Matt Christensen | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born | Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota, USA | June 6, 1964||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
Position | Center | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for | Minnesota Duluth | ||
NHL Draft | 176th, 1982 St. Louis Blues | ||
Playing career | 1982–1986 |
Matthew Christensen is an American retired ice hockey center who was an All-American for Minnesota Duluth. [1]
Christensen was a star player in high school, scoring more than two points per game as a senior. His production led him to be selected by the St. Louis Blues in the NHL Draft. [2] The following fall, he began attending the University of Minnesota Duluth, arriving the same time as new head coach, Mike Sertich. Christensen was more of a role player in his freshman season but he helped the team set several new program records including wins (28) and was part of the Bulldog's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Christensen played much better in his sophomore season, nearly tripling his scoring production, and helped lead UMD to its first WCHA championship in 1984. The Bulldogs second tournament appearance went much better than their first and the team ended up making the championship game. Christensen assisted on the team's third goal but the Bulldogs ended up losing the match in quadruple overtime. Despite the outcome, and the loss of Hobey Baker Award-winner Tom Kurvers, UMD came back even stronger in 1985. Christensen centered a line with NCAA Scoring Champion Bill Watson and jumped up into the top ten scorers in the nation. UMD won its second league title and won 30 games for the first time (the 1985 team still hold the program record with 36 wins as of 2021). [3] The Bulldogs made the Frozen Four for the second consecutive year and faced off against top-ranked Rensselaer in the semifinal. The game ended up being a classic with both teams trading leads to end up tied at 5-all after 60 minutes. It took three overtime periods for the winner to be decided but, unfortunately, Christensen team ended up losing the match. UMD would end up 3rd after winning the consolation game 7–6 in overtime.
With Watson leaving school early, Christensen got a new right wing for his senior season. It ended up being future NHL Hall of Famer Brett Hull. While the team declined a bit, they were sill on track to make another NCAA Tournament, but tragedy struck on February 9. While playing a game outside a friend's house, Christensen bent down to pick up his stick and fell over. His friends initially thought he was playing a joke but, when they went to check on him, knew something was seriously wrong. One of the boy's fathers, Bob Smalley, yelled for someone to call 9-1-1, fearing that Christensen had suffered a stroke. He was hospitalized that day and was later confirmed to have suffered an ischemic attack. [4] Christensen suffered a second stroke while in hospital with the second being far more serious. It affected his ability to walk, talk and think. His season and career were both ended as a result but he was able to recover after physical therapy. [5] While the source of the strokes was never conclusively discovered, doctors ruled out hockey as a primary cause.
Christensen's team attempted to finish out the season in his honor, but the news took the fight out of the Bulldogs. UMD went 1–5–2 the rest of the season and were left out of the NCAA tournament. Christensen finished his college career just 3 points behind Dan Lempe for the program's all-time scoring lead. He was named an All-American for the year but the bitter end of his playing career led Christensen to stay away from the team and many of his teammates for decades. He eventually returned for the final home game at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center in 2010, glad to be reunited with his old friends.
He was inducted into the Minnesota Duluth Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014. [6]
Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1979–80 | Aurora–Hoyt Lakes | MN-HS | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1980–81 | Aurora–Hoyt Lakes | MN-HS | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1981–82 | Aurora–Hoyt Lakes | MN-HS | 23 | 23 | 34 | 57 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1982–83 | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | 45 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1983–84 | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | 42 | 24 | 39 | 63 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1984–85 | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | 48 | 30 | 47 | 77 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1985–86 | Minnesota–Duluth | WCHA | 33 | 16 | 41 | 57 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
NCAA totals | 168 | 76 | 143 | 219 | 94 | — | — | — | — | — |
Award | Year | |
---|---|---|
All-WCHA Second Team | 1983–84 | [7] |
All-WCHA Second Team | 1984–85 | [7] |
AHCA West Second-Team All-American | 1985–86 | [1] |
Caroline Ouellette OC is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a member of Canadiennes de Montreal in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Among her many accomplishments are four Olympic gold medals, 12 IIHF Women's World Championship medals, 12 Four Nations Cup medals and four Clarkson Cup championships.
Matthew Norman Niskanen is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, and Philadelphia Flyers from 2007 to 2020.
Scott Alan Sandelin is an American former professional ice hockey player. He is currently the head coach of the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team. In 2011, he became the first coach in Bulldog history to lead them to a national title, in a 3–2 overtime game against the University of Michigan at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In the 2018 NCAAs, he led the Bulldogs to a second national title, over Notre Dame 2–1, also played at the Xcel Energy Center. Sandelin grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota, where he went on to be drafted in the second round by the Montreal Canadiens and play collegiate hockey for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.
The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team is an NCAA Division I college ice hockey program that represents the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs are a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). The team plays home games at the 6,800-seat AMSOIL Arena at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.
Haley Lyn Irwin is a Canadian ice hockey player. She was a member of the 2009–10 Hockey Canada national women's team and played for the Calgary Inferno and Montreal Stars of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) and played for the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in the NCAA. She served as Canada's captain in a gold-medal winning effort at the 2014 4 Nations Cup in Kamloops, British Columbia.
The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey team plays for the University of Minnesota Duluth at the AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, Minnesota. The team is a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the Division I tier. The Bulldogs have won five NCAA Championships.
The 2010-2011 Bulldogs attempted to win their sixth NCAA Championship in school history as defending champions.
Jocelyne Dawn Marie Larocque is a Canadian ice hockey player and current independent member of the PWHPA. She previously played with the Calgary Inferno and Markham Thunder of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), the Calgary Oval X-Treme and Manitoba Maple Leafs of the Western Women's Hockey League (WWHL), and the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). With the Bulldogs, she was a two-time NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Tournament champion. Larocque is of Métis heritage and was the first indigenous athlete to participate in the women's ice hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics.
Mike Sertich is an American ice hockey coach. He was the head coach of Minnesota-Duluth from 1983 through to 2000. He continued coaching for several years after resigning before retiring.
The 2017–18 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team represented the University of Minnesota Duluth in intercollegiate college ice hockey during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. The head coach was Scott Sandelin and the team captain was Karson Kuhlman. The team won the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. The team's leading scorer was Scott Perunovich, who was only the fourth defencemen to lead a championship team in scoring (Bob Heathcott, 1952; Dan Lodboa, 1970; Craig Norwich, 1977).
Karson Kuhlman is an American professional ice hockey center currently playing for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Scott Douglas Perunovich is an American professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing with the Springfield Thunderbirds in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract as a prospect to the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Blues in the second round, 45th overall, in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
The 1983–84 Bowling Green Falcons men's ice hockey team represented the Bowling Green University in college ice hockey. In its 5th year under head coach Jerry York the team compiled a 34–8–2 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the fifth time. The Falcons defeated Minnesota–Duluth 5–4 in the fourth overtime to win the championship game at the 1980 Olympic Arena in Lake Placid, New York, the longest title game in NCAA history.
Hunter Markus Shepard is an American professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing with the Hershey Bears in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The 2020-21 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey season was the 77th season of play for the program and the 8th in the NCHC conference. The Bulldogs represented the University of Minnesota Duluth and were coached by Scott Sandelin, in his 21st season.
Rick Kosti is a Canadian retired ice hockey goaltender who was a two-time All-American for Minnesota Duluth.
Robert Lakso is an American retired ice hockey left wing who was an All-American for Minnesota Duluth.
Cole Tyler Koepke is an American professional ice hockey left winger. As a member of the Sioux City Musketeers, Koepke was drafted 183rd overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He then played three seasons with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey team before joining the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League (AHL).