a column last week highlighting some of what they’ve done so far,<\/a> but am curious what you’ve liked about their play at this point in the season.<\/p>\nI specifically wanted to ask about Brian Idalski. I don’t want to throw any shade on any of the folks that came before him, but do want to talk about what it is about Brian that gets teams to respond so well to his style.<\/p>\n
I mentioned this in the column, but thought it was so telling that he apparently went into his interview specifically talking about the close games they had lost. It’s not surprising Brian focused on that, but I also love it as a thing the Huskies could work on and make a difference with in the short term.<\/p>\n
What other stamps of Idalski’s influence do you think we’ll see? Do you think it’s realistic to think that SCSU could follow the path of UND to become a team pushing the top 4 and finishing in the top half of the standings regularly or is that too daunting of a task now with OSU in the mix?<\/p>\n
Nate:<\/strong> One of the things which stands out about St.Cloud State is, despite the first-half success, it\u2019s not yet an Idalski team. In a way, that makes the Huskies\u2019 first half all the more impressive.<\/p>\nThat is not to say he, along with associate head coach Jinelle Siergiej and assistant Mira Jalosuo, has yet to put his touch on SCSU. St. Cloud State is an undefeated 10-0-0 against teams outside the WCHA top-four. Turning those one-goal losses into wins is huge. In previous years, we\u2019ve seen St. Cloud State come up short or be unable to close out series consistently. For every sweep against a team outside the WCHA top-four, SCSU were swept once or twice.<\/p>\n
Brian Idalski was able to take a North Dakota program that struggled in its early years and turn it into one that regularly challenged Wisconsin and Minnesota. He is already getting the most of his players. It\u2019s not a single line, something that has been the case in past years. Five Huskies already have more than 11 points, which matches all the total from all of last season. Both Sanni Ahola and Jojo Chobak are steering the ship in goal, but are not being over relied upon to steal games.<\/p>\n
To answer your question about Idalski\u2019s influence and where St. Cloud State can go from here, the middle of the WCHA is better than it has ever been. We haven\u2019t discussed Minnesota State, but several points made here can also be made for the Mavericks and the job John Harrington is doing with his program. There is work to be done to unseat a top-four team consistently given Ohio State\u2019s ascendance. Getting one win against Minnesota and taking Wisconsin to OT is a start, though.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m curious to see where St. Cloud State goes with recruiting, as some of the paths Idalski took at North Dakota have been taken over by other schools. (Related: I would not have been surprised if North Dakota won a national championship by now if the program continued.) Combining top players with his style of play should be an intriguing second act and one I\u2019m excited to follow along watching SCSU.<\/p>\n
Nicole<\/strong>: Exactly – there is so much attention put on the top four teams, but St. Cloud and Minnesota State have been two of my favorite teams to watch so far. Things evened out a bit for the Mavericks, but they were pushing those top four teams early on and getting votes despite losing because they were such close games.<\/p>\nI love an upset and I love seeing teams on the come up, so seeing teams like St. Cloud and Minnesota State playing in a way that shows consistent, program-wide improvement is so edifying. And with the caliber of player we\u2019re seeing commit to these teams regularly, things should only continue to improve.<\/p>\n
One thing I wanted to make sure to ask you about is in regard to Ohio State. Something you’ve said that I really found interesting was about OSU thriving in their role as the team to beat.<\/p>\n
The Buckeyes really fed off a (sometimes self-created) narrative of being the underdog who got no respect. There was a consistent chip on their shoulder and they really challenged themselves to prove everyone wrong. Whether or not they were actually underdogs is absolutely beside the point, honestly. They believed it and used it as motivation. And it worked for them.<\/p>\n
I think it would have been fair to question how they would handle being at the head of the pack and needing to rely on a different motivator, but it was probably also silly to ever doubt Nadine Muzerall.<\/p>\n
Nate<\/strong>: Never say a game is over until the final whistle. Never doubt Nadine Muzerall. These are college hockey certainties.<\/p>\nOhio State is not the first team to go full Rodney Dangerfield and find a way to motivate itself. Even though one can make an argument that the Buckeyes were the favorites entering last season, that only adds to the job Muzerall has done turning the Buckeyes program from one that had three head coaches in as many years into a national champion.<\/p>\n
Getting to the mountaintop – especially in a sport where nearly 25 years in the number of national championship programs can be counted on one hand – is an accomplishment in itself. Staying there is another. In the first half as reigning national champions, OSU does not look like it has missed a beat taking on its next challenge. So often when giving up a goal, the Buckeyes come back the next shift and turn the game on its head. That is the mark of a national championship-winning team.<\/p>\n
Part of that may be the veteran presence and how many juniors and seniors return from last year\u2019s champs (in addition to Emma Maltais). Sophie Jaques might be playing better than she did last year, which is no easy feat for the Patty Kazmaier Award finalist. At the same time, it\u2019s not just the seniors. Rookie Sloane Matthews is someone who stands out when I watch the Buckeyes.<\/p>\n
