During a practice in December 2020 before the Gophers’ 2021 gymnastics season started in January, sophomore Ella Sirjord was doing her routine series on beam at Peik Gymnasium, but then found herself lying on the mat, saying, ‘Oh, there’s something wrong.’

During her senior year at Andover High School in Minnesota, Sirjord tore her ACL. However, she recovered to prepare for her freshman season with the Gophers.

Fast forward to that day in December at Peik Gymnasium. Sirjord knew something was wrong with her right leg, which had the previous ACL tear, and was unsure what happened. It didn’t feel like an ACL tear, considering what the first one felt like during her senior year.

“I was going to do the intrasquad that day,” Sirjord said. “We were doing the huddle and going back and forth. [But] I felt so off, and I was like ‘I can’t [compete].’”

Quickly after the huddle, Sirjord went to the Gophers gymnastics trainer, Shanice Cheatham, to express her concern with her leg.

Cheatham, who joined the Gophers Athletic Medicine staff in 2018 as an Assistant Athletic Trainer, completed tests to see if anything was wrong. She did not find any significant issues in those tests, until later that day when she did the tests again and delivered heartbreaking news to Sirjord: she had torn her right ACL for a second consecutive year, as well as her meniscus.

“It’s been a journey,” Sirjord said. “My first ACL [injury], I had a great surgeon and it was great, but I just did not have the medical staff and resources to do rehab super well. So this one’s been different with Shanice. Our medical staff has been super great.”

Sirjord’s ACL tear marked a return to the lengthy recovery process and the end of her freshman campaign before the season had even started.

‘It was a freak accident’

As Minnesota’s 2021 season got underway with Sirjord sidelined, one of her sophomore counterparts Erin Fortman made her collegiate debut in the Gophers’ first meet of the season.

Fortman, originally from Blaine, Minn., put on a dazzling show in her debut on floor, producing a score of 9.850 to help Minnesota win over Iowa.

“I had been training floor that whole preseason and felt really good,” Fortman said. “Coming out of that first meet, I felt really strong and was excited to compete at Michigan again.”

With her performance from opening week, Gophers head coach Jenny Hansen decided to keep Fortman in the floor lineup against the Wolverines, the most recent Big Ten champions at the time.

Before the meet, Fortman experienced some tightness in her knee. She said she was not feeling 100%, but nothing severe enough to keep her from competing.

Like her debut, Fortman’s routine was smooth sailing leading into the final pass, and then things dramatically changed as she ran to complete it.

“In that last pass, I felt a pop in the middle of my pass and sat down,” Fortman said. “[I] was very unsure of what happened to my knee and very uneasy getting up to finish the routine.”

After Fortman’s routine, Cheatham found her and completed various tests, just as she did for Sirjord.

Cheatham knew after the tests that it was an ACL tear in Fortman’s right leg and waited until later that night to break the news, which came as a shock to both of them.

“It was very out of the blue,” Fortman said. “Even rewatching the videos, [Cheatham] didn’t notice anything had gone wrong. It was a freak accident. It was really a surprise.”

‘We can motivate each other’

Not even a month into the 2021 season, Minnesota lost both Sirjord and Fortman to season-ending ACL injuries.

Their injuries also came at a difficult time. The two spent countless hours preparing for their freshmen seasons while dealing with COVID-19, school and other responsibilities.

But for Sirjord, Fortman’s injury came as a light in the dark for her second rehab journey.

“Obviously, I would never wish anyone to get injured, ever. Erin called me the night she tore her ACL, and we had a heart-to-heart. It was so sad,” Sirjord said. “But deep down, I was like we can motivate each other. You see one person do something, you’re like, ‘I can do it too.’”

Fortman felt the same way. Her ACL tear was the first lower-body injury she has suffered. She felt that having Sirjord, who has experienced this rehab before, helped her through the process.

“Thank goodness I also had Ella going through this. Me and Ella got really close, and we were able to mentally support each other because we were going through the same thing,” Fortman said. “Me and Ella would just sit in the training room together and do our rehab. Just having someone with you makes it so much easier.”

