When Jake Barczewski needs a pick-me-up, he doesn’t have to look far.
He only needs to look at the backplate of his Michigan Wolverines-decorated goalie helmet. That’s where he has emblazoned the Gateway Arch, a reminder of his hometown as he finishes his five-year college hockey career.
“It’s something I always like to have no matter where I’m at, where I’m playing,†Barczewski said. “It’s just nice to have something on my backplate that reminds me of home. That’s always been one thing that’s stood. Whenever there’s a lot of distractions or things aren’t going your way, something to look at and remember home.â€
Barczewski, an O’Fallon, Missouri, native, is back home this weekend for the Maryland Heights Regional, the first step for his Michigan team in the 16-team NCAA Tournament. Michigan (21-14-3) will play North Dakota (26-11-2) in the first round at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Centene Community Ice Center, just after Michigan State (24-9-3) takes on Western Michigan (21-15-1) at 4 p.m.
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Barczewski, 25, is the starting goaltender for the Wolverines after spending the first four years of his collegiate career playing for Canisius. He grew up playing for the AAA Blues — he was teammates with Brady Tkachuk — and playing at Hardee’s Iceplex in Chesterfield.
He said he will have about 30 friends and family in attendance Friday.
“I think I was mainly happy for my family that they didn’t have to hop on a plane and watch me 10 hours away,†Barczewski said. “For me to be back here and have some people, aunts and uncles, that have never seen me play at all in their lifetime, just owe it to them, and it’s nice for them to be able to be in attendance and stuff.â€
Barczewski is familiar with Centene, having participated in two summer prospect camps with the Blues. This season, he has a .907 save percentage and 2.83 goals against average in 34 games played.
“My whole reason for transferring here is to be in this situation, in this moment,†Barczewski said. “We’re here with a great team, great guys. I know that if I take care of my job in net, they’re going to do what they got to do up front.â€
Back at Centene
While many of his teammates are strangers to Centene Community Ice Center, North Dakota forward Hunter Johannes is not. Johannes played last season for Lindenwood in its first season of Division I hockey and then transferred to North Dakota for his fifth season.
Lindenwood plays its home games at Centene.
“It’s a happy time,†Johannes said. “With regionals, we’re all happy to be playing, but to be at this rink where I played last year even brings more excitement for me. Hopefully, I can help bring that to the rest of the team and we can get a win.â€
This season with North Dakota, Johannes has 11 goals and seven assists in 30 games. Last season with Lindenwood, he was second on the team in scoring with 29 points in 28 games.
“A lot of growth, a lot of development in my game,†Johannes said of Lindenwood. “I played against North Dakota and Michigan and a lot of bigger teams. It’s a good learning lesson for me and lots of traveling. I definitely grew a lot.â€
Johannes, 25, is originally from Eden Prairie, Minnesota — the same hometown as Blues defenseman Nick Leddy — and began his career at American International College in 2019 after playing two years of junior hockey.
At AIC, Johannes played against both Michigan (2022) and North Dakota (2021) in the NCAA Tournament. Asked about his decision to transfer to North Dakota, Johannes called it his “dream school.â€
“Obviously, my goal as a kid was to always play in the NHL,†Johannes said. “You do what you have to do to try to keep moving up the ranks. Fortunately, I had a good season; I wanted to take another step. When I went into the portal, I got a call from my dream school, and I couldn’t pass it up.â€
Top talent
There are 32 NHL draft picks who will play in the Maryland Heights Regional but none that are draft picks of the Blues.
Three of the 32 are first-rounders, led by Michigan forwards Frank Nazar (Blackhawks pick No. 13 in 2022) and Rutger McGroarty (Winnipeg pick No. 14 in 2022) as well as Michigan State forward Issac Howard (Tampa Bay pick No. 31 in 2022). There are also six second-rounders, and each team has at least one second-rounder on its roster.
The most talented player in the regional may not have even been drafted yet. Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov is a projected top five pick in this summer’s NHL draft. The Belarusian defenseman has 34 points in 36 games in his freshman season for the Spartans.
There is also a Hobey Baker finalist in the regional, as Jackson Blake (Carolina fourth-rounder in 2021) has 21 goals and 38 assists in 39 games. He is tied for second in scoring nationally with Boston College’s Cutter Gauthier and Boston University’s Macklin Celebrini.
Pack them in
Centene has been criticized online this week for the size of its arena, which will hold more than 3,000 for this weekend’s games. The other host sites for the regionals hold 14,000 (Providence), 12,000 (Sioux Falls) and 8,000 (Springfield, Massachusetts).
The home rinks of North Dakota, Michigan, Michigan State and Western Michigan all hold more people than Centene does.
“It’s just a smaller rink, so the energy gets loud,†Johannes said. “The fans, I think, have a bigger impact within this smaller arena. It’s a really fun place to play. I think our team is going to embrace it.â€
Next year, Enterprise Center will host the Frozen Four.