April 30, 2025 • 33 mins
The offseason series of PodKaz interview episodes begins with a discussion with Wisconsin-River Falls coach Joe Cranston. It took Cranston 25 seasons to win a Division III NCAA championship with the Falcons, but his team did it in style in 2023-24 with a 31-0 record. They went back to back in 2025, with both championship victories coming at home.
Cranston discusses his journey as a coach, his influences and how he has recruited and developed national player of the year-level talent.
The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.
Cranston discusses his journey as a coach, his influences and how he has recruited and developed national player of the year-level talent.
The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Usc cho dot com. I have one. Welcome to an
off season edition of the podcast. Todd Bluski here along
with Nicole Hosey. We hope you're enjoying your off season
as it gets going here into the warmer months. Plenty
(00:25):
of nice things to do outside instead of being inside
a ice rink hopefully for most of the time like
we do in the winter. We're here because Nicole had
some great ideas for some off season interviews, and Nicole,
do you want to talk about what you were thinking
in terms of just what we could do with some
(00:46):
extra time when we're not talking about games necessarily, but
we have some some more time to just get into
some topics.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I guess yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
This is the kind of stuff that we have on
our like running ideal list, right, and that the stuff
that we would to do a little deeper dive on.
And usually that's harder to do during this season, both
for our timing and also for the people we want
to talk to. They're all really busy. So I thought,
now we will do a little bit of this. Of
this we'll spread it out through the off season, but
(01:15):
just trying to get in touch with some people and
talk about some topics that we just don't get a
chance to talk about when we're you know, in the
middle of the season and discussing, you know, the minutia
of individual games. So our first interview here is with
the UW River Falls D three women's hockey coach, Shoe Cranston.
River Falls Falcons won their second national championship. They're back
(01:35):
to back national champions and Joe has just this incredible
resume right twenty six seasons there. He's a grad of UW.
River Falls. He's won five hundred and eighteen career wins,
which are the third most in women's D three coaching
history and seventh months seventh most among all women's coaches
D one or D three. They were undefeated for last
(01:55):
season for their first title, and lost just three games
this year. They've made a tournament fourteen the last fifteen years,
he's had forty four All Americans four National Players of
the Year, including three of the last five for twenty
twenty two, twenty twenty four, twenty twenty five. So just
this really incredible program. We don't get to talk about
D three enough. We'd love to do some more, and
(02:17):
I think just kind of helping people to see that
like there's even more women's college hockey out there. We
talk a little bit with Joe about the difference about
how things have grown, and so, uh, yeah, we're going
to have We're we've scheduled a few interviews already, you know,
trying to deep dive into some things that we just
don't get the opportunity to talk about throughout the rest
of the season.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Yeah, so no real schedule set yet of when you'll
be getting episodes from us, So make sure you're subscribing
to our feed and on wherever you get podcasts to
get the latest episodes delivered to you, or keep checking
back at usccho dot com if you like to do
that too, we'd appreciate that as well. But yeah, these
(02:58):
are going to be just kind of free four, a
little bit kind of big picture, a little bit minutia,
a little bit of everything to to talk about some
some areas that we don't normally get to and and
you're gonna get a lot of that from this interview
with Joe Cranston about his his history, his background, recruiting
(03:19):
kind of players he wants to bring into River Falls,
and some of what happened in the last two years
to bring the Falcons National Championships. So, without further ado,
we hope you enjoy this interview with Joe Kranston. I
(03:43):
wonder what the second championship offseason feels like after the
first one. Do you know how to you know a
little bit more about how to celebrate the second one
after the first one?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Well, they're both very similar. You know, it's just most
hard to get your head around it because you know,
last year was our first one ever, so then you're
just trying to take that in and it's it's you know,
the fact that we were undefeated. You know last year,
it was pretty it was hard to get your head
around it, and it just seemed like about the time
(04:17):
you get your head around it, and all of a sudden,
we're two time defending national champs, and you know, it
hasn't been that long. It hasn't even been a month yet,
So it's it's still it's kind of hard to believe,
but definitely it's sinking in and definitely a lot proud
of proud of a lot of my assistant coaches and
my players on my team.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Is there a point when you're going through the undefeated
season that you're like, I kind of wish we'd just
like get the loss over with, like get over that,
because when it starts to loom large as the season
gets gets further along.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yeah, last year that was a big deal and you
almost hope it happens. But with us and the fact
that we don't have an AQ and our conference and
really all our path forward in the NCAA Tournament is
one hundred percent dependent on you know, last year the
pair wise this year the NPI, so you don't you
(05:14):
really need to kind of keep winning. But yeah, last
year was really hard to make keep that from being
a distraction. But then you know, this year we had
a we had a couple ties and then ended up
going about a year and a half without a loss.
But it was nice to finally have one and then
you don't have to deal with that.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
How did your team react to that first loss in
a year and a half and were you were you,
I guess expecting something and did it match what you
expected out of just how they you know, pulled back
from that and decide that, okay, we're better than that
and move forward with it.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Yeah. We actually we went out to Adrian and played
two games out there, and you know, it's about a
tenel an hour bus trip, and I was telling the team,
you know, we used to be in the same conference
with them, so we went out there a lot. We've
been a long time. Nobody on this team had ever
been out there, and I was telling them, I don't
(06:13):
know if we've ever gone out there and swept. We've
gone out and I think had a win and a
tie a few times, but it's a really tough place
to go out and win two. And we went out
and won the first game, and then the second game
we lost three to one with an empty netter, but
we played really well and it was just one of
those games. We had one nothing the whole game, and
we got a penalty late in the third and they
(06:34):
scored kind of a soft power play goal and then
and I don't know, then they got another one and
then an empty netter. But you know, I think we
played okay, but I think the team handled it. You know,
it was just a matter of time, you know. I
kept telling them, somebody is going to beat you guys.
I was telling them that a year ago, and it
never happened. I said, you know, I guess I was
(06:56):
wrong about that, but but yeah, if somebody finally did,
and then we ended up losing two in a row,
and that was probably right in the middle of the year.
We lost to Adrian and then Gas Davis, and I
think it was a really good thing for us to
really reset and refocus and okay, let's turn the page
from last year. We got to figure out what to
do to get better. And then that was really a
(07:18):
big turning point for us.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Yeah, sometimes knowing how to react in those situations and
how your team can come back and sort of all
the lessons that learn that they learned from that hardship
is the sort of thing that you can build on.
