Welcome back!
With summer unofficially coming to an end after the Minnesota State Fair closing up shop for another year, September marks a new year of hockey.
It's time to prepare for the 2018-19 college hockey season. School has begun around the country. Ice sheets are ready to go. Same with captain's practices. Countdowns until opening night remains somewhere in the 20s to 40s.
Starbucks brought back its Pumpkin Spice Latte, perhaps the biggest sign fall peeks around the corner.
Prior to any preseason coverage, however, and on the one-year anniversary of The Athletic Minnesota launching, I wanted to showcase some of my favorite features from the site in the year since launching. Give them one last bit of love before turning my attention towards the future.
Showing posts with label Sidney Peters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sidney Peters. Show all posts
Thursday, September 6, 2018
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Feature: The Humanitarian Spirit of Sidney Peters (The Athletic)
When you spend a lifetime tying your identity to hockey, discovering who you are outside the game can be difficult.
That was the case for Sidney Peters in fall 2013 when she stepped on campus at the University of Minnesota. One of the top goalies in her age group, the Geneva, Illinois, native saw herself competing right away for a starting spot. Instead, she sat behind Amanda Leveille, redshirting her first year and playing a combined 17 games the next two.
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Sitting on the bench forced Peters to figure out who she was without hockey. Over the past four years she has logged over 800 volunteer hours, traveled to Haiti as a certified Emergency Medical Technician and figured out her post-hockey career; all while backstopping the Gophers to a Frozen Four last season and WCHA Final Faceoff championship this year.
Her work away from the ice resulted in Peters being one of five finalists for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, which will be presented Friday afternoon to college hockey’s “finest citizen” for leadership in community service.
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That was the case for Sidney Peters in fall 2013 when she stepped on campus at the University of Minnesota. One of the top goalies in her age group, the Geneva, Illinois, native saw herself competing right away for a starting spot. Instead, she sat behind Amanda Leveille, redshirting her first year and playing a combined 17 games the next two.
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Sitting on the bench forced Peters to figure out who she was without hockey. Over the past four years she has logged over 800 volunteer hours, traveled to Haiti as a certified Emergency Medical Technician and figured out her post-hockey career; all while backstopping the Gophers to a Frozen Four last season and WCHA Final Faceoff championship this year.
Her work away from the ice resulted in Peters being one of five finalists for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, which will be presented Friday afternoon to college hockey’s “finest citizen” for leadership in community service.
Click here to read the rest!
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Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Feature: When they needed it most, Gopher women found a way to beat the best (The Athletic)
With her team’s center of attention turning towards needing two wins, internally Sidney Peters spent much of the weekend focusing on a single droplet of water.
It’s a trick Peters, a kinesiology major, picked up to help concentrate. During stoppages of play Minnesota’s redshirt senior goaltender will spray her water bottle in the air and try to watch the droplets falling down.
“It’s a way to keep my eyes awake. You have all these little muscles in your eyes. When you’re zoning out and not getting a lot of shots, you can lose control,” she said. “It’s also a focal point for me. It helps me to stay focused and deal with the anxiety that’s inevitable as an athlete.”
Inevitably there was anxiety.
Two hours before Saturday’s WCHA Final Faceoff semifinal, any plans of the Gophers making the NCAA tournament as an at-large bid disappeared 1,100 miles away. Minnesota players and coaches found out through scoreboard watching that UConn upset Hockey East regular-season champion Boston College. Hockey East’s automatic bid would go to a team outside the top eight in the Pairwise Rankings, taking away an at-large spot in the eight-team field.
That spot would have been Minnesota’s.
It’s a trick Peters, a kinesiology major, picked up to help concentrate. During stoppages of play Minnesota’s redshirt senior goaltender will spray her water bottle in the air and try to watch the droplets falling down.
“It’s a way to keep my eyes awake. You have all these little muscles in your eyes. When you’re zoning out and not getting a lot of shots, you can lose control,” she said. “It’s also a focal point for me. It helps me to stay focused and deal with the anxiety that’s inevitable as an athlete.”
Inevitably there was anxiety.
