Next season, Lauren O’Hara will skate for the University of Minnesota, after making a huge impact with the Cougars over five years. Let’s let Gopher coach Brad Frost explain why he implored the Centennial star to join one of the premier college programs in the country.
“Lauren is a very smart forward who plays a strong game. She has great size and uses her reach to her advantage,” assessed Frost on signing day Nov. 9, when she was one of six recruits. “She has a high hockey IQ and makes an impact all over the ice. She has a knack for scoring goals or setting up her teammates."
The 5-foot-11, 160-pound forward has rattled the nets for 26 goals, nine on power plays, and 10 assists this season for the No. 9 ranked Cougars (14-4-1). Notching her first three in eighth grade, she presently has 76 goals in her career, 23 on power plays, and 76 assists, for 152 points in 117 games.
Cougar coach Sean Molin echoed: “She’s 5-foot-11 and has an elite shot and finishing ability. She is smart and strong all around. Gets points on shots, one-timers, tips and dekes.”
As a senior, O’Hara and her skate mates are on a mission to make up for a searing disappointment two years ago. In her sophomore year, the Cougars beat longtime nemesis Maple Grove 3-2 for the section championship, then had the state tournament yanked away due to a positive COVID test on the team.
“It was heartbreaking to hear the news. Our team was devastated, because after our big section final win, we were all pumped to have the opportunity to play at the ‘X’ and compete in state. Our team’s goal this year is to play in the state tournament.”
O’Hara, daughter of Matt and Alissa, has two older brothers. It’s a hockey family. Josh, 20, and Alex, 19, played for Centennial. Matt played in high school and in the USHL. “I started playing hockey when I was five years old,” said Lauren, who also played soccer, softball and lacrosse for a time.
Asked about career highlights, O’Hara listed that section finals win over Maple Grove — she had two of the three goals — along with placing fifth in the U12 state tournament with her club team.
O’Hara joined varsity the year after Centennial’s two all-time scoring leaders — Gabbie Hughes, a Miss Hockey finalist, and Anneke Linser — led the Cougars to a state runner-up finish as seniors. Both are wrapping up productive college careers at Minnesota-Duluth this winter.
“I remember watching them take secondplace in the state tournament, which was really cool to see,” O’Hara said. “Since there was such an age gap, I didn’t know them well, but they were two players I looked up to in my youth.”
The Gopher coach first spotted O’Hara with her off-season team, the OS Whitecaps, and she verbally committed as a sophomore.
“I was fortunate to visit and talk with other schools. In the end I knew I wanted to play in the WCHA and be close to home,” O’Hara said. “After my visit to Minnesota it just felt right, the coaching staff, meeting the team, seeing their facilities and campus.”
O’Hara will be the first Cougar to play for the Gopher women. Ryan Flynn, a member of Centennial’s 2004 state champion team, had four seasons with the Gopher men, from 2006-10.
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