I mean, in that National Championship game you all, or
in the Frozen for you all, I had to come
from behind a bit and stuff. So learning those lessons
is really important.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Yeah, and both years we had to come from behind
in the Frozen four and then you know, just it's
just yeah, it's just there's there's something to be said
for it. But I think usually a loss is a
good thing as long as you don't have too many
of them. So, I mean, I just kept thinking last year,
(08:02):
you know, we're going to lose, and we never did.
So I think this year it helped that we had
three three losses. I think it really helped us to
just refocus and get a grip on where we are
and understand where we need to be and all those
kinds of things. But it was really good for us.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Joe Cranston just finished his twenty sixth season as Wisconsin
River Falls head coach. When you started the program in
nineteen ninety nine, did you imagine that being the case
twenty six seasons and plus and on you go? Or
I guess what were the when you look back that far?
What were the goals of getting that program off the
(08:40):
ground and seeing where it went?
Speaker 2 (08:43):
You know, when I first started, and yeah, it's a
long time ago, and I basically inherited the club team
and and you know, I remember telling those those players,
you know, it's going to be really hard to make
the team year too. And I think only three players
made the team year too. So it was a big
turnaround to bring in our first recruiting class, you know.
And that's when I said, you know, my goals to
(09:06):
get to the NCAA tournament and you know, to a
championship or a frozen four, and and we did three
years later, So we made it there in two thousand
and three, you know, and then that's kind of when
I really started to you know kind of you know,
make have goals, not really goals, I don't like the
(09:26):
word goals, but just you know, where we want to
be as a program. And it's been a long time coming,
you know, to win a couple of national championships. But
it was always my vision to be that good. But
but you know, like when I walk out into Hunt Arena,
this the last two championship games in our barn, you know,
(09:49):
and it sold out. And you know, it was a
couple of times when certain allotment of tickets weren't always
they didn't sell, like in Amherst or you know, or
Middle and so all of a sudden they would become
two hundred and fifty tickets would become available, and they
would say they're going to go on sale at one o'clock.
Well at one o four, they were all sold. You know.
(10:11):
So like those are the types of things, and just
a community support and our students support and have a
rink just jam packed with people. You know, never in
my wildest dreams, what I ever thought that that is
what would be going on, you know, in Hunt Arena
twenty six years later. I could have never foreseen that,
(10:33):
and you know, it wasn't something I signed up for,
but it sure is it sure is great that that
has happened. Great for our student athletes.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
I was actually going to ask about that because with
the new D three format like it, it could happen
that you would host too. You know that you would
be able to be at home two years in a row.
But for those aren't super familiar, they're going to have
one of the teams that's in the Frozen four hosts
every other year and have a predetermined site on the
opposite year. So the fact that you got to host
(11:05):
and be at home and play both those tournaments in
your barn to win the title, that might be something
we don't see ever again, or if not, it will
be I think much more unlikely.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Right, you know, you know everybody who's already talking about
a three peat with us since since next year it's
a non predetermined site and it goes to the number
one team in the country, and so you know, in theory,
that could be us, But I just kind of laughed
that off. That's the chances of that are pretty unlikely,
but it's still we could actually host it again next year,
(11:40):
so that'd be three years. It would be pretty unreal.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
I wonder if this has come up in some different
circles of you know, how you can grow the game
and things like that. Would you ever be interested, as
a Division three head coach of having the Division three
Championship in the Division one or the National Collegiate Championship,
however you want to phrase it, in the same location
the same weekend, Or is that the better off having
(12:06):
two different sites and two different kind of feelings for
those two tournaments.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Yeah, you know, I've heard that before, and there's always
some talk about that, and you know, people talk about
having them at the same time, but personally, I like
them separately. I think it's it's just you know, you
look at like this year, the Frozen four was over
at Ritter and they sold it out, and you know,
(12:34):
it was here and we sold it out, And that's
pretty neat to have it in two different places. I mean,
we're only not even an hour apart, but I like
them to be separate. You know, they've also talked about
having the women's and men's both D three ones, you know,
in Lake Placid or somewhere at the same time, and
I'm just not a big I'm not a strong proponent
(12:56):
of that. I like to have them separate and and
just to you know, get the attention just on the
D three women's or the D three men's or the
D one women's and I like them, I'll separate it out.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
What do you think have been the biggest changes in
Division three women's hockey over this last twenty six seasons?
I mean when you look back.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
At what.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
You know, whether it's talking about that championship weekend or
you know, just just the competitive nature of the way
things are across the country and larger numbers of teams,
what are the big things that stand out to you?
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Well, I think the biggest thing is just like probably
in every sport, but in hockey, it just the skill
level is so much higher, and it's it's maybe it's
plateaued a little bit over the last few years here,
but you know, after twenty six years here, just a
few years ago, it was still getting better every single year.
(13:58):
And you know, there's a lot more parody at the
D three level. You know, you used to see like,
you know, our conference is so small, you know, it's
it's us in Auclaire. Usually the you know, we've been
in the championship for our conference, I don't even know,
over a decade, probably in the championship game. But when
(14:21):
you look at the Mayak right across the river with
ten different teams, and it was always you know, Gastavis
and then say when Saint Thomas left, it was that
was it. I mean, Gastavis ruled that league for so long.
And then you look this year and and Augsburg came
in and won the regular season and the postseason tournament,
(14:42):
and there's really you know, Saint Mary's had a really
good team, and and there was a lot more parody
and a lot more not just one or two teams.
So just the depth of I think of the D
three game, especially in the West, has gotten a lot better.
There wasn't even a D three team that won a
national championship up until three years ago, and right now
(15:02):
it's been three in a row have been in the West.
So for me, the biggest thing by far is just
the skill level continues to rise, and then the just
a depth you know, used to be you know, you'd
have a line and a half and now you know,
we we roll four lines, seventy most of the year,
and so I think there's a lot of depth and
(15:23):
parody makes it a lot better game.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
I once had a D three coach tell me that, like,
one of the things they really loved about it was
the idea that it's just like a little more content,
Like you sleep in your bed most dights, Like you're
not having to get on a plane and fly across
the country for the most part, things like that, And
so that was what appealed to them, and they thought
appealed to players of the D three game. And I
just I think a lot of our listeners maybe aren't
(15:50):
super familiar with D three, So like, could you maybe
tell us what you love about D three and sort
of like comparing D one versus D three.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Yeah, I think you know that's there's a lot of
truth to that. And I just think, you know, I
never had a lot of interest in playing Division. Ie.
