Feature: Goaltender Emma May singing right tune (St. Paul Pioneer Press)

One of my goals with feature stories is to give off a sense of the subject's personality. In the case of Gopher hockey third string goalie Emma May that was pretty easy if the below lede is any indication.

The Gophers, for what it's worth, defeated Minnesota State 5-0 last night. Minnesota improves to 5-0-1 in its last six games after a rare losing streak.

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Before games, Emma May likes to sing.

Not just sing, actually. The Gophers’ sophomore goaltender has a whole pregame routine designed to pump up her teammates and get herself into game mode. There are dance moves and a Disney movie-inspired handshake between May and her roommates — and singing to the point of being shushed.

Belting out whatever is in her head seems to help, and right now it’s Whitney Houston. May likes the high notes.

“I think to be a goalie, you definitely have to be a little weird,” said sophomore Sophie Skarzynski, one of May’s roommates and best friends. “Something that is special you don’t find in a lot of other players is Emma brings a consistent positive effort. It’s a real effort and energy to practice every single day, which is admirable.”

That effort comes through in the lack of doubt in her convictions. May, an Eagan native, grew up in a hockey family with her brother Eli, currently a defenseman at Augsburg. Emma started on the blue line, too until her second year of U12 hockey.

“I decided, ‘Yep, alright not good at defense. I’m going to play goalie,’” she said. “Playing goalie just kind of ended up being what I wanted to do with my life, and how I wanted to spend my time on the ice.”

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