Article by Noah Grant. Photo by St. Cloud State Athletics.
When the final buzzer sounds this season, it will mark the end of a long and memorable hockey career for Huskies fifth-year goaltender Gavin Enright. Enright has made the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament, won a CCHA regular-season title with Bemidji State, and earned NCHC Goaltender of the Month honors. Even with all the success, Enright is able to trace his path back to the beginning.
“I was just looking back on some pictures of myself skating for the first time,” said Enright. “Just fun to look back and see myself as a little kid playing hockey and realize the journey and everything that’s taken place.”
Hockey has a special place in the Enright household as both of his younger siblings, brother Mason and sister Claire, were also heavily involved in the sport.
Growing up, their father would make a rink in their backyard which saw plenty of action over the years. The countless hours spent outdoors with his siblings rank among Gavin’s top hockey memories.
“We’d be out there for hours until we had to get called in to go to sleep or for dinner,” said Enright. “I think those are the special times, where hockey is just so fun and you can’t get enough of it.”
The Enright brothers’ time playing together wasn’t just limited to pond hockey. Because of their close age gap, the duo would play on the same youth hockey team every other year.
“My brother’s 18 months younger than me, so every second year we would play with each other,” Enright said, “It was really special playing with him.”
The two also played high school hockey together at Farmington High until Enright left to play junior hockey in his senior year. Mason Enright would follow suit a year later, playing one season in the NA3HL in 2019-20, his final year of hockey.
Claire Enright also played at Farmington High for three years before transferring to Lakeville South for her senior year. Currently, Claire is in her third year at the University of Wisconsin, where she has put up seven goals and 14 points for the Badgers and will be playing in the WCHA Championship with the Badgers.
“I’d like to think we helped my sister develop as a hockey player and contributed to her success currently,” Enright said.
Family also played a role when it came time to choose a college for the goaltender. Enright ultimately settled on Bemidji State, where he played the first four years of his collegiate career, before transferring to St. Cloud State this summer.
“Having an offer from a Minnesota school was big and it wasn’t too far from home,” Enright said, “I knew my parents wanted to come watch me play and that’s a big factor too.”
During his time with the Beavers, Enright faced rivals from all over the State of Hockey including the Huskies, University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, and Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, teams he grew up watching.
“It was really special playing college hockey in Minnesota and to be able to play teams you grew up watching on TV,” said Enright.
While stepping away from the game is never easy, Enright’s takeaway from his career will be a positive one.
“It’s fun being part of a hockey family,” Enright said. “The memories we made growing up is something to look back on. It’s just a happy time.
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