It just wasn't I was brought up in northern Minnesota,
and you know, it was always play for today, not
for tomorrow. And as we all know, the culture today
has changed significantly, and and so you know, I never
(16:21):
really had that. I mean, I had opportunities to play
D one. I had opportunities to coach D one. And
the thing that I like about D three is, you know,
I don't know if I always say student first, I
just doesn't matter what's first or second. You need to
balance them. And you know, like when I recruit a girl,
they come here. They there's no scholarships D three, so
(16:45):
they're coming here to play hockey, get an education. You know,
we don't really we don't own them. We're not giving
them money. So they have a tendency to have a
little more freedom and do you know, have a life
beyond hockey, and it's one of them. You're sleeping in
your own bed, and you're you know, you're not flying
out Ohio two days before the game, and you know,
(17:07):
doing those things and a lot of that's fun and
it's great for some people. You know, whenever I'm comparing
D one and D three, I never want to sound
like there's anything wrong with D one, but it's it's
it's not for everybody. And the D three thing is
a great option. And you know, there's a lot of
really good D three hockey, and it's it just keeps
(17:30):
getting better.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
You mentioned growing up in Minnesota and you're a River
Falls graduate, Falls. Who who are some of your I
guess when you look back at it now, you're some
of your coaching influences or mentors that that shaped who
you are and who you've been as a coach for
for twenty six seasons at UW.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
River Falls. Well, by far, the biggest influence was my dad.
He was a thirty year hockey coach. He actually started
girls hockey in northern Minnesota in the seventies, so he
started girls hockey in Minnesota long before the Minnesota High
School League did twenty years. So me growing up in
the seventies and eighties, my sisters both played and we
(18:16):
had girls hockey. The golfers used to back when they
were club they used to drive all the way up
to Fergus Falls to play our high school team because
they didn't have that many options to play. But so
my dad did that and he coached me, and he
really the whole foundation for everything I believe in as
a coach, so much that I learned from him coaching
(18:39):
me and Peewey's and Vanham's And then when I was
a senior in high school, I had Tim Collin, you
know the Collins from Morehead, Tim Cullen and then I
had Charlie Burggraf, and those two, you know, they're both
legendary coaches. Charlie Burggraf was such a huge impact on
me as a person and U and as a coach.
(19:02):
I wasn't even a coach yet, but I just learned
so much from those guys. They were phenomenal coaches, you know.
And then I went in the us HL. I got
to play for Bob Mottsko for a year, you know,
go for men's coach. And then I played a year
college for Mike Carroll. So I was very fortunate to
have great The last four coaches I had before I
(19:26):
hung up my skates, we're all great coaches. And but
just growing up in Northern Minnesota, just that culture, that
hockey culture is, you know, where you're just taught to
respect your opponents. You're taught to respect the rink and
the other coach and the other the refs and just everything.
(19:47):
And it was just such a neat environment to grow
up in, traveling around up there, you know, playing in
Roso one weekend, and then war Owed and then fee
Forever at East Grant and Midge and I just think
all those things have a huge impact on me, and
still one of the reasons I like to get a
lot of those northern Minnesota kids, the two one eight
ers as I call them, on our team. You know,
(20:10):
we always have quite a few of those being even
though we're in Wisconsin school.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Did you know, like, did you know you wanted to coach?
Did you foresee like Todd said, this sort of nice
long career in one spot?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
H No, not really, I you know, I knew that.
You know, my dad had coached a long time. My
brother is the high school girls hockey coach right in
River Falls too, so and he and I work out
every morning. We talk hockey, and it's that's a unique
thing too, because we both came to school at River
Falls and then never really strayed too far. But no,
(20:46):
it was really never something I would have never thought
when I took this job twenty six years ago that
I would be sitting here as a two time national
championship on a podcast. But it's definitely been you know,
obviously I've been here for twenty six years. I obviously
(21:06):
enjoy it and it's a lot of fun and it's
very rewarding, and you know, people have asked many times,
you know when you ever consider going back you or
coaching on the men's side or I coached boys hockey
for twelve thirteen years and you know that was great,
But I like coaching the women's game. I love D three,
So it's just been a great fit for me and
(21:28):
I've just really enjoyed the ride.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
What would you say, are I guess maybe you're you're
non negotiables as what you want out of a player.
And this is something that I know coaches have their
own philosophies. Is a lot of coaches want to let
players be who they are, but there are some things
that I know, you walk in this door and you
(21:53):
have to you have to be willing to do X,
y Z. What are those things for you and and
your players with the Falcons.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Yeah, and number one is just work ethic. You have
to compete hard. You have to work hard because you know,
I always say you're only as good as how hard
you work, and that's your foundation for everything. If you
don't work hard, nothing positive is going to come out
of this. You know, I think that's just true of life.
So you have to work. But at the same time,
(22:24):
you know, we we don't put any expectations on players,
especially when they get here, it's just work hard, you know,
appreciate everything, respect everything, be a good line mate, be
a good teammate, be coachable, make everybody around you better.
You know, you got to be that kid that everybody
wants on your line. You don't. You just don't want
(22:45):
players that you know are me, me, me, and you know,
the type of kid that others don't want on their line.
You have to be about everybody. It's got to be
about team. You know. Those are all the things that
we preach, and those are those that's what you're asking,
that type of thing, you know. But when it comes
(23:07):
to hockey, specifically x's and o's, it's very important to
me that I don't take their game away from them.
You know, we recruit kids and they'll come in and
they might do a thing or two. I might tweak
here or there. They have to fit into our systems,
but I never want to take their game away from them.
Everybody has ins and outs that makes them special, and
(23:30):
it's my job is to not change that. It might
be tweaked something here or there, or play to their
strengths and play away from their weaknesses, but you just
you got to give them the freedom to play the
game they want to play too.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
This may end up being an overlapping question to that,
but you've had sort of remarkable consistency, right like when
either the regular season or conference tournament title or both
each of the last sixteen years, maybe NT tournament fourteen
of the last fifteen, you've had forty We're all Americans
fourteenth street seasons with at least one All American on
your roster. What do you think contributes to that consistency
(24:09):
and being able to sort of consistently again, you know,
talking about what type of person you recruit again that
it's D three and there are some different things that
you're looking for and you're asking of a student athlete
in terms of not being able to do scholarships and
all that sort of stuff. How do you find that
sweet spot of finding the player that wants to be
at D three but has that work ethic that you
want and leads the consistency you've been able to have.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Yeah, you know, it's funny when we go into a
rink and we talk to the other D three or
i mean the D one coaches. You know, we have
to go in and first of all, you got to
figure out who the D one kids are, and a
lot of them are committed and some of them aren't.
