MHM 2018 Oct-digital

COLLEGE HOCKEY PRIMER
WISCONSIN WON LAST YEAR’S REGULAR SEASON TITLE — CAN THE BADGERS REPEAT?
Continued from previous page
grabbed 11 starts last year behind Peters, but she’ll
be competing with Scobee, as well as senior Emma
May and junior Serena D’Angelo.
Minnesota Duluth
uuCOACH: Maura Crowell, 4th season
uuLAST SEASON: 15-16-4, 4th in the WCHA (10-11-3-
2, 35 points)
uuKEY LOSSES: Duluth lost a whopping seven
seniors, including Katerina Mrazova, who put up
eight goals and 13 assists last year.
uuKEY RETURNEES: Despite the losses, the team’s
youth took the reins last season. The offensive
firepower between Naomi Rogge, Ashton Bell,
Jalyn Elmes, Sydney Brodt, and Ryleigh Houston is
formidable. Also returning is gold medal-winning
goaltender Maddie Rooney. She could steal games
during her sophomore year. Now, she returns from
a year of playing against the best competition in the
world.
uuTOP NEWCOMERS: Duluth is going to have a
young squad with nine freshmen vying for roster
spots. (They also have eight sophomores.) Among
those rookies are four players who have won
gold with Team USA at a U18 Women’s World
Championship tournament: Lizi Norton, Gabbie
Hughes, Anneke Linser, and Maggie Flaherty.
uuOUTLOOK: The team is without the top-tier
firepower of the Badgers or the Gophers, but don’t
sleep on their young stars just because their last
names aren’t Clark or Pannek. They’re good. With
Rooney in net, this team absolutely has the ability to
surpass expectations. They start the season ranked
fourth in the WCHA by coaches, but it’s not hard to
see them finishing higher than that. Though, the
young blueline will be tested in a year where the
WCHA carries as much offensive talent as any year in
recent memory.
Minnesota State
uuCOACH: John Harrington, 4th season
uuLAST SEASON: 5-28-1, 7th in the WCHA (3-21-0-0,
9 points)
uuKEY LOSSES: Seven seniors graduated, including
Lindsey Coleman and Hannah Davidson, who
ranked fourth and fifth in scoring last year. Also
departing is, ahem, key defenseman Anna Keys.
Minnesota Duluth’s Ashton Bell.
uuKEY RETURNEES: Seven is a good pile of seniors,
but the team returns its top three offensive threats:
Brittyn Fleming, Jordan McLaughlin, and Corbin
Boyd. The team also keeps goaltenders Chloe
Crosby and Katie Bidulka, who split time in net last
year.
uuTOP NEWCOMERS: Five freshmen will attempt
to crack the roster, including Miss Hockey finalist
Claire Butomac and Anna Wilgren, who twice won
the Molly Engstrom Award for best defenseman in
Wisconsin.
uuOUTLOOK: Last season wasn’t great for the
Mavericks, but Bidulka and Crosby held their own
and, at times, kept the Mavericks competitive.
Retaining both with a year more experience is a
boon, as is getting freshman goaltender Abigail
Levy, who will absolutely compete for time. But
even with top performers returning, the Mavs only
potted 57 goals in 34 games last year. They’re losing
18 goals in graduating seniors. Wins won’t come
easy.
Ohio State
Photo courtesy of UMD Athletics
uuCOACH: Nadine Muzerall, 2nd season
uuLAST SEASON: 24-11-4, 2nd in the WCHA (14-6-4-
3, 49 points), made it to the Frozen Four and lost an
overtime contest to Clarkson, the eventual national
champions.
uuKEY LOSSES: Ohio State graduated six seniors.
That group included Juliana Iafallo, whose 12 goals
and 15 assists ranked fourth on the team in points.
