When Mike Randolph left the Duluth East boys hockey team, he left behind a legacy and won three state titles. After leaving the Greyhounds, he said that he was not done coaching. Shortly after, he joined the staff at St. Thomas Academy and spent last season as the junior varsity coach.
When the Cadets let head coach Trent Eigner go, Randolph applied and got the job. St. Thomas Academy is 4-0 and ranked No. 7 in Class AA going into Saturday's game against Simley. Randolph talks about this season's team, shares some great memories and more on this episode of The Rink Live podcast with Jess Myers and Mick Hatten.
TIME STAMPS
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1:20 Early impressions of this season's St. Thomas Academy team
2:00 How he ended up at St. Thomas Academy
3:00 What was it like to coach junior varsity after being a varsity coach for so long
4:25 Coaching at a private school, not having one youth hockey association to feed it
5:45 What it was like coaching against Duluth East in the second game of the season
7:00 Finding how many people reached out to him in his new position last season after being despised by opponents up north
8:00 Playing Cretin-Derham Hall, Duluth East, Eastview and Blake to open the season, the benefits of having a tough schedule
9:00 What he learned last season about players in the Twin Cities vs. players up north
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11:00 A scouting report on senior Tommy Cronin, a Colgate recruit. Cronin leads the Cadets in goals, points.
12:30 Talking about St. Thomas' top six defensemen, Brody Deitz leading the way and Mario Savino, Tommy Kertz, Jake Faith, Sean Burns,
14:00 Sophomore Cody Niesen and senior Tyler Magozzi splitting time in goal, giving up a total of four goals to open the season
15:10 What it has been like living in the Twin Cities after so many years in Duluth
16:30 What are the coldest arenas in the state?
18:30 Coaching more often against some people that he has known through the profession over the years. Have his jokes grown new legs?
19:30 Is their recruiting or how do players end up at St. Thomas Academy? The process of how students end up there
22:30 Memories of Steve Jensen, who recently passed away after a battle with cancer
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23:45 Changes to the coaching staff with his moving from associate head coach to head coach, the benefits of a smaller staff
26:40 Story about former Duluth East star Dave Spehar, his personality, how often pure goal scorers come along
