Sports Odds and Ends

The search goes on for hockey that’s truly ‘for everybody’

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) over its existence has made a concerted effort to diversify the game. A league spokesperson told the MSR last weekend that there have been several Black players within the league, most notably Micah Miller at St. Cloud State and Isaiah Saville at Omaha.

This season there are two Black hockey players within the NCHC, each teammates at Colorado College. The MSR talked individually with each player after a two-game series at Minnesota this month.

Kaiden Mbereko 

Colorado College went into last weekend’s series at Minnesota Duluth ranked within the national polls: They finished in the highest 20 last season for the primary time in over a decade. The Tigers are in the highest 20 again this season, and 5-11 sophomore goalie Kaiden Mbereko (Aspen, Colo.) is an enormous contributor as one in every of the country’s best collegiate goalies.

Mbereko began 29 of 30 games last season as a freshman. He was a three-time NCHC Goaltender of the Week winner, a second team all-NCHC selection, and he made the league’s All-Rookie Team.

We first saw Mbereko in motion during last season’s NCHC Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, when he got hot and led the Tigers to the championship game. He was named NCHC Goaltender of the Month for December after a 2-1-1 record and a 1.95 goals-against average last month, averaging 25 saves per game.

Being a goalie takes steel nerves. “I gotta give credit for my brother who got me into being in hockey usually. But my friend in school showed me some pads,” recalled Mbereko, who liked how the goalie pads looked and tried them out for an evening.

“I fell in love with it the primary time and stuck with it,” he said.

Colorado College and Minnesota split the January 7-8 series. Mbereko stopped 33 shots, including impressive back-to-back saves late within the third period within the Tigers’ 6-4 road win.

“As a goalie,” he explained, “you need to stop every puck. Goals are gonna go in. As a goalie [you] just attempt to get the team a likelihood. I’m happy with the blokes getting it done,” said Mbereko of his teammates.

The sophomore netminder fully knows he’s a rarity as a Black hockey goalie. “Growing up, I didn’t notice as much. But now that I’m on a much bigger, higher platform and just with the ability to…advocate for the game, and clearly for African Americans across the country and even on the planet.

“It’s cool. I’ve definitely seen a growth [of Blacks playing hockey] over time.”

Zaccharya Wisdom

Before he enrolled at Colorado College, freshman forward Zaccharya Wisdom (Toronto, Ontario) played within the USHL and was a seventh-round draft pick of Seattle within the 2023 NHL draft.

“I had an awesome coach going into the USHL who unfortunately passed away recently,” said Wisdom of the late Dave Adams, who helped prepare him for the pains of faculty hockey. “He was mentor, friend, father figure, and I loved him to death,” said the 6-foot forward.

Wisdom scored the game-deciding goal on a breakaway with three minutes left within the Tigers’ 6-4 road win at Minnesota, his third goal of the season. He also posted a team-high five shots for Colorado College.

“I got an awesome group of fellows in there,” said Wisdom afterwards as he pointed toward the visitors’ locker room. “They’ve taken me under their wing and showed me the ropes. And I feel the coaching staff has done a superb job of constructing sure and staying on top of me, ensuring that I’m doing the best things on a regular basis and holding myself accountable.”

Although hockey in Canada is the national sport, it still lacks diversity. “It’s gotten higher,” continued Wisdom. “As a Black player on this game, I would like to see it’s more diverse.

“I feel it’s improving, but it surely’s still a piece in progress. People like myself and Kaiden [Mbereko, his CC teammate], each time we see someone of color, we smile—it’s a pleasant feeling.

“We’re going to do all we will to make sure that that it keeps getting more diverse,” said Wisdom. “It doesn’t matter what race you’re…especially the Black community.”