Hockey is All In the Family For Mavs' Helminen
Junior forward has six brothers and sisters that play at various levels
by Dan Myers
Issue date: 11/16/06 Section: Mens Sports
The best hockey teams have 25 players that can step in and play on any given evening. All 25 players - from the team's leading scorer to the last person on the bench - are like a family.
For Minnesota State's Jodi Helminen, adjusting to the family aspect of hockey was easy; she is the third oldest in a family with eight kids. Seven play hockey. And the one who doesn't was born only a month ago. No, he doesn't play yet, but if history is any indication, it's only a matter of time before Jodi's youngest brother is skating on the rink in the family's back yard, just like the seven kids before him.
"It's a lot of fun," Helminen said. "Ever since we were little, my dad would put a rink in the back yard and we always had fun with it."
Jodi didn't start playing hockey until eighth grade, surprising for a young girl who grew up with two older brothers playing at an elite level.
Jodi's oldest brother Dwight was a three-year letterman at the University of Michigan, scoring 44 goals and assisting on 36 others in three seasons as a Wolverine. He moved onto the professional ranks, where a contract with the New York Rangers awaited him. He is currently skating for the Rangers' AHL affiliate in Hartford, where he tallied 32-23-55 in 77 games last season for the Wolf Pack.
The second oldest, Lars, is a senior defenseman for Michigan Tech this season. He has scored 12 goals and 49 assists in his first three seasons at MTU and was named a team captain this season.
Jodi is the third Helminen to play Division I hockey and the oldest daughter. Her sister plays for a traveling team in her home state of Michigan, a brother on a midget major team, a fourth brother playing in her home town of Brighton and another sister who just started playing.
Eight kids. Seven hockey players. No. 8 is well on his way.
"It lends some regarding their hockey sense and hockey knowledge," said Mavericks head coach Jeff Vizenor about coming from a hockey family. "Usually, things like that will tell you a lot about the work ethic they have and the character they have. She definitely has that work ethic."
"She is a very smart player on the ice," said sophomore forward Maggie Fisher. "She is good at reading things, and uses a lot of different skills when she needs to. She is just an all-around good player."
Through 11 games this season, Helminen has scored a goal and added five assists, all while trying to get back to 100 percent from a serious ankle injury ended her season prematurely last year.
"I think she is just starting to get back there now," Vizenor said. "That is good for us. She played her best hockey all season last weekend."
The Mavericks will need Helminen and every other player to be on top of their game this weekend as MSU travels to Duluth to take on Minnesota-Duluth. The Bulldogs have not lost a game to Minnesota State in over three years, going 10-0-2 since a shocking sweep to start the 2003-04 season.
But the Mavericks know what to expect from the Bulldogs this weekend. MSU lost a pair of games to UMD just six weeks ago at All Seasons Arena.
"It's different, I don't know why it came up that way in scheduling," Vizenor said. "We're going to go up there and battle our hardest and compete. We have really focused on four things this weekend: discipline, preparation, attitude and our effort in practice to prepare ourselves for this weekend."
The teams play 7:37 p.m. Friday and 7:07 p.m. Saturday at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. MSU is winless in 14 games at the DECC, and in fact, has not even registered a point. UMD holds a 14-0-0 record all-time at home against the Mavericks.
Dan Myers is the Reporter Sports Editor