For Nina Rodgers, hockey is not just her sport of choice. It's her passion, her devotion, her way of life. If the Hopkins senior forward isn't playing hockey, she's watching it. Or thinking about it. Or preparing for it.

"I can barely last a day without hockey," she said. "If I'm not playing, I'll go out and play shinny in the back yard. I love watching hockey on TV or going to games. I love hockey, period."

Her single-mindedness paid off last month, when she signed a national letter of intent to play for two-time defending national champion Minnesota. Staff writer Jim Paulsen talked to Rodgers about a life spent craving ice time.

Q: Congratulations on signing with the Gophers. That must feel pretty good.

A: It does. It's a dream come true. It's amazing to be set up for the future like that.

Q: When did they offer?

A: We'd been talking to them for awhile, but they offered last December. I was hoping for that, but I made a quick call to let people know and then I said yes.

Q: Is it a relief to finally make that verbal commitment official?

A: Yeah. It's nice that part is out of the way now. But there's still a lot of hard work to go. I'm not there yet.

Q: What about you impressed the Gophers' staff?

A: I'd say they like my ability to score and being in the right position to score. I still have to work hard about not going into open space right away and getting into better position, but scoring has always come pretty naturally.

Q: How long have you been a hockey player?

A: I started when I was 5. I loved it right away.

Q: Any memories of your younger days?

A: My mom has some stories. She always tells me that I was always trying to skate as fast as I could and then I'd fall. It was skate, skate, fall, skate, skate, fall.

Q: Tell me something about your game that you're proud of that others might not recognize?

A: I'd say I'm proud of my ability to handle tough situations and not let them get into my head. Staying levelheaded.

Q: There are high expectations for Hopkins this season. What do you hope to see?

A: Personally, my expectation is to work hard every time I hit the ice. For the team, I know a lot of people are expecting us to be good, but as a team, we're just trying to be the best team we can be. We try not to think too much about what others expect.

Q: How has the team played so far?

A: As a team, we started kind of slow but now we're back to playing Hopkins hockey. But there's always room for improvement, for myself and for the team.

Q: Do you have a favorite goal that you've scored?

A: Last winter, in the first game of World [Under-18] Championships in Finland. I scored a goal my first game wearing a Team USA jersey. It felt amazing. I remember thinking, 'Wow, you're really doing this!'

Q: What is a secret talent of yours?

A: That's a tough one. I'm pretty good at a lot of sports. I haven't played basketball in years but I can still hit a three-pointer.

Q: Careful. The basketball team might recruit you.

A: I'm not worried [laughing]. You can't play basketball on skates.

Jim Paulsen