2015-2016 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

[L268]

It might be a touch early for a new season thread, but there's a new roster posted on the Mav's website. Looks like the new coach has been busy on the recruiting trail.... No official press release yet, but there are 10 new freshmen apparently coming in. That's good news, since it will create more competition for playing time. They had some sparks last year, but lack of urgency probably cost them a couple of games they might have won.

http://www.msumavericks.com/roster.aspx?path=whockey

[ne7minder]

Re: 2015-2016 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

It might be a touch early for a new season thread, but there's a new roster posted on the Mav's website. Looks like the new coach has been busy on the recruiting trail.... No official press release yet, but there are 10 new freshmen apparently coming in. That's good news, since it will create more competition for playing time. They had some sparks last year, but lack of urgency probably cost them a couple of games they might have won.

http://www.msumavericks.com/roster.aspx?path=whockey

They had some good looking talent as frosh last year & I had hopes, I really liked the old coach. It does not help that you lost one of the brighter stars to UM but I hope for good things from them in years to come. Heck, just moving out of Four Seasons has to be a huge improvement!

[Eeyore]

Re: 2015-2016 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

Wow.

Freshmen: 10
Sophomores: 10
Juniors: 4
Seniors: 1

[123kidd]

Re: 2015-2016 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

Most (at least 7) were recruited from the previous staff.

[96IllinoisDad]

Re: 2015-2016 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

Wow.

Freshmen: 10
Sophomores: 10
Juniors: 4
Seniors: 1

Eligibility-wise even younger:

Freshman: 11 (10 + 1RS sophomore)
Sophomores: 11 (9 +2RS juniors)
Juniors: 2
Seniors: 1

[L268]

Re: 2015-2016 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

A very nice start to the 2015-16 season with a tie and a win against Union this past weekend. Shot totals tell part of the story - Friday night saw the Mavs outshoot the Dutchwomen 46-19, and on Saturday it was 24-19. Did we have any games last year with 46 shots?? The freshmen are a nice bunch; several came to play and looked good during the weekend. Union was the perfect warm-up, and they made it count. Congratulations already to Corbin Boyd, #11, who comes away with Rookie of the Week from the WCHA! She looked good in both games, with an aggressive approach to the net. A LOT more passing was happening, including a couple of nice give-and-go's down the ice in both games.

The defense actually had multiple targets to aim for on the breakouts! The two main D pairs were good (12 and 27, 5 and 8) - and both Fiegert (#12) and Keys (#5) recorded goals, with rockets from the point in both cases. Bustad (#8) had an assist on Friday, and the set up for a nice goal on Saturday - but instead of threading it through traffic, she spotted #4 with an open back door and rifled it to her. Antony wasn't quite ready for the velocity, but it was good thinking for both players. Freshman #13, Kilduff is a very solid addition to the blue line. Duesterhoeft,#27 is a freshman from Germany and was partnered with Fiegert. The German line is tall and Duesterhoeft should settle in after a few more games.

Senior Johnson (#10) recorded a goal and 2 assists on the weekend, and Davidson (#17) is inches away from having a great season. The team is young, and the WCHA is tough, but this seems like a strong group. They came out swinging on Friday and didn't let up for most of Saturday, either. There were a couple of stretches when the play resembled some of last year, with some clustering around the net, etc., but for the most part they controlled the flow during both games. Kudos to Quade (#30) for two very nice games, including the shut out on Saturday. Congrats to Coach Harrington on his first win and a good start to the season.

Frustrated there's no video OR audio feed for this weekend's games at RIT. Hopefully they will keep up the positive momentum.

[96IllinoisDad]

Re: 2015-2016 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

One highly visible change from last year is Harrington primarily rolled 12 forwards and 6 defense in both games until 3rd period when he went to 9 and 5.

They aren't gonna finish top 4 this year in the WCHA - might as develop your team.

[CrazyDave]

Re: 2015-2016 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

I crossed paths at MSP airport an hour ago with Coach Harrington and several players. My mother wished them good luck.

[ARM]

Re: 2015-2016 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

I crossed paths at MSP airport an hour ago with Coach Harrington and several players. My mother wished them good luck.

What did you do? Sieve them?

[shelfit]

Re: 2015-2016 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

"A very nice start to the 2015-16 season with a tie and a win against Union this past weekend."

Don't use games against Union as any indicator of anything. They are one of the weakest D1 programs in the country after all. Then again so is Mankato until they prove otherwise.

[CrazyDave]

Re: 2015-2016 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

What did you do? Sieve them?

For once, I was mute.

[Eeyore]

Re: 2015-2016 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

For once, I was mute.

With you, even silence is deafening.

[ne7minder]

For once, I was mute.

Years ago I had a client in Madison. I was picking up my bags at the airport and when I turned from the carousel I was surrounded by the UW men's team. I was wearing my MN coat, the maroon bottom, gold shoulders with big "M". Yeah, I was mute too. Discretion being the better part of valor and all that.

[L268]

Re: 2015-2016 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

Correct Shelfit, but playing them this year (and RIT) was a better idea than last year's start against North Dakota (and no preseason games to warm up). The total in shots (and attempted shots) for 4 games so far might exceed the shot totals in the first third of last year's season. That's a nice thing to see.

This weekend's trip to New York earned the team a split. Both games showed balanced scoring and play across the lines. The Mavs scored early today, going up 3-0 in the first period. They were controlling the flow of the game at that point. RIT came back with 2, but the Mavs knocked home the 4th goal of the game in the 3rd period. The audio announcers were terrible, and the video ones weren't much better. I find it hard to believe they had watched much hockey prior to the start of this weekend's games. The audio announcer kept referring to "fights" when he meant normal battling for the puck. And, pssst - the line sheets they pass out actually have tips on how to pronounce player names. Sheesh....

We'll see what happens this coming weekend when the "team-formerly-known-as-the-Sioux" come into town with the start of WCHA play. The women move down to the Verizon Center, which looks great in photos. What an upgrade!

[96IllinoisDad]

Re: 2015-2016 Minnesota State Mavericks women's hockey season

The quality of officiating was consistent with the announcers.