MIAC Preseason Poll Puts Cobbers Fourth

MIAC women's hockey preview courtesy of Matt Higgins and the MIAC office

Click here for complete MIAC women's hockey preview

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The puck is about to drop to start the 2013-14 women's hockey season in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC), and a familiar question is again at the forefront of preseason speculation. Will the reign of success continue for Gustavus Adolphus College? The mighty Gusties are gunning for their 10th-straight MIAC title, though a host of challengers enters the season designed on taking down the perennial favorite.

In recent years, the conference has appeared to close the gap between Head Coach Mike Carroll's Gustavus squad and the rest of the league, but in 2012-13 the Gusties were as dominant as ever with a perfect run through the league and an unbeaten regular season. Gustavus finished 27-2-1, with its only two losses coming in the NCAA Division III Frozen Four, with a perfect 18-0 MIAC regular season record and two more wins en route the conference Playoff title.

Behind the Gusties, there were a trio of teams all clamoring for contention, and the race for second place was an exciting, hard-fought battle. St. Thomas (14-8-2, 13-4-1 MIAC, 27 points) took the second spot in the standings, edging third-place Concordia (13-8-5, 11-4-3, 25 points) by just two points and third-place Bethel (15-10-2. 11-5-2 MIAC, 24 points) by three. The Cobbers took down the Tommies on the road to advance to the MIAC Playoff title game for the second-straight season, and Bethel had a third-period lead on Gustavus in the other semifinal to show the league's parity among the talented top four.

St. Catherine (11-12-3, 8-7-3 MIAC, 19 points) swept St. Olaf (11-12-2, 7-10-1, 15 points) over the season's final weekend to claim the fifth and final MIAC Playoff spot and create separation between two more of the league's talented teams. Saint Mary's finished just three points behind the Oles in seventh with a 7-14-2 overall record, a 5-22-1 conference mark and 12 points.

The standings' final three spots were separated by just a single point, as Saint Benedict (5-13-4, 3-13-2 MIAC, 8 points) claimed eighth place in the league by the slimmest of margins. Augsburg (6-16-3, 2-13-3, 7 points) and Hamline (5-15-5, 2-13-3, 7 points) shared ninth place to round out the 2012-13 standings. In 2012-13, each MIAC team won at least five games, and had a winning percentage of .300 or better overall.

As 2013-14 begins, Gustavus looks at extending its conference-title streak to double-digits, while teams like the Tommies, Cobbers and Royals hope to finally shake things up and send the championship trophy to a new destination. The Wildcats, Oles and Cardinals also hope to make a leap up and join the top contenders in a battle for Playoff seeds, and to end the Gusties' reign, while the Blazers, Auggies and Pipers enter the new campaign hopeful for improvement as well and a chance to contend for a trip to the conference's postseason tourney.

The coming months should be more than exciting as the answers to these questions take shape in "The State of Hockey." The time for speculation is over, and the time to settle things on the ice is here.

COACHES GO WITH GUSTIES AGAIN
The 2013-14 Women's Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll has a familiar name at the top, as the conference coaches have unanimously predicted Carroll's Gustavus club will win its 10th-straight MIAC title. The Gusties received 81 points and nine-of-10 first-place votes to finish as the unquestioned front-runner, as coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.

The same trio of contenders were also established by the coaches as Gustavus' top threats to title No. 10 in a row. St. Thomas was tabbed as the top contender, as the Tommies finished second with 71 points. Bethel received the other first-place vote and came in third with 65 points, and Concordia received 58 points to come in fourth. St. Catherine garnered 47 points in the poll to round out the top five, as the coaches predict the same five teams will qualify for the MIAC Playoffs as a season ago.

St. Olaf was the first team outside the Playoff prediction, coming in sixth with 38 points. Saint Mary's was seventh with a total of 30 points, just three ahead of eighth-place Augsburg (27). Saint Benedict (17) edged Hamline (16) by a single point to round out the final two spots in the poll.

WHAT'S NEW?
There will be one new - and very young - face in the MIAC coaching circle this season as Sarah Erickson makes her head coaching debut at Concordia. Erickson replaces Brett Bruininks, who accepted an assistant coaching position with Division I Minnesota State-Mankato in the offseason. In the process, she became the youngest head coach in Cobber history, graduating from college herself in 2012.

However, her pedigree certainly is impressive within The State of Hockey. Erickson was a two-time captain for the University of Minnesota, and helped the Golden Gophers win the 2012 national championship, scoring 69 career goals. Erickson's team started the Gopher women's current winning streak, which has spanned three seasons and two national titles, and is currently at 57 games.

Concordia was the only MIAC team to make a coaching change, as the other nine teams all welcome back their head coaches. Carroll is the longest-tenured at 15 seasons, while St. Catherine's Brad Marshall, Saint Mary's Terry Mannor and St. Olaf's John Bazzachini are all entering their ninth season with their current program.

MIAC officiating will have a new look this season as well, as the women move from a three- to a four-official system. Instead of one referee and two linesmen, the MIAC will now employ two referees and two linesmen for each game, which mirrors a change the MIAC men made a year ago. With another set of capable eyes on the ice, the game is expected to be safer and cleaner in 2013-14 and beyond.