But you have to look and say, oh that kids,
that kid's going to be a D one er. This
kid's going to be close, and you kind of find
those tweeners as we call them. They're just right in between.
(24:55):
You know, a lot of our kids on our team
could play D one. A lot of them had D
one offers, some of them had full rides. We have
a couple of players on our team who turned down
scholarships in the WCHA and many out east, and so
we first of all, you got to find those kids.
You know that to me, there they're just not it's
(25:18):
all not just D one D one. You know the
kids I mean our seniors who just graduate or just
got done playing this year, their record was one hundred
and eight wins, nine losses and four ties. So that's fun.
So you know, true, you know that's a crazy number.
(25:42):
Even you look at our sophomores right now, they've won,
they've won both national championships and they're fifty three fifty four,
three and two. So you know, I think that's a
big part of it. You know, those kids want to
come here, win and have fun. But again, we don't
put a lot of expectations on him. Just come in
(26:04):
here and work hard, be a good kid. And you know,
Jim Walsh is my assistant coach, and he does all
the recruiting and he really gets to know the kids.
He gets to know the moms, the dads, the grandmas
and grandpa's and boyfriends and aunts and I mean, he
really does his homework and we really get kids that
(26:27):
fit with what we want. And they're really good kids.
But you know, like whatever you just said, how many
all Americans we had, you know, it's you know, I
don't know we've had. I think we had nine this
year and last year, which is you know, over a
third of all of them in the West. But to
have those kinds of results, I just think it's just
(26:49):
great kids.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
I wonder what I guess if I bestowed upon you
the fictional title of commissioner of college hockey, what would
be your one of your first things you would do
to improve the game, be it on the ice or
off the ice on your first day as commissioner.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Boy, I'm not sure because I don't get that involved
in that kind of thing, but you know, it was
really nice this past year that the NCAA put a
lot more emphasis on bracket integrity at the D three
level and you know, made it possible for a team
to fly out, you know, in the before the Frozen four,
(27:37):
you know, And to me, that's been by far the
most frustrating part of coaching D three was that that
we just never ever got a fair shake, and it
made for such it was always such a bad taste
in your mouth, and especially in the West. I just
(27:58):
I don't we've we've never got fair shakes. And you know,
like I said, we'd only won it the last three
years in the West. Every other year it was one
out East, and there are great teams out here. It's
just almost impossible to run the gauntlet the way the
cards were stacked against you. So as a commissioner, I
(28:18):
don't know if you would have that power. But looking
at the thing that has frustrated me the most over
the years, that has been it by far, this was
the first year where there was actually some integrity in
the in the bracket. It made sense. You know, they
flew a team to us first time ever, and you know,
that's that's that's the biggest thing, and just you know,
(28:43):
I'm always just the respect thing is just huge with me.
I just you know what it's like when you play
teams that aren't respectful and they don't play the game
the right way, and I just think there can always
be steps to make that better as well.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
I wanted to ask you, maybe a little jokingly, if
you sent a little thank you note over to Saint
Norbert when they took a Stavis out early for you guys,
they gave you a little bit of trouble this year,
and that was that was a crazy game that Saint
Norbert won. I think the shots were like forty six
to thirteen. Saint Norbert had the thirteen, but that was
a big upset early in the tournament. And definitely I
think you know that that would have been a big
(29:26):
game for you guys, knowing how it had gone against
Gus Davis.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Yeah, because those are always you know, whenever we play
Gas Stavis in the NCAA tournament, it's a bounce here,
it's a bounce there, and you know, it's a penalty here,
power play here, whatever, but it always comes down to
one bounce or one call or one little thing. So yeah,
we were very very happy to see that, you know,
(29:53):
as much as I like the Stavis and respect them
and you know, friends with the Carol brothers coaching there.
And yeah, I'm glad I didn't have to play this year,
you know, And who knows if we would have either,
because they still would have had to beat Osburgh, you know,
who have beaten them earlier too, so but but that
(30:13):
was great for great for Saint Norbert's. And again it's
just again it's like what I referred to early is
just more parody, you know, more teams that are competitive now.
And we actually have Saint Norbert's on our schedule. They're
coming here next year for one, and then we're going
there the following year for two. And and we haven't
played them probably since we left the NCHA, which was
(30:38):
like ten years ago, so that'll be fun to play
them again.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Yeah. My last question for you, Joe is I don't
know if you've had any of your former players turned
into coaching in these last few years or recently, but
if you do have coach former players that have become coaches,
what would you feel the proudest of that if they
(31:01):
take it from you as part of it to make
it part of their coaching style.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Well, Number one, make sure it's fun. He was coaching
at any level, whether it's D one or D three
or high school or youth or whatever. It has to
be fun, you know, or you know why do it? So,
you know, like I said earlier, you know, play play
for today, not tomorrow. It's not about where you're going
(31:29):
to be. It's where you are right now. And then
and you know, and then again like I'd mentioned my dad,
and it was always about the life lessons. You know,
I just think especially for young women, I just think
it's so great just the work ethic, the time, the time,
the commitment, the dedication, teamwork, respect, appreciation, all those life
(31:54):
lessons that I just think are so great. And you know,
we really push a lot of that. And and you know,
if that comes out with my players when they go
on to coach, that's great. You know. My my Jim
Walsh and I walked into a into the super rank
I think not this last winter, but the winner before.
(32:17):
And you know, they had the big holiday tournament over there,
and I think we had eight former players coaching just
in that tournament in Minnesota, you know, and we had
some other ones in Wisconsin and coach. A lot of
them coach in high school, and so yeah, that's that's
really awesome. That's what it's all about. It's all about
(32:38):
giving more than you take. So anytime you can have
those kids, you know, they grow up and they go
out and they're given to the game and they're given
other people, it's just it's what it's all about. Hockey
is a great sport, but it's an avenue to teach
life lessons and just so yeah, I'm really proud of
those girls when they go on and do that.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
I think we should leave it right there. That's really great.
Thank you so much for making time for a show.
