“In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” Pop artist Andy Warhol made that prediction in the 1960s, and in 2013 that prediction came true for Zachary Sikich ’05. On Tuesday, March 12, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, he suited up for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks – for 15 minutes.

Actually, Sikich may not have received his full 15 minutes. He estimated that his time on the Ducks’ bench was more like 12 to 14 minutes. Still, he was in the NHL with the Ducks, who were taking on the Minnesota Wild that night.

The Ducks won 2-1, but Sikich also won. He made it to the NHL, a goal that Sikich had set for himself years earlier. After playing three seasons for St. Thomas, Sikich played three years of minor league hockey in an effort to get to the NHL. Along the way he made stops in Fraser, Michigan; Jacksonville, Fla.; Long Beach, Calif., Danbury, Conn.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Phoenix, Ariz., Elmira, N.Y., Quebec, Canada, and – as if he hadn’t traveled enough – Beijing, China.

Sikich blocks a shot during the 2005 championship game. (Photo by Mike Ekern ’02)

On March 12, deep within the Xcel, and just minutes east of St. Thomas’ St. Paul campus, Sikich suited up for the Ducks as the back-up goalie to replace Viktor Fasth, who was out with an injury. He knew that his stint with the Ducks might not last long. Head coach Bruce Boudreau told him that goalie Jeff DeLauriers had been called up from the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL, a Ducks’ farm team, and that DeLauriers might arrive during the game.

DeLauriers arrived early in the first period, and Sikich’s 15 minutes came to an end. Sikich left the bench, showered, brought his equipment to his car with the help of a valet, and then from the Xcel press box watched the rest of the game when he wasn’t being interviewed by various media.

Still, it was an exciting experience. Everyone in the Ducks organization – from the equipment manager to the head coach – made him feel welcome and “connected” to the team, Sikich said. He had skated with the Ducks in practice a year ago when they were in town and needed a fill-in goalie, so he was not unknown to the Ducks. Many of the players remembered him and welcomed him as the team prepared to take on the Wild.

Boudreau told Sikich that he had hoped the Ducks could establish a safe lead so he could give him a few minutes of ice time late in the game, Sikich said, but with DeLauriers’ early arrival, that was not to be. Still, Sikich left with a nice paycheck, his Ducks’ No. 31 jersey and NHL memories.

The Ducks can count on him for future emergencies, too, as he gets plenty of practice time as founder of ProHybrid Training, which specializes in training goalies both on and off the ice – goalies who, no doubt, have dreams of playing in the NHL someday.

The live broadcasts from Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul and St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights will occur on these Saturdays:

• Dec. 1, 2:30 p.m., men’s hockey vs. Concordia-Moorhead.
• Jan. 12, 3 p.m., men’s basketball vs. St. John’s.
• Feb. 9, 1 p.m., women’s basketball vs. St. Benedict.
• Feb. 16, 2 p.m., women’s hockey vs. Augsburg.

Athletic Director Steve Fritz said the broadcasts represent an excellent opportunity to bring St. Thomas sports into homes throughout the region.

“We are excited about these broadcasts,” Fritz said. “They will provide great visibility for both St. Thomas and the MIAC and will give our alumni and sports fans another way to follow our teams.”

KSTC is locally owned and operated by Hubbard Broadcasting and is the only fully independent television station in the Twin Cities market. Home to 45 Local News, KSTC is the exclusive broadcast partner for Minnesota State High School League tournaments and can be watched in HD, over-the-air on 5-2 and on Comcast Channel 812.

St. Thomas will contract with CTN Studios of Coon Rapids to produce the broadcasts, including hiring announcers for play-by-play action and color commentary, said Michelle Morgan, marketing manager for the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex and Anderson Student Center. CTN already handles football game-day production for the new scoreboard in O’Shaughnessy Stadium.

“CTN has experience in all facets of producing sports broadcasts,” Morgan said. “We have an excellent working relationship with CTN with our football games and we expect they will provide first-rate broadcasts for basketball and hockey.”

Dan Terhaar will be the play-by-play announcer for all four games. He has 28 years of sports broadcast experience, including television for the Minnesota Wild and St. Cloud State hockey and radio for the University of Minnesota and University of North Dakota. He also has covered several high school sports.

Tori Holt will be a sideline reporter for the men’s and women’s basketball and women’s hockey games, with 10 years of pro and college experience. Andrew Brunette, an NHL free agent, will provide color commentary on the men’s hockey game if the lockout doesn’t end this month and a team doesn’t pick him up.

Morgan said the broadcasts are a “pilot project.” If they prove successful, she said, the university would be interested in additional broadcasts next year.

Business or organizations interested in purchasing advertising spots on the broadcasts can contact Morgan at (651) 962-6186 or morg7978@stthomas.edu.

St. Thomas football games already are broadcast, over WCCO Radio. WCCO broadcast its first St. Thomas game in December 2010, during the NCAA Division III playoffs, and subsequently signed contracts that extend through the 2013 season.