Two hours before Saturday’s WCHA Final Faceoff semifinal, any plans of the Gophers making the NCAA tournament as an at-large bid disappeared 1,100 miles away. Minnesota players and coaches found out through scoreboard watching that UConn upset Hockey East regular-season champion Boston College. Hockey East’s automatic bid would go to a team outside the top eight in the Pairwise Rankings, taking away an at-large spot in the eight-team field.
That spot would have been Minnesota’s.
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Game Story: Minnesota wins WCHA Final Faceoff Championship (Zone Coverage)
MINNEAPOLIS- Only once the puck crossed the red line and into the empty net was Minnesota able to celebrate Sunday.
With Minnesota holding on to a one-goal lead against the top-ranked Badgers, Wisconsin spent nearly two minutes in the Gopher end before Nicole Schammel sealed the game by skating in alone and scoring an empty-netter with 13.3 seconds remaining.
“It felt pretty good once that went in,” said Minnesota head coach Brad Frost, noting Patrik Stefan’s missed empty net attempt in the NHL as reason to not count a goal before it happened. “Once it crossed the line I felt good.”
The Gophers celebrated again once the final whistle was blown, defeating Wisconsin 3-1 Sunday to take home the 2018 WCHA Final Faceoff championship. Sidney Peters made 31 saves Sunday as her team claimed victory over the Badgers for the first time in five attempts this season.
Minnesota (23-10-4), winning the tournament for the first time since 2014, earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The eight-team field will be announced Sunday evening.
With Minnesota holding on to a one-goal lead against the top-ranked Badgers, Wisconsin spent nearly two minutes in the Gopher end before Nicole Schammel sealed the game by skating in alone and scoring an empty-netter with 13.3 seconds remaining.
“It felt pretty good once that went in,” said Minnesota head coach Brad Frost, noting Patrik Stefan’s missed empty net attempt in the NHL as reason to not count a goal before it happened. “Once it crossed the line I felt good.”
The Gophers celebrated again once the final whistle was blown, defeating Wisconsin 3-1 Sunday to take home the 2018 WCHA Final Faceoff championship. Sidney Peters made 31 saves Sunday as her team claimed victory over the Badgers for the first time in five attempts this season.
Minnesota (23-10-4), winning the tournament for the first time since 2014, earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The eight-team field will be announced Sunday evening.
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Game Story: Gophers advance to WCHA Final Faceoff (Zone Coverage)
MINNEAPOLIS- Needing a win, Minnesota got its biggest victory of the season. The Gophers will continue theirs.
Freshman Grace Zumwinkle scored both goals Saturday in a 2-0 win over Ohio State. Minnesota (23-10-3) will face Wisconsin for the WCHA Final Faceoff championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
“It was a great game here tonight. I thought we played extremely hard and battled and competed,” said head coach Brad Frost. “(Gophers redshirt senior goaltender) Sid(ney) Peters was fantastic obviously and Zummy and her line, in particular, played a really big role.”
Entering Saturday on the outside of the NCAA Tournament and having gone 0-3-1 against the opponent, Peters stopped all 33 shots she faced.
Ohio State (23-10-4) appeared to have scored in the opening 90 seconds, but Charly Dahlquist’s shot was waved off when the net came off first. Referees reviewed the play and confirmed the call.
Freshman Grace Zumwinkle scored both goals Saturday in a 2-0 win over Ohio State. Minnesota (23-10-3) will face Wisconsin for the WCHA Final Faceoff championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
“It was a great game here tonight. I thought we played extremely hard and battled and competed,” said head coach Brad Frost. “(Gophers redshirt senior goaltender) Sid(ney) Peters was fantastic obviously and Zummy and her line, in particular, played a really big role.”
Entering Saturday on the outside of the NCAA Tournament and having gone 0-3-1 against the opponent, Peters stopped all 33 shots she faced.
Ohio State (23-10-4) appeared to have scored in the opening 90 seconds, but Charly Dahlquist’s shot was waved off when the net came off first. Referees reviewed the play and confirmed the call.
Click here to read the rest!
