Hello everyone, I am Giselle Velazquez from The Ice Garden. The college hockey season just wrapped on Sunday. The Wisconsin Badgers won their second straight title that day. Though the 2025-26 season is over, a lot of players are finishing school. So today, on this edition of Hockey Insider, we are doing a fun Q&A with Jojo Chobak.
The alternate captain recently finished her collegiate career with the Huskies. She returned to the ice after redshirting the entirety of the 2024-25 season. Chobak broke the record for most career shutouts by a goalie in program history this season. She broke that record on Feb. 14 with a 5-0 win against Bemidji State.
Chobak talked to The Ice Garden about playing the entire season, working on her nursing degree, and future career endeavors.
[Answers have been edited for clarity]
A Look at this Season
The Ice Garden: You took last season off to redshirt. How was it being back on the ice and playing in games this season?
Chobak: It was honestly such a great feeling to come back and be able to feel like you’re contributing to the team again and you have a true role. Not that I didn’t have a role in the redshirt year. The role was a little bit different and it was kind of from the outside looking in. So, being back with everyone and getting to go on all the trips and spend more time with everyone, it really felt like I was a larger part of the team this year. And ending on that note was really good for me.
TIG: Your last game at home was when you broke the shutout record. Can you take me through that? I heard that you weren’t aware of the shutout record. Take me through finding that out and the emotions of that.
Chobak: Going into the game [and] playing Bemidji, we had expectations to win that game and we wanted to do our best to compete as we could. I didn’t know about the record. Masha [Maria Mikaelyan] told me after the first or second period. At that time, we’d gone in and they still hadn’t scored yet. That added a little bit of pressure to it. But I also knew that there was a lot of ups and downs for me this season and getting that kind of win with the shutout was a great feeling. It helped me. I was like, ‘all right, I’ve really got to lock in here and focus.’ Not that, the record was something to be chasing, but… we did know that it might have been our last home game and to end on that note would have been great.
TIG: When the buzzer sounded, how special did it feel to know that you had gotten that? Was that something that you thought about first or were you just happy to get the win?
Chobak: I’m definitely happy to get the win, but at the same time, that felt great for me personally. Looking around and seeing everyone happy and cheering that they were also happy for me… that means a lot more. And taking in the environment, I couldn’t have been happier that it ended on that note.
TIG: You were an alternate captain this season, how special was it to get that recognition from your teammates?
Chobak: It made me feel good for sure. Being able to lead a team like that is such an honor to be in that position and also thinking about, ‘what can I bring to the table? How can I make this team better?’ and kind of figuring out what my role was. The other captains have different leadership styles and stuff like that. I very much pride myself in how can I make this enjoyable situation for everyone involved? How can I bring light and energy while also upholding the aspect that I’m going to work hard every day [and] show the many young incoming players that this is what it should look like. It was such an honor to have that role this year.
Going through Nursing School
TIG: How’s school been going? How was juggling playing again with being in school still?
Chobak: It was definitely hard, but I’m so excited. It’s my last year. I’ll graduate in May. We don’t have actual classes this year. We’re pretty much in what they call a capstone year. I got assigned to St. Cloud Hospital. We have a 180 hour clinical requirement. So I go in and I do a 12 hour shift and then whatever it takes to meet those requirements. Towards the end of the season, I was doing about one shift a week. They would give us Tuesdays off [from hockey.] At the time my nurse’s schedule was nights, so I would work Monday night, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Then I’d have Tuesday off from practice to recoup. Now that the season’s over, I’m picking up more shifts. I’ll probably work three 12 [hour shifts] in a row until I reach those 180 hours.
TIG: How were you able to juggle that with still having to play games and practice?
Chobak: I tried to be smart about it, knowing that I’d have time to complete those hours once the season was over. So taking one shift a week at that time and scheduling it so that it would be the next day, I would have the day off of hockey so I could get back and rest. Trying to be smart about scheduling, and working with coaches. Trying to limit it… so that I can still get rest and be prepared for the games that weekend.
Looking Towards the Future
TIG: You finished up your collegiate career recently. How much did it mean to you to still be able to play this last season and finish out your career at St. Cloud?
Chobak: It’s such an honor that I got to be able to play my last season the full way through. When I think about wearing the jersey, it means so much because it represents so much more than me as a player. You’re representing the program, the school, the city of St. Cloud. For a lot of us, sports are so much more than just a game. When I put on that jersey, there’s a real sense of pride and responsibility to represent that the right way.
TIG: What does your future look like now? What is in your future plans?
Chobak: I’m finishing nursing school right now. I’m excited about that and finishing that. At the same time, I am exploring opportunities to keep playing. I have a timeline and I want to make sure that I’m fully considering all my options going forward before I make that decision. At this point in my life you pick your college and you go from there and you’re kind of dedicated to that timeline. [Now] it’s my decision about what I want to do going forward. I want to make sure that I have explored all my options and I’ve considered them and I’ll see how I’m feeling when it gets down to the wire there.
TIG: Once you reach those 180 hours, right?
Chobak: Yeah, after that, then I can start thinking about it.
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TIG: You had been coaching at Sartell High School a while back. Are you still coaching there?
Chobak: No, I’m not doing that anymore. I am working to continue coaching the spring high performance to stay involved. I love coaching and I had to take a break from it this year, but I do love getting to do that and being a part of that. It is something that’s enjoyable for me and helps me stay involved too.
TIG: Is coaching in your future plans perhaps?
Chobak: That would just be a side future plan. Yes, I want to keep coaching, but not only coaching. Coaching is a great way to add on to whatever else you have going on in your life and to stay involved. Wherever I may end up, I’m definitely going to try and keep coaching.
Do you have a favorite memory from this season or from your time at Saint Cloud to end on?
Chobak: The Fill the Bowl game in Wisconsin when we won 1-0 and there were [over] 14,000 people there. That was definitely the highlight of my college career and my time at St. Cloud. The amount of people that were there and the environment and I had family there as well. So to have everyone rally together to get through that and come out on the other end was such an unreal experience. That moment felt so special for all of us. Knowing that we were the underdog, but it wasn’t impossible. The underestimation really helps us shine in those big moments. To be able to share that with the team in front of such a large crowd was something that I’ll never forget. It was just a great moment for all of us.
Here are some stories from the world of women’s hockey you should check out:
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Wisconsin women’s hockey heroes nearly retired early
USports, the Canadian university hockey system, recently wrapped their season too. Geremy from The Ice Garden has you covered if you’re curious about another championship game.
Start Last, Finish First: 2026 USports Champions Montréal Carabins
A feature + video interview if you are interested with Molly Jordan from the University of Minnesota about her hockey journey.
I recently wrote a story on bronze medalist and Switzerland forward Laura Zimmermann and Ottawa Charge goaltender Sanni Ahola on their Olympics experience.
An Inside Look at the 2026 Winter Olympics With SCSU’s Laura Zimmermann and Sanni Ahola
Maybe you want to learn about a current pro player in the PWHL who played a successful college career? Reid Lemker has you covered with a great story on Minnesota Frost star and former college hockey standout Taylor Heise.
Leveled Up: Taylor Heise is in the midst of a career year
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