College of Saint Benedict

Jennifer Kranz enters her fourth season as the College of Saint Benedict hockey coach with high expectations in 2014-15.

The Blazers picked up the biggest sweep in Kranz’s tenure in 2013-14 when it defeated Gustavus Adolphus – ranked No. 7 in the NCAA Division III at the time – in a home/away series late in the season. Saint Benedict defeated the Gusties 4-2 in St. Peter, Minn., on Jan. 31, then turned around and beat Gustavus a second time by the same score one night later in St. Cloud. The loss was the Gusties’ first MIAC loss since 2003-04.

Saint Benedict finished the 2013-14 season – Kranz’s third as head coach – with a 7-18 overall record and a 4-14 mark and ninth-place finish in the MIAC. The Blazers played a schedule that included four teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation. CSB swept Stevenson (Md.) and No. 7 Gustavus, and picked up conference splits with Augsburg and Hamline.

Goalkeeper Jenna Traut and senior defender Christine Brodersen earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors for the second time, and junior forward Tara Frey earned honorable mention accolades for the first time.  Stephanie Kirk led the team with 11 goals and Elli Marvin added six goals and a team-high 10 assists in 2013-14. Traut finished with 278 saves. Dory Johnson also made 185 saves and Kaitlyn Rolando finished with 171 saves.

Kranz is 17-48-7 overall and 10-39-5 in the MIAC in her first three seasons at the helm. She guided CSB to a 5-13-4 overall record and a 3-13-2 record in the MIAC in her second season with the team in 2012-13. Kranz finished her first season 5-17-3 overall and 3-12-3 in 2011-12, and picked up her first win as a head coach in her first game on the bench when the team played Marian and won 4-2 on Oct. 29, 2011.

With Kranz on the bench, the Blazers have seen increased success against ranked opponents. CSB tied No. 9 Concordia 3-3 in 2012, and the next year tied the Cobbers again by the same score. Also in 2012-13, Saint Benedict beat St. Catherine, which was receiving votes in the national poll, 3-0 and handed the Wildcats their first MIAC loss of the year. 

Kranz has coached six All-MIAC Honorable Mention selections and one All-MIAC pick. She has also coached six Blazers who have earned All-MIAC Academic accolades.

Kranz came to CSB after serving as an assistant coach at nearby St. Cloud State from 2006-11. With the NCAA Division I Huskies, she assisted in daily practice planning, with a concentration on coaching forwards. She also served as the team’s recruiting coordinator and monitored the academic progress of her players.

Competing in the rugged Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), a league where members Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth and Wisconsin had combined to win all 12 NCAA Division I Women’s Hockey Championships at the time, she helped the Huskies to a third-place finish in 2009-10. That season, the Huskies became the first team in league history outside of the UM, UMD and UW to finish in the top three. She also helped SCSU to two fourth-place finishes in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

During the 2010-11 season, Kranz served as an assistant coach for the Under-18 U.S. Women’s National Team, winning a gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden.

Before SCSU, Kranz served as a coach at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault, Minn., from 2002-06. From 2004-06, she served as the assistant girls prep hockey coach and helped the team win back-to-back USA Hockey Girls Under-19 national championships.

During her tenure at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, she was responsible for recruiting, travel and budget management, and also served as the public information coordinator for the private school’s athletic programs.

A native of Waukesha, Wis., Kranz played collegiately at NCAA Division I Providence College from 1998-2002, scoring 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 104 career games with the Friars. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 2002 from Providence.

Kranz has also been active as a coach and team leader with USA Hockey, serving as an evaluator for the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association since 2000, while also working with the Minnesota Select’s 15 camp since 2008 and coaching at the USA Hockey Central District Camp.