2014-2015 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

[L268]

New roster and photos posted...a month to go....time for a new season's thread!

[96IllinoisDad]

Re: 2014-2015 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

Preseason Prospectus: http://www.msumavericks.com/document...rospectus1.pdf

12 of 24 players are freshman

[Hockeysbest]

New roster and photos posted...a month to go....time for a new season's thread!

Have the captains been named?

[L268]

Re: 2014-2015 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

Captains were announced last week: Sr. Natalie Stoltz - F is the captain, alternates are Sr. Elizabeth Hewett - D and Sr. Kathleen Rogan - F.
http://www.msumavericks.com/news/201...002144703.aspx

We get the season started (finally!) this weekend against North Dakota:
http://www.msumavericks.com/news/201...008145416.aspx

[96IllinoisDad]

Re: 2014-2015 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

Article on MSU's Kathleen Rogan - MSU leading returner - and rest of team:

http://www.mankatofreepress.com/spor...eb06f4cf1.html

[brookyone]

Re: 2014-2015 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

After last weekend...I'm pretty curious to see who plays where for NoDak. I mean...I know they'll all be playing at All Seasons but...well, you know what I mean.

Perhaps just an experiment prior to the start of the conference schedule, and not to be repeated.

[KTDC]

After last weekend...I'm pretty curious to see who plays where for NoDak. I mean...I know they'll all be playing at All Seasons but...well, you know what I mean.

Perhaps just an experiment prior to the start of the conference schedule, and not to be repeated.

Idalski in a preseason interview said the strength of his team was the D, and he said he was going to play Hirschy and others in offense. He was calling them "hybrids".

[brookyone]

Re: 2014-2015 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

Idalski in a preseason interview said the strength of his team was the D, and he said he was going to play Hirschy and others in offense. He was calling them "hybrids".

My first thought was if he has Hirschy up front he must be pretty confident with his options and others in his D group.

[L268]

Re: 2014-2015 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

Considering these were the first two games of the season for the Mavs, and North Dakota had several under their belts...I thought there was more good than bad for this young team.

The first period on Friday was shaky, not unexpectedly. Before Minnesota State knew what had happened, the score was 2-0. But, I was impressed with the poise the girls showed. Despite getting scored on again in the second and twice in the third, I thought the team showed a nice amount of determination. They just kept playing, whereas last year I thought they had a tendency to get down and stay down mentally. Not all the goals were Krichiver's fault; the blue line was shaky at times...but a couple of those could be pinned on the forwards as well. There were a couple of times when the Mavs seemed to get caught up in watching the Whioux play with the puck, but again, not as much as last year. They let Dufault keep the puck way more than they should have, and she made them pay.

Saturday's game was a bit more even, I thought. There were times when the Mavericks took the play to the other end and kept it there. Lots of back and forth movement up and down the ice for both teams - we didn't get bottled up in our defensive end for long stretches of time. Quade started in goal (she came in in the third on Friday) and gave a very solid performance. She seemed a bit more confident than Krichiver and that seemed to give the team confidence as well. The Mavs played a full three periods, and some of the freshmen seemed fairly comfortable with the faster pace of the college game.

The shot total on Saturday (49-9) doesn't reflect the actual effort out there. However, it points out one big challenge for the Mavs this season - shoot. the. puck. You must score in order to win, no? The Mav power play looks better than last year; there were times last year when it looked like a high school team was playing the opponent. But...ladies...shoot. the. puck. Enough passing during the power play.

The D let a couple in on Friday via the back door, but you could already tell on Saturday their "hockey sense" was kicking in and they shut off that route much more effectively. Another problem for the Mavs in the past has been team speed, but that might not be as much of an issue this year. A number of players showed they have some wheels - Shammel looked speedy, as does their big #15, Elin Johansson. She scored the first Mav goal of the season, with Rogan and Schammel assisting. They were a good line all weekend...but Rogen needs to shoot that puck. Many of the veterans put in a good 2 games on the ice; I expect them to contribute more as the season gets going.