Sirjord noted her second rehab went much better because she had Fortman and Cheatham to help her through everything, expressing that it was hard to motivate herself through the first one.

Throughout all the days full of pain, sweat and tears, they would pick each other up on bad days and act as each other’s motivators through every rehab session.

“We had so many tough days. She [Sirjord] noticed when I was struggling,” Fortman said. “Vice versa, I knew how she was feeling in those moments.”

Return to action

As Fortman and Sirjord came back after making full recoveries, they still had mental barriers they needed to overcome.

Fortman was apprehensive about returning to gymnastics and the team she grew up adoring just a short drive away from her hometown.

“My knee didn’t feel strong. I wasn’t sure if I should be doing stuff and wasn’t trusting my body anymore,” Fortman said. “At first, I was like, ‘Do I even want to get back? Am I strong enough? Am I mentally prepared to do this?’”

As she got back into practice, Fortman began on bars completing simple swings and handstands, and her fire quickly reignited from there. Once she got the little things back, she realized how badly she wanted to be back in the floor lineup and eventually compete on bars.

Sirjord was nervous about completing her first-hand-lay on beam, the skill that caused her to tear her ACL. Once she did it, she said it was ‘a big accomplishment.’

On Jan. 7, Fortman and Sirjord made their returns at the Gophers’ intrasquad meet, donning their maroon and gold leotards. Fortman competed on bars, while Sirjord competed on bars and beam.

“Being able to hit my bar routine when I needed to just gave me the confidence to continue to push it through the season. I’m just so excited to be out there with the team,” Fortman said. “I would love to make a floor and a bar lineup at some point, but my goal this season is just to be available when the team needs me.”

“It was my first time out there in two years, so that was big for me,” Sirjord said. “I just want to keep progressing. I feel like I’m getting there. The time off allowed me to do a lot of visualization.”

Minnesota (1-0) defeated Iowa and UCLA on Monday in their season opener after scoring 196.900 points in front of a record-breaking crowd. While Fortman and Sirjord did not compete, they will be important to the Gophers’ success as the season progresses.

“We want to pick up from where we left off from last year. We had such a great season last year, and we all know what we’re capable of,” Sirjord said. “We want to make it to nationals and get those 197s.”

In last weekend’s series split against Alaska, the Gophers men’s hockey team took the ice without five of their lineup regulars due to injuries, COVID-19 and the exit of Jack LaFontaine to the NHL.

Minnesota (13-9) will have an opportunity to regain the top spot over No. 3/4 Michigan in the Big Ten standings this weekend, as they trail the Wolverines by four points.

As the No. 11 Gophers prepare for their Big Ten matchup, they will no longer need to worry about all the distractions from the previous week, along with the following announcements:

On Jan. 13, USA Hockey announced its roster for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Three Minnesota student-athletes made the team: junior co-captain Ben Meyers, sophomore Brock Faber and freshman Matthew Knies.

Then, just a day later on Jan. 14, just hours before their first game against Alaska, the Gophers signed freshman goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz to its roster to add depth at that position. That day, he suited up for Minnesota and backed up for junior Justen Close.

“A lot of stuff happened last week,” Gophers head coach Bob Motzko said. “We just need to settle down and get the ship straight again.”

The Gophers will be getting some key players back for this series — Faber and freshman Aaron Huglen — who missed the games against Alaska due to COVID-19. Minnesota currently has no cases on the team, per Motzko.

Minnesota announced Wednesday they re-signed Sam Rossini to their roster to add depth to their defense while Faber is away at the Olympics. He previously spent the last four seasons with the Gophers, where he skated in 49 games, collecting 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in that span.

Only junior Jaxon Nelson and freshman Rhett Pitlick remain out of the Minnesota lineup as they recover from injuries. The hope is to have Pitlick back against Notre Dame, while Nelson won’t be back until around the middle of February.

Michigan is riding a four-game winning streak as they come to Minneapolis with two series sweeps over No. 14/12 Massachusetts and Penn State.