Monday, January 29, 2018
Game Story: Minnesota Sweeps Mavericks on Senior Day (Zone Coverage)
MINNEAPOLIS- In their final Ridder Arena regular season appearance, Minnesota’s senior class helped lead the Gophers to its 50th consecutive victory over Minnesota State.
Senior forward Cara Piazza scored the game’s opening goal and senior goaltender Sidney Peters made 32 saves in a 2-0 shutout win. Combined with an Ohio State loss, Saturday’s win moved Minnesota (19-8-2, 12-6-2-0 WCHA) up to second place in the WCHA.
The much-needed two-game sweep comes a week after the Gophers were swept by the Buckeyes in Columbus. Minnesota plays its final four regular-season games on the road against St. Cloud State and Wisconsin before likely returning to host a WCHA first-round playoff series at the end of the month.
“It’s hard to win in our league and so to be able to get on the horse so to speak and find our winning ways is big going into the last four games of the regular season,” said Minnesota head coach Brad Frost.
The Gophers honored its four seniors — defender Sydney Baldwin, Piazza, Peters and forward Caitlin Reilly — prior to Minnesota’s 2017-18 home finale.
“I was tearing up even during the national anthem before the game started,” Peters said. “It was a pretty emotional day for me and the other three seniors just because we love this team so much.”
Senior forward Cara Piazza scored the game’s opening goal and senior goaltender Sidney Peters made 32 saves in a 2-0 shutout win. Combined with an Ohio State loss, Saturday’s win moved Minnesota (19-8-2, 12-6-2-0 WCHA) up to second place in the WCHA.
The much-needed two-game sweep comes a week after the Gophers were swept by the Buckeyes in Columbus. Minnesota plays its final four regular-season games on the road against St. Cloud State and Wisconsin before likely returning to host a WCHA first-round playoff series at the end of the month.
“It’s hard to win in our league and so to be able to get on the horse so to speak and find our winning ways is big going into the last four games of the regular season,” said Minnesota head coach Brad Frost.
The Gophers honored its four seniors — defender Sydney Baldwin, Piazza, Peters and forward Caitlin Reilly — prior to Minnesota’s 2017-18 home finale.
“I was tearing up even during the national anthem before the game started,” Peters said. “It was a pretty emotional day for me and the other three seniors just because we love this team so much.”
Click here to read the rest!
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Feature: Shorthanded Gopher women keep learning lessons as No. 1 Wisconsin looms (The Athletic)
Returning home to Ridder Arena from a difficult four-game road trip, Minnesota enters the end of October a different team than the one that began the month.
The Gophers face top-ranked Wisconsin Saturday and Sunday on the heels of a four-game winning streak. Along the way, Minnesota (5-2-1, 4-1-1-0 WCHA) swept two in-state foes in two tough environments. The team won a pair of games at Bemidji State before sweeping Minnesota Duluth last weekend, coming back from a 1-0 deficit Saturday with two third-period goals for a 2-1 victory.
Throughout October, Minnesota has been slowly finding its own identity.
“It’s a process. We’re learning a little bit more about that each game, each day that we practice,” senior defender Sydney Baldwin said. “I think we’re just becoming a really gritty team, just fighting back, keep moving forward and getting better each day and keep playing our hardest.”
Baldwin and Minnesota's lessons in self-discovery began early.
Author's note: I wrote this before the weekend series against Wisconsin. Keep that in mind.
The Gophers face top-ranked Wisconsin Saturday and Sunday on the heels of a four-game winning streak. Along the way, Minnesota (5-2-1, 4-1-1-0 WCHA) swept two in-state foes in two tough environments. The team won a pair of games at Bemidji State before sweeping Minnesota Duluth last weekend, coming back from a 1-0 deficit Saturday with two third-period goals for a 2-1 victory.
Throughout October, Minnesota has been slowly finding its own identity.
“It’s a process. We’re learning a little bit more about that each game, each day that we practice,” senior defender Sydney Baldwin said. “I think we’re just becoming a really gritty team, just fighting back, keep moving forward and getting better each day and keep playing our hardest.”
