Bulldogs' Jack Connolly: Alpha dog

A UMD Statesman story by Matt Busch and photo by Rachel Kraft, republished with permission:

Jack Connolly just looks like a hockey player. His slightly askew set of teeth and his distinct omni-present playoff beard make him instantly recognizable to any northland hockey fan.

His look wouldn't mean much if he couldn't back it up, and back it up he has over the last three and a half seasons at UMD. Connolly has slowly climbed to the upper echelon of names in Bulldog history and cemented his legacy last spring with a national championship. He has raised his stellar play this season, being one of the favorites to win this year's Hobey Baker Award.

"It would be awesome," UMD's 2004 Hobey Baker winner Junior Lessard said Friday about Connolly possibly taking home the award. "We're leading the country with Hobey Baker winners, and to have a fifth one would be special."

Connolly is a hometown boy. He helped lead Duluth Marshall High School to three straight appearances in the Minnesota Class-A State Tournament from 2005-2007. The final two seasons they finished runner-up.

"Playing for Marshall was great, it was a lot of fun," Connolly said. "Great high school memories, lot of great buddies on my team."

Connolly joined the Bulldogs after a year in the USHL where he led the league with 72 points.

The two-time All-American Connolly isn't too worried about his own accolades, but admits the Hobey Baker Award would mean a lot. His focus remains on getting the Bulldogs another national championship.

"Hands down it would be another national championship," Connolly said. "The Hobey Baker would be cool but winning a national championship then try to repeat would definitely be one of the most special things that could ever happen to a guy in college hockey."

UMD's 1984 Hobey Baker winner Tom Kurvers agrees with Connolly on team success first.

"We would enjoy it immensely if he were to win it, but in our mind, Jack's already been part of a national championship," Kurvers said. "We would trade in our awards to be a part of a national championship team. I tell people that the 2011 championship was for every player that ever played here. It's hard to express that to a guy who's on the team, because it's their team and their championship, but we celebrated just along with them."

Connolly is focused on helping the Bulldogs for the remainder of the season despite his potentially bright future beyond the friendly confines of UMD and AMSOIL Arena.