There’s a growing sense of anticipation for University of St. Thomas men’s hockey fans, excitement that suffering a series sweep Sunday against future conference rival North Dakota dampened only mildly.

The 10th-ranked River Hawks broke a first-period tie and cruised to a 5-2 victory over the No. 19 Tommies on Sunday at Grand Casino Arena. St. Thomas, a current Central Collegiate Hockey Association member that will join UND in the stronger National Collegiate Hockey Conference next season, suffered a 6-2 loss to the same foe Friday night in Grand Forks, N.D.

Still, with the first game in their $175 million Lee and Penny Anderson Arena scheduled for October 24 against Providence, St. Thomas backers are happily anxious despite early-season setbacks against one of college hockey’s blue bloods. The River Hawks have won eight national championships and made 22 Frozen Four appearances.

“Four years into the journey of a lifetime, we’re ready for the next chapter … on a national stage, intoned a serious-voiced announcer during a pregame hype video played on the massive arena’s video boards.

Coach Rico Blasi currently wants nothing to do with a wider point of view. The Tommies’ lost weekend on the scoreboard was his main concern.

“I’m absolutely not looking at the big picture,” the Tommies’ fifth-year boss said after his 1-2 team surrendered two power-play goals in front of a half-full lower bowl. “We’re focused on today and getting better. This stings right now, and I want it to sting. There’s no moral victories.”

So thoughts of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the new building and the NCAA Division I program’s continued rise from the Division III level just four years ago aren’t creeping in?

“Not a chance,” said the stone-faced boss, whose club visits Air Force in Colorado Springs this weekend. “We’re in the development business, and it’s (the players’) job to get better. We can’t be thinking about two weeks down the road. That’s a long ways away.”

North Dakota (2-0) opened Sunday’s scoring in the seventh minute. Defenseman Jake Livanavage walked the puck down from center point and passed into the right circle. Cole Reschny ripped a one-time shot home past the blocker of goaltender Carsen Musser and into the net’s far side.

The Tommies’ Lucas Wahlin, a Woodbury native, scored his third goal of the season five minutes into the second period. The star wing shot from low on the left wing and with goaltender Gibson Homer on his knees on the opposite side of the slot. The Arizona State transfer (25 saves) landed there after denying a Lucas Van Vielt one-timer, a rip set up by a Wahlin cross-ice pass.

The River Hawks moved ahead, 2-1, seven minutes into the period when Abram Wiebe threw an off-balance shot at the net from high on the left sideboards. The hope-and-a-prayer attempt sailed through a mix of players, over Musser’s glove and inside the far post.

“Overall, he has been solid,” Blasi said of Musser, a Colorado College transfer who finished with 18 saves. “I think he’d probably want a couple back tonight.”

North Dakota went up, 3-1, during the third period’s fifth minute and on a power-play goal.

The man advantage was created when Alex Gaffney was assessed a kneeing penalty despite clearly hitting Reschny with his hip when the latter was attempting to turn up ice from behind his own net. Ellis Rickwood scored from the doorstep on the rebound of a sharp-angle Livanavage shot.

The Tommies cut their deficit to 3-2 two minutes later, Ryan O’Neill scoring on a redirection at the right post off Jake Braccini’s whip of a pass from the far wing. North Dakota, however, needed only 31 seconds to go up, 4-2. Rickwood, high in the right circle spotted a wide-open Zellers gliding down the opposite side of the slot. Zellers, a Maple Grove product, had ample time and space to fire home a wrist shot.

Livanavage closed the scoring for UND, which improved to 2-6 in its last eight games in the arena, where the NCHC postseason tournament is annually staged. The River Hawks replaced 10th-year coach Brad Berry earlier this year with longtime assistant Dane Jackson.

St. Thomas defenseman Chase Cheslock, while appropriately somber after the loss, said playing in an NHL rink was a thrill.

