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Mar. 27—ROCHESTER — Zach Wiese is in his third season as a goalie for the University of Minnesota men's hockey team.
Wiese has dressed for every game during that time. He's gone on the team's road trips and been at every practice. Yet Gophers fans have never seen the Owatonna native play in a regular season game.
That's the life of a third goalie in college hockey.
"He's extremely valuable," Gophers assistant coach and goalie coach Brennan Poderzay told the Post Bulletin when the Gophers were in Rochester on March 14 and 15 for a practice and scrimmage at Graham Arena. "It's probably the biggest underlying thing that people don't talk about, being able to have a guy like Zach. Because he's extremely talented.
"So it would be very easy for him to get frustrated. He could not show up to work every day, but he's been absolutely tremendous. I couldn't be more happy for him. So he plays a key role for this team, whether people see it or not."
Wiese, a junior who wears No. 30 for the Maroon and Gold, will be on the bench this weekend as the Gophers (25-10-4) begin play in the NCAA Tournament. They play a first-round game at 7:30 p.m. tonight against the University of Massachusetts (20-13-5) at Scheels Arena in Fargo.
He joined the Gophers after two seasons with the Rochester Grizzlies, a team he led to the NA3HL national championship in 2022, when he was named the league's Goalie of the Year, going 20-2-2 with a 1.70 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.
"Going in, I knew my role," Wiese said of joining the Gophers in the 2022-23 season. "I'm just having fun every day. I still love being on the rink. I still love playing. I've just learned a lot about how the whole game operates, not just from the goalie's side of things, but more about how everything operates with the defensemen and forwards and what we're looking for during a game."
Wiese said he has learned every day from the other goalies he's played with at Minnesota — starter Justen Close last season, and grad student Liam Souliere and sophomore Nathan Airey, who have split time nearly equally in goal this season.
"The guys here are amazing," Wiese said. "They make me feel like part of the team, even though I'm not getting the opportunity to play. But they make me feel like part of the team and we've built a lot of great friendships over the last three years."
Wiese did play more than 34 minutes in an exhibition game victory against Bemidji State last season; he stopped 12 shots as the Gophers beat the Beavers 5-2.
"That was a great moment," Wiese said with a smile. "It wasn't a game that counted, but in my heart it counted for me. It was just a lot of fun getting to see all the fans out there and being on the ice for a game situation."
Most days, it's Wiese's duty to be one of the first — if not the first — guys at the rink and one of the last to leave. If former Dodge County star Brody Lamb, or first-round NHL Draft picks Oliver Moore or Jimmy Snuggerud want to shoot pucks, Wiese gets out on the ice early or stays on the rink at 3M at Mariucci for as long as those guys want to shoot.
And he's there when Souliere or Airey needs a break or a rest day during practice. That's Wiese's time to shine. And when he shines, Poderzay is one of the first to let everyone know about it. During their practice session at Graham on March 14, Wiese gloved a heavy shot that Snuggerud had targeted for the top corner of the net. Poderzay hollered and banged his stick on the ice as Snuggerud skated away, slightly shaking his head.
"He's not only a talented goalie, but he's a first-class human," Poderzay said of Wiese. "He's a great teammate. He works his tail off every day. The guys, I know, appreciate him immensely. I do as well, because he makes my job a lot easier when he's pushing the pace every day.
"He's the absolute best. I think everybody here will echo that from the top to the bottom. He's always full of energy. I don't know if the guy's ever seen a bad day. We're just really fortunate to have him."
In Wiese's final season with the Grizzlies, he wasn't sure if he wanted to play college hockey. The former two time Class 5A football state champion at Owatonna was considering going to college, or pursuing a skilled trades career.
Then the offer from the Gophers came. And, in the snap of fingers, he's almost a college senior.
"These last three years have flown by," Wiese said. "You're in college life and then we're so busy playing every weekend. Everything flies by and I can't believe I'll already be a senior. I've got one more chance at it after this. It'll be a lot of fun."
