Move Over, Gophers: Balance of Power Shifts in Minnesota Hockey

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — John Mariucci and Herb Brooks, considered the godfathers of modern college hockey in Minnesota, never could have envisioned this in their lifetimes. But when Coach Bob Motzko left St. Cloud State after last season to succeed the retiring Don Lucia at the University of Minnesota, he arguably made a lateral move, not a step up.

Such a notion would have been hockey heresy in the 1950s and ’60s, when Mariucci coached the Golden Gophers to national prominence, or the 1970s, when Brooks led Minnesota to three N.C.A.A. titles before coaching the 1980 United States Olympic team to the Miracle on Ice.

The Gophers used to be the premier program in the state, but that has changed.

Last season St. Cloud State, Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State qualified for the N.C.A.A. tournament, with St. Cloud claiming the overall No. 1 seed and Minnesota Duluth winning its second national title this decade. Minnesota, a five-time national champion, missed the 16-team tournament for the second time in three seasons.

And the balance of power continues to shift. St. Cloud State (27-4-3) remained atop both national polls this week, with Minnesota Duluth (21-11-2) fourth. Minnesota State (29-7-2) is second in one poll and third in the other. As the teams begin their conference tournaments this weekend, St. Cloud, Minnesota State and Minnesota Duluth are all in line for No. 1 seeds in the N.C.A.A. tournament.

Motzko’s Gophers had their moments, sweeping two-game series against highly ranked programs in Ohio State and Arizona State in recent weeks. But their 18-15-4 overall mark leaves them unranked and tied for 20th in the PairWise, a formula used by the N.C.A.A. Selection Committee to fill the tournament field. Minnesota may need to win the Big Ten tournament for an automatic bid this weekend to avoid another N.C.A.A. miss.

“We’re at the beginning stages of putting our footprint down,” Motzko said. “I know I’m taking over one of the most storied programs in the history of college hockey. There’s nothing holding us back except for ourselves.”

The change in Minnesota reflects a nationwide trend of newer programs usurping traditional powers. Of the seven teams with five or more N.C.A.A. titles, only Denver and North Dakota are ranked. Conspicuously absent: The Gophers, Michigan, Boston College, Boston University and Wisconsin.

What happened? More schools are benefiting from an expanded pool of players, coming from Europe and nontraditional American markets like California and Florida. And recruits have discovered more paths to the Frozen Four and the N.H.L.

Over the last eight years, Minnesota Duluth, Union, Providence and Yale won their first national championships. Since 2009, the five Minnesota Division I programs (Bemidji State rounds them out) combined for seven Frozen Four appearances. Only Minnesota State failed to make it, even as a No. 1 seed in 2015.

A decade ago, most recruits in the region considered the Gophers their best route to pro hockey. That is no longer the case. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that two members of Bemidji State’s 2009 Frozen Four team, Matt Read and Brad Hunt, play for the Minnesota Wild.

“In the day, Minnesota used to take whoever they wanted,” said Brett Larson, the former Minnesota Duluth assistant coach who succeeded Motzko as coach of the St. Cloud Huskies. “Now these kids know there are four other great options out there, and they can find the one that fits them — not just as a hockey player, but as a person too.”

St. Cloud, Minnesota Duluth, Bemidji State and Minnesota State share much in common. All play in relatively new or renovated facilities. St. Cloud renamed its arena for Brooks in 2013 after $13 million in upgrades brought it in line with similar arenas around the state.

It was Brooks, between N.H.L. coaching jobs, who stepped in as the Huskies’ head coach for one season, 1986-87, guiding the transition from Division III to Division I. A young Motzko, a former St. Cloud player, took his first coaching job as one of Brooks’s assistants. Brooks helped the university secure arena funding before leaving to coach the Minnesota North Stars.

“Herb Brooks’s vision of getting St. Cloud State to the Division I level was to create more opportunities for kids in the state to be able to play at that level,” said Larson, who grew up in Duluth. “That was the turning point. For Minnesota, and for the rest of us, it’s created a very competitive environment in the state.”

Motzko returned to St. Cloud as head coach in 2005 after four seasons as an assistant at Minnesota, a stretch during which the Gophers won their last two N.C.A.A. titles. The Huskies made eight N.C.A.A. tournament appearances in Motzko’s 13 seasons.

Reaching the Frozen Four in 2013, and joining the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference the following season, raised St. Cloud’s national profile. Their leading scorers, Patrick Newell and Robby Jackson, came from California.

“When my dad first told me that St. Cloud State was interested, I didn’t even know who they were, to be completely honest,” Jackson said. “All I knew was the Gophers.”

He neglected to wear a winter coat on his recruiting visit to campus, a sartorial snafu the assistant coach Mike Gibbons still razzes him about.

Now in his 19th season at Minnesota Duluth, Scott Sandelin has sent 21 players to the N.H.L. His .739 winning percentage in N.C.A.A. tournament play (17-6) leads active coaches and ranks fourth on the career list.

“When I first came in, Minnesota had always been strong,” Sandelin said in a telephone interview from Duluth. “It seemed like we were always behind them. That was good motivation to work hard and try to build your program to compete with them, try to get some of the kids they always seemed to get.”

Sandelin prefers players from the United States Hockey League or Canada’s top junior leagues who might stay four years. So does Minnesota State Coach Mike Hastings. And like Motzko, Hastings expanded his recruiting beyond Minnesota. The Mavericks feature three players from Germany, and next season two are coming from Florida. (Another recruit has a familiar name: Sandelin’s son, Ryan, a forward.)

In Motzko’s mind, the Gophers started slipping a decade ago when too many players began leaving early for the N.H.L. Minnesota traditionally signs more N.H.L. draftees than its in-state rivals. This year’s roster features 13, nine more than St. Cloud’s.

Huskies captain Jimmy Schuldt, a senior defenseman, turned down N.H.L. free-agent offers last summer for one more crack at leading St. Cloud to its first N.C.A.A. title.

Speed, depth and four-year loyalty were hallmarks of Motzko’s teams at St. Cloud. He said believes that formula can work at Minnesota.

“I’ve got great confidence we’re going in a great direction,” he said. “I’d like to get there quick.”

Source: Read Full Article