“It’s a privilege,” said the Rogers, Minn., native, whose team has played games at a community rink in Mendota Heights with a 1,000-fan capacity. “You don’t get to play in these buildings often, and you don’t know if you ever will again. You take it all in but when it’s game time, the rink and the puck are the same size.”

No looking forward. Not for at least another week.

Briefly

North Dakota defenseman and captain Bennett Zmolek, a Rochester, Minn., product and the son of former Gopher Doug Zmolek, is easing himself back into regular action after undergoing three hip surgeries in the past six years. Bennett Zmolek, a graduate student in athletic administration and coaching, transferred from Minnesota State Mankato in 2024 but suffered a season-ending injury during his first game last season. … North Dakota defenseman E.J. Emery is that program’s first black player since 1994 and a first-round NHL draft pick in 2024 by the New York Rangers. … St. Thomas assistant coach Cory Laylin, a Gophers player during the late 1980s and early 1990s, is a Tommies assistant coac,h and sons Luc and Casy play forward on the team, although the latter was scratched from Sunday’s lineup. … St. Thomas junior defenseman Mason Poolman is the third son of 31-year North Dakota athletic trainer Mark Poolman to play college hockey. His older brothers, Tucker and Colton, suited up for the Fighting Hawks.

Related Articles

Woodbury’s Quentin Cobb-Butler playing big at WR for St. Thomas

After St. Thomas-area home demolished without permit, concerns grow over new student housing

St. Thomas garners another victory in arena legal battle with neighbors

Here’s a look at the University of St. Thomas’ Lee and Penny Anderson Arena as opening nears

University of St. Thomas hosts ‘upskilling’ training for machinists

Two men were shot and injured in a parking lot near a strip of St. Paul fast food restaurants on Saturday night.

Shortly after 10:30 p.m., St. Paul police were called to a parking lot in the 1800 block of Suburban Avenue, where they found a man with gunshot wounds to his torso. The area includes both a Wendy’s and a McDonald’s restaurant. The shooting appears to have occurred in a parking lot and not inside a business, according to Alyssa Arcand, a St. Paul police spokesperson.

Another man with gunshot injuries to his head was found near White Bear Avenue and Old Hudson Road.

Both men were taken to Regions Hospital by St. Paul Fire Department medics, police said. Updates on their condition were not available Sunday.

Investigators were working Sunday to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting, but they believe the two men were part of the same incident. No arrests have been made and the incident is an open and active investigation.

Related Articles

BCA orders immediate statewide inspection of DWI testing instruments after data entry errors

Man dies in Rush City prison cell; officials believe he fought with cell mate

Without leads, investigators call off search for missing 33-year-old Farmington horse

Man under investigation for posing as White Bear Lake student assaulted in St. Paul

Ex-Minnesota State Patrol Trooper admits to creating pornography involving toddler

On Saturday, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith met with students, alumni and guests to launch the first-ever scholarship with the University of Minnesota’s School of Music, in partnership with the Chad Smith Foundation.

It’s called the Curtis and Joan Smith Scholarship, named for Smith’s parents, who are university alumni. The scholarship is designed to help support young Minnesota musicians pursuing a degree at the university.

“It’s an opportunity for us to celebrate, obviously, my mom and dad, but also where we started our lives and grew up,” Smith said. “I love music. I’m so passionate about it. And I’m so fortunate I found it at a young age.”

Born in St. Paul, Smith was raised with a love for the U and music. As alumni, Curtis and Joan Smith graduated in 1957 and 1948,  respectively, where Curtis attended through the G.I. Bill after serving in the military.

“My father passed in 2001, but my mother is 98 years old; she couldn’t be here, but she’s really excited about the legacy that we’re continuing in her alma mater and my father’s alma mater,” Smith said. “It means a lot to her and to us.”

The Chad Smith Foundation, founded in August by Smith and his nephew Lewis Smith, seeks to connect young people to music through education and resources. This scholarship is seen as a first step in this pursuit.

