Coach MacMillan Interview
NCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll
1 UW-River Falls (10) - 190
2 UW-Superior (1) - 162
3 Adrian - 150
4 St. Norbert - 136
5 UW-Stevens Point - 98
6 Lake Forest - 96
7 UW-Eau Claire - 88
8 St. Scholastica - 74
9 Concordia-Wis. - 68
10 Finlandia - 22
11 Marian - 16
GameDay Media vs. UW-Eau Claire:
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DULUTH, Minn. – Coach
Jackie MacMillan and the women's hockey team come into their second year of varsity play after a 7-16-2 (5-13-2 NCHA) inaugural season.
Although on paper the record doesn't look all that great, it must be noted that of the 16 losses, 10 of them were by just one goal.
The Saints' roster is down from 28 in 2010-11 to 20 this year as they look to be a contender in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA).
Who's Gone?
The Saints lost just one senior from last year's team in forward
Libby Guzzo (Silver Bay, Minn./William H. Kelley HS (Minn.-Duluth)). Guzzo, a transfer from the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD), led the team in scoring with 12 points on seven goals and five assists. Other key losses include goaltender
Rachel Borchardt (Willow River, Minn./Willow River HS ) and defenseman
Kiana Leisz (Casper, Wyoming/Natrona County (Wyoming Selects)). Borchardt started 22 games for the Saints and made 538 saves in 2010-11 on her way to a 6-15-1 record. Leisz played in 25 games on the defensive side for CSS and had nine points on two goals and seven assists.
Who's Back?
The Saints have no seniors on their young roster and just one junior in defenseman
Stephanie Lenz (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS (Minn-Duluth)). After transferring from UMD to CSS for her sophomore season, Lenz played in 23 games scoring one goal and putting up five assists.
The Saints biggest class of returners is the sophomore class, having 10 on the roster for the upcoming season. Of the returners is Captain forward
Michelle Fischer (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) after leading the team last season. She only had five points but was a great team leader. Along with Fischer, the Saints return four of their top five leading scorers in forwards
Briget Cojocar (Limerick, Saskatchewan/Lafleche HS (Melville Prairie Fire)),
Jana Henry (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Westgate HS (Thunder Bay Midget AA Queens)) and
Briana Stephens (Chicago, Ill./Hopkins HS (Minn.)) who all had 10 points and
Jordy Klimek (Hastings, Minn./Hastings HS) who was right behind them with nine.
Other sophomore returners for the Saints are defensemen
Frankie Bergman (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Denfeld HS (Duluth Northern Stars))--who recorded the program's first ever hat trick—
Brenna Flatley (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka HS) and
Alana Levido (Richmond, British Columbia/Burnaby North Secondary (Pacific Steelers)) and forwards
Cara McMannis (Holland, Manitoba/Treherne Collegiate Institute (Pembina Valley Hawks)),
Michelle Rebeck (St. Andrews, Manitoba/Balmoral Hall),
Angela Schlieske (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) and
Monika Waidacher (Arosa, Switzerland/Wirtschaftsschule KV Chur (Swiss National Team)).
Newcomers
CSS has one sophomore transfer joining the team in forward
Courtney Esse (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet HS (UW-Superior)). Esse played in 10 games for UW-Superior before transferring to CSS mid-year.
After losing all of their goalies from last season, the Saints bring in two new ones in
Sheridan Friesen (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Ontario Hockey Academy), who posted a 28-12-1 record at Ontario Hockey Academy, and
Shannon Connolly (Toronto, Ontario/Havergal College) who was two-time MVP at Havergal College.
Joining Esse and the two goalies is defenseman
Alex Blair (Drake, Saskatchewan/Lanigan Central HS), who was a three-time athlete of the year in high school. Other incoming freshmen to the team are forwards
Malin Zetterberg (Stockholm, Sweden/Huddinge Gymnasium) and
Nina Waidacher (Arosa, Switzerland/Wirtschaftschule KV Chur (ZSC Lions/Swiss U18 National)) (sister of Monika) and defenseman
Kaitlin Johnston (Lake Elmo, Minn./Stillwater HS).
Non-Conference Matchups
After kicking off the season with a 5-1 victory over the Westman Wildcats in exhibition play, the Saints begin their season with a lot of conference play before hosting St. Olaf in early January. The Saints will then once again travel to New Hampshire to take on St. Anselm and Salve Regina. CSS then returns to Minnesota to take on Augsburg back-to-back days in Minneapolis in mid-January to wrap up non-conference play for the season.
Conference Play
Coach MacMillan and the Saints look to improve on their ninth place finish a season ago and settle into the conference.
The goal is to win the conference as the Saints face a tough road, as UW-River Falls won the regular season and is ranked fifth this year by USCHO.com. Also near the top of the conference is Adrian, the team that upset UW-River Falls in the conference championship, giving the NCHA two national tournament teams.
The Saints look to be tough competitors in the conference this season with the ultimate goal always being a conference championship and a qualification for the national tournament with a chance to win it all.
The Saints open up Saturday afternoon at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The puck drops at 2 p.m.