Last time out in the first week of December, the Gophers and Michigan split the series in Ann Arbor in their first matchup this season. Minnesota took night one 5-1, while the Wolverines took night two 6-2.

“They [Michigan] hold onto the puck. They will try to squeeze every ounce out of a play. They don’t give up on plays because they’re so talented,” Motzko said. “We have to stay committed to back check. We got to stay committed to d-zone coverage. We have to not turn pucks over.”

The “nine” line of Meyers, Knies and freshman Chaz Lucius will need to continue its strong start to 2022 to help the Gophers top Michigan.

The three have scored eight of Minnesota’s 16 goals in the Gophers’ four games since the new year while combining for nine assists.

“They’re having a lot of fun. You can just see the chemistry,” Motzko said. “They’re special. They’ve got speed, tenacity, toughness [and] skill. It’s a pretty big time line.”

Keys to a Minnesota victory are stingy defense, persistence from all four lines and a solid performance between the pipes from their goaltender, who will most likely be Close.

“Obviously, they’re so talented and a tough team to play, but we just got to hammer down and play our game both nights,” junior Jackson LaCombe said. “They’re going to be good games and close games.”

This past week was the craziest of Minnesota’s season. Now, they are preparing to take on Alaska when they host the Nanooks (5-14-1) this weekend for their last non-conference matchup of the season.

After helping the No. 8 Gophers to a series sweep against Michigan State, former starting goaltender Jack LaFontaine signed an entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 9. The NHL organization needed more goalies as they are suffering from injuries and COVID-19.

LaFontaine’s exit to the NHL comes as a massive loss for Minnesota at an unfortunate time.

“Jack did a lot of great things for us here,” Gophers head coach Bob Motzko said. “He was a great student, a heck of a goalie, leaves here All-American. Are we happy? No.”

The Mississauga, Ont. native was the Mike Richter Award winner last season and Big Ten Goaltender of the Year after holding a 22-7 record with a .934 save percentage, 1.79 goals-against average, and five shutouts.

“You deal with it like an injury,” Motzko said about LaFontaine’s exit. “It can happen in sports at any moment that someone goes down. You have to adapt and move on. That’s what we have to do right now. We play Alaska, then Michigan. They don’t care if a guy gets injured and goes down. They want to beat you. This is sports. So we got to move on.”

The focus isn’t changing for the Gophers. Minnesota is sitting atop the Big Ten standings with 25 points and will look to continue its undefeated start to the new year.

Outside of LaFontaine’s exit, other players will miss ice time as the Gophers suffer from COVID-19 and two injuries.

On Wednesday, four players and one staff member had the virus, Motzko said.

“But the craziest thing I told our team … the only thing I’m still scared about is COVID,” Motzko said. “The only thing that is going to derail us is COVID…we’re getting hit. That’s the times we’re in right now.”

Junior Jaxon Nelson and freshman Rhett Pitlick were injured when playing against Michigan State this past weekend.

Nelson’s surgery got delayed, so he is not expected to return to the Gophers’ lineup for four or five weeks. Pitlick’s injury sidelined him for two to three weeks.

Over the remaining schedule for the second half of the season, opponents will test the Gophers’ depth every weekend.

But with LaFontaine leaving the team and players exiting the lineup, there will be opportunities for others that have not played in many games to make an impact for Minnesota.

The most significant opportunity comes at the goaltending position in between the pipes. The Gophers will look to junior Justen Close and freshman Brennan Boynton to fill LaFontaine’s role.

Close played in two games for Minnesota against Wisconsin and Michigan State this season, totaling just 28:20 of ice time. In this span, he recorded 20 saves and conceded one goal.

Luckily for the Gophers, Close recently was the starting goalie in two exhibition games on Jan. 2 and 3, where he totaled 38 saves on 43 shots faced. The plan was to get him some game action as they expected LaFontaine to play for the remainder of the season.

“His teammates absolutely love him,” junior co-captain Ben Meyers said. “He’s a great goalie, and we can’t wait to see how he does.”

As for Boynton, he has yet to see any collegiate ice time.

