Kaasa has been a tonic in net for Tech

Times photo by Paul Middlestaedt, pmiddlestaedt@stcloudtimes.com Nikki Kaasa has been a mainstay in goal once again this season for the St. Cloud Tech girls hockey team.

Area notebook: By Tom Elliott telliott@stcloudtimes.com

Published: January 22. 2008 12:30AM

Nikki Kaasa donates time at the St. Cloud Hospital, working in the junior volunteer program in the surgical department.

Eventually, she’d like to be an orthopedic surgeon.

These days, she operates magnificently on ice.

She’s a senior goaltender on the St. Cloud Tech girls hockey team.

The Tigers have a big Central Lakes Conference game against Brainerd at 7 p.m. today at the National Hockey Center.

“Brainerd always plays us tough,” Kaasa said. “It’ll be a good game to watch and a good game to play in.”

The Warriors (6-4-2 Central Lakes, 8-10-2 overall) beat Tech (7-2-2, 11-8-2) 4-1 Dec. 6 in Brainerd.

“It was one of those few nights this season where we didn’t show up to play,” Kaasa said. “I don’t think we’re doing that this time.”

The Tigers are trying to seal second place in the conference and earn a third or fourth seed in Section 8-2A. There are two weeks left in the regular season.

“Right now I kind of see the seeds as Elk River No. 1, Moorhead No. 2 and probably Bemidji No. 3,” said Tech head coach Joel Heitkamp. “If we could have beaten Bemidji, we might’ve been No. 3. But that was a real tough one.”

The Tigers lost 3-2 last Tuesday to Bemidji in overtime on a controversial call, then followed that up with a 2-1 overtime loss Thursday at conference-leading Alexandria. The Cardinals are ranked fourth in the state in Class A.

Tech has had some tough losses.

But, Heitkamp said one key all season has been the play of Kaasa.

“She’s the reason we’ve been able to win 11 games this year,” Heitkamp said.

Kaasa has received a modicum of Division I recruiting interest.

She said she has talked to Ohio State and Wisconsin. Heitkamp said that Robert Morris College and Wisconsin-Eau Claire are teams in contact recently.

There are no firm offers. Division III schools, including ones in the MIAC, also are interested.

She’s also considering playing for an under-19 women’s team possibly in the Twin Cities.

“It’s all up in the air,” she said.

Regardless, it’ll be unusual for Tech not to see a No. 35 at goalkeeper next season.

“We’ve played everybody tough,” Heitkamp said of the Tigers. “Our only blowouts were to (sixth-ranked) Holy Angels, who was like two or three in the state, and to North St. Paul.

“The biggest thing for us is that are young kids are starting to play very well.”

Tech’s leader is senior Katelyn Dold, who has 25 goals and 16 assists this season. She’s three points away from 300 in her career, Heitkamp said.

Tech has played a third line that includes ninth-graders Katie Haus and Greta Zimmerman and junior Michelle Busch. That depth, Heitkamp figures, is something Tech will need come tournament time.

It, of course, also doesn’t hurt to have a hot goalie.

“I think it’ll all turn out pretty well because we’ve competed with every team we’ve played,” Kaasa said. “We kind of look at it (the tough losses) from the big picture.

“Those losses have made us stronger. The benefit is we’re going to finish off with a great season.”

Kaasa started playing goalie in youth hockey. She said her parents didn’t want her to play goaltender. However, an older brother, Ben (a 1999 Tech graduate) was a goalie.

Another brother, Andy Kaasa (Tech class of 2001), was a skater.

“I started out as a skater in sixth grade,” she said. “Then I came out as a goalie and just kind of went with it.”