Neal: St. Thomas puts its best foot forward with opening of Lee and Penny Anderson Arena

The St. Thomas women’s hockey program won a total of 32 games in its first four seasons as a Division I member. But the Tommies rolled into Friday with a 6-2 record and ranked in the top 25 for the first time, at 13.

That added another tentacle of intrigue to their game against Providence on Friday.

The program is trying to rise from the depths of Division I to be competitive.

The Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, which has risen at the intersection of Cretin and Grand avenues in St. Paul, held its inaugural event Friday. And it was a wild one, as the Tommies rallied from three goals down in the third period to take a lead before losing 7-6 in overtime.

One more thing on the rise in this state: The stakes. St. Thomas revealed its intentions in 2021 when it began the transition from Division III to I.

The resources have followed.

This arena is a threat to the Gophers and other hockey programs in the state that ended up with players the Gophers didn’t want. This modern facility, nestled in a neighborhood campus environment, is going to draw eyes. Recruits are going to follow. The men’s and women’s programs are going to be a factor.

“We’ve seen some new arenas across the country, and I think you are seeing an investment in hockey at the college level, both women and men,” St. Thomas athletic director Phil Esten said an hour before the first faceoff in arena history.

“For us to be able to do this in the State of Hockey says that St. Thomas is committed to excellence in this sport. It’s something we want to make sure we can compete in in our state.”

Esten said Friday that the Tommies haven’t been the only teams using the facility. “The St. Paul Capitals started using this thing 10 days ago,” he said.

The youth hockey program has been in need of ice time, and St. Thomas obliged. Esten added that the facility will accommodate high school hockey and figure skating, and the public will have access to the auxiliary ice sheet in the arena.

When you transition from one era to another, which the opening of Anderson Arena is ushering, it’s a good time to reflect about how far the program has come. The ceremonial faceoff before the Tommies-Friars game provided that moment.

Kevin Gorg was later found standing on the concourse behind north goal in the third period.

“We were playing at Parade Ice Garden in Minneapolis,” said Gorg, who was 143-75-13 in seven seasons, well before he began his career as a FanDuel Sports North on-air talent. “We shared the rink that the Wild were using as their practice facility. So on any given weekday, the Wild would be practicing and then we would show up and skate right after them.”

The Wild have progressed since then, practicing at Tria Rink — which is also used by Hamline.

The Tommies began their comeback as Gorg spoke. Reichen Kirchmair had a hat trick in the second period to give the Friars a 5-2 lead and leading to a change in goal. But St. Thomas scored four times in the third, with Ilsa Lindaman putting them up 6-5.

Providence scored with 31.1 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime. And Kirchmair gut-punched the Tommies with her fourth goal to spoil their opener.

The arena emptied and prepared for the transition to the men’s game, also against Providence. The school threw a fanfest on the plaza outside between games. The arena re-opened at 6 p.m., with a horde of young males with faces painted purple standing in line.

The was a surprise waiting for them. Lee and Penny Anderson, the couple whose $75 million donation made the arena possible, walked to center ice for the second ceremonial puck drop of the day. They were greeted by thunderous applause.

The Andersons? A slight upgrade from Gorg. But the day was about upgrading a program.

“If you live here and you’ve got kids that play here, this is going to elevate everybody’s opportunities,” Gorg said. “This is another major program on the men’s and women’s side that gives more kids opportunities to play. And it is going to be great or the game.”