Baldwin and Minnesota's lessons in self-discovery began early.
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Author's note: I wrote this before the weekend series against Wisconsin. Keep that in mind.
Game Story: Minnesota Women's Hockey Swept by Wisconsin in Overtime Loss (Zone Coverage)
MINNEAPOLIS- Sidney Peters said it happened both pretty quickly and frustratingly slow.
In an instant, the Gopher goaltender saw Wisconsin’s Baylee Wellhausen celebrate a goal and Sunday’s game all in one. The Badger senior forward scored 1:32 into overtime to hand Minnesota a 2-1 loss at Ridder Arena.
“She shot it and I kind of got a piece of [the puck] with my blocker,” Peters said of the overtime goal. “It bounced a few times, bouncing off my shoulder and into the net. It’s a frustrating way to get scored on because I watched it in slow motion.”
A moment earlier, the Gophers (5-4-1, 4-3-1-0 WCHA) nearly won the game when Nicole Schammel’s point-blank shot was saved by Wisconsin goaltender Kristen Campbell. It proved to be the difference in an intense and sometimes chippy Border Battle rivalry.
While Minnesota got off to a better start Sunday, holding the Badgers off the scoresheet in the first period, the end result was the same. The home team played with undefeated and top-ranked Wisconsin (12-0-0, 6-0-0-0 WCHA) for much of the game, but could not get a go-ahead goal.
In an instant, the Gopher goaltender saw Wisconsin’s Baylee Wellhausen celebrate a goal and Sunday’s game all in one. The Badger senior forward scored 1:32 into overtime to hand Minnesota a 2-1 loss at Ridder Arena.
“She shot it and I kind of got a piece of [the puck] with my blocker,” Peters said of the overtime goal. “It bounced a few times, bouncing off my shoulder and into the net. It’s a frustrating way to get scored on because I watched it in slow motion.”
A moment earlier, the Gophers (5-4-1, 4-3-1-0 WCHA) nearly won the game when Nicole Schammel’s point-blank shot was saved by Wisconsin goaltender Kristen Campbell. It proved to be the difference in an intense and sometimes chippy Border Battle rivalry.
While Minnesota got off to a better start Sunday, holding the Badgers off the scoresheet in the first period, the end result was the same. The home team played with undefeated and top-ranked Wisconsin (12-0-0, 6-0-0-0 WCHA) for much of the game, but could not get a go-ahead goal.
Click here to read the rest!
Monday, February 27, 2017
Radio: WCCO Radio on Sports Sunday with Steve Thomson (February 26, 2017)
Once again I was on WCCO Radio with Steve Thomson for what is becoming a weekly segment during the hockey season on The Good Neighbor.
Calling in prior to covering Minnesota's Game 3 with Bemidji State,
topics include the Gopher women losing Saturday and how it affects the team's NCAA bid, goaltending, the differences between this year's team and the past two national championships, the Minnesota men splitting with Wisconsin, why it puts the Gophers in the driver's seat for the Big Ten championship, Vinni Lettieri and Minnesota's forward depth, and the play of Eric Schierhorn of late.
I also plug this site at the end. If anyone found their way here from that, congrats!
Direct: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/audio/steve-thomson-and-eric-nelson/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/steve-thomson-and-eric-nelson/id403228796?mt=2
My segment begins at the 18:30 mark of the 3 pm hour on Sunday February 26th.
Calling in prior to covering Minnesota's Game 3 with Bemidji State,
topics include the Gopher women losing Saturday and how it affects the team's NCAA bid, goaltending, the differences between this year's team and the past two national championships, the Minnesota men splitting with Wisconsin, why it puts the Gophers in the driver's seat for the Big Ten championship, Vinni Lettieri and Minnesota's forward depth, and the play of Eric Schierhorn of late.
I also plug this site at the end. If anyone found their way here from that, congrats!
Direct: http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/audio/steve-thomson-and-eric-nelson/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/steve-thomson-and-eric-nelson/id403228796?mt=2
My segment begins at the 18:30 mark of the 3 pm hour on Sunday February 26th.
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