Inside College Hockey | INCH Measures Up Jesse Unklesbay

April 2, 2004
NCAA Frozen Four
INCH Measures Up UMD's Jesse Unklesbay

By James Jahnke

Minnesota Duluth scored eight goals in two games at the Midwest Regional last weekend in Grand Rapids, and senior Jesse Unklesbay had a quarter of them. The Bulldogs certainly don't expect that kind of production from Unklesbay – who averaged roughly a goal every eight contests the last two seasons – but they'll take it. A team can never have too many scoring threats going into the national semifinals, especially against a stingy defense like Denver's.

So Unklesbay will be among the Bulldogs counted on to challenge Pioneer goalie Adam Berkhoel when the teams face off at noon Thursday. And he'll probably do it. In obscurity. Unless, of course, he scores again.

Unklesbay wasn't named to last weekend's all-regional team, despite being a major reason why UMD reached its first Frozen Four since 1985. The Maplewood, Minn., product probably didn't even get many votes. You see, Unklesbay doesn't make fans sit on the edges of their seats when the puck is on his stick. He's the kind of player who gladly leaves the headlines for flashier teammates like Junior Lessard, Evan Schwabe and Tyler Brosz and quietly goes about his job.

For that reason, he's been as crucial to the Bulldogs' success this season as anyone on the roster. At 25 years old, Unklesbay brings a calming influence to the UMD locker room. And, as a transfer from Alaska Anchorage three years ago, he fully appreciates his spot on the UMD team and the season it's having. INCH caught up with Unklesbay after the Bulldogs' first practice for the Frozen Four this week.

Jesse Unklesbay is one of four seniors on the Minnesota Duluth roster.

Inside College Hockey: Jesse, obviously, a lot of people didn't expect you guys to be in the Frozen Four this year. Tell us how you're feeling right now.

Jesse Unklesbay: Well, we felt we had a good enough team at the onset of the year, but this is exciting. Real exciting. It feels good. But we always knew, as a team, we were good enough.

INCH: But does it give you any extra pleasure in proving people wrong?

JU: Sure. People didn't give us respect, really all year. It's a sense of accomplishment. In the back of our minds, yeah, it's a little bit of a motivating factor. But you still gotta go out and play the games.

INCH: You played two years at Alaska Anchorage before transferring to UMD. What made you leave?

JU: I had some personal things going on back then that I'd rather not talk about. Hockey was kind of a bummer, to be honest. The guys up there were great, and I made some good friends, but I had a lot of little things building up and I just decided it was enough. And I wanted to be closer to home.

INCH: Now you're 25, going on 26 years old, right?

JU: Absolutely, yeah. I'm really old.

INCH Measures Up:
Frozen Four Edition

March 31: BC's Peter Harrold
April 1: Maine's Todd Jackson
April 3: UMD's Jesse Unklesbay

INCH: Do the young guys on the team give you a hard time about that?

JU: I get crap all the time, you know, with these 18-year-old punks on the team. They're always letting me know.

INCH: Given that you're a little older and more mature than a lot of your teammates, do you take it upon yourself to impress some wisdom upon them, given all you've been through?

JU: A little bit. It's not like I push it, though. Just having seen all the ups and downs before, I've been through a lot. So, if something's going wrong, you have to try to get everyone to relax and understand the big picture. You know, just keep the ups and downs at an even keel.

INCH: When we last saw you, you had just scored a goal in each game at the Midwest Regional in Grand Rapids. Tell us how that felt.

JU: It felt great. Coach (Scott Sandelin) switched up the lines a little bit before the game. Me and (Tim) Stapleton had always wanted to play together, but I never really thought it was my place to go to the coach about it. During the week of practice, when he announced the lines, we were like, 'Holy crap. He did it.' We went out there, and it was pretty sweet. We play with each other pretty well. And then scoring in the games was great.

INCH: Well, that's what's expected of you, right? Scoring a goal a game?

JU: (Laughs). Yeah, right. (Laughs). It was nice. Especially against Minnesota.

INCH: Does the fact that you beat Minnesota to get to the Frozen Four make the whole thing even more special?

JU: I'd be lying if I said no. So, yeah, it was great for it to come against our rival and the two-time defending national champions. It was a good step for our program.

INCH: Do you get the sense that, in 10 or 20 years, you're going to look back at this season as your finest as a hockey player?

JU: Definitely, this is the most successful hockey season I've had as part of a team. As for 10 or 20 years down the road, this will be the season I look back at. We've accomplished a lot of things. But we want to win it all.

INCH: If you could, think back to January and give us your scouting report of Denver.

JU: They're good. They have good goaltending, they're good in the defensive zone. They get the puck out and then chase it down the ice with a lot of speed. They're a tough team to play against, and they're playing good right now, obviously.

INCH: Does it help your confidence to know you've already swept them this season?

JU: It helps to know we beat them twice. But the first time was 1-0 when our goalie stood on his head. It was one of those games where we had 20 blocked shots and it really was a turning point of our season. It was a big win for us. But you can throw that all out the door at this time of year. It's a one-game shot now, and anything can
happen.

INCH: What's the mood around the campus? Are people coming up to you and talking about the team or anything like that?

JU: Everybody's congratulating us. People are definitely recognizing it a little more. It's a big thing in Duluth.