WHO'S BACK?
If the Gusties are to make it 10-straight titles, they'll need to replace the production and leadership of two-time All-American and 2012-13 MIAC Player-of-the Year Lindsey Hjelm, as well as second-team All-American Kelsey Kennedy and All-MIAC forward Megan Wanecke, but Carroll's cupboard - as usual - is far from bare. All-MIAC senior defender Maddie Bergh is back to lead the blue line, while All-MIAC honorable mention forwards Carolyn Draayer and Allison Eder-Zdechlik will assume larger scoring roles with the Gustavus offense this season as the team looks to reload once again.

It's no surprise the Tommies are again the top contender, as Head Coach Tom Palkowski has a ton of talent back, starting between the pipes. Two-time All-America Alise Riedel returns in goal for St. Thomas with her career 1.57 GAA and .937 save percentage. The UST defense is further strengthened by the return of two-time All-MIAC defender Maria Bothwell, and All-MIAC forward Christina Rozeske is back to lead the Tommie offense.

Head Coach Brian Carlson's Bethel squad graduated some of its top talent in forward Biz Huss and goalie Jess Newstrom, but the Royals should continue to contend with their brightest star back on the ice. MIAC points and goals leader Cristina Masten returns for her senior season after earning All-America Second Team honors as a junior. Junior forward Lindsay Burman also returns, and goalie Erika Allen is back between the pipes with a very good 1.73 GAA.

Erickson's rookie season at Concordia should be aided by the talent the Cobbers have coming back in 2013-14. All-MIAC forward Madison Gendreau led the team in scoring in conference games as a sophomore last season, and she'll team up with 2011-12 All-MIAC selection Abby Taffe to give Concordia some serious scoring punch. The defense is aided by the return of sophomore goalie Madison Denny, who was in the net in 14 of 18 games last season in her collegiate debut.

St. Catherine has high hopes for a return to the MIAC Playoffs, led by a trio of talented forwards back in the mix. All-MIAC junior Megan Killmer - the conference's assists leader - is back this season, as is All-MIAC Honorable Mention sophomore Annie Buttermore and junior Bailey Rasmussen. St. Olaf has the tall task of replacing four-time All-MIAC forward Nicole Stumpf, but a pair of All-MIAC seniors return in forward Margot Fleming and defender Shea Noerenberg. Two-time captain Kira Clunis also returns at forward for the Oles.

Saint Mary's is optimistic about improvement this season, with most of Mannor's nucleus returning. All-MIAC defender Macki Fadness will lead again on the blue line, and All-MIAC Honorable Mention forward Breanna Peterson will team with Mary Debartolo to lead the Cardinal offense. Augsburg Head Coach Michelle McAteer also welcomes back many of her top players, starting with talented juniors Rachel Hennessy (forward) and Brianna Schulz (goalie) who were both All-MIAC Honorable Mention last season. Sophomore forward Kayla Fuechtmann also returns after a breakout rookie campaign.

Saint Benedict Head Coach Jennifer Kranz will look for the Blazers to continue their improvement in her third season, starting with All-MIAC Honorable Mention junior Jenna Traut back in goal. Forwards Alli O'Brien and Ally Nielsen also return to lead the CSB offense in 2013-14. A sophomore duo have Hamline fans optimistic about the Pipers' future foundation after breakout seasons a year ago. Head coach Steve DeBus welcomes back All-MIAC forward Chelsea Koehn and defender Jenny Magill, and senior forward Corinne Henning will provide the leadership for Hamline this season.

CIRCLE THESE DATES
Fans don't have long to wait for the puck to drop on the 2013-14 season. Four of the MIAC's teams open their seasons Friday, with four more getting started on Saturday. Conference play opens on the weekend of Nov. 15-16, and the final weekend of regular-season action will take place on Saturday, Feb. 22. The five-team MIAC Playoffs will be held Feb. 28, March 1 and March 8, with the winner receiving the MIAC's automatic bid to the 2013-14 NCAA Division III Women's Hockey Tournament.

There are plenty of intriguing weekends throughout the regular season, starting a marquee matchup the second weekend of conference play. Concordia will travel to Bethel Nov. 22-23 for a matchup of MIAC Playoff teams, and squads hoping to contend for more this season.

February will feature a ton of great MIAC action. The weekend of Feb. 7-8 features showdowns between Saint Mary's and Augsburg, and Saint Benedict and Hamline, in what will be key series for all four teams as they try to move up in the MIAC standings. The following weekend - Feb. 14-15 - will also have huge championship and title implications as Gustavus and St. Thomas square off in a home-and-home series, and St. Catherine will face St. Olaf in a series that decided the final postseason spot a year ago.

2013-14 MIAC Women's Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll

Coaches voted for every team in the conference except their own team. Points were assigned for each vote (nine for first, eight for second, etc.) Teams are ranked in order of highest point total to lowest with vote totals listed and first-place votes shown in parentheses.