Former Brookings Rangers standout overcomes change and finds a new home

Posted

Hallie Theodosopoulos endured a wild ride during her first year of college. So crazy, in fact, it almost seems unbelievable.

But, in this modern-day era of “fake news,” this was all too real for the 2016 Brookings High School graduate.

Hallie, daughter of Bill and Shellie Theodosopoulos of Brookings, had just completed a remarkable first season for the University of North Dakota women’s hockey team when she got the horrendous news – UND was eliminating its program.

An absolute check from behind in the hockey world. And devastating news to a girl who had worked incredibly hard to make the Division I hockey dream a reality.

She remembers going to a men’s hockey game at UND when she was younger and was amazed by the facilities. From there on she knew she wanted to be a UND hockey player.

“I’ve always loved the Minnesota (Gophers) and UND rivalry that has gone on forever,” Theodosopoulos said. “I thought it would be cool to be a part of that.”

Any athlete who walks on to a collegiate team knows nothing is guaranteed. Walking on requires hours of workouts, team meetings and practices – with no guarantee of playing time, or even making the team. For some, not seeing any game time is not worth it, but, for others, it can be an opportunity of a lifetime.

“I really worked hard last summer to get a spot on the team. I went there and tried out, made the team and here I am now,” Theodosopoulos said.

Hallie’s love for hockey came when her brother, T.J., started playing. Ever since she started to follow in her brother’s footsteps and play hockey, Hallie had a dream to one day become a Division I hockey player.

During her seven-year stint with the Brookings Rangers she earned South Dakota all-state first team honors and two invitations to the USA Hockey Women’s National Team Camp.

Since competition is sparse in South Dakota, Hallie left home and headed to Minnesota for her junior year of high school looking to get recruited. Living with a host family she played in a Tier I hockey league for the Minnesota Revolution, playing against other future DI hockey players.

“It was really good,” she said. “Basically the same girls that I’m playing against now in Division I.”

Next, Hallie took a big leap in her hockey career that changed her life. Her senior year she played for a new team in St. Louis while getting her high school diploma in Brookings. Traveling to St. Louis once a month, Hallie would often miss Thursdays and Fridays of school. She said traveling was a grind, but playing the tough teams made it enjoyable.

“That was a bit crazier to handle - school and hockey,” she said. “I’d fly every weekend to St. Louis once a month for sure and then fly to Toronto, Chicago or even out East.”

Theodosopoulos led the 19U Lady Blues with 41 points during the 2015-2016 season and later tried out and earned a coveted spot on the UND Fighting Hawks women’s hockey team.

Hallie made an impression instantly. In her first season at UND, the left-handed forward/defender played in 36 games, totaling four goals and nine points. The Fighting Hawks finished the season 16-16-6 – fourth best in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Everything seemed to be going according to plan until one Wednesday in March.

“The day before I was in class with one of my teammates, and my brother found a podcast through Twitter or something,” Hallie said. “So I listened to it and it was talking about the upcoming budget cuts (at UND). It basically said that the women’s hockey team is on the chopping block.”

Freaked out and struggling to sleep that night, Hallie woke up and carried on like any other day. At the rink for a regular workout and practice, the coaches said to the team that there was no way that the program would actually be cut. The team had already booked recruiting trips for the month along with a recruit visiting on campus. It was a normal practice until something out of the ordinary happened.

“All the sudden the seniors who no longer were skating after postseason started showing up and we all were saying ‘this is weird, why are they here?’” she said. “And then we looked over toward the end of practice and our trainer had tears in her eyes, and we were like ‘okay something is up.’”

Once the team got off the ice and into the locker room the rumors started to spread. Without an official word, everyone was advised to stay off their phones until a meeting with UND athletic director Brian Faison.  

The players checked their phones anyway. They received texts and messages from players on rival teams asking what was going on. The news was breaking across the nation without the team even being formally told. Theodosopoulos and others found out from social media and others.

“Basically the whole world knew before we knew,” Hallie said.

The women’s hockey team along with the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams gathered in the room listening to someone from the administration read the statement that would be released to the public later. Frustrated and confused members of all the teams being cut hammered questions asking why. Why couldn’t they find a way to fundraise?

“They really didn’t have an answer toward and it seemed they really didn’t care at all,” Hallie said. “They didn’t really have any emotions toward it.”

UND President Mark Kennedy announced the school needed to make budget cuts up to $1.3 million due to university-wide cuts being made as a result of the state’s revenue shortfall. Since UND was making the move from the Big Sky to the Summit League, added money would be needed to meet the Summit League’s minimum scholarship requirements.

After 15 seasons and two NCAA tournament appearances, the women’s hockey program was terminated.

“Right away it was just shock,” Hallie said. “Like there’s no way this could ever happen at this big of a hockey school.”

Theodosopoulos said there was a grieving period like someone had died, except this time it was a program that she fell in love with at a young age. The team made attempts of fighting the ruling but the administration didn’t budge.

The time came for Hallie to start thinking of her next move. After four teams reached out to her wanting her to come play, Hallie knew it was time to start pursuing and visiting to consider her next move.

St. Cloud State University was one of the teams that Theodosopoulos visited. It was an easy choice as she decided to stay closer to home and play hockey for the Huskies. Hallie recently decided to major in athletic training in the fall.

“I just really liked their campus, coaching staff and all their facilities,” Hallie said.

A fresh start won’t be easy for any of the former UND women’s hockey players. Theodosopoulos says that it’s going to be really tough in the fall being separated from her former teammates and that it will be weird when they play each other in the fall. Living with a former teammate will make life off the ice a little more comfortable.

“It was hard to decide, especially because you kind of want to go with your teammates and see if you can stay together,” said Theodosopoulos. “I was fortunate enough to have a couple of my UND teammates come to St. Cloud, as well.”

Finding a common bond between the coaching staff, people and facilities at St. Cloud compared to UND will make an easier transition. Theodosopoulos is looking to help improve a 9-23-4 Huskies record last season. UND beat St. Cloud three out of the four meetings last season.

“Hallie is a very competitive forward who had an impressive freshman season,” said St. Cloud head coach Eric Rud. “She earned a regular spot in UND’s lineup because of her hockey sense, passion and hard work. We are adding a really smart hockey player to our group and are excited to have her.”

New school, new environment, new major, new home but still the same offseason for Theodosopoulos. Just like the past three years, she travels down to Sioux Falls to work out and skate from June through August. Hallie begins a new chapter in her life on Sept. 22 for St. Cloud, debuting against the Korea National Team in an exhibition game.