This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Frosty's apparently taking a break from recruiting elite players, because he's finding time to visit me at my place of employment tomorrow.
[/COLOR]
The articles I have found suggest that this is more an adjustment to the amount the scholarship is worth, so there would be no rule about how the additional money would be split among partial scholarship recipients. Admittedly, those articles are just someone's opinions, so take them with a grain of salt.
As one not overly familiar with BSM, and not having seen them much outside the state tourney I'm wondering about the kind of chemistry Pannek and Reilly may have had during their high school careers. Sounds as though they played well together. Thus a possible experimentation per reuniting might not be unexpected.
I did see them play a fair amount in high school and yes, as their point totals would indicate. they did work very well together. Reilly has very good speed and has the ability to create turnovers, and get open for breakaway chances, which Pannek was often able to create with a tape-to-tape pass. That 1st line in high school was all about offense, however, so hopefully at PSU she learned a thing or two about how to play good defense when the puck is in her end (which of course it was a goof percentage of the time). As far as chemistry between the two goes, I doubt that what they had in high school will mean much in terms of who Frost ultimately decides to play on Lines 1 and 2. Reilly, along with every other incoming player - and several returnees - will be competing to see who fills the "open" positions on the first two lines. How they do in pre-season practice and the first few games should help in determining which players get the nod. To win one of three of the first six forward spots (as I think it goes without saying that barring injury Brandt, Cameranesi and Pannek will take three of the six) Reilly would have to jump over returnees Menefee, Schipper and Piazza (plus Garzone and Rodgers) AND get the nod over highly touted recruits Potomak and Williamson (plus transfer Schammel and freshmen Gunderson and Smith). And then there's the question of which, if any, of last year's "Forward/D's" end up playing forward: Wolfe, Cline and Haley. Bottom line is that the competition for playing time at forward will be intense, and going in and "on paper" the odds are against Reilly skating with Pannek on Line 2. Needless to say it WILL be interesting, and the competition for position and playing time will no doubt help to make everyone better.
By WCHA rule Schammel, won't be in the mix in 2015-16. Menefee has skated on the top line for her first three years. I don't see her spot as being "open". She doesn't have a third or fourth line style game, so I think it's also a given that if she is available, she'll be in that top-six group. Potomak arrives with a resume similar to that of Kessel or Brandt when they were rookies. I doubt she'll be brought along slowly, unless they play her at center. Unless the desire is to have three balanced lines like two years ago, I think that there is only one open spot on the top two lines, not three.
Based on the way she played down the stretch, Wolfe will stay at D. My guess is that the other two will start how they ended last year, Cline (D) and Haley (F).