Goaltending coach Alli Altmann's journey to helping Team USA women's hockey win at Olympics
The new University of St. Thomas ice arena is hosting its first college playoff tournament Thursday night.
Between the four teams duking it out in the WCHA semifinals — Minnesota, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota State — there are six players who won the gold medal for the U.S. women's hockey team.
The tournament is a chance to see some of those olympians play in person.
And it's not just players — St. Thomas might have been eliminated already, but their assistant coach, Alli Altmann is the goalie coach for Team USA — leading the group of Olympic goaltenders who made history in Milan.
Altmann led three US goaltenders — Aerin Frankel and Gwyneth Philips from the PWHL and Wisconsin goalie Ava McNaughton — as they broke an Olympic record in Milan by maintaining a shutout streak of 331 minutes and 23 seconds, across five consecutive shutouts.
"I was just focused on making sure our goaltenders were performing to the best of their abilities and making sure they're in the right headspace," said Altmann. "You know I always tell them I'm their number one fan and number one support system, so that's where my focus was, making sure they were ready to do their jobs."
The Eagan native grew up playing between the pipes herself. Her older brother the first one to put her in the net.
"When I was, I would say third grade, I just remember him and his buddies needing someone to shoot on and that's when little sister Alli comes in," she recalled.
In high school, she played for Eagan and coach Scott Darwitz, father of Olympian and Hall-of-Famer Natalie Darwitz, who inspired Altmann in big ways.
"You know those moments always stick out to me like hey, if you dream it, if you see it, you can be there one day," she said.
Then she went on to play for the Minnesota State - Mankato Mavericks.
The Mavericks are back in the WCHA Final face off this year for the first time since 2009 — which was when Altmann was on their roster.
"I haven't decided if I'm going to whip out the old jersey or not, in the new St. Thomas building. i think a couple players might look at me weird if I rock a Maverick jersey," Altmann said.
The WCHA is a power house women's college hockey conference, with five staff members and six players contributing to Team USA's gold.
"I just really hope that the women's game continues to grow and these women get what they deserve," said Altmann.
The championship game is on Saturday at 2 p.m.