However, the biggest loss is undoubtedly the
transfer of star goaltender Kassidy Sauve.
uuKEY RETURNEES: Top scoring threats Emma
Maltais, Tatum Skaggs, and Maddy Field are all back
in red. As is defenseman Jincy Dunne, whose star
continues to rise. Despite the praise, she’s vastly
underrated and should be a major player for the
Buckeyes in her junior season.
uuTOP NEWCOMERS: Of the seven freshmen, a
handful have international experience and could
make an immediate impact, including Finns Eve
Savander and Sara Saekkinen, and Swiss Olympian
Andrea Braendli. Defenseman Madison Bizal is
another player to watch.
uuOUTLOOK: Ohio State didn’t exactly surprise
last year when it made a run to the Frozen Four,
but, let’s say it surpassed rising expectations. Now,
the expectations are high. The most lethal threats
are back and Dunne anchors the team’s blueline.
The biggest challenge will be replacing Sauve’s
.938 save percentage posted in 32 games. Amanda
Zeglen played well through seven games in net as a
freshman, but Sauve was a next-level star who took
on a major workload, playing 68 games over the last
two seasons.
Saint Cloud State
uuCOACH: Eric Rud, 5th season
uuLAST SEASON: 8-20-5, 6th in the WCHA (6-14-4-1,
23 points)
uuKEY LOSSES: Three seniors graduated, including
Alyssa Erickson and Emma Turbyville, who ranked
fourth and fifth in scoring last season, respectively.
uuKEY RETURNEES: Goaltender Janine Alder split
time last year between the Huskies and the Swiss
Olympic team. Julia Tylke will be a leader among
forwards this season, and the underappreciated
talents of German forward Laura Kluge will also be
crucial for the Huskies. Outstanding defender Abby
Thiessen leads the blueline.
uuTOP NEWCOMERS: Five freshmen look to crack
the lineup, including Jenniina Nylund, who has
spent time with Finland’s senior national team; and
defenseman Olivia Hanson.
uuOUTLOOK: They’re a step back from the
conference’s top tier, but the Huskies will absolutely
surprise some teams this year. Goaltender Emma
Polusny showed she can hang with the best
netminders in the conference last year, posting a
.934 save percentage in 20 games. That earned her
a trip to the USA Hockey National Team Evaluation
Camp last month. Between her and Alder, they can
steal games with either of two netminders. If those
two can hold back the tide, the top line can score
and St. Cloud can log some wins.
Wisconsin
uuCOACH: Mark Johnson, 16th season
uuLAST SEASON: 31-5-2, 1st in the WCHA (20-2-2-2,
64 points), made it to the Frozen Four but lost to
Colgate in double overtime during the semifinals.
uuKEY LOSSES: The Badgers are down three seniors
from last year. That includes Claudia Kepler who
led the team with 22 goals last year and ranked
second overall in the WCHA. Veteran leader Baylee
Wellhausen also graduated.
uuKEY RETURNEES: The WCHA regular season
champions come back with starting goaltender
Kirsten Campbell, and top offensive threats Abby
Roque and Presley Norby. They’re also getting
Olympian Emily Clark and Annie Pankowski, who
was a redshirt last year while she centralized with
the U.S. National Team.
uuTOP NEWCOMERS: The standout among the
team’s five freshmen is Sophie Shirley, who spent
last season centralized with the Canadian National
Team. It’s no stretch to think she’ll make an
immediate impact in the collegiate ranks.
uuOUTLOOK: All this team did last year was turn
opposing defenses inside out. Between Roque,
Norby, Sam Cogan, Sophie Shaver, and Alexis
Mauermann, they put up 53 goals. (That’s more
than the entire St. Cloud roster and just four fewer
than Minnesota State.) Add in the return of Clark
and Pankowski with rookie Shirley and this Badger
team could light up opponents even more than it
did last year when the team averaged more than
three goals per game. 6
OCTOBER 2018 MINNESOTA HOCKEY MAGAZINE MINNESOTA HOCKEY MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2018
62 63