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Meet the Newcomers: Makayla Pahl
7/16/2019 8:30:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Meet the Newcomers: Olivia KingMeet the Newcomers: Sydney ShearenMeet the Newcomers: Madeline Wethington2019-20 Schedule
Makayla Pahl joins the Gophers as a goaltender from Rochester, Minn.
MINNEAPOLIS – Freshman Makayla Pahl joins the Gophers as a goaltender from Rochester, Minn., who grew up playing boys hockey. A world champion with the U.S. Women's Under-18 Team, Pahl intends to study Kinesiology at the University of Minnesota.
Gopher Sports: How did you first get into hockey?
Makayla Pahl: My brother started playing first, and I remember watching him over the years. I first laced up the skates when I was about 10 years old. My brother is actually younger than me. He started playing when he was around five years old. My dad grew up playing hockey, and he was a lot of help when I started.
GS: Did you know you wanted to be a goaltender right away?
MK: I actually started as a skater, but not even a year later I played goalie and never left it. I really don't know what it was about goalie that made me like it. It came faster than being a player, so I know I liked that.
GS: Did you play any other sports growing up?
MK: Not really any that I committed to. I started playing lacrosse a little bit later and just finished my last season during my senior year. I did not play goalie in lacrosse – I wanted to score some goals.
GS: What's your earliest hockey memory?
MK: I remember my first game ever. We went to a shootout. I went down, shot it, it went in, and I tripped over the goal post and fell, but I got up and skated back to the bench where everybody just hugged me. That was my first goal ever.
GS: What was your high school hockey experience like?
MK: I actually didn't start high school hockey until I was a junior in high school. I started with the guys' team. That went ok, and then I switched over to girls' hockey this last year, and that went really good until I got injured halfway through the season, but it was still fun.
GS: What was your USA Hockey experience like?
MK: It kind of all started at U-15s. I went to the national development camp in St. Cloud. Then the following year for U-16s, I went to Maine. I didn't go to Lake Placid, but then I made the U-18 national team for the world championship in Russia and then last year I went to Maine and Lake Placid. I think it's definitely helped me a lot, especially last year. I struggled a little bit, but it helped me find my game and become more committed to working harder.
GS: Is there a hockey player you admired or looked up?
MK: I've always looked up to Marc-Andre Fleury, and I like Jonathan Quick for his speed.
GS: When did you realize that playing Division I hockey was a possibility for you?
MK: It was always my goal since I was younger. We grew up North Dakota fans. It was weird because I always wanted to play college hockey, and I started off wanting to go to North Dakota but there was always a small part of me that wanted to be a Gopher. My first letter of interest came from North Dakota, so that was huge, but then I got a call from Coach Frost. They were two totally different campuses, but I like the big city and the atmosphere here.
GS: How did you choose the University of Minnesota?
MK: I love the atmosphere here. The team bonds so well together, and the coaches are committed to us players. They really want us to do our best, and they're real with us, which I really like. Coach Frost told me that I'll have to work for my spot, and that's what I like about him – he's real with you. The team is like one big family.
GS: What's your family like?
MK: I have one younger brother. He's 15 and going to be a sophomore in high school. Then there's my mom and my dad, and we have a little dog who is 14 years old. It will be hard to leave her. My dad grew up playing hockey in North Dakota. He played juniors and college hockey. My mom was athletic, but never really pursued any sports after high school.
GS: What do you like to do in your free time outside of hockey and school?
MK: I like to hang with friends as much as I can because hockey takes up so much of my life. It was the same with lacrosse in high school. I like to be outside a lot, and I like the lake.
GS: Do you know what you want to major in or what career field you're interested in?
MK: I want to major in Kinesiology, and I want to go into sports marketing. I really wanted to do something in sports. At first I was interested in athletic training, but then I took a sports marketing class in high school and we went and visited Target Field and U.S. Bank Stadium, and I really liked it.
GS: What are you most looking forward to about being part of Gopher women's hockey?
MK: Honestly, just being part of a family where everyone accepts you and you have great relationships with everyone. The competition between the goalies is what I'm looking forward to, too, because they'll definitely push me this year.
GS: What's one part of your game that you're confident in and one part of your game you want to work on more?
MK: One thing that I'm confident in is probably my quickness and reaction-wise in getting to rebounds. One thing I want to work on is using my size more. Sometimes I act like I'm a smaller goalie and make big movements to get to places, but I really don't.
