ST. PAUL, Minn. — Jared Wright knows a thing or two about scoring big goals in the Xcel Energy Center.
As a high schooler, the Burnsville, Minn., native scored the game-winning goal for St. Thomas Academy in the 2020 Minnesota State Hockey Tournament, helping the underdog Cadets knock off top-seeded Andover.
Wright remembers that goal, but his team ultimately came up short in the state tournament. In Saturday night’s national championship game against Boston College, the Denver sophomore scored a goal that he will no doubt remember forever — both for its uniqueness and for its impact.
His goal helped break open what was a scoreless tie midway though the second period as the Pioneers beat the Eagles 2-0 for their 10th national title.
“Obviously it’s a big dream growing up in Minnesota to win (a state championship), but winning this is I think so much bigger. It’s the pinnacle of my life so far,” said Wright.
The goal, which came off a Denver defensive-zone faceoff win, was a strange one. Wright used his speed to get up the ice quickly and then took a feed from linemate Rieger Lorenz. When he took the low-angle shot from close to the goal line, he was aiming over BC goaltender Jacob Fowler’s shoulder. Instead, the puck hit the post and bounced off Fowler’s back.
Fowler tried to make a backhand grab with his glove, but the puck fluttered in the net for the goal.
“I just threw it toward the net, and luckily it hit the post. It was rolling all over the place and somehow it found a way in,” Wright said.
Wright is one of two Minnesotans on Denver’s roster this season. The other — Bloomington native Tristan Broz — scored the overtime game-winner in Thursday night’s semifinal game against Boston University.
And that’s not to mention the third Minnesota connection on the team. Lorenz, a native of Calgary, was a second-round draft pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2022; he scored the other goal in Saturday’s game. Broz and Lorenz were both named to the Frozen Four all-tournament team.
Broz, who played his freshman season at Minnesota, wasn’t on the team when Denver won the title in 2022. He’s grateful that he made the decision to transfer — he got to win two trophies on hometown ice this season, this one and the NCHC Frozen Faceoff.
“It’s unbelievable,” Broz said. “It adds a special extra part to it. And to do it with these guys is the best part.”
Wright, a sophomore who skated in all 44 of Denver’s games this season, scored 15 goals for the Pioneers. He might not be the first name that comes to mind when they think of Denver’s No. 1 scoring offense, but he’s an important player for coach David Carle.
“I’m not sure there’s a faster player in college hockey,” Carle said. “His speed is exceptional. I think his offensive confidence continues to grow. Again, 15 goals in college hockey is not an easy thing to do. And I think he’s learning to score in different ways.
“You watch him in juniors, a lot of it, truthfully, was the breakaway he had tonight. He scored a few of those goals this year. Most of his goals last year were that way. But he’s scoring in different ways around the net, finding open ice in quiet areas. So that’s been great to see.
“And he’s the nicest human you’ll ever meet. Amazing, amazing kid. So proud of him. Teammates love him. You can tell how much it means to him to be here and to be part of this, and there’s not many people that you cheer harder for than Jared Wright, I’ll tell you that.”
Wright’s enthusiasm for the program showed during a postgame interview in the Denver locker room. He smiled the entire time from underneath a somewhat oversized national title baseball cap and pieces of the net.
“It means everything. Especially having my grandparents here, they don’t get to see me play a whole lot. Scoring in front of them, and my mom and my brothers and my family … it means the whole world,” Wright said of playing in Minnesota. “It’s the biggest moment of my life. I’m just so proud to be a Pio and to be part of this program. To know so many of the guys … I don’t even know what I’m saying now, but it’s the people here. The people make the program great, and I’m really proud to be here.”
