Forty-five minutes from Los Angeles and three stoplights from Disneyland, Jaime Rasmussen grew up with hockey in Garden Grove, Calif. She learned the game playing roller hockey at age 6 and was on boys ice hockey teams from ages eight to 16.
Her teammates included Rhett Rakhshani of Huntington Beach, Calif., the top player for the No. 2-ranked Denver Pioneers, and Scooter Vaughn of Placentia, Calif., a defenseman at the University of Michigan.
Rasmussen, 21, a Minnesota Duluth senior defenseman, has won championships with USA Roller Hockey, U.S. Under 12 and Under 16 girls teams and with the Bulldogs. Through all of the victories, one thing has remained consistent, her durability.
When No. 5-ranked UMD faces No. 1 Minnesota on Friday night at the DECC, Rasmussen will have played in more games than anyone in the program's 11 years -- 145. Tawni Mattila of Duluth, at UMD from 2005-09, played in 144.
"That's always been a goal of mine -- give my best, work hard and gain a spot in the lineup, and stay there," Rasmussen, an assistant captain, said this week. "I've played almost every game in every season since I've been in hockey, and I'm thankful to the coaches who have given me a chance."
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During her four seasons, UMD is 103-31-11. Rasmussen has missed just one game, Feb. 6, 2009, in the first game of a series at Bemidji State after suffering a concussion at practice earlier in the week. That broke a program record of 106 consecutive games.
She's recorded 17 goals and 45 assists for 62 points in 144 games, sixth among defensemen in UMD career scoring.
"In my first season [coach Shannon Miller] told me that she expected a lot from me and I took that seriously," Rasmussen said. "It's pretty exciting now to have played in so many games. I'm proud of that."
Before coming to UMD, she played with the California Selects women's team that often traveled to play on the East Coast in New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut. She was named the team's top defenseman from 2001-2005.
She's a two-time Western Collegiate Hockey Association all-academic selection majoring in criminology and psychology, and hopes to work with disadvantaged youth.
"Given our situation this year, with a smaller roster because of the Winter Olympics, we needed Jaime to be a dominant player every time she's on the ice," said UMD coach Shannon Miller. "We gave her a lot of responsibility and she's responded.
"She has great vision, good hands and a good shot, and you notice her. We trust her defensively, but she also gets to loose pucks, and directs our breakouts and quarterbacks our power play. She's taken charge."
Sarah Murray of Faribault, Minn., has been paired at times with Rasmussen this season as another stalwart senior defenseman. She's also approaching the career games mark, having played in 140. Murray's dad, Andy, has been head coach with Los Angeles and St. Louis in the NHL, and her brother, Jordy, is a sophomore forward at the University of Wisconsin.