Faceoff with Makayla Pahl
Favorite pizza topping: Hamburger
Favorite season: Summer
Favorite Netflix series: Riverdale
Favorite musician: Khalid
Favorite animal: Dog
Hockey players should always _________: Support each other
Favorite athlete: Marc-Andre Fleury
Name one food you could never live without: Mac n cheese
Favorite holiday: Christmas
If you could play another sport in college, it would be: Lacrosse
Dream job: NHL player
Night person or morning person: Night person
Favorite workout: Back squatting
Favorite sport to watch other than hockey: Baseball
Dream vacation: Greece
Biggest fear: Drowning
###
Gopher Sports: How did you first get into hockey?
Makayla Pahl: My brother started playing first, and I remember watching him over the years. I first laced up the skates when I was about 10 years old. My brother is actually younger than me. He started playing when he was around five years old. My dad grew up playing hockey, and he was a lot of help when I started.
GS: Did you know you wanted to be a goaltender right away?
MK: I actually started as a skater, but not even a year later I played goalie and never left it. I really don't know what it was about goalie that made me like it. It came faster than being a player, so I know I liked that.
GS: Did you play any other sports growing up?
MK: Not really any that I committed to. I started playing lacrosse a little bit later and just finished my last season during my senior year. I did not play goalie in lacrosse – I wanted to score some goals.
GS: What's your earliest hockey memory?
MK: I remember my first game ever. We went to a shootout. I went down, shot it, it went in, and I tripped over the goal post and fell, but I got up and skated back to the bench where everybody just hugged me. That was my first goal ever.
GS: What was your high school hockey experience like?
MK: I actually didn't start high school hockey until I was a junior in high school. I started with the guys' team. That went ok, and then I switched over to girls' hockey this last year, and that went really good until I got injured halfway through the season, but it was still fun.
GS: What was your USA Hockey experience like?
MK: It kind of all started at U-15s. I went to the national development camp in St. Cloud. Then the following year for U-16s, I went to Maine. I didn't go to Lake Placid, but then I made the U-18 national team for the world championship in Russia and then last year I went to Maine and Lake Placid. I think it's definitely helped me a lot, especially last year. I struggled a little bit, but it helped me find my game and become more committed to working harder.
GS: Is there a hockey player you admired or looked up?
MK: I've always looked up to Marc-Andre Fleury, and I like Jonathan Quick for his speed.
GS: When did you realize that playing Division I hockey was a possibility for you?
MK: It was always my goal since I was younger. We grew up North Dakota fans. It was weird because I always wanted to play college hockey, and I started off wanting to go to North Dakota but there was always a small part of me that wanted to be a Gopher. My first letter of interest came from North Dakota, so that was huge, but then I got a call from Coach Frost. They were two totally different campuses, but I like the big city and the atmosphere here.
GS: How did you choose the University of Minnesota?
MK: I love the atmosphere here. The team bonds so well together, and the coaches are committed to us players. They really want us to do our best, and they're real with us, which I really like. Coach Frost told me that I'll have to work for my spot, and that's what I like about him – he's real with you. The team is like one big family.
GS: What's your family like?
MK: I have one younger brother. He's 15 and going to be a sophomore in high school. Then there's my mom and my dad, and we have a little dog who is 14 years old. It will be hard to leave her. My dad grew up playing hockey in North Dakota. He played juniors and college hockey. My mom was athletic, but never really pursued any sports after high school.
GS: What do you like to do in your free time outside of hockey and school?
MK: I like to hang with friends as much as I can because hockey takes up so much of my life. It was the same with lacrosse in high school. I like to be outside a lot, and I like the lake.
GS: Do you know what you want to major in or what career field you're interested in?
MK: I want to major in Kinesiology, and I want to go into sports marketing. I really wanted to do something in sports. At first I was interested in athletic training, but then I took a sports marketing class in high school and we went and visited Target Field and U.S. Bank Stadium, and I really liked it.
GS: What are you most looking forward to about being part of Gopher women's hockey?
MK: Honestly, just being part of a family where everyone accepts you and you have great relationships with everyone. The competition between the goalies is what I'm looking forward to, too, because they'll definitely push me this year.
GS: What's one part of your game that you're confident in and one part of your game you want to work on more?
MK: One thing that I'm confident in is probably my quickness and reaction-wise in getting to rebounds. One thing I want to work on is using my size more. Sometimes I act like I'm a smaller goalie and make big movements to get to places, but I really don't.
Faceoff with Makayla Pahl
Favorite pizza topping: Hamburger
Favorite season: Summer
Favorite Netflix series: Riverdale
Favorite musician: Khalid
Favorite animal: Dog
Hockey players should always _________: Support each other
Favorite athlete: Marc-Andre Fleury
Name one food you could never live without: Mac n cheese
Favorite holiday: Christmas
If you could play another sport in college, it would be: Lacrosse
Dream job: NHL player
Night person or morning person: Night person
Favorite workout: Back squatting
Favorite sport to watch other than hockey: Baseball
Dream vacation: Greece
Biggest fear: Drowning
###
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