Occasionally during this hockey season, Sean Goldsworthy’s first as the head coach of the Minnetonka boys’ team, he heard from friends he made while he was the coach of St. Olaf for 19 years.
Not all of them understood why Goldsworthy went from the college game to working with teenagers in high school, and so they called with inquiries a few times. They wanted to know about the differences and what he likes — and whether he regrets the move.
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“And I say if I had known I’d have this much fun doing it five years ago,” Goldsworthy said, “I would have done it much earlier.”
Less than a full year into his job leading the Skippers, Goldsworthy has Minnetonka as the top-seeded team in the Class 2A state tournament that begins Thursday, favorites already to win their first-ever state title after a 24-2-2 season. But it took a winding road for Goldsworthy to end up in this situation, preparing now for a first-round matchup against Hill-Murray.
He had taken last hockey season off after ending his nearly two-decade run as the head coach of St. Olaf, a tenure that began when he was 26 years old. With three daughters at home and two in high school, he sought more time with them. After a year off, he figured, he’d get back into college hockey somehow.
The son of the late former North Stars forward Bill Goldsworthy, Sean had always loved high school hockey in Minnesota and had played for Minnetonka from 1986-90. But he had only ever coached college hockey and didn’t think it would be the right fit.
But a call from Brian Urick arrived in the spring and informed Goldsworthy that Urick, the 10-year coach at Minnetonka, was stepping aside. The two had gotten to know each other as Goldsworthy recruited a few Minnetonka players to St. Olaf and Urick recommended Goldsworhty.
“My first response was I wasn’t sure it was the right fit at the right time,” Goldsworthy said. “But after doing the research, it ended up being a perfect fit. Not too many times do you get an opportunity to go back to your alma mater and how lucky for me that it’s near to my heart — not just the Minnetonka community but the Minnetonka hockey program, which had a big influence on me as a young man. Whenever you can go back and give time and energy back to the program, I think it’s a great opportunity and I’m pretty fortunate to do it.”
| 2018 Class 2A boys state hockey tournament schedule | ||
| Round | Date | Games |
| Quarterfinals | Thurs., March 8 | Lakeville North vs. No. 2 Edina, 11 a.m. St. Michael-Albertville vs. No. 3 Duluth East, 1 p.m. Hill-Murray vs. No. 1 Minnetonka, 6 p.m. No. 5 Centennial vs. No. 4 St. Thomas Academy, 8 p.m. |
| Semifinals | Fri., March 9 | Lakeville N./Edina vs. SMA/Duluth East, 6 p.m. Hill-Murray/Minnetonka vs. Centennial/STA, 8 p.m. |
| Finals | Sat., March 10 | Third-place game, 4 p.m. Championship, 7 p.m. |
| All games at Xcel Energy Center | ||
Still, that didn’t stop some from looking curiously at Goldsworthy’s decision. Why would a college coach drop to the high school level?
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“I don’t really look at it this as a demotion from college just because they’re younger,” Goldsworthy said. “I actually look at it as a promotion because the program at this point is the right fit for me.”
And it didn’t take him long to realize his team had plenty of talent. A group of 10 seniors helped lead the team in summer workouts where it became apparent they had ample skill.
Senior Joe Molenaar paces the team with 29 goals, aided by sophomore Bobby Brink, a Denver commit, who has dished out 33 assists and leads the team with 49 points.
They’ve helped Minnetonka become the only team in the state to beat second-seeded Edina — and twice.
“What I didn’t realize is how quickly they were going to be able to absorb the material,” Goldsworthy said. “These kids were really eager to learn and are very capable of absorbing some higher end material and transferring it to their game. That’s been the biggest surprise to me is how quickly they took off.”
When Goldsworthy captained Minnetonka as a player in 1990, the team reached the state tournament and placed third. They’ve been to the tournament three times since, most recently finishing as runner-ups to Edina in 2010.
But now a first-year coach with more college ties than high school ones has Minnetonka as favorites entering the state tournament.
“We’ve been ranked No. 1 for a good portion of the year so I don’t think it’s any different,” Goldsworthy said. “We’re operating this week just like we would any other week. We understand that the story is not done. We’re on to the next chapter and hopefully it will end with a great finish. But we also feel like one game doesn’t define us and we also know there’s a lot of really good hockey yet to be played.”
(Top image: Minnetonka players celebrate their double-overtime Section 2AA championship win over Holy Family. Matt Kane/Let’s Play Hockey)
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