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"I first started playing hockey when I
was 11," Ellison said "I heard there would be a
girls' program starting at the high school, and my younger
brother was playing, so I decided to try out."
After a year of U-12 and another of
U-15 hockey, she spent six years on the varsity.
"It seems like I've been here for a long time," she said.
"When I first tried out, I didn't think I would be a goalie.
My coach asked me to try it since he said I was one of the
better skaters. I just stuck with it." |
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"When we started girls' hockey here eight years ago,
her mind was a blank slate," Bartholdi said.
"She had never played goalie, so her dad and I started her
with the fundamentals and absolutely refused to allow her to
get sloppy. |
|
|
1999-2000 |
7th Grade |
.918
SP |
2.00
GAA |
|
12-7-0
(Johanna's record) |
|
First year of girls hockey at Cloquet.
Starting goalie as a 7th grader.
Team-mates were mostly 7th and 8th graders.
. |
|
|
2000-01 |
8th Grade |
.937 SP |
1.24 GAA |
9 SO |
20-7-1
Team Record |
|
Associated Press Honorable Mention All-State.
. |
|
|
2001-02 |
9th Grade |
.926 SP |
1.62 GAA |
5 SO |
21-9-1
Team Record |
|
All-Tournament
Team (Class AA)
Honorable Mention All-State
"Solid
fundamentals and good athleticism make her
[Ellison] one of state's top goalies."
March 10,
2002, Duluth News-Tribune
. |
|
|
2002-03 |
10th Grade |
.941
SP |
1.37
GAA |
9 SO |
19-9-3
Team Record |
|
"Led
by all-state goaltender Johanna Ellison."
Nov 13,
2002, The Pine Journal News
"The
story is as old as tournament hockey itself.
A goaltender seems to grow
an extra
set of
arms, stops shot after shot, falls on pucks in the
crease, makes reaching glove saves at the edge of the pipe and uses her stick
as if it's a Louisville slugger. It's
the story of a hot
goaltender
making all the difference, and sophomore Johanna Ellison
was
just such a goalie
Thursday afternoon in Ridder Arena."
Pioneer Press,
February 21, 2003
All-Tournament
Team (Class AA)
First Team All-State
. |
|
|
2003-04 |
11th Grade |
.953
SP |
1.29
GAA |
6
SO |
18-4-5
Team Record |
|
Had
45 saves on Dec. 2 when the Lumberjacks stopped South St.
Paul's 63-game winning streak
with a 1-1 tie.
Had 34 saves Dec. 20 when CEC earned a 0-0 tie
against Benilde-St. Margaret's.
Had 48 saves Dec.
29 when the Lumberjacks handed Benilde-St. Margaret's its
only defeat with a 2-0 victory. Benilde-St.
Margaret's went 28-1-1 and won the Class A title.
CEC coach Dick
Bartholdi dubbed Ellison the
"Great Wall of Cloquet".
"Going
into Tuesday's game against Lakeville, Ellison
led Minnesota high schoolers
with a
0.75 goals-against average and .973 save percentage.
She
had six
shutouts and stopped 396 of the 407 shots."
January 7,
2004, Duluth News-Tribune
The Great
Wall [CHINA] News
(conservation.mongaybay.com)
January 7, 2004.
Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey
coach Dick Bartholdi refers to
Johanna Ellison as the
"Great Wall of Cloquet.".
First Team All-State
. |
|
|
2004-05 |
12th Grade |
.955 SP |
1.20 GAA |
11 SO |
20-7-4 Team
Record |
"She's a
technically perfect goalie."
Coach
Bartholdi
"The most technically sound goalie I've seen,
boy or girl."
North
St. Paul coach Brad Marshall
Set a three-game state tournament record with 105 saves.
All-Tournament Team (Class AA).
First Team All-State.
Associated Press Player of the Year.
"She might be [ read is ] the best [girl] prep goalie in
Minnesota history."
St. Paul Pioneer Press
. |
|
|
| |
|
South St. Paul player shoots at Johanna
during the 2003 Class AA championship game. |
|
|
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Johanna Ellison
No.1, Cloquet |
|
|
|
LPH Senior Goalie of the Year
By Dave McMahon, Let's Play
Hockey, Feb 27, 2005
[Excerpts from article]
She departs the locker room to gather
her thoughts prior to taking the ice.
Before a game and between periods,
don't look for Johanna Ellison in the Cloquet/Esko/Carlton
girls' locker room. You're more likely to find
her alone, in a hallway, by herself, shaping her mental game
plan. It's a ritual that Ellison has imparted
since she can remember, and the results speak for
themselves.
From Jan. 13 to Feb. 3, Ellison posted
six shutouts, believed to be the longest such streak in
girls' hockey history in the state. Included in
that run was a 45-save effort in a 0-0 tie with
Hibbing/Chisholm.
"She made us instantly competitive,"
said Cloquet coach Dick Bartholdi. "We had a lot of
seventh- and eighth-graders, but she made us competitive.
Her stability has made all of our players better.
She's a solid human being and a great student.
As a goalie, she's technically sound. She
doesn't try to be spectacular. She's just always
in the right position."
Often when Ellison makes her locker
room departure prior to taking the ice, she'll talk with her
Dad, David, who serves as an assistant coach. |
|
|
Johanna's Father [and
goalie coach] Talks About His Experience |
Richard [Bartholdi, Cloquet's Head
Coach] taught me everything he knew about goaltending
8 years ago when the amateur program started, after Johanna
committed to trying goalie. He
thought I would be the logical choice to coach goalies being he was the head
coach. I then went up to the Jim Park Goalie
School in
Toronto and picked up additional training by working with
the goalies at the camp under Jim Park and
staff. I have since studied different camps and techniques
and evolved into my own from there.
I played on both defense and forward, but was never a
goalie. Richard wasn't a goalie either, but studied like I did.
David Ellison,
February 2005
. |
|
|
|
A Final Tribute |
"She really is the 'Wall of Cloquet'
"
"Mental
toughness, concentration and ability to elevate her level of play are
Ellison's strengths."
" She's not
only a tough competitor, but a good example of humility."
"Without any doubt, she's the best
(girls) goaltender Minnesota has seen."
South St. Paul coach Dave Palmquist |
"The
most technically sound goalie
I've seen."
"She's the best goalie I've seen without a doubt."
"She's the best goalie in the state by far."
North St. Paul coach Brad Marshall |
"Ellison was meticulous about being a
goalie and it shows in her solid technique."
Grand Rapids/Greenway coach Pat Rendel |
|
The
Wall of Cloquet
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