UMD’s Jojo Chobak Talks Stellar Debut Against Ohio State

In her first career start last Friday at Ohio State, the Chicago native shutout the top scoring team in the nation.

DULUTH, Minn. – Even with so much turnover, the UMD women’s hockey team always seems to have a rock solid goalie in net. And now we have the latest name for the Bulldogs: Jojo Chobak.

The sophomore netminder has been stellar so far filling in for Emma Soderberg, who is heading to the Winter Olympics. In her first career start last Friday at Ohio State, the Chicago native shutout the top scoring team in the nation. Chobak credited the environment she played in, saying that she performs best when she’s excited and having fun.

“Everyone was so supportive. I had so many people reaching out to me and being like “I’m so proud of you. Great job.” and things like that. So it did give me a lot of confidence and I feel good about going into the next weekend and being able to be in that starting position comfortably,” said Chobak.

The move did not come as a surprise as the Bulldogs knew there was a good chance Soderberg would be gone for a few weeks. And it helps that the program has many resources that allows goalies to excel on the ice.

“We have some of the best players in the country on our team and facing their shots every day is a challenge. We have Lou on staff every day at our practices. If you’re a starter or a back-up, I think what you learn when your time is up and you’re called on, that’s what makes you successful here,” said head coach Maura Crowell.

“The goalies that have come in and out of this program are truly really amazing, and so it’s awesome to be a part of a program that I know can produce such great goalies,: said Chobak.

Fun fact: Chobak says she got the name “Jojo” from playing with her brothers who didn’t know how to pronounce her real name “Violet” when they were younger.