By Gayle Simone

Chanda Gunn may be known to most people for her brilliant work on the ice as the Huskies number one goalie, but the 24 year-old senior leads her team off the ice as well.

The co-captain is tied for best save percentage in the country (.952) and her 1.42 goals against average is fourth best in the nation, but Gunn knows when her team needs her.

“She notices the little things,” teammate and co-captain Lori DiGiacomo said. “She just knows how to brighten your day. She isn’t very loud, but she gives everyone the one-on-one time that they need.”

Gunn said she has always been a very independent kid with different interests than the others. One of those is country music.

“I do like country music. I’m coming out of the closet with that,” Gunn said.

Freshman teammate Amy Goodney enjoys that part of Gunn.

“I don’t really like rap, I like more country music too,” she said. “I always cheer for her when she tells everyone she’s putting it on.”

Most teammates would agree Gunn is quiet and doesn’t need to be the center of attention.

“She’ll speak at the right time,” forward Stephanie Wood said. “She will only say something that goes with the situation and it’s always positive. She never bashes her teammates or the coaches.”

Being quiet is a trait that caused Gunn to think she might not be the best choice for captain.

“She doesn’t see herself as vocal or dominant and she was surprised by the fact we wanted her as captain,” coach Joy Woog said of the Patty Kazmaier award finalist (given each year to the top women’s college hockey player in the nation). “She is a great definition of a captain. She always puts the team first. She didn’t need to do anything different than what she was doing last year.”

Gunn’s passion for hockey is not her only interest; she is a very devout Catholic. While Gunn’s major is athletic training, she is minoring in religious studies. One of her biggest mentors is Father John Unni, of St. Ann’s.

“I love him,” Gunn said. “He is probably one of the influential people in my life. If Father John were to tell me something I would believe it in a minute.”

Gunn goes to church on a regular basis, and the first time she saw Unni she didn’t know what to expect.

“I went to Saint Ann’s since my freshman year and there was a wonderful priest there, Father Paul, he just ended up leaving at the very end of my freshman year,” Gunn said. “And when Father John showed up, I was like ‘Come on what is going on? This is my church, where is Father Paul?'”

Gunn said that from day one, Father John won her heart.

“He is a phenomenal speaker and he has a good balance between spirituality and reality,” Gunn said. “I just love him. I think he’s great.”

One of Gunn’s happiest moments in her college hockey career so far was going to her home state of California to play against her old team, Wisconsin. Gunn set two school records — saves in a game (56) and in a period (23). The records were not the reasons why that weekend was one of her cherished moments.

“I coach girl’s hockey out there. They know when I leave it’s because I have to go play, but they have never seen me,” Gunn said. “But they finally got to see me on the ice. That’s a great feeling. Having the girls you teach actually see you on the ice is incredible.”

Playing in her last season as a Husky, Gunn will not be forgotten by her team after she is gone.

“She can’t be replaced,” Woog said. “No one on a team can be replaced. Our team will continue to play hard, because that’s what we have to do.”