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Leveille played almost all of the time last year. The assumption is that Peters will get more minutes than Sletta did.
I know that I'm playing with fire trying to interpret pokechecker's post. I was initially going to reply that the post was so 2013.
IMO, it's more than a bonus. Both Jody Horak and Noora Räty performed markedly better in the NCAA tournament as juniors than they had as underclassmen. The result for each was her first championship. Was the problem fatigue? Because of the Olympics and multiple OTs, that was definitely an issue in 2010, but I think that having experienced the NCAA Tournament previously makes a difference as well. Leveille had at least three games during the season versus Wisconsin where she performed better than she did versus the Badgers in the Frozen Four. Was it mental and physical fatigue, inexperience, improvement by Bucky, shakier play by teammates? Maybe some of each. From 2006-2010, the Gophers lost four times in the NCAAs starting a different freshman goaltender in each. There have been goalies that did well w/o NCAA experience (Vetter, Harss, Rigsby), but there hasn't really been an example for the Gophers.
In the 2011-2012 season, Noora was held out of one game entirely against Minnesota State at Ridder; there's still some question about why that happened, as it was the first game of the weekend. Sletta got the start in Noora's place and played all 60 minutes... and yes, she got a shutout.
An interesting analogy that may have merit. Where the situation is unlike Chicken Little (or the Boy Who Cried Wolf or any other situation where one prepares for something that is a false alarm) is that early last season the sky did fall. In the second period of that first game versus Wisconsin, it fell repeatedly. Leveille knew with certainty that pucks would get through the defense eventually. But as you say, human nature makes it tough to be as prepared if the shots appear occasionally versus regularly. There were times when that appeared to cause problems, such as the first goal allowed in the tie versus tOSU.
Leveille's start at St. Cloud was a key piece down the stretch in 2013, because she came in and settled everything down. If Noora had a fault in goal, she at times tried to do too much and was too aggressive, and that seemed to bite her a bit on both goals allowed in the OT win against Bemidji State. Part of me thinks that it helped her to sit as Leveille played versus the Huskies, but she was just as impressive in the WCHA tourney the year before without getting that game off, so who knows.
I think that it does, although not directly. More than any other position, I think it is hard for goalies to overcome expectations, or more appropriately, lack of expectations. Sletta wasn't recruited to be a No. 1 goalie, and it is hard to change that perception. Back in 2005-06, the plan was to give the major minutes to Chartier while Hanlon sat. It was only after Chartier had some wobbles that Hanlon got a chance. Sletta didn't arrive with the resume of the goalies that have been her teammates, so developing her was never a priority of the staff. Peters is the heir apparent to the starting role in two years, so it would make sense to give her some minutes over the next two years. Whatever potential Sletta did or did not have, it certainly hasn't been maximized with the minuscule playing time she has been allotted in three seasons.
I agree with you on what Sletta has shown in games. Obviously, the coaches see a lot more of all the goalies in practice, so they have a better idea of what each can do. As for why she is on the team, she fills a very difficult role. It can't be easy to keep working hard in practice and off the ice when the reward of playing time doesn't seem to be part of the equation. But she does work, and she remains a good teammate throughout it. A team really needs three goalies, both for emergency and to have enough bodies in practice.
