University of Minnesota Athletics
GOPHERS SIGN FOUR TOP RECRUITS TO HOCKEY TENDERS
11/18/1999 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Matt Koalska is a 5'11 1/2", 188-pound left-handed shooting forward who is spending this season with the Twin Cities Vulcans in the United States Hockey League. Koalska, a 1999 graduate of Hill-Murray High School in St. Paul, Minn., played last season as a prep with the Pioneers. He was honored on the all-metro and all-state teams after the 1998-99 campaign. This season, Koalska has scored eight goals and assisted on 10 others in 18 games for the Vulcans.
Paul Martin is a 6'0", 196-pound left-handed shooting defenseman from Elk River High School in Elk River, Minn. Martin was named to the first team All-State squad as a junior, scoring nine goals and assisting on 11 others for a total of 20 points in 28 games. Martin, who as a wide receiver in football just recently set the Minnesota State High School all-time record for most receptions (189 career catches for 3,009 yards), carries a 3.87 grade-point average (A minus average).
Troy Riddle, a 5'9 1/2", 172-pound right-handed shooting forward from Minneapolis, Minn., was named to the All-State squad as a junior after leading Benilde- St. Margaret High School to the Minnesota State High School Class A Championship. Riddle, who was the state's leading scorer last season as a junior (both Class A and Class AA), is spending his senior season in Iowa playing with Des Moines of the United States Hockey League. Riddle has 12 goals and eight assists in 15 games this season with the Des Moines.
Jon Waibel, a 5'11", 180-pound right-handed forward from Baudette, Minn., is the fourth recruit to commit to the Golden Gophers during the early signing period. Waibel has spent the last two seasons playing with the U.S. National Development Team in Ann Arbor, Mich., after spending his sophomore season as a prep player at Lake Of The Woods High School. Waibel has seven goals and nine assists in 19 games this season with the U.S. National Team, which plays a schedule consisting of United States Hockey League teams.
"We are extremely pleased with not only the talent that we've been able to sign in these four recruits, but also the quality of student-athletes that these four young men represent," said Golden Gopher Head Coach Don Lucia. "All four of these recruits are solid students, and that represents something that I feel is extremely important in recruiting kids into your program. And certainly not to be overlooked is the fact that all four are also focused on the task of returning our program to one of the elite in the WCHA and the nation."
