Forks in 2012. “At the pro level, when you’re coaching, you’re coaching.”

Berry said it’s not just that professional coaches don’t have to scout and recruit players — that’s what the scouting department and general managers are for — it’s that pro coaches don’t have any time to do anything else but coach during a 76-game AHL regular season or 82-game NHL schedule.

“I’ll tell you what, when you were going, you were going 100 miles an hour,” Berry said. “There was no stopping. You’d get to the rink at 6 a.m. and wouldn’t leave until 6 p.m. and on game nights, it was probably midnight. You didn’t see your family at all.

“Then you’re on the road and you could be gone — depending where you’re playing and what market you’re in — for a week or two weeks.”

Road warriors

Of course, it’s not uncommon for assistant coaches to find themselves on the road for a week or more at a time — even in season, on top of weekend road trips with the team — scouting and recruiting throughout Canada. That’s even more true for programs that aren’t within a day’s drive of junior teams in the United States Hockey League or North American Hockey League.

With head coaches tied to home base, it’s the assistants who often rotate hitting the road for extended recruiting trips, missing practices and games to do so.

“The way I always looked at it is, I don’t know how many days I was on the road, but the only time I could count to be off the road were a couple weeks in May and a couple weeks in August,” Larson said of his days as an assistant.

Since becoming the head coach of the Huskies in 2018, Larson said he’s physically home with his family more than when he was an assistant with the Bulldogs and Buckeyes.

However, as his wife notes, there is a catch.

“Mentally, I am not,” Larson said of life as a head coach. “(As an assistant) when I would get home and after dinner, if I didn’t have any calls, I found it a little bit easier to turn my mind off and enjoy my family. As a head coach — I’m hoping this comes with experience — I haven’t found that as easy yet.”

Herter said he always took what his friends in pro hockey said as a compliment, not a dig on college hockey.

“It’s a different life. Very rewarding, don’t get me wrong, in a lot of ways,” Herter said. “But I don’t think people — unless they are close to assistant or head coaches — understand the pressure to be good when you build a program, the pressure to be great, to continue to make your mark on your school history.

“Because we’re so competitive, it eats at you. When you’re not on the road, not finding players, it just eats at you.”

Up next: