ADRIAN, Mich. — After nearly a decade dedicated to Adrian College—as both a student-athlete and an athletic trainer—the Adrian College Athletics Department would like to extend a heartfelt farewell and thank you to Emily Baldus ’21, who will be departing her Athletic Training position this summer for a new opportunity at the college athletics level. Emily is set to move on to Minot, North Dakota where she’ll join the Minot State University Beavers as an athletic trainer.

Emily’s journey with the Bulldogs began as an undergraduate student in 2017-18, where she studied exercise science and played four seasons for the NCAA Softball team. Baldus eventually earned her bachelor’s degree in exercise science in 2021 before continuing her education at Adrian to complete her master’s degree in science-athletic training, where she graduated with her master’s in 2022.

As a certified athletic trainer, Emily provided expert care and support for several Bulldog teams, including Men’s ACHA Division 1 Hockey, Men’s and Women’s Wrestling, Men’s Volleyball, and Acrobatics & Tumbling, among others. Her presence on the sidelines, on the bench, in the athletic training room, and during countless practices and competitions was marked by professionalism, compassion, and tireless dedication.

Her commitment to excellence and passion for athlete care was evident from the beginning, and over the last three seasons, she has played an integral role in the well-being and success of numerous athletic teams on campus. Baldus was also integral in the Men’s ACHA Division 1 Hockey National Championship team in 2024 and the back-to-back Men’s Wrestling MIAA Championships in 2023 and 2024, providing first-class care and support for the winning Bulldog student-athletes and coaches.

Emily’s work ethic never went unnoticed. Whether it was early mornings, long road trips, or late-night treatments, she approached every task with a smile, steady hand, and a genuine concern for the student-athletes she served. Her commitment to Adrian College and its athletic programs has left a lasting impression on coaches, colleagues, and student-athletes alike.

“Emily has been an incredible asset to our athletic department—not only as a highly skilled and reliable athletic trainer, but also as a compassionate, steady presence for our student-athletes,” said Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator, Meg Sharp. “Her professionalism, work ethic, and genuine care for those around her set the standard in every space she entered. Emily will be deeply missed at Adrian College, but we are so proud of her and excited to see the impact she’ll make at Minot State.”

While it is bittersweet to see her go, we are excited to watch Emily take the next step in her career at Minot State University, where she will be primarily working with their Women’s ACHA Division 1 Hockey program and assisting with Football, Women’s Volleyball, Baseball, and Softball, among others. She will begin her new chapter on August 4, bringing the same high standards of care and professionalism that defined her time at Adrian College.

We extend our deepest gratitude and best wishes to Emily Baldus as she embarks on this new journey. Adrian College is better for having had her on our team and will miss her deeply. Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog.

HADLEY — Posing for pictures, signing autographs and participating in crafts and other activities, Blades, the mascot for the Boston Bruins, and more than 20 University of Massachusetts hockey players, thrilled hockey fans of all ages at the Hadley Public Library Tuesday afternoon.

One of just 12 libraries across the state awarded an hourlong visit from Blades this summer, as part of a long-running partnership with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and the National Hockey League team, numerous children, and their parents, many wearing Bruins and UMass hockey sweaters, T-shirts and other gear came out to show their love for the sport — and got the added bonus of interacting with the college athletes.

“We’re season ticket holders, so it was nice to see everyone again, and to see the rookies who haven’t yet hit the ice,” said Rylan Waskiewicz, 15, of Sunderland, after making her way around the community room to meet up with Blades and the players.

Joined by siblings Cash, 10, and Mack, 8, the Waskiewiczes had posters signed and got to chat with the players while making bead bracelets and unique Bruins fan buttons, coloring a goalie’s mask and playing a game of Jenga and competing in a tug of war.

“I love seeing a lot of the players, and I liked playing the games and getting signatures,” Mack said.

“It’s kind of like fun to see all the people again, and the new people,” Cash said.

“When You Read, You Score!” is the name of the summer reading program that encourages children to continue reading, with a poster outlining the favorite books for Bruins players and a special library poster featuring Bruins player Jeremey Swayman.

“We want this to be so much fun,” said Celeste Bruno, communications director for the state library board.

Bruno said the idea is to get children motivated to keep reading over the summer and to avoid the so-called “summer slide” that can occur when they are not in school.

The state, Bruno said, received 120 applications from libraries to be part of it. Before coming to Hadley, the state officials and Bruins representatives had been in Russell, where Blades met with patrons at that town’s library.

As the event began, Blades arrived and all the players introduced themselves, and then a Bruins-specific quiz was conducted by Karen Traub of Shutesbury, an MBLC commissioner, before a group photo was taken.

Emily Dattilo, youth services coordinator at the Hadley library, said the special storytime was an opportunity to supplement the regular summer reading program, which has about 100 children participating.

Dattilo said staff had written an essay explaining why the library should be selected, and once they were chosen families, she said, became even more engaged.

The event was expected to be big, she said, both for Bruins fans and because of the popularity of UMass hockey, which won a national championship in 2021.

Among those who came to the event was Jessie Labonte of Chicopee, who brought her son, Brantley, 5. He previously got to stay at the Mullins Center, the UMass hockey team’s home rink, with his Mighty Mites youth hockey team.

On this day, getting to meet Blades and having the college athletes help him color in the goalie’s mask was both a surprise and a thrill for Brantley.

