Inside the crease with Steve Bounds

When it comes to life, St. Scholastica senior goaltender Steve Bounds wants just one thing, to be happy.

“I want to wake up every day with a smile on my face,” he said.

Recently, Bounds and his Saints teammates have had a lot to smile about.

Going into play this weekend, the St. Scholastica is riding a four game unbeaten streak and Bounds is getting set to graduate in May with a degree in business management.

Bounds has played in all five of the teams games this season and his play has helped lead the Saints to a No. 15 ranking in all of Div. III hockey.

Bounds said rankings don’t mean much to him.

“You have to go out and prove what you can do,” he said. “You have go prepare to play any team just like any other. Any day one hockey team can beat another.”

His play between the pipes has been solid all season, including in last Saturday’s 3-0 win over Hamline University where he picked up 41 saves in the shutout.

So far this season, he has a .197 goals against average and a saves percentage of .938.

However, Bounds wasn’t always a goalie. He started playing hockey when he was five years old in Alberta. After about a year of playing as a position player, he started splitting time as a goaltender and a position player. But by the time he was seven, he was concentrating his efforts on goaltending.

Growing up, he participated in other sports like soccer and football. But he never liked any sport as much as he likes hockey.

“I’ve always wanted to be a goalie,” he said.

Bounds’ hometown of Airdrie, Alberta, is a 21-hour drive, but he said making the decision to come to Scholastica wasn’t one that worried him.

He said that he has a good relationship with his family and, although he is away, they are able to stay close.

“I talk to them at least once a week,” Bounds said. “And text my mom throughout the day.”

Over the past few years, his parents have come down to Duluth once or twice to see Saints games, but will probably come more often this year, since it’s his last season.

This winter, he is going to Jamaica with his family during the holiday break. Bounds said his family does that every year.

He’s been to Hawaii, St. Thomas, St. Martin and Florida.

As a youth hockey player, he grew up playing against current Saints teammate Joey Martini, who lived in a neighboring city.

“We didn’t personally know each other, but we knew of each other,” Bounds said. “I came down here my first year and he was my roommate and now he’s one of my closest friends.”

Once he graduates, Bounds is not sure where he would like to end up. He hopes, like most, that he will get a chance to try-out for a professional hockey team somewhere. But, after that, he’s not sure.

He said it’s possible that he would like to stay somewhere in the United States, but he can’t rule out going back to Canada.

Attending Scholastica has given Bounds experiences that he will never forget as a hockey player and as a person.

As a hockey player, he enjoyed being a part of the team that ended a winless drought against Wisconsin-Superior in 2007. Although he wasn’t playing, he said he was very happy to be here for that moment.

While it’s still fairly early in his senior year, Bounds is willing to take time to reflect.

“I just say thanks for the opportunity,” he said. “It was the best four years of my life. I couldn’t have had a better time.”

This weekend, Bounds and his teammates will travel to Wisconsin-River Falls and Wisconsin-Stout. This is the first weekend of NCHA play for the Saints.

“We’ve had a good week of practice,” Bounds said. “We’re excited to go there and play teams in our conference.”

The Saints have had their fair share of success in River Falls over the last few seasons, including eliminating the home-team Falcons from the playoffs two years in a row.

The Saints hope this weekend is no different with a struggling Falcon squad.

“We seem to have their number as of late,” Bounds said. “We really like the atmosphere there. We almost feel like we’re at home.”

Between the Pipes with Steve Bounds

Favorite Movie: Dumb and Dumber

Favorite Band: Goo Goo Dolls and System of a Down

Favorite TV Show: Family Guy

Favorite Food: Steak

Favorite Day of the Week: Friday

Favorite Number: 39

Favorite Athlete: Tiger Woods

***Article written by Sarah Packingham of the Duluth Budgeteer***

Saints men’s hockey predicting a strong season

After losing only two players to graduation, the College of St. Scholastica men’s hockey team is looking to make this season one for the record books.