Motzko noted the team is searching to add another goaltender to their roster. The team will have until Tuesday to do so as the University of Minnesota’s spring semester begins on Jan. 18.

Outside of the goaltending position, juniors Jonny Sorenson, Colin Schmidt and sophomore Carl Fish will have opportunities to enter the Gophers’ lineup and impact Minnesota in the second half of the Big Ten season.

“We need every single guy. So, it’s exciting to see what guys will bring to the table,” senior co-captain Sammy Walker said.

The Gophers (12-8) host Alaska on Friday, Jan. 14, at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 15, at 6 p.m. at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

Magnificent Meyers

On Tuesday, the Big Ten Conference named Meyers the Big Ten First Star of the Week after he recorded five points (four goals, one assist) in Minnesota’s sweep over Michigan State. He leads the Gophers with 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in 20 games this season.

Watch out for Walker

The Edina, Minn. player needs one more point to reach 100 collegiate points (42 goals, 57 assists in 125 games) and become the 85th member of the program’s 100-point club.

Five of the No. 11/12 Gophers men’s hockey team’s (9-7) seven losses this season have been by one goal. However, they have had a tough schedule early and are the only ranked team with more than five losses.

Throughout their first eight series this season, Minnesota has played against four teams currently ranked in the top 10 of the national polls — St. Cloud State, Minnesota-Duluth, Notre Dame and North Dakota.

The Gophers’ matchup against Michigan will make it five and they will search to eliminate the one-goal losses narrative as they prepare to battle against No. 3/2 Michigan (12-4).

“You know what one-goal losses are? They are a disease,” Gophers head coach Bob Motzko said. “You have to cure them. A lot of times, you’ll hear people around hockey organizations or teams saying, ‘We’re close, one-goal losses.’ It’s the opposite. I think we’re turning the corner in a lot of areas to rectify [these] one-goal losses.”

The Gophers have suffered from the injury bug early this season as freshman Chaz Lucius, sophomore Mike Koster and senior Grant Cruikshank have missed games. Other players have played and battled through injuries, such as junior co-captain Ben Meyers.

Motzko was quick to say that injuries have not caused these one-goal losses, but it has hindered Minnesota from moving forward and progressing throughout the first half of the season. 

This past weekend’s North Dakota series split marked the first time the Gophers have had all their players available to play since the Friday, Oct. 22 game of the Minnesota-Duluth series.

“I believe we’re moving in the right direction,” Motzko said. “I got my faith in that group that we are going to keep going because we have pretty impressive wins in there too. We have played one tough schedule…we got to get a vaccination of that disease and we’ve got to solve that thing [one-goal losses].”

Minnesota will need to slow down the Wolverines’ star-studded offensive attack. Four of Michigan’s top players were drafted last year in the top 5 of the 2021 NHL Draft alone: Owen Power (1), Matty Beniers (2), Luke Hughes (4), and Kent Johnson (5). Mackie Samoskevich was also drafted 24th overall in the first round.

Johnson (four goals, 19 assists) and Power (three goals, 20 assists) lead Michigan with 23 points each in 16 games, while Beniers has a team-high 11 goals with 19 points. Hughes and Samoskevich add 15 and 10 points to the Wolverines’ highly-skilled 2021 first-round draft class.

Michigan holds a .317 power-play percentage, the third-best in the NCAA, and ranks first in the nation for goals scored with 68, 14 more than the Gophers.

“We just gotta stay above pucks,” junior Matt Staudacher said. “We don’t want to get in the back and forth game with them or let them get on the power play. We know that both their first and second units are full of a lot of high-end skill players that can make plays and capitalize when they have the opportunity.”

Coming off one of their best, if not their best, defensive performances this season this past Friday, the Gophers will look to continue to emulate that this weekend against Michigan. 

“It’s always huge to go into Christmas break with a couple of wins,” said Gophers’ leading goal-scorer, junior Bryce Brodzinski. “They are a really good team. We know that. They are super skilled. They are super offensive. We are going to kind of have to change our style a little bit playing against them, become more of a defensive team and try to frustrate them a little bit. It should be a really fun weekend.”