MINNEAPOLIS -- Near the end of the spring semester last year at the University of North Dakota, women's hockey coach Brian Idalski met with his players for the final time. More than a month had passed since the university announced it was shutting down the women's program as a cost-cutting measure, breaking the hearts of more than a dozen players with eligibility remaining who scrambled to find other places to play.
In that meeting, Idalski said recently, he stressed two things. First, don't let an administrative decision poison your love for hockey. And second, do the program proud. "The biggest thing you can for each other, and for the memory and legacy of our club, is to go be successful," he said.
The Fighting Hawks program may be gone, but its imprint lives on at the NCAA Women's Frozen Four this weekend at the University of Minnesota's Ridder Arena.
Three of the four participating teams -- Wisconsin, Ohio State and Colgate -- feature former North Dakota players and/or staffers. And Mercyhurst, with former Fighting Hawks Emma Nuutinen, Vilma Tanskanen and Kennedy Blair, just missed becoming a fourth, losing 2-1 in overtime in the NCAA quarterfinals to defending national champion Clarkson.
"It's pretty special, after what everyone went through at the time when we realized we had to separate," said Wisconsin redshirt sophomore goaltender Kristen Campbell, a North Dakota transfer who leads NCAA Division I in goals-against average and save percentage. "It will be a lot of fun seeing everyone again."
Campbell has been the most successful of the group, a Patty Kazmaier top-10 finalist in her first season as a starter. The 31-4-2 Badgers face Colgate (33-5-1), with former North Dakota commit Malia Schneider, Friday at 8 p.m. ET. The 5 p.m. first game features Ohio State (24-10-4), with ex-UND forward Charly Dahlquist and associate head coach Peter Elander, against top-seeded Clarkson (34-4-1). The winners meet Sunday afternoon for the national title.
"I'm super proud that a lot of our players were able to shake off the adversity and fight through it and find success in some other situations." Brian Idalski
"I'm super proud that a lot of our players were able to shake off the adversity and fight through it and find success in some other situations," Idalski said.
Dahlquist, a sophomore, played all 38 games for the Buckeyes, scoring eight goals with 15 assists. Schneider netted 15 goals for Colgate in 39 games, third-most on the team, with four game-winners and five on the power play.
Campbell, from Brandon, Manitoba, and Dahlquist were among the UND underclassmen on the ice at Ralph Engelstad Arena last March 29 when news broke that the program was being shut down. Elander was running an offseason skills session while a few seniors watched from one penalty box and a recruit, goaltender Lauren Hennessey, from the other. Hennessey arrived on campus that morning for an official visit with her parents. (Hennessey later signed with Lindenwood.)
Shortly after the 1 p.m. session began, Elander said hockey staffers received emails summoning them to a mandatory midafternoon meeting with athletic director Brian Faison. Meanwhile, news of the program's demise leaked on Twitter. Idalski and the players were blindsided. Elander, who coached Sweden to an Olympic bronze medal in 2002 and silver in 2006, believes he was the only person on staff who saw it coming.
"I had my suspicions," Elander said.
He knew the university was looking to trim athletic department expenses. The previous Friday, Elander said, Faison abruptly canceled a follow-up meeting about Elander's expiring contract. Elander said he tried to reach Faison the next Monday to reschedule, but never heard back. Then Elander learned the women's soccer team hired an associate head coach, which suggested that sport was safe.
As for Campbell, she was shocked. Then crushed.
"Once we got off the ice, our coach, Brian, came in the locker room," she said. "He just said, 'We don't even know what's going on, we have to go to this meeting at 3.' No one really knew what was going on, but we saw everything that was transpiring on Twitter."
Over the next few weeks, the coaching staff helped the players sort through transfer options. Campbell knew Wisconsin assistant Jackie Crum, who coached her as an assistant with Team Canada at the 2015 under-18 world championships. The Badgers needed a goaltender with Kazmaier Award winner Ann-Renee Desbiens graduating.
"I knew this was the place I wanted to end up," Campbell said.
Campbell spent most of the summer in Grand Forks, working out with Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando, the twin U.S. Olympians who had been on the UND hockey staff, while waiting for a new student visa. Once in Madison, Badgers upperclassmen welcomed her and helped her adjust to a new school and a new program.
She beat out three other candidates to start on opening night. Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson wasn't sure what to expect from a goaltender who played only five games as a redshirt freshman, but Campbell performed so well Johnson never used another goalie a single minute the rest of the season. Her 12 shutouts, 1.13 goals against average and .942 save percentage all lead the nation.
"She had a lot of things on her plate and adjusted really well," Johnson said. "The first weekend she played well and built some confidence. Then it went from there. Every weekend she's given us a chance to win. I'm certainly happy she's a part of our program."
Idalski isn't surprised. Last season Campbell tested out highly in all of UND's fitness categories. Had the program survived, Idalski said Campbell would have started, and likely thrived.
"Her mentality is very Lamoureux-esque," Idalski said. "I've had maybe four athletes, counting the twins, who were like that, structured about everything they do -- taking care of school, the way they eat, the way they train.
"We knew we had something special. The best part about it was, she was willing to pay her dues and sit in the background until she got her opportunity. We knew when she went to Wisconsin that Wisconsin was getting a steal of a kid who was going to be their goaltender."
The former Fighting Hawks never dissolved their team group text, allowing them to keep in touch as they adjusted to their new teammates and surroundings.
"I still try to keep in contact with everyone," Campbell said. "At the start, we were all experiencing the same kind of things, obviously -- transition to a new school, new team. As the year went on, I started talking less to everyone because everyone's busy, settling in, being more comfortable. I think we all tried to help each other through it at the start for sure."
Idalski, finishing out the final year of his contract in North Dakota's operations department, will not be at the Frozen Four; he committed to assisting a colleague coach a boys under-16 team in district playoffs. He plans to follow developments on his laptop and phone. Elander expected nothing less.
"There's a really strong bond among the players and the former staff," Elander said. "That bond is always going to be there among the players there. The players and staff connected, and Brian has done a good job. There are some relationships that no one can take away because of what happened to you."