From green and gold to national gold.
Okotoks Oilers alumnus Rhett Gardner and the University of North Dakota captured its eighth NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey Frozen Four championship in school history and first in 16 years with a 5-1 victory Saturday over the Quinnipiac Bobcats in Tampa Bay.
“It’s been 16 years since they’ve had their last national championship,” said Gardner, a freshman centre for North Dakota. “It’s incredible to bring it back to Grand Forks, we get so much support here.”
Not a bad way to start your university career.
Gardner, who committed to North Dakota prior to playing two seasons of Jr. A with the Oilers from 2013-15, looks back on his decision to join the Fighting Hawks as one of the best he’s ever made.
“Coming in your freshman year you want to win one, but you don’t necessarily expect to win one,” he said. “Especially with the part our (rookie) class had in making an impact this year with guys like (Brock) Boeser. It’s a crazy feeling.”
The Moose Jaw native, who registered 91 points in 106 games with Okotoks, is the first Oilers alumnus to win a Division I championship.
“I owe a lot of this to Okotoks and the staff and all my years there developing,” Gardner said. “Okotoks still means a lot to me. I miss it some days. I love it down here, but I miss playing for the Oilers.”
The well-balanced North Dakota squad were led by a two-goal effort from highly-sought after college free-agent Drake Caggiula and a four-point evening from Boeser, a Vancouver Canucks first-round pick, in the 5-1 triumph over Quinnipiac.
“Everyone just wanted to do whatever they could for the next guy up,” Gardner said. “That’s the reason we had all of our success.”
North Dakota edged out the Denver University Pioneers by a 4-2 score in a thrilling semifinal on Thursday. Gardner added the late empty-netter after Nick Schmaltz netted the game-winning tally in the final minute.
It was a bittersweet battle for Gardner who ended the championship hopes of former Oilers teammate Tariq Hammond, a sophomore defenceman with the Pioneers, in the semifinal.
“I didn’t consider (Tariq) a friend out there, but he’s a really good friend of mine,” Gardner said. “He helped me out a lot in Okotoks and is a big reason why I’ve had the success that I’ve had.”
The Fighting Hawks were at or near the top of the national rankings all season and finished with the second best winning percentage in school history at .818. UND’s eight national titles ranks second only to the Michigan Wolverines’ mark of nine.
Gardner played a major role in getting the school to the Frozen Four. He potted the game-winner for the Hawks in their 5-2 triumph over Michigan in regionals to advance to the final four.
The six-foot-two pivot saw his role increase steadily throughout the season. He registered 11 goals and 18 points and led his conference in face-off wins by a freshman by a country mile.
His old coach is far from surprised to see the well-rounded forward find early success.
“Rhett was always a special player. Even being a younger player in our league he was a man among boys in certain elements,” said Oilers head coach/GM James Poole. “In watching the national semifinal, for the last minute of the game Rhett Gardner was on the ice for every last second and took every important face-off. It just shows how highly the UND coaching staff, the top program in the country, thinks of Rhett in terms of how responsible he is.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if an NHL club took notice of that to draft him or bring him to a camp. His future looks extremely bright.”