We really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
Well, thank you. I appreciate coming on here and it's
been fun.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
Congratulations again first back to back championships in the West
and we'll be looking forward to seeing what you guys
do next season.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
Great. Thank you very much, you guys,
Usc cho dot com. I have one. Welcome to an
off season edition of the podcast. Todd Bluski here along
with Nicole Hosey. We hope you're enjoying your off season
as it gets going here into the warmer months. Plenty
(00:25):
of nice things to do outside instead of being inside
a ice rink hopefully for most of the time like
we do in the winter. We're here because Nicole had
some great ideas for some off season interviews, and Nicole,
do you want to talk about what you were thinking
in terms of just what we could do with some
(00:46):
extra time when we're not talking about games necessarily, but
we have some some more time to just get into
some topics.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
I guess yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
This is the kind of stuff that we have on
our like running ideal list, right, and that the stuff
that we would to do a little deeper dive on.
And usually that's harder to do during this season, both
for our timing and also for the people we want
to talk to. They're all really busy. So I thought,
now we will do a little bit of this. Of
this we'll spread it out through the off season, but
(01:15):
just trying to get in touch with some people and
talk about some topics that we just don't get a
chance to talk about when we're you know, in the
middle of the season and discussing, you know, the minutia
of individual games. So our first interview here is with
the UW River Falls D three women's hockey coach, Shoe Cranston.
River Falls Falcons won their second national championship. They're back
(01:35):
to back national champions and Joe has just this incredible
resume right twenty six seasons there. He's a grad of UW.
River Falls. He's won five hundred and eighteen career wins,
which are the third most in women's D three coaching
history and seventh months seventh most among all women's coaches
D one or D three. They were undefeated for last
(01:55):
season for their first title, and lost just three games
this year. They've made a tournament fourteen the last fifteen years,
he's had forty four All Americans four National Players of
the Year, including three of the last five for twenty
twenty two, twenty twenty four, twenty twenty five. So just
this really incredible program. We don't get to talk about
D three enough. We'd love to do some more, and
(02:17):
I think just kind of helping people to see that
like there's even more women's college hockey out there. We
talk a little bit with Joe about the difference about
how things have grown, and so, uh, yeah, we're going
to have We're we've scheduled a few interviews already, you know,
trying to deep dive into some things that we just
don't get the opportunity to talk about throughout the rest
of the season.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Yeah, so no real schedule set yet of when you'll
be getting episodes from us, So make sure you're subscribing
to our feed and on wherever you get podcasts to
get the latest episodes delivered to you, or keep checking
back at usccho dot com if you like to do
that too, we'd appreciate that as well. But yeah, these
(02:58):
are going to be just kind of free four, a
little bit kind of big picture, a little bit minutia,
a little bit of everything to to talk about some
some areas that we don't normally get to and and
you're gonna get a lot of that from this interview
with Joe Cranston about his his history, his background, recruiting
(03:19):
kind of players he wants to bring into River Falls,
and some of what happened in the last two years
to bring the Falcons National Championships. So, without further ado,
we hope you enjoy this interview with Joe Kranston. I
(03:43):
wonder what the second championship offseason feels like after the
first one. Do you know how to you know a
little bit more about how to celebrate the second one
after the first one?
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Well, they're both very similar. You know, it's just most
hard to get your head around it because you know,
last year was our first one ever, so then you're
just trying to take that in and it's it's you know,
the fact that we were undefeated. You know last year,
it was pretty it was hard to get your head
around it, and it just seemed like about the time
(04:17):
you get your head around it, and all of a sudden,
we're two time defending national champs, and you know, it
hasn't been that long. It hasn't even been a month yet,
So it's it's still it's kind of hard to believe,
but definitely it's sinking in and definitely a lot proud
of proud of a lot of my assistant coaches and
my players on my team.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Is there a point when you're going through the undefeated
season that you're like, I kind of wish we'd just
like get the loss over with, like get over that,
because when it starts to loom large as the season
gets gets further along.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Yeah, last year that was a big deal and you
almost hope it happens. But with us and the fact
that we don't have an AQ and our conference and
really all our path forward in the NCAA Tournament is
one hundred percent dependent on you know, last year the
pair wise this year the NPI, so you don't you
(05:14):
really need to kind of keep winning. But yeah, last
year was really hard to make keep that from being
a distraction. But then you know, this year we had
a we had a couple ties and then ended up
going about a year and a half without a loss.
But it was nice to finally have one and then
you don't have to deal with that.
Speaker 1 (05:34):
How did your team react to that first loss in
a year and a half and were you were you,
I guess expecting something and did it match what you
expected out of just how they you know, pulled back
from that and decide that, okay, we're better than that
and move forward with it.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Yeah. We actually we went out to Adrian and played
two games out there, and you know, it's about a
tenel an hour bus trip, and I was telling the team,
you know, we used to be in the same conference
with them, so we went out there a lot. We've
been a long time. Nobody on this team had ever
been out there, and I was telling them, I don't
(06:13):
know if we've ever gone out there and swept. We've
gone out and I think had a win and a
tie a few times, but it's a really tough place
to go out and win two. And we went out
and won the first game, and then the second game
we lost three to one with an empty netter, but
we played really well and it was just one of
those games. We had one nothing the whole game, and
we got a penalty late in the third and they
(06:34):
scored kind of a soft power play goal and then
and I don't know, then they got another one and
then an empty netter. But you know, I think we
played okay, but I think the team handled it. You know,
it was just a matter of time, you know. I
kept telling them, somebody is going to beat you guys.
I was telling them that a year ago, and it
never happened. I said, you know, I guess I was
(06:56):
wrong about that, but but yeah, if somebody finally did,
and then we ended up losing two in a row,
and that was probably right in the middle of the year.
We lost to Adrian and then Gas Davis, and I
think it was a really good thing for us to
really reset and refocus and okay, let's turn the page
from last year. We got to figure out what to
do to get better. And then that was really a
(07:18):
big turning point for us.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Yeah, sometimes knowing how to react in those situations and
how your team can come back and sort of all
the lessons that learn that they learned from that hardship
is the sort of thing that you can build on.
I mean, in that National Championship game you all, or
in the Frozen for you all, I had to come
from behind a bit and stuff. So learning those lessons
is really important.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Yeah, and both years we had to come from behind
in the Frozen four and then you know, just it's
just yeah, it's just there's there's something to be said
for it. But I think usually a loss is a
good thing as long as you don't have too many
of them. So, I mean, I just kept thinking last year,
(08:02):
you know, we're going to lose, and we never did.
