Minnesota Has Been A Homecoming Of Sorts For Michela Cava

Michela Cava was a sophomore forward with the University of Connecticut women’s hockey more than a decade ago. But the Thunder Bay, Ont. native was homesick and wanted to be closer to family, especially after the passing of her grandfather. She looked at schools within a five-hour drive from home.

“Duluth ended up being one of the good spots for me to go at the time,” Cava said. “That was a three-hour drive from home.”

Cava played two seasons at UMD, scoring 22 goals and 44 points in 69 games. Her loved ones came to see her most weekends.

“I think it was very important for me at the time, and the things that I was going through,” Cava said. “It kind of feels like home, Duluth, just because it’s close to Thunder Bay.

“It felt like home just to be there. It was a good time in my life.”

Cava is now one of the top forwards with the Minnesota Frost in the PWHL. As a kid, she traveled to Duluth for various hockey tournaments. She comes from a large Italian family with many hockey players. Her family also has roots in the northern Minnesota city, where her dad, George Cava, played hockey with St. Scholastica.

Now a multi-time professional hockey champion, Michela refers to her dad as her biggest hockey influence. He played hockey overseas in Italy. Following college, Michela also played hockey across the pond, with four professional seasons in Sweden from 2017 to 2021, winning a championship in 2021. Her mom nudged her to start in the workforce after college, but her dad encouraged her to play hockey in Sweden.

“He said, ‘Go, do it,’” Cava said. “’It’ll be the best experience ever.’

“Just obviously both of my parents are my role models and heroes, but he was definitely my hockey… why I did it and why I continue to do it and has always been there for me.”

Growing up in a hockey family in Thunder Bay, Cava started playing the game at a young age. She played lots of road hockey and enjoyed being outside with her older brother and friends. She played youth hockey with the Thunder Bay Queens.

Going to Sweden kicked off a pro hockey career that lasted longer than Cava expected. After four seasons in Sweden, she was champion of Russia’s Women’s Hockey League on the KRS Vanke Rays team in 2022, winning the playoff MVP with 17 points in eight games. Then, she returned to North America and played two seasons with the Toronto Six in the PHF before getting drafted to PWHL Minnesota ahead of last season.

She has three goals and four points in eight games with the Frost this season. Many people in hockey have ties to Minnesota, said Frost assistant captain Kelly Pannek. Cava is considered one of them.

“It’s a place where you can come by yourself and be your best self, and it’s valued and appreciated and needed,” Pannek said. “The more comfortable people are, the better it tends to be on the ice as well.”

Now, she is still in Minnesota but in the Twin Cities. Cava is about 5-1/2 hours from her family and friends in Thunder Bay, who plan trips to visit her in Minnesota or Toronto. She’s had great support from family, including many cousins – “almost too many people to talk about” – who’ve played hockey at high levels.

“I’m super lucky,” Cava said. “They all come down here, and it’s just like a party for them.

“Having them there and being able to see them after the games means a lot to me.”

Cava also relies on her partner Emma Greco, who’s also a PWHL player. They were teammates who won a championship with the Toronto Six in the PHF in 2022-23 and then played together last season when Minnesota won the Walter Cup. “A pretty unique experience” to win back-to-back championships together, Cava said.

“Not a lot of people get to say they did that,” Cava added.

Greco, 29, was plus-8 with 24 shots in 22 regular-season games with Minnesota last season. She also registered six shots in 10 playoff games. Greco was a free agent after the championship season and signed a one-year contract with Boston on July 8. She recorded her first PWHL point on Dec. 17 this season, an assist against Ottawa.

With Boston playing in Minnesota early in 2025, Greco traveled to Minnesota at the start of the team’s holiday break. Along with Cava, Greco visited with some of her old Minnesota teammates.

“There’s obviously been a lot of good memories here,” Greco said. “So it was good to be back.”

This season, they first faced each other at a Dec. 4 Boston game, a 2-1 Frost victory. Cava scored the first goal of the game in the second period; Greco recorded two hits in the game. In the Jan. 2 game between the two teams at Xcel Energy Center, Greco got a “welcome back” in-arena announcement during the first TV timeout and was shown at the bench chatting with her Fleet teammates as the crowd acknowledged her return with cheers.

Boston staged a late multi-goal comeback to force the game into overtime before Britta Curl-Salemme’s breakaway with 12.9 seconds left gave the Frost the 4-3 victory.

Greco took an interference penalty in a scoreless game in the second period, and Cava had a scoring chance with 18 seconds left in the Frost power play but missed the net wide. After the game, Greco talked about Cava’s skills on the ice as someone who finds passes well and is a tough opponent to play against.

“I’m obviously secretly hoping that she doesn’t score in any moment, especially when I’m in the box,” Greco said. “She’s a great player, and I’m happy for her to find success here.”

Cava echoed the sentiment, happy that Greco is doing well with her new team in Boston.

Greco was listed as Boston’s seventh defender in the Jan. 2 lineup and logged 6:21 time on ice, with Cava at right wing on the top line playing more than 18 minutes. Since Cava and Greco went from being teammates to opponents in the PWHL this season, it’s only natural to ask: What’s it like playing against each other?

“When it’s game time, nothing else matters,” Greco said. “I don’t really think about if I’m on [the ice] with her or something like that. It’s just business.

“Hopefully, I can bring my luck here for a Walter Cup Championship.”

The couple spent most of the summer together following the championship with Minnesota, stopping in Thunder Bay, spending time in Vancouver, and seeing family in Toronto.

They still talk hockey when they’re off the ice. But since their relationship has turned into a long-distance one, they also try to “put hockey on the back burner” when they talk or Facetime, Greco said. It’s definitely been different this year, but they’re making their way through it. Cava said it’s been an incredible ride to have Greco alongside her.

“You get on the ice, I could be going against one of my best friends, and you literally don’t know, and you end up hitting someone in front of the net, and you look and ‘Oh my gosh, hey sorry about that,’” Cava said. “I mean, it’s hockey. It’s a business and a professional game. I think we all treat it like that.”

From her time at UMD to playing with Minnesota in the PWHL, it’s made the state feel more like home for Cava.

“I really enjoy my time here and being able to have people come so easily to visit me,” Cava said. “It definitely impacts the way you feel… it’s been great.”