Sometimes in sports, there really are second chances to live out your dream. 

Five years ago, the University of Minnesota’s current star goalie Lauren Bench was overlooked by the Golden Gopher recruiters, but today she has backstopped the team to a 5-1 record and second place in the national polls. Her journey took a lengthy detour north, one long enough for her to graduate from Bemidji State with a sterling record in both the classroom and on the ice. But thanks to a spin through the NCAA transfer portal this past summer, Bench is back in her hometown of Minneapolis, playing for the school she idolized as a kid.

“Growing up in Minnesota, everyone kinda wants to be a Gopher,” said Bench. “They were always fun to watch, and we would go to games. My high school coach was a former Gopher — they were a fun team to learn from.”

Bench learned from the best. In her first two seasons playing high school hockey at Burnsville, she saw the Finnish sensation Noora Raty lead Minnesota to consecutive NCAA titles, winning 49 straight games to cap her outstanding career. 

“Watching her play was incredible,” said Bench. “I remember their undefeated season . . . she’s obviously the best in the world.”

Any dreams of Bench following her role model’s Raty’s footsteps to the “U” were quickly doused with the cold water of reality — the Gophers were in the midst of another championship run with yet another star goalie between the pipes.

“That’s always the hard part in recruiting goalies,” said Minnesota coach Brad Frost. “You only need them in certain years.”

Bench ended up getting her scholarship four hours north of the hockey-mad Twin Cities at Bemidji State. But she would have to wait for playing time in Beaver country. Bemidji coach Jim Scanlan had former All-American Brittni Mowat locked in as his No. 1 option, and Bench became one with the bench. But rather than sulk, she and Scanlan hatched a plan. Lauren could practice, travel, and dress with the varsity girls, but gain a year of eligibility as a redshirt.

“I think Scanny did a great job with me,” said Bench. “I traveled on every road trip, I was on the bench for almost every game. That gave me a sense of, I’m still part of this team.” 

Not only did she learn from one of the WCHA’s elite goalies every day, but she could focus on her studies without the pressure of starting games as a freshman. She posted a 4.0 GPA for the year and gained a reputation for her work off the ice.

“Her teammates would joke about it — they claimed that she was near-genius,” said Scanlan. “Of course, she would never say that.”

That redshirt season prepped Bench for a solid career at Bemidji, where she earned the WCHA’s “Goaltender of the Week” four times and graduated with a 3.94 GPA as a chemistry major. It was her voracious appetite for learning that guided her back to the Twin Cities. Bench put a hold on her sprint to medical school, opting for a Master’s in Kinesiology. There were no graduate programs at Bemidji, but there were several competitive programs within the WCHA. With that cherished extra year of eligibility, Bench considered transferring from the program that had nurtured her for four years. She reached out to coach Scanlan with trepidation before joining the transfer portal.

“That’s a scary conversation to have with a coach no matter what your situation is,” said Bench. She should not have worried. Scanlan, like Frost at Minnesota, has a well-earned reputation for putting his players’ interests first. 

“I told Lauren, ‘You gotta look at what’s best for you, and what’s best for your situation,’” said Scanlan. “When Minnesota called, I knew that would be attractive for her. Her family living in the cities, all that.”

“He was so supportive,” said Bench. “He knows how important education is to me.”

A virtual recruiting process began, where due to COVID-19, Bench and Frost never got to see each while contemplating the 2020-21 season. 

“Not my preferred way of doing it,” said Frost. “We Face-Timed and started to get to know each other that way.”

It was the perfect merger: Frost now had an established goalie to replace his prematurely retired starter Alex Gulstene, and Bench finally got to play for the team of her adolescent dreams. She also gets to chase a national championship and bag another degree at a major University.

Bench had her “pinch me” moment when she wore the game sweater with the Big “M” on her chest for the first time. 

“My first start against Ohio State, first game of the season when they dropped the puck, it kind of hit me, ‘I’m actually here, I’m playing for the Gophers.’ When I was little that was my dream.”

She put a cherry on the sundae with a 36-save shutout against No. 5-ranked Ohio State. Her performance that weekend earned her the WCHA’s goalie of the week honors. But Bench soon learned that the Gophers were a team in transition — one that gave up 34 shots a game, not the 24 they had averaged in years past. The Buckeyes poured another 35 shots at Bench the following night, handing her a 2-1 loss.

The ultimate perfectionist, Bench used that loss as motivation, finishing the first half of the season with a 4-1 record and numbers that rival her GPA: a stunning .965 save percentage and a minuscule 1.21 goals-against average. Her excellence has not gone unnoticed, as she was named the national goaltender of the month for November.

Bench remains level-headed by reminding herself to take coach Scanlan’s words to heart: “Individual recognition comes with team success.”

Tim Rappleye is the author of two books: Jack Parker's Wiseguys and Hobey Baker, Upon Further Review. You can find him on Twitter.