2007-08 Season Outlook
As St. Cloud State University enters its 10th season of NCAA Div. 1 women's hockey, second-year head coach Jeff Giesen will be looking to build upon the Huskies success in the last decade.
Another chapter was added to the women's hockey storybook in 2006-07, as SCSU compiled a 12-18-7 overall record and a 7-16-5 mark in the WCHA. The Huskies hit the century mark as the women's hockey team tallied the school's 100th all-time win on Feb. 16, 2007, with a 6-1 victory over North Dakota in the National Hockey Center. Rookie coach Giesen also led his Husky squad to seven ties in the regular season, which led the nation in 2006-07. The Cardinal and Black also played in 10 overtime games last season, which tied the Div. 1 women's record.
"We are extremely excited about the season here at St. Cloud State," said Giesen. "We made some strides last year and have a strong group of returning players. Also, our sophomores gained valuable experience last season during their rookie stints."
The coaching staff will stress three focal points in 2007-08 – scoring, team defense and the ultimate goal of winning a championship. "Focusing on team defense and scoring will be the two important components which will help lead us to our ultimate goal of winning a championship," said Giesen. "As a coaching staff, we have high expectations to get back into the top four of the WCHA and earn home ice for playoff action."
Offense: The Huskies return four of the top-five scorers from last year's squad. Leading the offensive attack is senior captain Laura Fast. Voted the team's Most Valuable Player last year, Fast was second on the team in scoring with 30 points (16g,14a), including five power-play goals. The two-time WCHA Scholar-Athlete was a WCHA Offensive Player of the Week choice.
"Laura's speed enhances her ability to score," said Giesen. "She is an excellent leader and look to her to have a break out season."
A trio of sophomores round out the returning top-five scoring list. Holly Roberts led the Huskies in scoring during her rookie season with 18-17–35. The All-WCHA Rookie forward posted a career-high five points against Vermont on Nov. 4, 2006, and also set a new school record for the fastest natural hat trick scored in a game (6:02) at Vermont.
Caitlin Hogan appeared in all 37 games as a rookie and was third on the team in scoring with 12-17–29, with her 17 assists a team co-best.
Meaghan Pezon made strong strides as a rookie, producing 12-11–23 and being named USCHO.com Offensive Player of the Week after scoring three points vs eventual NCAA champion Wisconsin on Dec. 8-9.
"We have high expectations for Holly, Caitlin and Meaghan," said Giesen. "After having a year of experience in the WCHA, they know what to expect and should play with even more confidence."
Marie-Michel Lemieux and Abby Krause return for their senior seasons at the forward position. Lemieux played in all 37 games during her junior campaign and scored nine points (5g). Krause appeared in 12 games in 2006-07 after battling with an injury-stricken season, dishing out three assists.
The junior class of forwards consists of Amy Currier, Sammy Nixon, Megan McCarthy and Michelle Moen. Currier was named an alternate captain for the '07-08 season, Nixon charted 11 points, McCarthy had a season personal-best 18 points, and Moen scored two goals in 11 games played.
Katie Kemmerer had a strong season-opening game against Robert Morris last year, scoring one goal and one assist. She battled sickness and injury during her rookie season, appearing in 17 games.
The offensive attack also welcomes three new faces to the front line. Felicia Nelson, who transferred to SCSU from Minnesota State last season, will jump into the line-up as a red-shirt sophomore. During the 2005-06 season, Nelson posted 10-4–14 in 26 games played for the Mavericks. Alecia Anderson and Courtney Josefson join the Husky roster for their rookie seasons. Anderson, a three-sport athlete at Park Center HS, was voted her team's MVP the past three seasons. Josefson was also a three-sport athlete in high school and tallied 110 points during her career at Bemidji HS.
Defensive Power: Seniors Brittni Kuyper and Stacy Dey and junior Brita Schroeder will be the foundation for the defense in 2007-08. Kuyper, who became the first SCSU women's player to be selected as one of 20 players to play on the U.S. Women's Under-22 Select Team in a three-game series with Canada, has been named an alternate captain. During her junior stint, Kuyper tallied 5-10–15.
"As a senior captain, Kuyper will play a lot of minutes," said Giesen. "She's a great skater, one of our hardest workers, and we will be look to her for scoring from the blue line."
Dey saw action in 33 games last year and dished out three assists.
"Stacy works hard and we look for her to be more consistent as a senior," said Giesen.
Named a junior alternate captain for 2007-08, Schroeder appeared in 36 games as a sophomore and charted seven assists.
Jenaca Fredheim, Danielle Hirsch and Kelly Meierhofer make up the sophomore trio on defensive. Fredheim made 19 appearances during her first year. Hirsh played in all but two games last year. And Meierhofer played in 29 games her rookie season and was voted her team's 2007 Most Improved Player.
Diana Karouzos and Maggie Mickelson are the two new faces to the blue line this winter. Karouzos is an All-State hockey player and lettered three times during her prep career, scoring 29 goals and 38 assists since 2004. Mickelson was a three-sport athlete at Black River Falls HS, and lettered three times for the boys' hockey team.
Goaltending: In the nets, Kendall Newell and Carmen Lizee return for their senior seasons. Newell set a school record for most ties in a season with four in 2006-07 and had 301 saves with a 2.67 goals-against average.
"We will need Kendall to be more consistent this year," said Giesen. "She has played in and won some big games for us in the past."
Lizee, who transferred from Univ. of Regina in 2005, was second on the team last season with a .914 save percentage. In 15 games played (10 starts), Lizee made 266 saves.
"Carmen has played extremely well at times and we will look to her for more consistency as well this year," said Giesen.
Also competing will be freshman Ashley Nixon, who was the 2007 Let's Play Hockey Senior Goalie of the Year, was All-State, and had eight shutouts for Blaine HS.
"Ashley had a very successful high school career," said Giesen. "We have high hopes that she will adjust to the college game quickly, and she will have two good role models in Kendall and Carmen to learn the game from."
"All three goaltenders will provide for some great competition in the nets during practice this year," said Giesen. "Our team will look to all three goaltenders for their strong backstopping capabilities this season."