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.