Minnesota will have all the more reason to call itself the State of Hockey when the St. Thomas hockey teams begin Division I play this fall, joining an already crowded field of Minnesota schools.

The men join the revived Central Collegiate Hockey Association consisting of Bemidji State and Minnesota State-Mankato, along with five schools in Michigan and Ohio. The women join the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, the home of all six of Minnesota’s DI women’s hockey teams along with Wisconsin and Ohio State.

The CCHA existed from 1971 through 2013, when it was discontinued. One member of the former CCHA was Miami University of Ohio, which was coached by Rico Blasi from 1999 to 2019.

While the RedHawks did not return to the CCHA, Blasi did by becoming the Tommies’ inaugural Division I men’s hockey coach. He will fill the big shoes of former coach Jeff Boeser, who was involved as a player and coach at St. Thomas for nearly 40 years.

“Our values and the things that we believe in as a university are going to always remain a big part of our program,” Blasi said.

A number of former players have not remained. But several, including sophomore forward Logan Ommen, managed to make the cut in the transition to DI.

“I came here knowing I didn’t have a guaranteed spot,” Ommen said. “My goal was to make that team, and it’s a great school either way, so even if it didn’t work out, it’d be OK.”

The WCHA, now a women’s-only conference, started in 1951 as a men’s league. Women’s competition was added in 1999, and seven of the 10 programs that comprised the men’s WCHA left this past season to join the CCHA, disbanding the men’s conference.

Joel Johnson, who spent 11 seasons as an associate head coach for the University of Minnesota women’s team, went across town to become the Tommies’ head coach after it was announced that former coach Tom Palkowski would not return.

“It’s just such a perfect fit, and I think that’s why so many people choose St. Thomas,” Johnson said.

Senior forward Anna Erickson said she feels good about the transition to DI.

“There’s been some bumps in the road with all the new equipment, new gear and a whole new coaching staff,” Erickson said. “But it’s the same, just getting into the rink every day and working hard.”

Not only is Johnson coaching at St. Thomas; he’s also coaching the U.S. Olympic team in 2022.

“It’s going to be a unique year,” Johnson said. “We’re going to have a staff, myself included, that’s going to be committed to making sure St. Thomas has an unbelievable experience.”

Both teams agree on one thing: Division I is more work than Division III.

“Obviously it’s nerve-wracking and kind of crazy,” Erickson said. “We’ll be going up against some of the best players in the country.”

“You have to put in a little bit more time on and off the ice to excel and be at the level that you want to be to compete,” Ommen said. “I’m not going to say DIII was easy, but it was definitely a little more relaxed.”

The women were set to begin their season Sept. 24 at Ohio State University, and the men were slated to start about a week later, Oct. 2 at St. Cloud State University.

Justin Amaker can be reached at justin.amaker@stthomas.edu.
Olivia Paradise contributed to this report.