So I think this year it helped that we had
three three losses. I think it really helped us to
just refocus and get a grip on where we are
and understand where we need to be and all those
kinds of things. But it was really good for us.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Joe Cranston just finished his twenty sixth season as Wisconsin
River Falls head coach. When you started the program in
nineteen ninety nine, did you imagine that being the case
twenty six seasons and plus and on you go? Or
I guess what were the when you look back that far?
What were the goals of getting that program off the
(08:40):
ground and seeing where it went?
Speaker 2 (08:43):
You know, when I first started, and yeah, it's a
long time ago, and I basically inherited the club team
and and you know, I remember telling those those players,
you know, it's going to be really hard to make
the team year too. And I think only three players
made the team year too. So it was a big
turnaround to bring in our first recruiting class, you know.
And that's when I said, you know, my goals to
(09:06):
get to the NCAA tournament and you know, to a
championship or a frozen four, and and we did three
years later, So we made it there in two thousand
and three, you know, and then that's kind of when
I really started to you know kind of you know,
make have goals, not really goals, I don't like the
(09:26):
word goals, but just you know, where we want to
be as a program. And it's been a long time coming,
you know, to win a couple of national championships. But
it was always my vision to be that good. But
but you know, like when I walk out into Hunt Arena,
this the last two championship games in our barn, you know,
(09:49):
and it sold out. And you know, it was a
couple of times when certain allotment of tickets weren't always
they didn't sell, like in Amherst or you know, or
Middle and so all of a sudden they would become
two hundred and fifty tickets would become available, and they
would say they're going to go on sale at one o'clock.
Well at one o four, they were all sold. You know.
(10:11):
So like those are the types of things, and just
a community support and our students support and have a
rink just jam packed with people. You know, never in
my wildest dreams, what I ever thought that that is
what would be going on, you know, in Hunt Arena
twenty six years later. I could have never foreseen that,
(10:33):
and you know, it wasn't something I signed up for,
but it sure is it sure is great that that
has happened. Great for our student athletes.
Speaker 3 (10:43):
I was actually going to ask about that because with
the new D three format like it, it could happen
that you would host too. You know that you would
be able to be at home two years in a row.
But for those aren't super familiar, they're going to have
one of the teams that's in the Frozen four hosts
every other year and have a predetermined site on the
opposite year. So the fact that you got to host
(11:05):
and be at home and play both those tournaments in
your barn to win the title, that might be something
we don't see ever again, or if not, it will
be I think much more unlikely.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Right, you know, you know everybody who's already talking about
a three peat with us since since next year it's
a non predetermined site and it goes to the number
one team in the country, and so you know, in theory,
that could be us, But I just kind of laughed
that off. That's the chances of that are pretty unlikely,
but it's still we could actually host it again next year,
(11:40):
so that'd be three years. It would be pretty unreal.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
I wonder if this has come up in some different
circles of you know, how you can grow the game
and things like that. Would you ever be interested, as
a Division three head coach of having the Division three
Championship in the Division one or the National Collegiate Championship,
however you want to phrase it, in the same location
the same weekend, Or is that the better off having
(12:06):
two different sites and two different kind of feelings for
those two tournaments.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Yeah, you know, I've heard that before, and there's always
some talk about that, and you know, people talk about
having them at the same time, but personally, I like
them separately. I think it's it's just you know, you
look at like this year, the Frozen four was over
at Ritter and they sold it out, and you know,
(12:34):
it was here and we sold it out, And that's
pretty neat to have it in two different places. I mean,
we're only not even an hour apart, but I like
them to be separate. You know, they've also talked about
having the women's and men's both D three ones, you know,
in Lake Placid or somewhere at the same time, and
I'm just not a big I'm not a strong proponent
(12:56):
of that. I like to have them separate and and
just to you know, get the attention just on the
D three women's or the D three men's or the
D one women's and I like them, I'll separate it out.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
What do you think have been the biggest changes in
Division three women's hockey over this last twenty six seasons?
I mean when you look back.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
At what.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
You know, whether it's talking about that championship weekend or
you know, just just the competitive nature of the way
things are across the country and larger numbers of teams,
what are the big things that stand out to you?
Speaker 2 (13:34):
Well, I think the biggest thing is just like probably
in every sport, but in hockey, it just the skill
level is so much higher, and it's it's maybe it's
plateaued a little bit over the last few years here,
but you know, after twenty six years here, just a
few years ago, it was still getting better every single year.
(13:58):
And you know, there's a lot more parody at the
D three level. You know, you used to see like,
you know, our conference is so small, you know, it's
it's us in Auclaire. Usually the you know, we've been
in the championship for our conference, I don't even know,
over a decade, probably in the championship game. But when
(14:21):
you look at the Mayak right across the river with
ten different teams, and it was always you know, Gastavis
and then say when Saint Thomas left, it was that
was it. I mean, Gastavis ruled that league for so long.
And then you look this year and and Augsburg came
in and won the regular season and the postseason tournament,
(14:42):
and there's really you know, Saint Mary's had a really
good team, and and there was a lot more parody
and a lot more not just one or two teams.
So just the depth of I think of the D
three game, especially in the West, has gotten a lot better.
There wasn't even a D three team that won a
national championship up until three years ago, and right now
(15:02):
it's been three in a row have been in the West.
So for me, the biggest thing by far is just
the skill level continues to rise, and then the just
a depth you know, used to be you know, you'd
have a line and a half and now you know,
we we roll four lines, seventy most of the year,
and so I think there's a lot of depth and
(15:23):
parody makes it a lot better game.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
I once had a D three coach tell me that, like,
one of the things they really loved about it was
the idea that it's just like a little more content,
Like you sleep in your bed most dights, Like you're
not having to get on a plane and fly across
the country for the most part, things like that, And
so that was what appealed to them, and they thought
appealed to players of the D three game. And I
just I think a lot of our listeners maybe aren't
(15:50):
super familiar with D three, So like, could you maybe
tell us what you love about D three and sort
of like comparing D one versus D three.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Yeah, I think you know that's there's a lot of
truth to that. And I just think, you know, I
never had a lot of interest in playing Division. Ie.
