Kettle Moraine alumnus Metsa plays starring role in NCAA hockey title for Quinnipiac

Oh yes, Zach Metsa has watched the replay. A lot.

It's a play that started on the defenseman's stick after Quinnipiac won a faceoff at center ice two seconds into the start of overtime. Metsa, a former Delafield resident and graduate of Kettle Moraine High School, quickly sent the puck to teammate Sam Lipkin right at the blue line. Lipkin skates in, crosses a pass to Jacob Quillan, and then ...

"We practice that play pretty much every week," said Metsa, 24, the team captain for Quinnipiac men's hockey this season. "That's by far the best its ever worked in terms of what resulted from it. Most of the time, if anything, we just get the puck in the offensive zone, get possession."

Quillan's goal ignited a massive celebration just 10 seconds into the extra session. Quinnipiac (34-4-3) had won its first NCAA hockey championship, beating Minnesota in a 3-2 thriller in Tampa, Florida. It's the school's first NCAA-sponsored team-sport championship.

Metsa, who made the all-tournament team, had assists on all three goals in the final, including a pinpoint pass to set up Christophe Tellier in the second period and a helper on the Collin Graf goal that tied Minnesota with less than 3 minutes to play in regulation.

"Quillan, after he scores, his celebration is all-time," Metsa said. "His stick went flying, his gloves went flying, to see everyone react and come off the bench was sweet. That video just brings me so much joy."

From Canada to Ohio to Illinois to Connecticut, a long hockey journey for Metsa

Metsa played for the Kettle Moraine baseball team as a freshman and sophomore; his hockey pursuits were spent with the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals. But his senior year of high school was an online-only experience while he played hockey in British Columbia, Canada, for the Merritt Centennials of the British Columbia Hockey League.

Hockey players can stay in junior leagues through age 20, so Metsa had the option to keep playing before college.

After a year in Canada, he returned to the United States and played for the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League, then got traded to the Central Illinois Flying Aces in Bloomington. All along the way, Quinnipiac remained interested in recruiting Metsa, dating back to his days with the Jr. Admirals. Located in Hamden, Connecticut, the program boasted a hockey team that had been to two Frozen Fours.

"I knew nothing about Connecticut (in general)," Metsa said. "The only thing I knew about Quinnipiac, in 2013 I vaguely remembered that they lost in national championship to Yale. I kind of knew the name, but other than that, I really didn't know much of anything."

Metsa made the trip east and worked his way into a prominent role. As a freshman, his parents (Lisa and Gerald Driscoll) came to watch him play on his birthday, and he suited up but never saw the ice. A teammate's broken leg in practice offered an opportunity to play more later in the year.

By the time he was playing in his fifth year, afforded the extra season because of the NCAA's allowance for the COVID-19 season of 2020, he was the team captain.

"It's great to have that trust from your teammates and staff and everyone in the program to wear (the C for captain), but we have so many guys and we're very mature group, especially the older guys that all do their part," Metsa said. "I can't take much credit for the leadership. They made it very easy on me this year."

Metsa finished the year with 28 assists and nine goals, including one in the national semifinal against Michigan. He was named all-conference in the Eastern College Athletic Conference for a third straight year, making second team after back-to-back first-team nods. Last year, he won the ECAC award for best defensive defenseman. He was also named to the American Hockey Coaches Association's All-American team, placed on the second team in the East. He made the first team in the East last season.

"We've been celebrating and taking everything in, spending time with all these guys, because this is the end of our road, so everyone's taking off, doing our thing" he said. "Celebrating with everyone at the school. The support's been absolutely nuts, people just skipping classes yesterday. We were partying the whole day. It's been amazing. Now, I've got to figure out what I'm going to do (next)."

So what comes next for Metsa?

Metsa hasn't been drafted by an NHL team and now begins the process of trying to latch on as a free agent with an organization. He expects to start somewhere in the American Hockey League, the affiliate league that includes the Milwaukee Admirals.

"In the last 10 years, more NCAA free agents have made more of a push (to get to the NHL)," Metsa said. "Some teams are finding a lot of value in guys that were late bloomers in college, kind of found as (those players) got a little bit older, they're able to produce."

Wherever he winds up, he's likely to have at least some familiar faces nearby. Metsa said he had family from Denver, Minnesota and Texas at the Frozen Four in Tampa. His parents now live in North Carolina.

"The emotions were so raw in the moment," he said, looking back at the game-winning goal. "The only thing I could think was, 'holy sh-- we did it.' I said that to myself over and over. 'We did it. We did it.'

"It's a dream, you always want to be a national champion. You see that fun line in the movie 'Miracle' (where Herb Brooks keeps asking his players), 'Why do you want to play college hockey?' OC (Jack O'Callahan) says because he wanted to win a national championship. To be the team that did it is pretty cool."

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Delafield native has starring role in NCAA men's hockey title