March 23 – Patty Kazmaier Award Banquet Spirits were high as the Patty Kazmaier Banquet began on Saturday. The team was coming off an overtime win over Boston College to advance to the national championship, and no matter what, the Patty Kaz was going to a Gopher. It didn’t take long for the light mood to get lighter as the fire alarms at the McNamara Center went off during the program. We had to exit the building and a quartet of fire trucks arrived on site. While waiting outside, I see the three Patty Kaz Finalists (Bozek, Kessel and Räty) posing for a picture with a handful of firemen! Just like the playoff beards, I chuckled a little and was not surprised at all by their entertaining actions. The McNamara Center didn’t burn down, so we entered back in and began eating brunch. Another hiccup came while we watched a highlight video showcasing all the Patty Kaz nominees, when the laptop decided to shut down for system updates. That short intermission was followed by a phenomenal speech by former Gopher head coach Laura Halldorson on her relationship with the Kazmaier family. The award announcement followed, and Amanda Kessel was crowned the 16th winner of the award. After she gave her acceptance speech, it was time for the media to rush the junior forward and for me to get back to work. I felt like a servant for the next hour or so as I followed Amanda around and carried the Patty Kaz trophy. Photos from NCAA Frozen Four include Milica McMillen’s goal against Boston University (bottom), Mira Jalusuo’s tally in the title game (top left) and Sarah Davis’ overtime game-winner against Boston College in the Semifinals (middle right).
March 21 – Frozen Four Banquet All four teams attended the Frozen Four Banquet the night before games started and little did they all know, that former Gopher great Natalie Darwitz would give an inspirational but hilarious speech. Darwitz’s speech centered on what she felt a team needs to win a championship. The four things she listed were: studs, role players, a goalie and benchwarmers. She went down the list and explained why each piece is important to the puzzle while poking fun at all facets.
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My favorite was when she said a team needs one or two studs. She then went on to say, “If you are thinking to yourself right now that I could be the stud, well sorry, but you’re not.” This comment caught junior Sarah Davis off-guard... Davis was taking a drink of her water at that point but quickly spit out her drink and broke out laughing hysterically. Darwitz’s speech wasn’t all comical and actually made valid points. Every team needs people to fill their roles; otherwise, it would be tough to mold a championship team.
PHOTOS: JIM ROSVOLD
Fans that packed Ridder Arena for the first-ever sold out Frozen Four
March 24 – Back-to-Back! The girls saved me form going completely grey at the ripe age of 25 by grabbing a multiple-goal lead and holding on to win back-to-back titles! After the awards ceremony, the girls relished in the moment by skating the trophy around the ice and showcasing their dance moves to the sold-out crowd. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bozek and Brausen sneak away from the sea of players. They ran off the ice, and I was unsure what they were doing until they hopped back on with the water cooler. At that moment, assistant coach Joel Johnson grabbed Frosty’s attention and muttered nonsense to him, so the covert operation would not be derailed. The captains quickly skated up on Frosty and doused him as everyone in the arena roared with joy. The onice celebration went on for about 45 minutes before we went into the locker room and had emotional speeches by all the coaches, the captains and the seniors. I think everyone was still in shock of what they actually did by going undefeated on the year. I know it didn’t hit me until after the press conference wrapped up, and I was in the club room chatting with a few media members. The moment hit me when Patrick Reusse walked towards the door to leave after watching a men’s basketball team get eliminated from the NCAA Tournament and stated “Well, you can’t win them all”. Immediately, another reporter quickly corrected him by saying, “Actually, you can.” Cory Hall is an assistant athletic communications director at the University of Minnesota. You can reach Cory at cdhall@umn.edu.