100 reasons to smile: Colin Kreuz reaches rare hockey milestone in St. Paul's win Saturday

WORCESTER — The hockey life of Colin Kreuz came full circle Saturday night.

After learning how to skate at the age of 4 at Buffone Arena, the St. Paul junior captain found himself at the very same rink for a game against Worcester over the weekend, needing just two points to reach 100 for his high school career.

And thanks to two goals in the second period, Kreuz became the first Knight in the program’s brief history to join the 100-point club.

“I learned how to play hockey here,” said Kreuz, following his team’s 5-2 win. “So being able to get the 100th here is very special.”

Introducing Mr. 100

Heading into the season, Kreuz stood 13 points shy of the 100-point plateau.

The 16-year-old from Worcester compiled four points over his first two games before the reigning T&G Hometeam All-Star put up an seven-point performance (1 goal, 6 assists) in the Knights’ 7-2 win over Assabet Wednesday.

“He moves the puck a lot, he finds me where most people wouldn’t find me, and he makes the game easier,” said Evan Waden, Kreuz’s linemate. “It’s fun to play with him.”

On Saturday, Kreuz struggled to gain momentum early on offense. One of his shots rang off the post, and he was held pointless over the first 15 minutes. The St. Paul center went into the first intermission admittedly a bit nervous that he wouldn’t reach the milestone in front of family and friends who traveled to watch him.

“I wanted to get it for them,” Kreuz said.

Just 29 ticks into the second intermission, though, Kreuz finally capitalized when he took a pass from freshman Leyton Riendeau and found the back of the net for a power-play goal that gave the Knights a 2-1 lead.

Then, just over 14 minutes later, Kreuz made history.

With Waden corralling a loose puck around center ice inside the final minute of the second period, the St. Paul freshman shuffled a backwards pass to a streaking Kreuz.

The 6-foot-2, 170-pound forward then used his speed and size to glide past a Wildcats defender, deke the goaltender and collect his 100th career point with a nifty backhanded shot.

Introducing Mr. 100: The first hockey player to accomplish the feat since St. Paul opened its doors in 2020.

“Being the first is always something,” Kreuz said. “I’ve been with the program since the start and seeing it where it is now after that first year is really special.”

“It’s special,” St. Paul coach Jay Monfreda said. “He’s one of the hardest workers in the room, so it’s not a surprise, he just has it all.”

Embracing the spotlight

With the weight lifted off of his shoulders, Kreuz and the Knights flicked on cruise control in the final 15 minutes to beat Worcester, 5-2.

St. Paul improved to 2-1-1 overall and in the Russell Conference. Worcester is 0-4 overall and in the league.

Following the final whistle, Kreuz had 100 reasons to smile as he received congratulations from his coaches, family, friends and teammates. Although Kreuz prefers to dish out the praise (and puck), the St. Paul junior captain finally took his flowers.

“He never wants to talk about it, he doesn’t want the attention on him, (but) I was really happy that everyone was here because I want to celebrate him and all of his accomplishments and everything that he’s done,” said his mother, Julie. “It’s just nice to see him get a little bit of spotlight.”

“I’m just so proud of him,” said his father, Nick, who is an assistant coach with the team. “He works hard at pretty much everything he does, and it’s good to see him get rewarded a little bit.”

And for a few hours Saturday, life came full circle for Colin Kreuz at Buffone Arena.

“To get my 100th point in Worcester is very satisfying,” he said.

—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: St. Paul captain Colin Kreuz collects 100th career point