“We strongly believe that the best time to have music as a role in your life is as early as possible. We’re dedicated to reaching the next generation and inspiring them to hear, see and feel music being played,” Lewis Smith said. “We want to give them access to instruments to an educational curriculum to fuel that inspiration. If they want to make it a career, maybe through the University of Minnesota, we have scholarships in place to give them the support they need to make it.”

The scholarship debuted during homecoming weekend, with an accompanying performance by Smith at a fundraising luncheon with the music school’s rock band and later at the halftime show of the Gophers football game against the Purdue Boilermakers.

The Gophers later won the game, 27-20, with a comeback in the second half of the game at Huntington Bank Stadium.

During the launch, Smith played “Californication” and “Can’t Stop” with the School of Music’s first-ever rock band, Skwirl. The band was formed in the spring by Del Lyren, the school’s undergraduate adviser and enrollment manager. The six students performed with Smith playing drums for the familiar songs.

Tia Bersie, a musical therapy student in the band, said the experience was completely unexpected.

“It’s just a really cool opportunity that felt, like, it was kind of thrown at us really suddenly. We were not expecting to get to go do something with the Chad Smith,” Bersie said.

Ava Danberg, another student and lead singer of the performance, said the recognition from an artist like Smith was validating as a student musician.

“We all have really busy schedules, but we all try to take time out of our week to practice together. So, just the fact that he took time out of his schedule to come and see us was such a cool opportunity,” Danberg said.

Another group at the luncheon was Minnesota’s branch of the School of Rock, a music program designed for students of all ages and skill levels to learn in a performance-based setting. Founded in 1998 as a single school in Philadelphia, School of Rock has expanded to over 385 locations and 16 different countries.

“It ties into our foundation because we just want the next generation to be able to have the opportunity and exposure to music and equipment and education and teachers and places to play,” Smith said.

Throughout the event, the importance of introducing young people to music was emphasized by Smith and his foundation. The drummer took time to meet with every guest present, taking pictures individually, as well as group photos with the School of Rock students.

“Music is, I just think it’s the greatest thing. It’s the universal language,” Smith said. “Everybody loves it and is connected to music. There are so many great things about it that just make the world go round.”

Related Articles

UMN regents vote 9-2 to transfer Eastcliff to the university foundation

U of M considers selling historic Eastcliff mansion to its foundation

Essentia exits talks with UMN, Fairview on ‘All-Minnesota’ health solution

Charlie Kirk event at U to go ahead with conservative Michael Knowles

University of Minnesota and Teamsters reach tentative deal, Farm Aid concert is on

Long before he was coaching the New Jersey Devils to their first Stanley Cup in 1995, then taking over an expansion team in Minnesota five years later and coaching the Wild to what was their greatest playoff success in the franchise’s first 25 years, Jacques Lemaire was a player of some note.

Minnesota wild head coach Jacques Lemaire, top left, gives instructions from the bench during the first period of Minnesota’s 3-2 victory over Vancouver in Game 2 of the NHL Western Conference semifinals in Vancouver, British Columbia on April 27, 2003. (Sherri LaRose-Chiglo / Pioneer Press)

Now 80, retired and living in Florida, Lemaire spent a dozen seasons playing center for his hometown Montreal Canadiens, winning a whopping eight Stanley Cups in the process.

In eight seasons behind the bench in Minnesota, he took the Wild from a bunch of castoffs looking to reestablish the NHL in a community still stinging from the 1993 loss of the North Stars, to the third round of the 2003 playoffs, and in 2007 to their first (and so far only) division title.

With the team celebrating 25 years, the Wild hierarchy put together a nice tribute to the franchise’s roots in 2000, bringing back original general manager Doug Risebrough, along with the team’s original coaching staff – Mario Tremblay, Bob Mason and Lemaire – to drop the ceremonial first puck before Saturday’s home opener with Columbus.

