Re: 2018-19 Penn State Nittany Lions
These are four of the Penn State players who I think are going to be players to watch in 2018-19. The list is longer, but in my case three cheers for brevity, right? Jeff Kampersal has a lot to work with, on offense and defense both, so it's going to be interesting to see what he comes up with for his top three lines.
Brooke Madsen, junior forward (Eagan, MN)
She's been fun to watch since she started at Penn State. She is a solid and consistent playmaker, takes a lot of shots, is very smart with the puck, and finished last season right behind Natalie Heising in scoring. She has definitely earned the "A" on her jersey this season. I hope she and Heising get paired on a line.
Natalie Heising, sophomore forward (Wayzata, MN)
Her freshman numbers speak for themselves, and there's no reason she can't improve on them this season. She has a very good shot, but she's also very good at putting herself in the right position to take those shots, as well as being in position for rebounds. She should have another great season this year, and has also earned the "A" on her jersey.
Loli Fidler, freshman forward (Edina, MN)
She comes highly rated, and looked very good in the exhibition game last weekend. She's fast, she's aggressive in front of the net, and she looked very good paired up with Heising and Madsen on the power play. A Madsen/Heising/Fidler line would be a blast to watch.
Katie Rankin, sophomore forward (Kanata, Ontario)
Rankin finished her freshman year third in scoring behind Madsen and Heising - pretty good company. She's solid in the faceoff circle, and that should get even better, but I think she's going to find even more of her scoring touch this season, too. It will be interesting to see who she gets matched up with when lines are set.
The biggest question mark is still the starting goalie, if Kampersal even settles on only one. All three goalies got a period of play last weekend against Ryerson University, but they sure didn't get much work, with only eight total shots coming their way. Junior Jenna Brenneman saved four, sophomore Chantal Burke saved three, and redshirt freshman Cam Leonard saved one.
-- Mercyhurst - They are picked to win the CHA again this season and they certainly deserve that vote - they're stacked, and they're going to be hard for anyone in the CHA to beat. The conference title and autobid to the national tournament are theirs to lose, realistically. After that, the next three spots in the CHA are a crap shoot.
-- Robert Morris - Last season, I never bought into the lovefest for Robert Morris, because they weren't that much competiton for Penn State, and took four games to win one. Brittany Howard has graduated now, and she was the story for them, so we'll see what they're all about without her. I know they had more than her, but when Penn State shut Howard down the games ended in a tie three out of four times.
-- Syracuse - I don't know enough about Syracuse to have an opinion for this year, but they always seem to be a pain in the *** for Penn State at the end of a season. I hope that changes in 2018-19. They're a big team and always aggressive, so it should be some hard battles again.
-- Lindenwood - They're never predictable. You never know which Lindenwood is going to show up on any given night, so I'll leave them alone without an opinion, too. I just don't see them making any big moves up the CHA standings.
-- RIT - RIT? There's just so much "up" for them to reach for and not much "down" left to explore after last season, but they've got some rebuilding to do before they start making any noise. I do hope they start to gel and get competitive. Well, except when they play Penn State, of course.
Along with everyone else, I think Mercyhurst takes the regular season title again and wins the conference tournament, and returns to the national tournament again. I don't see a reason why Penn State can't fight its way to the number two spot by season's end, although Syracuse and Robert Morris will definitely be battling for the same. I just don't see a clear number two from here.
