Upper Midwest High School Elite League

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Girls Elite League hits the ice

By Melissa Zeleny

This weekend marks the inaugural season of the Girls Upper Midwest High School Elite League. Modeled after the boys’ version, this fall developmental league allows the top female hockey players in the upper Midwest to compete with players of similar ability. The schedule allows multi-sport athletes, not only to continue their fall sport, but also to gain additional ice time playing against other top players in the state.

The Minnesota Whitecaps professional hockey team is a league partner. In an exciting and unprecedented move, Whitecaps players will not only coach the teams, but will skate weekly practices in full equipment in an effort to push the girls to a pace beyond their comfort zone. Bauer Sports, Minnesota Hockey and the Minnesota Girls High School Coaches Association have also partnered up to help launch this exciting new endeavor.

“This league supports our mission of community-based hockey, while providing elite-level girls in the state the same opportunities that the boys have,” said Mike MacMillan Advanced Committee Chair, Minnesota Hockey/USA Hockey MN District Coach in Chief.

The 2008 league is comprised of four teams: three UMHSEL teams and Shattuck-St. Mary’s top team. Each team will have a total of 18 skaters and two goalies on the roster. The league will run four consecutive weekends from Oct. 4-26, with each team playing three games per weekend. On the fifth weekend (Oct. 31-Nov. 2), the league will send one all-star team to compete in the UMHSEL Bauer NIT tournament hosted at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School.

Another brainchild of Elite League Commissioner John Russo, the girls’ league is headed up by assistant commissioner Eric Johnson and administrator Winny Brodt Brown, both well- known names to Minnesota hockey buffs.

Eric grew up playing hockey in the Armstrong program and was an All-State forward and draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks in his senior year of high school. He attended St. Cloud State University on a full athletic scholarship and was a captain on the first SCSU team to reach the WCHA Final Five tournament (1994). Following SCSU, Eric played professional hockey for one season in the East Coast Hockey League for Louisville, Ky. For the past seven years Eric has coached PeeWee, Bantam and High School teams in Minnesota. He currently coaches the Minnetonka Girls’ Varsity team.

Last year, Eric was the head coach for Team Southeast in the men’s league after cutting his teeth for a few seasons as an assistant under former Gopher Jim Hillman. He is excited to work with the girls’ league. Eric and his wife live in St. Louis Park with their two boys who Eric promises will be on skates soon.

A 1996 graduate of Roseville Area High, Winny Brodt was one of the first big names in women’s hockey, leading Roseville to an undefeated season and the state title in 1996 while earning the inaugural Ms. Hockey award. After a stint in the juniors, Brodt headed east to New Hampshire, where she earned most valuable player honors at the 1998 AWCHA Championship while also leading the New Hampshire Wildcats to the National Championship title. As a Wildcat, Brodt tallied 11 goals and 34 points in 39 games in 1997-98, including a goal and an assist in three games versus the Gophers. Brodt then transferred from New Hampshire following the 1997-98 season.

Brodt returned to the land of maroon and gold and joined the Gopher hockey team where she was a member of the 2000 National Championship team, WCHA Defensive Player of the Year and a Top Ten finalist for Patty Kazmaier in 2000. An offensive defenseman, Brodt finished her Gopher career leading the blueliners in points by a defenseman (134), goals by a defenseman (41) and assists by a defenseman (93).

As a member of the 2000 national championship team, Brodt was named to AWCHA All-Tournament Team as the Gopher women’s hockey team won their first-ever national championship and the first championship by a women’s team. Following the national championship, Brodt left the U of M program to join the U.S. National Team. She returned for her final year of competition in 2002-03 where she was an assistant captain.

Over the years, parents Jack and Marelene Brodt racked up the frequent flyer miles as Winny played on 1995 and 1996 U.S. Junior National teams and participated at the 1998, 1999 and 2000 USA Hockey Women’s Festival. Brodt played with the national under-22 team in 1999 as well. Most recently, Brodt played for the National Team in the 2006 Four Nations Tournament.

Not ready to take off her skates, Brodt has been staying busy playing for the Whitecaps alongside sister Chelsea, another former Golden Gopher. The Whitecaps are a professional women’s hockey team that plays in the Western Women’s Hockey League (WWHL), consisting of past Division I players as well as current and past U.S. National team players from across the world. The Whitecaps are currently the only team in the WWHL located in the U.S., with the remainder of the teams located north of the border in Canada.

Currently a team captain and WWHL Defensive Player of the Year in 2007, Brodt enjoys her time with the team, explaining, “What is unique about the Whitecaps is that we all come from different teams that played each other over the years, and it is fun to talk about past games and experiences. Having played with some of the girls from the Gophers it is fun to talk about the good old days.”

True to her roots, Winny and husband Justin Brown live in Roseville. When not suited up, Winny works for Proguard Sports as an internal sales rep. She recently started her own hockey company Os (Overspeed) Hockey (oshockey.org).

With such an illustrious career, it was a no-brainer for Commissioner John Russo to approach Brodt to help with the new league. Brodt was quick to accept the offer, explaining, “I decided to help coach in the Elite League because I think it is a great opportunity to help the best female hockey players in the state reach their full potential as a player and be pushed along the way. I want to help all these athletes get the exposure they deserve to reach their goals of playing college hockey and beyond if that’s what they choose”.

The main goal of the Elite League is to create the highest level of competition for the best female hockey players in the state of Minnesota and Brodt promises some excellent play from the West Metro Team, pointing to two of the top rated senior forwards in the state – Blake’s Sally Komarek and Becky Kortum from Hopkins who has committed to the University of Minnesota for next season.

Brodt adds that the East Metro Team is going to have steady defensive play on the blue line with Holy Angels Kelsey Romatoski and Lisa Martinson of St. Louis Park. Also up front on this team and worth keeping an eye on will be senior goal scorer Callie Dahl, a Stillwater senior committed to St. Cloud State.

Not to be outdone, the Outstate Team, led by Andover forward Alex Nelson, a senior committed to St. Cloud State, Jessica Christofferson, a forward from Bemidji committed to Mercyhurst and Cloquet’s Sadie Lundquist, a forward heading to Bemidji State next year promise to keep the action exciting.

Coaches this season include Winny Brodt Brown leading the East Metro Team, assisted by Jenny Potter and Allison Sanchez; Brooke White Lancette heading up rival West Metro, assisted by Allison Lehrke and Chris Peterson; and Maureen Hardwick with assistants Sanya Sandahl and Caesare Stimson heading up the Outstate Team. Shattuck-St. Mary’s will also participate in the league and Brodt speculates that they will be the team to beat.

With a Whitecaps-heavy coaching staff, Brodt hints, “There will be a friendly rivalry amongst the coaches because we are all competitive and play together, but in the end we all want to see close competitive hockey games no matter who wins.”

With a high level of coaches AND players, this is a league not to be missed.

All games are open to the public. Admission is $5 for adults age 19 & up, and free for 18 and under. For more information and league updates, visit us online at www.girlselitehockey.com.

Melisa Zeleny is a freelance writer who has written for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, MnSportspage Weekly and the Winter Park Manifest. She can be reached at Quack1029@comcast.net.