Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics

I would like to begin my salute by thanking my family for their support over the past 20 years of me playing hockey.  More specifically my parents when I was younger.  \Going from being dressed when I arrived at the rink or getting dressed on the way in the back of my dads van, when I first started playing, to waking up at 4 am just so I could be an hour early to a game that is an hour away.  Picking me up from practices that end at 10 p.m. four days a week, minimum.  Hockey is a time consuming sport and I am very thankful for my parents and how they spent so much time in allowing me to become the athlete I wanted to be. Not a basketball player or anything along those lines.  Also, there is a reason it cost so much to play the sport, hockey is simply the greatest game ever played.  Hockey to me was a privilege that my parents allowed me to partake in, let alone the funds needed to play the sport.  I want to thank you Mom and Dad for the thousands to dollars spent in order for me to play.  Looking back now it’s not the stick it’s the player so maybe I could’ve kept buying wood sticks all those years. But me having the attitude in wanting to be the best I always asked for the best, and thanks to my parents I was given the best.  Another area I would like to thank my parents in is how they molded me at a young age.  Knowing I was going to be a hockey player simply because it runs in the family, my father put me in dance/ballet lessons. I was so embarrassed but did it anyways because I was told it would make be better, and like to believe it did.  That didn’t last long though tights weren’t my style.  Skates and a stick was. I was never forced to play a sport I did not enjoy.  I was never yelled at for playing bad or making mistakes.  I was given the same treatment whether we won or lost.  As long as I loved what I was doing and respected the sport of hockey I was told to just go out and do your best.  I am really appreciative of that.  Never been pressured by my parents to perform better, unless I was not playing to my potential.  Which in hockey it was nice being reminded that I was a good player and possessed the skills to play the game at certain times.  Especially when things are not going your way.  So thanks to my family for being my number one fans the past 20 years, hopefully this will not be my last game.

I would also like to thank a coach I had growing up.  Ken Larsen, he coached me for 4 years, 4th grade to 7th grade, but I continue to run into him every so often.  Ken was a complete drill Sargent when I came to playing hockey.  If there is any weak link in the system, the link was replaced very quickly.  In about a shift is all it took for you to be up next or ride the pine for the next 20 minutes.   Ken shared with us his passion and knowledge of the sport I carried with me ever since I stopped playing for him.  He was very intense with his coaching but it was to make us better and play to a level in which we did not know we had.  I want to thank you Ken because this is where I learned to play hockey.  This is when I learned what it really takes mentally and physically to be a successful hockey player.  The mentality you helped me develop allowed me to be in a completely separate world when it was game time.  Ken never said go out there have fun.  What he would say is “North and South hockey, over the red get it deep, fore-check your bag off, keep your feet moving, don’t make mistakes” plain and simple.  When I say it was his way or no way, literally it was only his way.  In doing what we were coached to do I had an absolute blast playing hockey.  Yea you get yelled at and called out but that’s apart of sports in general, its how you react is what really makes you a great player.  The soft fold and the individual meant to play will give that coach no reason to put their name in his intermission “motivational speech”…. Under coach Larsen in four years we lost under 15 games, one season we had lost one game all year which would have been my second year of squirts, 5th grade.  My final season under Ken, which was second year peewees our power play was above 80% and took third in state, should’ve won but even the Romans were defeated.  So thank you very much Coach Larsen, I am very thankful for the lessons you taught me and very loyal to your coaching style.  I still use tactics taught by Coach Larsen to this day.  They say important information tends to stick in your brain so that would make sense it always pop into my head.  Ken, I’m keeping it simple.  Thank you very much.

I would also like to thank the coaching staff here at Saint Mary’s for giving me a shot.  And basically a second chance.  I was not product of the NAHL but I am a product of hard work.  My work ethic and determination showed the coaching staff here that I am not going to fold and will give them everything I got if given the opportunity.  I was very patient when it came to my opportunity but believing hard work pays off it made it less difficult to watch certain players play over me.  Going from healthy scratch for half the season (fresh/soph yr) to starting 90% percent of the games (junior/senior yr) was a good reward for the work I put in.  I think everyone would agree I am not given anything; I work hard for the opportunities I am given and am very humble for those opportunities.   So thank you coach Moore, Eagan, and Reska for allowing me to be apart of the Saint Mary Men’s hockey team the past four years.  I learned a lot about being a person and how I should represent myself, so thank you.

The boys …  Man I am going to miss my teammates.  Over the years we have had some GREAT times together.  To many to list or go over, more for the kids sake so we’ll leave it at that.  You guys are truly awesome and my good friends.  Putting up with my shenanigans over the years and making me feel apart of something more then just a team really means a lot to me.     There really isn’t any other beauticians I would rather spend my college days with.  You guys are great and Love you boys.  Gonna miss not be able to see your faces everyday at practice, really am.  Thanks for the good times and great memories

I would like to thank God for giving me everything I have received over the past 24 years, specifically hockey.  Without you none of this would be possible.  Giving me the strength, courage, and wisdom to become the player I am today. I am very blessed given the chance to play hockey and very humble for everything I have accomplished.  If my career ends in 2014 I will be more than satisfied, but if there is a couple few more left I’ll do my best to rise to the occasion.

Thank you fans and parents of fellow teammates.  Your support means a ton.  Without you guys we, the team, would not be the family we are today.  Hope you enjoyed watching me play at SMU.
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