On D, both Bustad and Keys looked good in their freshman (redshirt, in Bustad's case) debut...but the coaches substituted Wittchow for Keys on Saturday. With 7 D, playing time will be hotly contested, I suspect. Bustad drew the first penalty of the season on Friday for a check on the boards, and showed some nice toughness throughout the weekend. Keys moved the puck well and should settle in nicely. The forwards need work remembering that a line in hockey consists of 5 players, 2 of whom are their defenders. North Dakota did a much better job using the skills of all the players on the ice. Minnesota State missed a number of opportunities to drop the puck back to the D for open shots.

All in all, the fan contingent seemed pleased with what they were seeing. There were definitely opportunities to tie up the game in the third period, but again, they need to shoot that puck. Looking forward to the games against St. Cloud next weekend and the improvements a week of practice will hopefully bring. Last year's team had some gritty determination that surprised some opponents - combine that attitude with good talent on the ice and this could be a fun year.

[L268]

Re: 2014-2015 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

Game notes for this weekend's "home & home" match with St. Cloud State:

http://www.msumavericks.com/news/201...015143017.aspx

[L268]

Re: 2014-2015 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

Well, Friday night's game was brutal, for an MSU fan. The girls looked disorganized and overwhelmed at times, not at all like last weekend. St. Cloud took advantage and racked up the goals. The MSU coaching staff did *not* look happy at all.

But, Saturday night's game was a different story. Whatever the coaches did or said paid off. They stayed mentally in the game and battled the entire time. The 1 -1 tie was an accurate reflection of the game's flow, and St. Cloud managed to get one past during the shootout. The shot totals were more balanced on Saturday, too. We liked how the lines were flowing, and the line combos seemed to click. Forwards seemed to be using the D more effectively this game, and the D pairs worked well. They put more shots on net...more just need to go in! Krichiver was very solid in net.

Hopefully next weekend at Mercyhurst will continue a positive direction for the girls.

[ARM]

Re: 2014-2015 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

But, Saturday night's game was a different story.

Did the larger ice surface in St. Cloud play any factor? I.e., are the Mavericks a skating team this year that is helped by having more room to maneuver?

[L268]

Re: 2014-2015 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

That's a good question. I thought the bigger ice surface worked well for them. They were getting the puck out of the defensive zone with some some good breakout passes, and the forwards were moving it up the ice well. The larger surface gave them some room to work. They seem to have some speed this year. On Saturday, in no particular order, I noticed Johansson (15), Stoltz (11), Coleman (7), and Davidson (28). Seems like every time I looked, one of them was doing something positive that caught my eye. Johansson, Johnson, and Schammel all have speed, and Coleman was making some smart decisions. They're not afraid to take it into the offensive zone, and in fact I noticed Keys, Bustad, and Wittchow (all defenders) all making nice offensive moves with the puck. They each took it up the ice at least once and tried to make something happen. Krichiver seemed much more comfortable in net on Saturday, too.

[pokechecker]

Re: 2014-2015 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

big ice, slow ice, no ice
no matter what, their biggest problem is going to be experience
with that many freshman it would be unrealistic to expect much from them early

[L268]

Re: 2014-2015 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

The Mavs are still in search of their first win, but they've been close. Both the Mercyhurst and UMD series had a rather ragged first game, and much stronger second game. The freshmen are showing flashes of good play; the biggest challenge is learning to play together as a *team.* Many of them are from programs where they were the (or one of) dominant player(s) on the team, with the corresponding expectation of carrying a big load at times. When they all remember there are 5 players on the ice for one team (6 if you count the goalie - she had an assist on Sunday!), they do quite well. They're still learning the tempo of the game, and sometimes getting caught taking too long to get rid of the puck.

They outworked Mercyhurst for a good portion of the second game, and played the 'Dogs tough yesterday. They are learning to avoid dumb penalties, which cost them a couple of close ones. Yesterday's 6-3 loss doesn't show their lead during the second period, and they got caught behind the tempo late in the third. Up to that point, a win seemed very do'able.

The girls just need to keep their head's down, not get discouraged, and keep working hard. The wins will come, and they are building a good foundation for the future.

This weekend's games against Ohio State should be a good series for both teams - looking forward to seeing them come to visit.