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Photo by: Brad Rempel
Five Minutes with Catie Skaja
2/26/2020 9:52:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Sophomore forward Catie Skaja chatted with the Voice of Gopher Women's Hockey Dan Hamann last weekend.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Listen in as sophomore forward Catie Skaja chatted with the Voice of Gopher Women's Hockey Dan Hamann before Minnesota's regular-season finale against Minnesota State last weekend.
Dan Hamann: The Gophers wrap up their regular season today against Minnesota State Mankato. My player guest today is sophomore forward Catie Skaja. "The Pride of New Prague," as I often refer to you, Catie. Is it special coming from a smaller town knowing that the community really rallies behind their student-athletes?
Catie Skaja: Yeah, it's really nice. Anything you do, they're always supporting you. You don't think they notice what you're doing, but when you come ho mefor a break they're always like, "You had a really good game!" It means a lot knowing that they're always behind you.
DH: What's the best part about going back to New Prague, and what kind of things do you like to do when you're back in your hometown?
CS: Honestly, I like to watch my sister play at the rink. The people at the rink are so awesome and encouraging, and they're always fun to catch up with. That's the main thing I do when I go home.
DH: Do people ask you a lot of questions about life at the University and playing Division I college hockey?
CS: Yeah, they actually ask me a lot about school, like what I'm studying. It's still undecided. They're always asking questions, making sure I'm doing okay, and keeping up with everything.
DH: You have been a member of the third line for pretty much your whole tenure here. It's an important role to have, not necessarily to put the puck in the net, but to provide energy to the game.
CS: It's a lot of fun to play on the third line. Coach Frost always says, "The third line wins championships," so when we're out there, we're doing our best not to get scored on. We're very fast and we do provide a lot of energy, and that's what gets the team going a lot.
DH: It isn't always about putting the puck in the net, but having a role within the team and doing it well. Right now, the third line is doing the role well.
CS: Coach Frost will often come up to me before a game and say, "Sometimes you're not going to get offensive time, so do your best defensively." It's actually a lot of fun to be able to shut down the other team's top one or two lines.
DH: What's been the most fun for you over the past two years, aside from the team here? People always say "being part of the team" or "hanging out with the girls." Aside from the hockey team, what do you enjoy?
CS: I like the whole culture of the University of Minnesota. It's so nice how welcoming everyone is, and they all seem to care about one another and the campus in general. Our house is pretty fun too; we live with 10 girls. It's great to see your best friends every day and to have them there to pick you up and make sure you're doing well.
DH: Are all 10 roommates members of the hockey team?
CS: We have eight on the team, one tennis player, and one non-athlete that we're all friends with. It's been so fun and very interesting.
DH: What are some of the most interesting things that have happened in the house that you can actually share with us?
CS: Everything honestly. Abigail Boreen and Crystalyn Hengler alwayas crack jokes out of nowhere. We laugh the entire time we're there.
DH: Who's in charge of the chores?
CS: The five of us that are all hockey girls that live in the upper treehouse, and we're really good about cleaning everything up. But, in lower tree, that's a different story. They are always yelling at each other about taking out the garbage, doing the dishes, and just cleaning up after themselves. It's very comical being down there.
DH: As you reflect on the season, it's been a rather successful year here at the University of Minnesota. What are one or two moments that you think of positively from this season?
CS: I just think what we have in the locker room. It's very good and encouraging. No matter what, we're always there for each other, picking each other up, and making sure that we focus on what values we're going to take away that make us a better person.
DH: We're going to do a round of True/False here. So Catie, True or False: you only brush your hair on game days, you do not wash your hair.
CS: That's true. I started it last year, and now I can't change it until I graduate.
DH: True/False: You eat one yellow starburst before a game.
CS: True, unless you eat them all before the game and I don't have any!
###
Dan Hamann: The Gophers wrap up their regular season today against Minnesota State Mankato. My player guest today is sophomore forward Catie Skaja. "The Pride of New Prague," as I often refer to you, Catie. Is it special coming from a smaller town knowing that the community really rallies behind their student-athletes?
Catie Skaja: Yeah, it's really nice. Anything you do, they're always supporting you. You don't think they notice what you're doing, but when you come ho mefor a break they're always like, "You had a really good game!" It means a lot knowing that they're always behind you.
DH: What's the best part about going back to New Prague, and what kind of things do you like to do when you're back in your hometown?
CS: Honestly, I like to watch my sister play at the rink. The people at the rink are so awesome and encouraging, and they're always fun to catch up with. That's the main thing I do when I go home.
DH: Do people ask you a lot of questions about life at the University and playing Division I college hockey?
CS: Yeah, they actually ask me a lot about school, like what I'm studying. It's still undecided. They're always asking questions, making sure I'm doing okay, and keeping up with everything.
DH: You have been a member of the third line for pretty much your whole tenure here. It's an important role to have, not necessarily to put the puck in the net, but to provide energy to the game.
CS: It's a lot of fun to play on the third line. Coach Frost always says, "The third line wins championships," so when we're out there, we're doing our best not to get scored on. We're very fast and we do provide a lot of energy, and that's what gets the team going a lot.
DH: It isn't always about putting the puck in the net, but having a role within the team and doing it well. Right now, the third line is doing the role well.
CS: Coach Frost will often come up to me before a game and say, "Sometimes you're not going to get offensive time, so do your best defensively." It's actually a lot of fun to be able to shut down the other team's top one or two lines.
DH: What's been the most fun for you over the past two years, aside from the team here? People always say "being part of the team" or "hanging out with the girls." Aside from the hockey team, what do you enjoy?
CS: I like the whole culture of the University of Minnesota. It's so nice how welcoming everyone is, and they all seem to care about one another and the campus in general. Our house is pretty fun too; we live with 10 girls. It's great to see your best friends every day and to have them there to pick you up and make sure you're doing well.
DH: Are all 10 roommates members of the hockey team?
CS: We have eight on the team, one tennis player, and one non-athlete that we're all friends with. It's been so fun and very interesting.
DH: What are some of the most interesting things that have happened in the house that you can actually share with us?
CS: Everything honestly. Abigail Boreen and Crystalyn Hengler alwayas crack jokes out of nowhere. We laugh the entire time we're there.
DH: Who's in charge of the chores?
CS: The five of us that are all hockey girls that live in the upper treehouse, and we're really good about cleaning everything up. But, in lower tree, that's a different story. They are always yelling at each other about taking out the garbage, doing the dishes, and just cleaning up after themselves. It's very comical being down there.
DH: As you reflect on the season, it's been a rather successful year here at the University of Minnesota. What are one or two moments that you think of positively from this season?
CS: I just think what we have in the locker room. It's very good and encouraging. No matter what, we're always there for each other, picking each other up, and making sure that we focus on what values we're going to take away that make us a better person.
DH: We're going to do a round of True/False here. So Catie, True or False: you only brush your hair on game days, you do not wash your hair.
CS: That's true. I started it last year, and now I can't change it until I graduate.
DH: True/False: You eat one yellow starburst before a game.
CS: True, unless you eat them all before the game and I don't have any!
###
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