“I was excited,” Brantley said. “This is the best ever.”

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.

Coralville, Iowa – The Iowa Heartlanders, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild and American Hockey League’s Iowa Wild, have signed forward T.J. Walsh and defenseman Elliott McDermott to contracts for the 2025-26 season. 

Walsh led the Heartlanders with 43 points (18g-25a) in 66 games as a rookie with Iowa last season. The Shrewsbury, Massachusetts native spent five years skating in the NCAA, splitting time between Northeastern University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Sacred Heart University. Across the three schools, Walsh put up 70 points in 142 games, earning him a two-game stint with the Orlando Solar Bears to conclude the 2023-24 campaign. 

McDermott played college hockey with Colgate University, the University of Massachusetts, and RPI. He joins Iowa as a rookie, completing his final collegiate season at RPI with 18 points (3g-15a) in 35 games. He concluded the 2024-25 season with the Adirondack Thunder, where he put up one assist in five games.

DULUTH — The best athlete in the Plante family, according to the oldest son, is heading into the

University of Minnesota Duluth Athletic Hall of Fame.

Duluth native Kristi (Duncan) Plante, a standout two-sport athlete for the Bulldogs in the early ’90s,

is among nine members of the Class of 2025

who will be inducted into the UMD Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 26.

Plante was an all-conference performer in both basketball and softball between 1991-95, leading both programs to Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference titles. She was named UMD’s Most Outstanding Female Senior Athlete in 1995 when she captained the women’s basketball program to an NSIC championship and its first NCAA Division II North Central playoff berth. She was the NSIC’s RBI champion in softball in 1994, when she was also named all-region.

File / Duluth Media Group

This will be the second Duluth sports hall of fame induction for Plante,

who went into the Duluth East High School Hall of Fame in 2015

after earning 14 letters in volleyball, basketball and softball. She was also named all-conference in all three sports and made all-state teams in softball and volleyball.

Plante’s husband, Cloquet native Derek Plante,

is also a member of the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame

after a storied hockey career where he was named a Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist in 1993. They have three sons, including two — Zam and Max — who will be sophomores on the Bulldogs men’s hockey team in the fall. Their youngest, Victor,

is committed to UMD for the future.

It was Zam Plante on

the News Tribune’s Bulldog Insider Podcast

who declared his mother the best athlete last fall.

Here’s the rest of the nine-member UMD Hall of Fame Class of 2025:

Justin Hayworth / File / Duluth Media Group

The Olympian from Finland and member of the

UMD Women’s Hockey 25th Anniversary Team

helped the Bulldogs win three-straight national championships between 2001-03 with five goals and three assists in six NCAA Frozen Four games. She’s fourth all-time at UMD in scoring with 220 career points in 123 games and third all-time in career goals with 100.

The Minneapolis native played three seasons in the UMD crease before signing an NHL contract with the New Jersey Devils after being drafted in the seventh round in 1988. He was an All-American during his sophomore season of 1989-90 and started 64 consecutive games for the Bulldogs.

Ingrid Young / File / Duluth Media Group

The Bulldogs won three NCAA championships, six NSIC all-sports titles and a combined 55 conference titles in the NSIC and Western Collegiate Hockey Association under Corran’s tenure, including 11 of a possible 13 conference titles during the 2002-03 season. He oversaw the addition of NCAA Division I women’s hockey at UMD and hired three coaches — Bob Nielson in football, Shannon Miller and Scott Sandelin in hockey — who would go on to win all 10 of UMD’s NCAA titles to date.

Clint Austin / File / Duluth Media Group

A finalist in 2009 for the Harlon Hill trophy, the All-American running back helped the Bulldogs win NCAA Division II national championships in 2008 and 2010. He holds UMD records for rushing yards in a season (1,808) and career (4,242); rushing touchdowns in a season (29) and career (72); and all-purpose yards in a game (354), season (2,496) and career (5,593). He signed an NFL deal with the San Diego Chargers after college.

UMD’s Outstanding Female Athlete in 2002-03 has a lot of “firsts” on her resume. She’s UMD’s first American Volleyball Coaches Association First-Team All-American, first four-time All-NSIC pick, first in NSIC history to be named MVP twice and first to captain UMD to a No. 1 ranking in the AVCA Division II poll in 2002. UMD won the NSIC title with an 18-0 record that year in league play.

Steve Kuchera / File / Duluth Media Group

A transfer from Tennessee State who played two seasons at UMD, Booker put together a historic campaign in 2009-10 when she became the first ever in the conference to be named both NSIC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

She was also the Central Region Player of the Year that season and a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American after leading the NSIC in scoring and steals. She’s one of just five Bulldogs to be named a WBCA All-American.

Amanda Odeski / File / Duluth Media Group

UMD’s Outstanding Senior Athlete for 2008-09 was a five-time All-American in indoor and outdoor track and field in the 800-meter run and distance medley relay. She’s one of the first two UMD women to earn All-American honors in more than one event at an NCAA championship in 2009. She was twice the national runner-up in the 800 meters and qualified for the 2007 NCAA Division II cross country championship.

A native of Proctor, Malec was an All-NSIC pitcher in 1983 and 1984. His career earned run average of 1.39 and 124 career strikeouts are both UMD records. Malec went on to pitch for three seasons in the Minnesota Twins’ minor league system.