Earlier in the day, touring TRIA Rink and the Wild’s modern facilities, Lemaire took a few minutes to talk with the media, reflecting on his arrival in Minnesota and that magical spring of 2003, when this bunch with zero expectations upset Colorado and Vancouver to reach the Western Conference final.

Rookie center Jacques LeMaire, fourth from left, grins through the gaping space between his teeth as his fellow Montreal Canadiens congratulate him for winning goal against the St. Louis Blues in their first Stanley Cup championship game Sunday, in St. Louis, Mo., May 5, 1968. (AP Photo)

Lemaire joked that what keeps him busy these days, in retirement, is trying to maintain a healthy body after spending nearly 1,000 games on NHL ice. Daily life in Florida involves, “Fixing all the bad bones that I have and trying to get my sciatic nerve straightened out,” he said, with a smile. “Besides that, not much.”

A different game

In 2000, while the Wild’s home rink – then called Xcel Energy Center – was brand new, they lacked a dedicated practice facility, and spent a fair amount of time commuting back and forth from St. Paul to Minneapolis, usually skating at Parade Ice Garden when the X was otherwise booked.

Marveling at the modern amenities available to current Wild coach John Hynes and his players, Lemaire admitted the job has changed greatly in a quarter-century.

“There’s so many things now with the players,” Lemaire said. “Before it was a little more simple. You know, you coach them. Now you’ve got to watch a lot of stuff that they have, that surrounds their needs. It’s different. Another era.”

One commute he didn’t mind during the nine years Lemaire spent here was the one to and from downtown St. Paul from the home he had in Lilydale. The coach admitted that if the weather was right, he would bicycle to the rink along the paved riverfront trail.

In all, he directed three playoff appearances in eight seasons (Lemaire was in Minnesota for nine years, but the entire 2004-05 season was lost due to a labor dispute between players and ownership). No season was more legendary than 2002-03.

Memorable May

In round one, the Wild trailed Colorado 3-1 in the best-of-seven series before winning the last three games – two of them in overtime – for the first playoff series win in franchise history.

Round two was similar, with Vancouver taking a 3-1 lead in the series before the Wild grabbed the last three games and a trip to the Western Conference final.

Versus Anaheim in round three, the magic, and the offense, disappeared. Minnesota managed just one goal in the four-game sweep by the Ducks. But the memories of a band of underdogs leading Minnesota fans on a magical month of spring are fresh, more than two decades later.

Reflecting on that season, Lemaire talked about the power of belief and teamwork.

“The thing is, no matter how good or not good or average you are, if you can get all the guys to do their job and believe in that same thing, you’ve got a chance,” he said. “And if you have a good team and you don’t get the guys to believe that they can do it, you won’t win, even if your team is good.”

Following a legend

Lemaire and Hynes spent a few minutes talking shop, and the current Wild head man said there is nothing but respect for the coaching legend who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984.

“It’s always special when you see guys of their caliber, what they’ve been able to do in the league and the type of people they are, to have them around,” Hynes said, admitting that as a collegian at Boston University, he would watch Lemaire’s Devils teams practice whenever they would visit Boston.

On the ice at Grand Casino Arena, there was a roar when Risebrough, Mason, Tremblay and then Lemaire were introduced to the crowd.

The former head coach said he had been wanting to revisit Minnesota for some time, and when Lemaire heard the other members of the original Wild brain trust were coming, he jumped at the chance. The only regret he had upon arrival in St. Paul was not staying longer.

“We came here for nine years, and it was really a great time that we had. Not only for me, my family, my wife,” Lemaire said, mentioning Mychele, his spouse of 55 years. “She says, ‘Geez, I remember Minnesota. It was so great. The life, the people, people were so good for us, so kind,’ And you know, it’s something that you will cherish the rest of our years.”

Related Articles

Blue Jackets spoil Wild’s home opener party

Jonas Brodin’s return bolsters Wild defensive depth

Young leadership group vital as Wild mix newbies into key roles

Four must-try new foods at Wild games this season

Wild deliver Hartman attack to Blues in opener