Re: Providence Friars "Special Season 2013-214" - 1974 to 2014 40 Years of Leadership
Re: Providence Friars "Special Season 2013-214" - 1974 to 2014 40 Years of Leadership
Preseason info on Mercyhurst:
For the first time in three years, the lineup of teams in College Hockey America looks exactly the same as it did the year before. How long that will last remains to be seen, but at least for now, the rumors all involve teams joining the CHA, not leaving it.
“For the women’s game, you just want it to grow as big as possible,” Mercyhurst coach Michael Sisti said. “You want the number of teams to grow, the competition level to grow, certainly the attendance to grow, and all those things may lead to more games in the NCAA tournament, more games on TV So it’s a work in progress, but hopefully, things are going in the right direction.”
The league has stabilized at the critical number of six teams, and it is his understanding that the conference automatic bid will be awarded as early as 2015.
“It’s been an interesting journey, but things are highly competitive now, which is what you want,” said Sisti, the only coach who has watched the entire history of the league unfold, because his is the only team that has been a league member from the beginning.
“Last year with the playoffs, a couple of those [best-of-three] series, one went to three games, which was really exciting,” Sisti said. “The rivalries are building and some really nice traditions are growing.”
It is almost tempting to pick a different champion just to mix things up and honor the league’s tradition of change.
But who? Syracuse lost its top two scorers. Robert Morris is inexperienced in net. RIT graduated its veteran core. Lindenwood’s goalie can steal games, but it is another thing to steal a title. Penn State just has too far to go in one year.
I guess that leaves Mercyhurst. The Lakers have actually had to fend off a late challenge the last couple of seasons, but I don’t see it coming down to the wire this year. Mercyhurst has too much pop at the top of the line chart that the others can’t match. The Lakers have won all 12 CHA season titles, and 13 shouldn’t prove unlucky for the gang from Erie. It’s just as well, because this is the only league I ever manage to predict correctly.
A more detailed preview:
Mercyhurst Lakers
Projected Finish: First
CHA Coaches Poll: First
Previous Season: First, 17-3-0, 34 points
Key Departures: Stephanie Ciampa, Lauren Jones, Jenna Hendrikx, Stephanie DeSutter, Gina Buquet, Kelsey Welch
Arrivals: Taylor Accursi, Sara Besseling, Paige Horton, Brianna Kennelly, Jillian Skinner, Megan Whiddon
Key Players: Christine Bestland (28-44-72), Jenna Dingeldein (15-28-43), Emily Janiga (19-22-41)
As was the case last year, Mercyhurst enters the season needing to replace its primary goaltender.
“It’s too early to tell exactly how we’re going to navigate through it,” said coach Michael Sisti. “[Amanda] Makela has a lot of experience, but we like our other two goalies as well. Without great goaltending, you just can’t have the season you hope to have. Everything starts there, and hopefully, we’re solid in net again.”
Goaltending is made all the more important because the Lakers’ defense figures to make some mistakes along the way.
“We’re pretty young back on ‘D,’” Sisti said. “Most of our freshmen play right away, which from a recruiting standpoint they enjoy, but with that comes learning on the go. It’s good to have someone like [juniors] Molly [Byrne] and [Caroline] Luczak back there that have from day one played a lot of games.”
Few teams in an Olympic year can send out a trio of forwards coming off seasons of more than 40 points, but Mercyhurst can with CHA Player of the Year Christine Bestland and sophomores Jenna Dingeldein and Emily Janiga. That’s a big advantage in the CHA, where none of the other teams return even one scorer of that caliber.
“We’re going to need support from other players, too,” Sisti said. “We’ve got a combination of some new players who haven’t quite been in the fire before, and we have some players that are returning that maybe haven’t played as big a role for us in the past. We’re going to need them to step up, because it’s tough to win games with two or three people. We’re going to need a good chunk of our team to step up in all different areas to be successful. If we can do that, we’ll be fine. If not, it’ll be a tough year. That’s the challenge.”
Read more:
http://www.uscho.com/2013/10/02/mercyhurst-season-preview/#ixzz2hF4JEkjQ
