Joe Drennan
Sports EditorGrowing up Jerilyn Glenn never dreamed of playing hockey for the University of Minnesota or even winning a national championship, but as graduation nears, she can proudly say she was part of the 2004 Gopher womenís hockey team that won the national championship.
ìI still canít believe that we won and I was a part of it,î Glenn said. ìIt hasnít hit me. Right now itís just part of life.î
Glenn didnít grow up playing hockey. It wasnít until her family moved to Ham Lake almost 11 years ago from Brooklyn Center. After moving to Ham Lake that Glenn started skating on a neighbors backyard rink and her natural talent began to emerge.
As a freshman, Glenn scored 25 goals, but her sophomore season at Forest Lake High School Glenn had somewhat of a breakthrough season as she scored 49 goals and had 16 assists. Her play earned her All-State honors.
In her senior season, Glenn scored 22 more goals and had 14 more assists. Her hard work and good play helped Glenn to be named one of five finalists for the Ms. Hockey Award that Krissy Wendell of Park Center won.
ìI only really started thinking about playing college hockey my junior year of high school when I started getting letters,î Glenn said. ìI didnít think of it [hockey] as a career because I was doing so many sports.î
The other sports Glenn competed in included track, cross country, and tennis. Glenn was a two time honorable mention All-Conference high jumper, three time All-Conference and state participant in the pole vault, and participated in sprints and relays. As a pole vaulter, Glenn set a school record with a jump of 10 feet, six inches.
After graduation, it was on to the University of Minnesota where Glenn narrowed her list of sports down to just one, hockey.
The transition from high school hockey to college hockey wasnít as bad as Glenn had imagined. To prepare for her freshman season at the University of Minnesota, Glenn worked hard over the summer.
ìIt made the transition a lot easier, ì Glenn said. ìI didnít find it that hard when I got there because of the off season training.î
The off season training payed off as Glenn saw ice time in 26 games her freshman season, scoring three goals and two assists. In her sophomore season, Glenn played in all but one game for the Gophers and finished seventh on the team in scoring with 12 goals and eight assists.
Glenn started things off her junior season with a memorable goal as she scored the first ever goal at Ridder Arena in a game against St. Cloud State. Glenn played in all 36 games that season, and had two goals and four assists on the season. Glenn capped off her collegiate career with one goal and two assists in 36 games this season.
The last game Glenn played in is definitely one she will remember. With limited ice time, Glenn was on the ice with the three other seniors for an extended shift to end the season. It just so happens that last game was the national championship game the Gophers won.
ìCoach [Laura] Halldorson said, ëI donít care if youíre tired, youíre finishing out the last game,î Glenn said. ìAs long as I got to step out there and play the last game I was glad to do that, but it was a tiresome shift.î
As the final buzzer sounded to end Glennís collegiate career, the Gophers had beat Harvard 6-2.
ìIt was just great,î Glenn said. ìEveryone was just ripping off their helmets and gloves, jumping into the pile. It was a great feeling of accomplishment and completion, it was just the perfect way to end my senior year.î
With her career over, Glenn will have plenty of memories, but she says what sheíll miss most is working hard in practice and the time spent with teammates.
ìI just loved to work hard,î Glenn said. ìIt doesnít feel great at the moment, but it feels good afterwards.î
As she tries to keep in touch with her teammates, Glenn will inevitably rack up a few frequent flyer miles as the three other seniors all live in Canada, but Glenn says they will remain close.
Now that hockey is over, Glenn has to think about her future and what she wants to do. Majoring in applied economics with emphasis in finance, Glenn isnít too sure what she wants to do yet. One of Glennís assistant coaches happened to be a bond trader for Wells Fargo and she shadowed him for a day so she could get a taste of what the job offered.
Glenn says she will try and do an internship or two in her quest to find a job that she enjoys. She has an idea of what she wants to do, and she likes knows what she doesnít want to do.
ìI love the market because itís always changing,î Glenn said. ìI want to do something that keeps me busy. I canít sit around all day.î
Glenn says she also plans on coaching. She has been helping with the Forest Lake U-12 girls team, and wouldnít mind working with the high school team.
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