Gauthier’s Trip Pays Off

Gabe Gauthier has traveled a long and winding road from Buena Park to the Frozen Four, which begins today in Boston. He has gone from basking in the Southern California sun to reveling on the ice at the University of Denver.

Gauthier, 20, will play in an NCAA semifinal today, when Denver faces Minnesota Duluth. He is the Pioneers’ top scorer, with 17 goals and 42 points in 40 games.

“I think we’re bigger news [in Denver] than the Colorado Avalanche right now,” Gauthier said.

This is the first time that the Pioneers have reached the Frozen Four since 1986. They haven’t won a national title since 1969.

This is a long way from Buena Park, and Gauthier certainly took a circuitous route. He is one of a growing number of players from Southern California who have found success away from home.

Gauthier’s roots are found in Winnipeg, Canada, where his father, Gerald Gauthier, grew up. Gauthier moved to Los Angeles, and his son later absorbed his love of hockey.

“When I was 4, he brought me to the rink and threw me on the ice and I fell in love with it from the start,” Gauthier said. “I played football for a few years and some volleyball, but I didn’t care about other sports besides hockey. I’ve been dedicated since the first day I was in it.”

What Gauthier found were more opportunities to develop that talent in Southern California. But eventually he needed to go elsewhere to progress.

After honing his skills with the South Coast Sabres, Gauthier headed to Boston to attend prep school and, at 15, was playing for the Chilliwack Chiefs -- a second-tier Canadian junior team -- a year later. He was chosen the British Columbia Hockey League’s rookie of the year in 1999-2000.

“I knew when I started, [youth] hockey wasn’t big in California,” Gauthier said. “Most players were leaving early to pursue their goal. There are a lot of talented players coming out of Southern California hockey now, and they play longer here.

“Now that I’ve done this, I have a great shot at one day playing in the NHL.”

Along the way Gauthier has had to endure a few California jokes, yet has always had an answer -- on the ice.

“I laugh at them and go out and play hockey,” Gauthier said. “That goes for the other California hockey kids I know. We don’t say much verbally, we just show them how we can play.”

Gauthier played it well enough at Chilliwack to catch the eye of college recruiters. He signed with Denver and had eight goals and 16 points as a freshman last season.

This season he has been an important cog in the Pioneers’ run to the Frozen Four.

“This is huge,” Gauthier said. “We have been getting e-mails from guys who played on the 1986 team telling us what a once-in-a-lifetime thing this will be and to take advantage of it.”

*

The Frozen Four

At Fleet Center, Boston

TODAY’S SEMIFINALS

* Denver (25-12-5) vs. Minnesota Duluth (28-12-4), 9 a.m.; Boston College (29-8-4) vs. Maine (32-7-3), 3 p.m.

SATURDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP

* Denver-Minnesota Duluth winner vs. Boston College-Maine winner, 4 p.m.