It just wasn't I was brought up in northern Minnesota,
and you know, it was always play for today, not
for tomorrow. And as we all know, the culture today
has changed significantly, and and so you know, I never
(16:21):
really had that. I mean, I had opportunities to play
D one. I had opportunities to coach D one. And
the thing that I like about D three is, you know,
I don't know if I always say student first, I
just doesn't matter what's first or second. You need to
balance them. And you know, like when I recruit a girl,
they come here. They there's no scholarships D three, so
(16:45):
they're coming here to play hockey, get an education. You know,
we don't really we don't own them. We're not giving
them money. So they have a tendency to have a
little more freedom and do you know, have a life
beyond hockey, and it's one of them. You're sleeping in
your own bed, and you're you know, you're not flying
out Ohio two days before the game, and you know,
(17:07):
doing those things and a lot of that's fun and
it's great for some people. You know, whenever I'm comparing
D one and D three, I never want to sound
like there's anything wrong with D one, but it's it's
it's not for everybody. And the D three thing is
a great option. And you know, there's a lot of
really good D three hockey, and it's it just keeps
(17:30):
getting better.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
You mentioned growing up in Minnesota and you're a River
Falls graduate, Falls. Who who are some of your I
guess when you look back at it now, you're some
of your coaching influences or mentors that that shaped who
you are and who you've been as a coach for
for twenty six seasons at UW.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
River Falls. Well, by far, the biggest influence was my dad.
He was a thirty year hockey coach. He actually started
girls hockey in northern Minnesota in the seventies, so he
started girls hockey in Minnesota long before the Minnesota High
School League did twenty years. So me growing up in
the seventies and eighties, my sisters both played and we
(18:16):
had girls hockey. The golfers used to back when they
were club they used to drive all the way up
to Fergus Falls to play our high school team because
they didn't have that many options to play. But so
my dad did that and he coached me, and he
really the whole foundation for everything I believe in as
a coach, so much that I learned from him coaching
(18:39):
me and Peewey's and Vanham's And then when I was
a senior in high school, I had Tim Collin, you
know the Collins from Morehead, Tim Cullen and then I
had Charlie Burggraf, and those two, you know, they're both
legendary coaches. Charlie Burggraf was such a huge impact on
me as a person and U and as a coach.
(19:02):
I wasn't even a coach yet, but I just learned
so much from those guys. They were phenomenal coaches, you know.
And then I went in the us HL. I got
to play for Bob Mottsko for a year, you know,
go for men's coach. And then I played a year
college for Mike Carroll. So I was very fortunate to
have great The last four coaches I had before I
(19:26):
hung up my skates, we're all great coaches. And but
just growing up in Northern Minnesota, just that culture, that
hockey culture is, you know, where you're just taught to
respect your opponents. You're taught to respect the rink and
the other coach and the other the refs and just everything.
(19:47):
And it was just such a neat environment to grow
up in, traveling around up there, you know, playing in
Roso one weekend, and then war Owed and then fee
Forever at East Grant and Midge and I just think
all those things have a huge impact on me, and
still one of the reasons I like to get a
lot of those northern Minnesota kids, the two one eight
ers as I call them, on our team. You know,
(20:10):
we always have quite a few of those being even
though we're in Wisconsin school.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
Did you know, like, did you know you wanted to coach?
Did you foresee like Todd said, this sort of nice
long career in one spot?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
H No, not really, I you know, I knew that.
You know, my dad had coached a long time. My
brother is the high school girls hockey coach right in
River Falls too, so and he and I work out
every morning. We talk hockey, and it's that's a unique
thing too, because we both came to school at River
Falls and then never really strayed too far. But no,
(20:46):
it was really never something I would have never thought
when I took this job twenty six years ago that
I would be sitting here as a two time national
championship on a podcast. But it's definitely been you know,
obviously I've been here for twenty six years. I obviously
(21:06):
enjoy it and it's a lot of fun and it's
very rewarding, and you know, people have asked many times,
you know when you ever consider going back you or
coaching on the men's side or I coached boys hockey
for twelve thirteen years and you know that was great,
But I like coaching the women's game. I love D three,
So it's just been a great fit for me and
(21:28):
I've just really enjoyed the ride.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
What would you say, are I guess maybe you're you're
non negotiables as what you want out of a player.
And this is something that I know coaches have their
own philosophies. Is a lot of coaches want to let
players be who they are, but there are some things
that I know, you walk in this door and you
(21:53):
have to you have to be willing to do X,
y Z. What are those things for you and and
your players with the Falcons.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Yeah, and number one is just work ethic. You have
to compete hard. You have to work hard because you know,
I always say you're only as good as how hard
you work, and that's your foundation for everything. If you
don't work hard, nothing positive is going to come out
of this. You know, I think that's just true of life.
So you have to work. But at the same time,
(22:24):
you know, we we don't put any expectations on players,
especially when they get here, it's just work hard, you know,
appreciate everything, respect everything, be a good line mate, be
a good teammate, be coachable, make everybody around you better.
You know, you got to be that kid that everybody
wants on your line. You don't. You just don't want
(22:45):
players that you know are me, me, me, and you know,
the type of kid that others don't want on their line.
You have to be about everybody. It's got to be
about team. You know. Those are all the things that
we preach, and those are those that's what you're asking,
that type of thing, you know. But when it comes
(23:07):
to hockey, specifically x's and o's, it's very important to
me that I don't take their game away from them.
You know, we recruit kids and they'll come in and
they might do a thing or two. I might tweak
here or there. They have to fit into our systems,
but I never want to take their game away from them.
Everybody has ins and outs that makes them special, and
(23:30):
it's my job is to not change that. It might
be tweaked something here or there, or play to their
strengths and play away from their weaknesses, but you just
you got to give them the freedom to play the
game they want to play too.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
This may end up being an overlapping question to that,
but you've had sort of remarkable consistency, right like when
either the regular season or conference tournament title or both
each of the last sixteen years, maybe NT tournament fourteen
of the last fifteen, you've had forty We're all Americans
fourteenth street seasons with at least one All American on
your roster. What do you think contributes to that consistency
(24:09):
and being able to sort of consistently again, you know,
talking about what type of person you recruit again that
it's D three and there are some different things that
you're looking for and you're asking of a student athlete
in terms of not being able to do scholarships and
all that sort of stuff. How do you find that
sweet spot of finding the player that wants to be
at D three but has that work ethic that you
want and leads the consistency you've been able to have.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
Yeah, you know, it's funny when we go into a
rink and we talk to the other D three or
i mean the D one coaches. You know, we have
to go in and first of all, you got to
figure out who the D one kids are, and a
lot of them are committed and some of them aren't.
