Motivated by losses, Hilltoppers’ Ilsa Lindaman embraces change

DULUTH — It wasn’t the end Duluth Marshall’s Ilsa Lindaman would have scripted for her high school career.

The Hilltoppers were among the top-ranked Class A teams in Minnesota all season and clearly had some of the top talent in the area skating at Mars Lakeview Arena this season.

Instead of getting a shot to play in the girls state hockey tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Marshall's season ended as it has the last three seasons — with a 4-0 loss to Proctor/Hermantown in the section final. The teams were locked in a scoreless tie after two periods, but the understaffed Hilltoppers ran out of gas in the third.

It was the second loss of the season to the Mirage, and the first came in even more heartbreaking fashion. After the Hilltoppers built a 3-0 lead, Proctor/Hermantown’s depth started to show through and eventually, Jane Eckstrom broke through as time expired in overtime to give the Mirage a 4-3 win.

Even so, Lindaman finished with 57 goals and 86 total points — both breaking records she set last year — and led the Hilltoppers to a 22-4-1 record, the best in school history. She was also one of five finalists for Minnesota Ms. Hockey and now she is a back-to-back News Tribune All-Area Player of the Year.

The talent — beginning with Lindaman — on the Hilltoppers’ 2023-24 squad was undeniable. Marshall had just 13 skaters on the roster, but three of them, plus goalie Ray Anderson, were on the 2024 All-Area team. Another 'Topper, junior Nina Thorson, had a legitimate argument for inclusion.

In fact, the small size of the Hilltoppers' squad forced coach Callie Hoff to split up Marshall’s very own version of Batman and Robin.

Last season, paired on a line together, Lindaman and Thorson combined for 75 goals and 130 total points, making them among the most dangerous line pairings in Minnesota. It wasn’t always the smoothest process for the Hilltoppers.

There were several games where the Marshall offense sputtered early and Hoff paired them together again to generate some shots. As the season progressed, the two lines evolved, with Lindaman again setting school records and Thorson finishing with 24 goals and 41 points in 2023-24. Thorson’s goal and point totals were second only to Lindaman for the Hilltoppers this season.

“Not having Nina this year was definitely difficult at first,” Lindaman said. “But I think it really helped me out in the long run, just being able to establish who I am as a player and in setting an example for my linemates.”

Hoff said the team’s construction was like trying to fit together 14 different puzzle pieces. Lindaman and Thorson accepting, and even embracing, the line change was key all season.

“It probably wasn’t what they wanted at first,” Hoff said. “But they knew it was but for the team's and our success in the long run. I think they’re grateful that they got to play together, but they also knew for the team's success it had to be done.”

It wasn’t just Lindaman and Thorson who embraced the change, but the Marshall team as a whole, Hoff said. Whether it was a new role because of an injury or because they were needed for a Hilltopper power play or penalty kill, the tiny team was ready for the challenge.

“From top to bottom, all of our girls really came together,” Hoff said. “They did their job, they did what they were being asked to do and they really stuck to our systems. That’s what ultimately led to the success that we had, everyone did what they were supposed to do.”

Lindaman said the team was so good at sticking together, that she didn’t really have to do much other than “play a whole lot of extra minutes.” Even that might be understating what Lindaman did, according to Hoff.

In addition to her even-strength duties, she was also running the Marshall power play and was skating with the penalty kill unit. Hoff believes Lindaman might have played more minutes than any other player in the state.

“We asked a lot of her as the skilled and talented player that she is,” Hoff said. “She had to step up in big moments and she did that. She took us to places we haven’t been before — like beating a team like (Grand Rapids/Greenway), she scored that last goal. She didn’t stop believing in our team, no matter what the score was.”

Even though she and Marshall fell to Proctor/Hermantown in the section championship, Lindaman’s hockey story isn’t over yet — not by a long shot.

Last fall, she signed a National Letter of Intent to play NCAA Division I hockey at the University of St. Thomas. The Tommies are working to build their program into an “elite Division I program,” according to coach Joel Johnson, and Lindaman is a big piece of that puzzle. Even if she doesn’t end up with an 86-point season for the Tommies, Johnson knows he’s got a special recruit.

“She’s a fantastic hockey player, but more importantly — she gets it,” Johnson said. “She’s a role model because of her behavior, how she talks, how she walks, how she acts and how she treats other people. To me, at the end of the day, I would rather recruit that kind of character and integrity because I think over the course of four years at St. Thomas, the result is going to be fantastic.”

And Ilsa’s dreams don’t stop with Division I hockey. The Professional Women’s Hockey League began play this winter and Minnesota’s team broke attendance records when they debuted at the Xcel Energy Center.

“It’s cool to see such unique opportunities growing and expanding the game,” Lindaman said. “You see it in other sports, but I think hockey is somehow special here in Duluth … I used to go rink-ratting with all the boys and now it’s fun to see that they’ll have 10 or 15 girls out there. It’s fun to see the changes happening and the growth of the game.”

Among the driving forces behind Lindaman is her competitiveness — she hates to lose.

She’s been intensely competitive all her life, something that she traces back to growing up with two brothers.

“Every time I step on the ice, I want to win,” Lindaman said. “It’s just present, it’s always there and I think it helps the team a lot. I can definitely see it in other players, so that brings up the competitiveness in our practices. It really pushes me and everyone on the ice everyday. I didn’t have to work on it, it’s just always been there.”

Hoff believes that competitive nature is absolutely what has pushed her to be “one of the best players the area has ever seen.”

“She’s got an incredibly strong drive to win or be successful,” Hoff said. “She knows what it takes to be successful and she knows she has to put in the work…Whether it’s a drill in practice against teammates or a game, she’s always giving 110%. There’s moments that you’ve almost got to tell her, ‘Take a deep break, it’ll be ok,’ but she means it in the best way.”

The losses to Proctor/Hermantown, particularly this season, were painful, Lindaman said. She also just missed out on the Ms. Hockey award and the season goals and points title to Northfield’s Ayla Puppe, but it’s all fuel for her fire.

“Even though it sucks, in the end, I think it’s definitely helpful and drives my competitiveness,” Lindaman said. “I kind of failed at getting those aspects, but I think it really does help me just want to push past and get one step better. Overall, these accomplishments and the honors I’ve received had been absolutely amazing and I couldn’t ask for a better season.”