The Saints finished last season with an overall record of 10-13-5, including a playoff series win over the nationally ranked University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Their playoff run ended in the semi-finals, where they lost to the eventual national champions, St. Norbert College.

“We were a little frustrated with last season, but we played well at the end,” Saints head coach Mark Wick said. “We saved our best hockey for the playoffs. We have to get off to a better start this year.”

This season Scholastica is led by a core group of upperclassmen, but the team also has a strong freshman class. There are eight freshmen listed in the roster, including Brian Downing, a 2006 Duluth East graduate.

“It was nice to get out and experience other parts of the country, but it’s good to be home,” Downing said. “Duluth really feels like home.”

While in high school, Downing said he couldn’t imagine playing college hockey back in Duluth, crediting his time at the junior hockey level for bringing him back home.

The Saints have only been practicing with the coaching staff since Oct. 13, and had captains practices before, but senior captain Trevor Geiger said he already sees a desire in his teammates.

“Our energy level is a lot higher,” he said. “We have a lot of seniors, and we have the desire — we want it more.”

Assistant captain and senior Kyle Luschinski agrees with Geiger.

“So far things have been really productive; we have a lot of new guys that are very dedicated,” he said. “This year’s the most promising of the years I’ve been here.”

The coaching staff has also seen a positive beginning of practice.

“Our attitude has been phenomenal,” Wick said. “The eight new guys fit in really well. We still have a lot of work to do, but we’re eager to go.”

Besides Geiger and Luschinski, there are two other assistant captains on the Saints squad. Senior Joey Hughes and junior Jordan Chong are other players that the team is looking to for guidance on and off the ice.

Luschinski said that all four captains have a different sort of style and leadership role to bring to the table.

The Saints are picked to finish sixth out of eight according to the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Preseason Coaches Poll.

St. Norbert is picked to finish first in the conference, with River Falls, Wisconsin-Stout, Wisconsin-Superior and Wisconsin-Stevens Point rounding out the top five. Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Lake Forrest are picked to finish seventh and eight respectively.

“It’s going to be an interesting year,” Wick said. “Norbert was a unanimous pre-season favorite. … In a year that we didn’t lose much, the other teams in the conference didn’t lose much either.”

The NCHA is notoriously known as one of the toughest leagues in Division III college hockey, and players know that there is no easy competition when it comes to league play.

“Our league is the best in Division III hockey in the nation,” Geiger said. “There’s never a bad team. It’s always good competition.”

Still, there are definitely games that the players look forward to more than others.

Luschinski said that he always enjoys playing against the Saints’ “across the bridge rivals,” Superior and St. Norbert.

He said that the Superior game is always fun because it means a lot to the fans and it is easy for the crowd and the players to get excited for it.

Scholastica is returning its leading scorer in senior A.J. Tucker. Tucker scored 15 goals last season and finished with 32 total points. Also, senior Steve Bounds returns to the net after splitting playing time last year with Tyler Johnson.

Bounds finished last season with an overall record of 6-6-2 and a .908 saves percentage and a 2.34 goals against average.

Wick said he was predicting a breakout season from one or more of his players; he didn’t name any names, but he was confident that it could happen this year.

“I think we have some guys who can take it to the next level,” he said. “I don’t know who it is, but we’re going to look back and say ‘Wow.’”

This season the Saints have 15 of their 25 games on the road, which Geiger said may be an advantage to his team. Last season, the Saints had a better road record than home record.

However, the Saints are very appreciative of their hometown fans.

“It’s awesome to come out and hear the crowd,” Geiger said. “It’s like having an extra fan on the ice.”

The Saints open on the road this weekend with a non-conference game against Eau Claire. Their first home game will be against Augsburg College at 7:05 p.m. Nov. 7 at Mars Lakeview Arena.

***Article Written by Sarah Packingham of the Duluth Budgeteer News***