But you have to look and say, oh that kids,
that kid's going to be a D one er. This
kid's going to be close, and you kind of find
those tweeners as we call them. They're just right in between.
(24:55):
You know, a lot of our kids on our team
could play D one. A lot of them had D
one offers, some of them had full rides. We have
a couple of players on our team who turned down
scholarships in the WCHA and many out east, and so
we first of all, you got to find those kids.
You know that to me, there they're just not it's
(25:18):
all not just D one D one. You know the
kids I mean our seniors who just graduate or just
got done playing this year, their record was one hundred
and eight wins, nine losses and four ties. So that's fun.
So you know, true, you know that's a crazy number.
(25:42):
Even you look at our sophomores right now, they've won,
they've won both national championships and they're fifty three fifty four,
three and two. So you know, I think that's a
big part of it. You know, those kids want to
come here, win and have fun. But again, we don't
put a lot of expectations on him. Just come in
(26:04):
here and work hard, be a good kid. And you know,
Jim Walsh is my assistant coach, and he does all
the recruiting and he really gets to know the kids.
He gets to know the moms, the dads, the grandmas
and grandpa's and boyfriends and aunts and I mean, he
really does his homework and we really get kids that
(26:27):
fit with what we want. And they're really good kids.
But you know, like whatever you just said, how many
all Americans we had, you know, it's you know, I
don't know we've had. I think we had nine this
year and last year, which is you know, over a
third of all of them in the West. But to
have those kinds of results, I just think it's just
(26:49):
great kids.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
I wonder what I guess if I bestowed upon you
the fictional title of commissioner of college hockey, what would
be your one of your first things you would do
to improve the game, be it on the ice or
off the ice on your first day as commissioner.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Boy, I'm not sure because I don't get that involved
in that kind of thing, but you know, it was
really nice this past year that the NCAA put a
lot more emphasis on bracket integrity at the D three
level and you know, made it possible for a team
to fly out, you know, in the before the Frozen four,
(27:37):
you know, And to me, that's been by far the
most frustrating part of coaching D three was that that
we just never ever got a fair shake, and it
made for such it was always such a bad taste
in your mouth, and especially in the West. I just
(27:58):
I don't we've we've never got fair shakes. And you know,
like I said, we'd only won it the last three
years in the West. Every other year it was one
out East, and there are great teams out here. It's
just almost impossible to run the gauntlet the way the
cards were stacked against you. So as a commissioner, I
(28:18):
don't know if you would have that power. But looking
at the thing that has frustrated me the most over
the years, that has been it by far, this was
the first year where there was actually some integrity in
the in the bracket. It made sense. You know, they
flew a team to us first time ever, and you know,
that's that's that's the biggest thing, and just you know,
(28:43):
I'm always just the respect thing is just huge with me.
I just you know what it's like when you play
teams that aren't respectful and they don't play the game
the right way, and I just think there can always
be steps to make that better as well.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
I wanted to ask you, maybe a little jokingly, if
you sent a little thank you note over to Saint
Norbert when they took a Stavis out early for you guys,
they gave you a little bit of trouble this year,
and that was that was a crazy game that Saint
Norbert won. I think the shots were like forty six
to thirteen. Saint Norbert had the thirteen, but that was
a big upset early in the tournament. And definitely I
think you know that that would have been a big
(29:26):
game for you guys, knowing how it had gone against
Gus Davis.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Yeah, because those are always you know, whenever we play
Gas Stavis in the NCAA tournament, it's a bounce here,
it's a bounce there, and you know, it's a penalty here,
power play here, whatever, but it always comes down to
one bounce or one call or one little thing. So yeah,
we were very very happy to see that, you know,
(29:53):
as much as I like the Stavis and respect them
and you know, friends with the Carol brothers coaching there.
And yeah, I'm glad I didn't have to play this year,
you know, And who knows if we would have either,
because they still would have had to beat Osburgh, you know,
who have beaten them earlier too, so but but that
(30:13):
was great for great for Saint Norbert's. And again it's
just again it's like what I referred to early is
just more parody, you know, more teams that are competitive now.
And we actually have Saint Norbert's on our schedule. They're
coming here next year for one, and then we're going
there the following year for two. And and we haven't
played them probably since we left the NCHA, which was
(30:38):
like ten years ago, so that'll be fun to play
them again.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Yeah. My last question for you, Joe is I don't
know if you've had any of your former players turned
into coaching in these last few years or recently, but
if you do have coach former players that have become coaches,
what would you feel the proudest of that if they
(31:01):
take it from you as part of it to make
it part of their coaching style.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Well, Number one, make sure it's fun. He was coaching
at any level, whether it's D one or D three
or high school or youth or whatever. It has to
be fun, you know, or you know why do it? So,
you know, like I said earlier, you know, play play
for today, not tomorrow. It's not about where you're going
(31:29):
to be. It's where you are right now. And then
and you know, and then again like I'd mentioned my dad,
and it was always about the life lessons. You know,
I just think especially for young women, I just think
it's so great just the work ethic, the time, the time,
the commitment, the dedication, teamwork, respect, appreciation, all those life
(31:54):
lessons that I just think are so great. And you know,
we really push a lot of that. And and you know,
if that comes out with my players when they go
on to coach, that's great. You know. My my Jim
Walsh and I walked into a into the super rank
I think not this last winter, but the winner before.
(32:17):
And you know, they had the big holiday tournament over there,
and I think we had eight former players coaching just
in that tournament in Minnesota, you know, and we had
some other ones in Wisconsin and coach. A lot of
them coach in high school, and so yeah, that's that's
really awesome. That's what it's all about. It's all about
(32:38):
giving more than you take. So anytime you can have
those kids, you know, they grow up and they go
out and they're given to the game and they're given
other people, it's just it's what it's all about. Hockey
is a great sport, but it's an avenue to teach
life lessons and just so yeah, I'm really proud of
those girls when they go on and do that.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
I think we should leave it right there. That's really great.
Thank you so much for making time for a show.
We really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (33:07):
Well, thank you. I appreciate coming on here and it's
been fun.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
Congratulations again first back to back championships in the West
and we'll be looking forward to seeing what you guys
do next season.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
Great. Thank you very much, you guys,
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