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Wiese has dressed for every game during that time. He's gone on the team's road trips and been at every practice. Yet Gophers fans have never seen the Owatonna native play in a regular season game.
That's the life of a third goalie in college hockey.
"He's extremely valuable," Gophers assistant coach and goalie coach Brennan Poderzay told the Post Bulletin when the Gophers were in Rochester on March 14 and 15 for a practice and scrimmage at Graham Arena. "It's probably the biggest underlying thing that people don't talk about, being able to have a guy like Zach. Because he's extremely talented.
"So it would be very easy for him to get frustrated. He could not show up to work every day, but he's been absolutely tremendous. I couldn't be more happy for him. So he plays a key role for this team, whether people see it or not."
Wiese, a junior who wears No. 30 for the Maroon and Gold, will be on the bench this weekend as the Gophers (25-10-4) begin play in the NCAA Tournament. They play a first-round game at 7:30 p.m. tonight against the University of Massachusetts (20-13-5) at Scheels Arena in Fargo.
He joined the Gophers after two seasons with the Rochester Grizzlies, a team he led to the NA3HL national championship in 2022, when he was named the league's Goalie of the Year, going 20-2-2 with a 1.70 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.
"Going in, I knew my role," Wiese said of joining the Gophers in the 2022-23 season. "I'm just having fun every day. I still love being on the rink. I still love playing. I've just learned a lot about how the whole game operates, not just from the goalie's side of things, but more about how everything operates with the defensemen and forwards and what we're looking for during a game."
Wiese said he has learned every day from the other goalies he's played with at Minnesota — starter Justen Close last season, and grad student Liam Souliere and sophomore Nathan Airey, who have split time nearly equally in goal this season.
"The guys here are amazing," Wiese said. "They make me feel like part of the team, even though I'm not getting the opportunity to play. But they make me feel like part of the team and we've built a lot of great friendships over the last three years."
Wiese did play more than 34 minutes in an exhibition game victory against Bemidji State last season; he stopped 12 shots as the Gophers beat the Beavers 5-2.
"That was a great moment," Wiese said with a smile. "It wasn't a game that counted, but in my heart it counted for me. It was just a lot of fun getting to see all the fans out there and being on the ice for a game situation."
Most days, it's Wiese's duty to be one of the first — if not the first — guys at the rink and one of the last to leave. If former Dodge County star Brody Lamb, or first-round NHL Draft picks Oliver Moore or Jimmy Snuggerud want to shoot pucks, Wiese gets out on the ice early or stays on the rink at 3M at Mariucci for as long as those guys want to shoot.
And he's there when Souliere or Airey needs a break or a rest day during practice. That's Wiese's time to shine. And when he shines, Poderzay is one of the first to let everyone know about it. During their practice session at Graham on March 14, Wiese gloved a heavy shot that Snuggerud had targeted for the top corner of the net. Poderzay hollered and banged his stick on the ice as Snuggerud skated away, slightly shaking his head.
"He's not only a talented goalie, but he's a first-class human," Poderzay said of Wiese. "He's a great teammate. He works his tail off every day. The guys, I know, appreciate him immensely. I do as well, because he makes my job a lot easier when he's pushing the pace every day.
"He's the absolute best. I think everybody here will echo that from the top to the bottom. He's always full of energy. I don't know if the guy's ever seen a bad day. We're just really fortunate to have him."
In Wiese's final season with the Grizzlies, he wasn't sure if he wanted to play college hockey. The former two time Class 5A football state champion at Owatonna was considering going to college, or pursuing a skilled trades career.
Then the offer from the Gophers came. And, in the snap of fingers, he's almost a college senior.
"These last three years have flown by," Wiese said. "You're in college life and then we're so busy playing every weekend. Everything flies by and I can't believe I'll already be a senior. I've got one more chance at it after this. It'll be a lot of fun."
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