University of Minnesota Athletics
Five Minutes with Katie Robinson
11/22/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS - Gophers sophomore defense Katie Robinson caught up with the voice of Gopher Women's Hockey Dan Hamann last weekend before game one against St. Cloud State. Robinson reflects on her playing style, high school hockey, her first goal as a Gopher, fishing, and more.
Listen to Robinson's pregame interview with Dan Hamann
Dan Hamann: Welcome back to Gopher Women's Hockey, joining me today in between periods is sophomore defenseman, Katie Robinson out of Kasson, Minnesota. If you were listening last week, Katie with a big short-handed goal for Minnesota, helped propel them to a 5-2 victory over Mercyhurst. First of all, Katie, I know last year when you were a freshman, we talked about where exactly Kasson is, but you might have to remind the listeners once again here. I know you head south, but where to after that?
Katie Robinson: If you know where Rochester is, Kasson is about twenty minutes to the west of Rochester, and it's a town of about 5,000 people.
DH: I didn't realize it was that big, I guess that surprises me a little bit. Not a big hockey school but lately has been producing some top-notch talent, hasn't it?
KR: Yeah, I started playing high school there in seventh grade. I played boys hockey up until seventh grade. Our high school team is eight different schools; it might be more now, I don't know, it was eight when I was in high school. We have produced quite a bit of good hockey players, a few D3, one D1, Dana Rasmussen, who we're playing tonight, so that's fun.
DH: I was going to ask you, Dana and you go back quite a ways, I would imagine, you're from the same town in Kasson, so talk about what that relationship is like right now, being on the opposite side.
KR: It's going to be really fun playing against her. She's a year older. Her first year she was at Ohio State, then transferred to St. Cloud, so last year she had to sit out. This is our first year playing against each other, so I can't wait. We grew up together, we didn't start playing together until we started playing the cities, and then high school.
DH: Has there been any trash talking going on between you two?
KR: Not at all.
DH: Really? C'mon!
KR: Nothing to say.
DH: That just says to me that you might be too nice, Katie. Is that a fair thing to say about you, that you're too nice? Or, is there a light switch that goes on when you're out there?
KR: A lot of people say I'm too nice, but if you really know me, you know that when I'm on the ice, or sometimes when I'm around my closest friends, they know that I have a switch that goes on.
DH: We saw that switch, I think last year, too, against Wisconsin. I think it was Roque that you dumped. You got a penalty for it, but I think we saw something there that we hadn't seen up until that point. Do you remember that instance?
KR: Yeah, I remember it clearly.
DH: What happened for it to transpire there? It was kind of right after the whistle, Abby Roque is one that can kind of get under the skin of a lot of players.
KR: I don't know what really happened, I just remember she was being physical with a lot of my teammates and then she hit me and something switched, so I grabbed her and we both went down.
DH: Talk about that short-handed goal you scored [against Mercyhurst]. It was a nice pass that set you up, you just kind of wound up and shot. Did you know you had that much net to shoot at, or were you picking your spot on that one?
KR: I was just nervous to shoot, so I just shot it; I didn't really look. I know that we had great forecheck on the penalty kill, so I felt more comfortable to skate up or be up a little bit and then it came right to me, shot, and it ended up in.
DH: It doesn't get much more easy than that. Do you remember your first goal as a Golden Gopher still?
KR: Yeah I do. It was when we were playing the Hall of Fame game against Minnesota State in Edina. I took a wrist shot, or a slapshot, from the point and it went in the top corner, but I didn't celebrate, I guess, I don't know.
DH: So, is it fair that you're just trying to get it to the net, you're not necessarily picking your spots, right?
KR: Yeah, pretty much.
DH: We talked about being with Rasmussen already, for those that don't know Dana, what's her style of play like? We've seen her one year, as you mentioned, she played at Ohio State. What can we expect from your former high school teammate?
KR: Dana, she's quick. She's little, but quick. She's just a hard worker, so she goes 100% the whole time. I haven't seen her play lately, so I don't know if it's changed, but in high school, she was always on the puck right away.
DH: How about your style of play, how has that evolved in your time here, a little more than a year now? Has your style changed at all?
KR: I don't think my style has changed, but I've become more confident so I've shown my capabilities a little bit more and how I play a little bit more, compared to last year. I'm a big player so I try to utilize that and just try to keep it simple.
DH: Here at the University of Minnesota, I like to talk about the studies that you've gone through and what you've been doing, especially in the summer. You didn't get to take much of a big trip like a lot of your teammates did, so what did you do this summer?
KR: I stayed on campus quite a bit. I had a car up here so I could go home. I took a class, Econ, and then I hung out with my family and friends. Every year, my family and I go to a cabin that we rent out for the 4th of July for a week, so that was fun.
DH: Is that where you got those big crappies I saw on the internet? You got a couple of big ones you're holding up.
KR: Yeah, we got those there, it's Cut Foot Sioux on Lake Winnibigoshish and those weren't actually mine. I'm pretty sure my brother caught them, but I just wanted a picture with them.
DH: Aside from the summer classes, what did you do to prepare yourself for this season, and what did you do to relax?
KR: I worked out at the facilities here, I think it was about five days a week and did college skate. For work, I worked for OS Hockey and I was one of the instructors to push pucks around for the kids. To relax, I just went home, went fishing, not much.
DH: It seems pretty nice, just sitting out on the lake, as long as it's nice and sunny and not a lot of wind, it's very relaxing. I know we talked about what type of fishing, what's your mode of preference there when you're out on the lake?
KR: I like to troll, when you sit around, I don't like bobber fishing because it's more boring so if you're trolling, it's a little more scenery. For fish, I like to catch walleyes or crappies, the ones you can eat.
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