Brandon’s Bell boasts title-winning goal

Allow Taylor Bell to set the scene.

“I’m looking around the bench, everybody’s gassed, like we’re trying to figure out who we’re taking off next,” began the co-captain of Midland University’s women’s hockey team. “I take off Ashlyn (Kuffler), and I hop the boards, (Liberty University) almost had a scoring chance in our end, so I’m coming back, Callie (Maguire) sees me, gives me a little chip off the wall. I see Darbi (Poole) coming with me; she falls down, so I’m like, ‘Well, I gotta shoot it now.’ So I just put the puck on net and got my own rebound, and it went in.

“So, nothing special there.”

To the contrary. While the goal might not have been the flashiest Bell — a fourth-year forward from Brandon — scored all season, it was undoubtedly the most important, as it delivered Midland its first American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 1 national championship on Sunday.

The goal came on the power play at the 17:28 mark of a third overtime period in a marathon against the defending national champs and No. 1 Liberty — marking the biggest goal in the history of the liberal arts college in Fremont, Neb.

“Three overtimes was a long day,” said Bell, who also scored an overtime winner against Adrian earlier in the national championship tournament to secure Midland’s place in the semifinals.

“I would definitely say I’m more of a passing threat. I look for other girls before I’m thinking to shoot. But in those moments, I just swung, and it ended up working out.”

Bell and the Warriors have experienced their fair share of heartbreakers in recent years, having successful regular seasons and deep runs at nationals fall just short on more than one occasion. And several of those season-ending results have come at the collective hands of Liberty, which had won five of the last six national championships.

“I remember right after the game, I hugged her, and I said, ‘I could not be more proud of you,’ said Warriors head coach Jason White.

It was a fairytale ending to a collegiate career that nearly ended before it started. When Bell arrived to Midland as a 17-year-old, her age prevented her from playing in college games until she turned 18, under the SafeSport and USA Hockey guidelines.

Her first six weeks didn’t go beyond the practice rink, and along with the challenges that come with moving away from home as a teenager, she thought about calling it quits.

“I think it’s already hard enough transitioning for these girls coming from Canada and going to a big university and being away from home, then all they can do is practice and travel, but they can’t play,” said White.

“And then we finally got her into the lineup, and I think there’s a transition period for every player, but I think homesickness was creeping in. There were a lot of things that crept in. And I remember her telling me, ‘Coach, I almost went home. I almost packed it in my freshman year.’ She stuck it out, and she has grown in leaps and bounds.”

Bell posted career highs in goals (16), points (36) and games played (35) with the C stitched on her sweater for the first time.

“It was definitely a full circle moment,” Bell said. “My little freshman self would not have expected ever to score the goal that would win it for us. I was in shock and proud that I stayed.”

Bell’s name is now embedded in the Warriors’ history books, and so are the names of the other 12 Manitobans who helped Midland to the title.

Manitoban players have become crucial to Midland’s success in recent years after White spun his tires trying to recruit American talent in the early years of his tenure. He was eventually led to the prairies in 2021 and has leveraged the province’s influx of talent to create a yearly contender.

Fellow senior forward Brynn Tosh grew up in Souris and co-captained the Warriors with Bell this season, while Maguire of Minnedosa led the team in goals (23) and assists (26), and was fourth among all Division 1 players in the ACHA with 49 points.

“We talk about it quite a bit, actually,” said Bell, whose sister Jordan is a freshman on the team. “It is kind of crazy and unbelievable that there are 13 of us now, and there’s a good chunk of us that played against each other growing up or played spring season together, and we knew of each other but didn’t know each other as well. I think now we only have two Americans on our team. We have 24 Canadians and two Americans now, so it’s definitely crazy.”

A baker’s dozen this year, and two more recruits — Delaney Darby of Morden and Kadence Mann of Deloraine — on the way.

“It’s what really started to put us on the map. That was the territory that I got into the most, right out of the gate,” said White, who also rostered nine players from Ontario, two from Alberta and one from British Columbia.

Winnipeg’s Ally Rakowski was the first to make the jump, and many have followed since.

“I think it’s pretty special, and the families I meet out of there, the kids, like, they’re just great people,” White added.

“They’re great families and great people. They get it. They’re hard-working people. They’re very appreciative. You know, I had a bunch of texts from dads out of Manitoba, and they’re always so thankful, and in this day and age, there’s a lot of parents that can go the other way real quick… and that, for me, makes a big difference too. It makes my job a lot more enjoyable.”

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