While OSU is thriving in its role as the hunted, the rest of the WCHA hunters are close behind. No one should sleep on the four games between Ohio State and Wisconsin in the second half. Minnesota Duluth already played all four regular-season games against the Buckeyes and played better against the team who ended its own national title dreams, eventually being rewarded with an OT win.<\/p>\n
Nicole:<\/strong> That felt like a big game for the Bulldogs and it makes this past weekend’s result even more head scratching.<\/p>\nOf course, after accepting that Minnesota’s loss to St. Cloud didn’t mean it was time to panic, I probably need to be as equanimous about UMD’s tie and shootout loss to St. Thomas on Saturday.<\/p>\n
But while it’s not panic-inducing, it still isn’t great for the Bulldogs, who have the worst record of the top four teams in the WCHA against the other three and are lingering toward the bottom of the pool of teams who’ll make the NCAA tournament.<\/p>\n
First off, way to go Tommies. Those were their first conference points of the year. That’s the kind of game they can really build off of and I’m sad for their sakes that it came right before break and they won’t be able to carry that confidence and momentum immediately into another set of games.<\/p>\n
You mentioned that OT win for UMD, but we could talk about a whole lot of bonus hockey when it comes to Minnesota Duluth. Do you have any theories on why the Bulldogs seem nearly incapable of finishing a game in regulation?<\/p>\n
Nate:<\/strong> One thing for sure? Bulldogs fans are getting their money\u2019s worth this season with seven of the first 20 games heading to OT.<\/p>\nMy guess as to why Minnesota Duluth, who currently has played the third-toughest schedule in college hockey, is seeing the extra period so much has to do with playing tough opponents and getting the best from the teams outside the WCHA\u2019s top-four. For many years this was North Dakota\u2019s spot – how many times did we watch the Fighting Hawks beat Minnesota or Wisconsin and then lose the following week? Now it seems to be UMD in that role. As the league gets better, it\u2019s tough to win on an off night. I think we\u2019re seeing that more this season.<\/p>\n
The lack of consistency is maddening. Minnesota Duluth has the talent with a top forward in Gabbie Hughes and the most consistent goaltender in Emma Soderberg. Taking away a shooting percentage that should progress closer to the mean later in the season, UMD continues to be a team that at its best can win a national championship. We almost saw it last year from a similar spot in the Pairwise to where the Bulldogs sit now.<\/p>\n
Having an 11-team NCAA Tournament gives more breathing room for the third and fourth-place WCHA teams, which puts the sport in a new spot. Bad losses and OT ties are not punished as much. I do wonder how this will affect the NCAA Tournament in the near future given even in the recent past it was easy to figure three or four of the year\u2019s Frozen Four teams in September. Those days are done.<\/p>\n
And I\u2019d be remiss to not congratulate the Tommies as well for getting the tie and not only gaining points from Minnesota Duluth, but Saskia Maurer stopping a penalty shot in regulation and winning the shootout.<\/p>\n
Nicole:<\/strong> Heading east, let’s talk about the Badgers\u2019, whose first six games after the break are part of why I\u2019m not putting too much stock in the rankings and numbers yet. They have not played Ohio State at all yet this year and before they can take on the Buckeyes, they\u2019ll have two games in Connecticut against Quinnipiac. They faced off in an incredibly close series last New Year\u2019s and I\u2019m looking forward to the redux this year.<\/p>\nThere will still be more than two months left in the season, but that series has the feel of being make or break for Wisconsin, who have yet to live up to the full potential of their roster. Arlan always said Wisconsin is a team that builds throughout the season and times their peak perfectly. After some recent flat outings against Minnesota and a tendency to struggle after bye weeks, I thought the Badgers looked good in those games against the Gophers a few weeks back and didn\u2019t succumb to some of their regular pitfalls<\/p>\n
It has felt a bit to me like the Badgers haven\u2019t quite found a way to make all their very good pieces and parts work together and end up with a sum greater than the parts. What\u2019s your feel on Wisconsin\u2019s ceiling? We\u2019re at the break, so I\u2019m going to make you rank the top four teams here. Who do you see as having the advantage and is most likely to come out ahead of the others?<\/p>\n
Nate:<\/strong> Before I rank, can I say we have really spoiled with non-conference matchups this season? Schools are going above and beyond to play top competition in locales across the country. We\u2019re all winners.<\/p>\nA few seasons ago, I got the chance to watch Minnesota play Yale at the Whale. Now the teams played each other as top-ten foes in Las Vegas that showcased both the sport and the Bulldogs\u2019 growth. Wisconsin faces Quinnipiac, who nationally might be the most intriguing team in the country, Ohio State played Colgate (and faces Cornell this weekend), and UMD faced Harvard and had that interesting three-team tournament with St. Lawrence and Penn State.<\/p>\n
Right now, I would rank Ohio State 1, Wisconsin 2, Minnesota 3, Minnesota Duluth 4. The gap between 1-3 is close with UMD a little further back. After a few seasons where the gap was spread out more between 1-4, it feels closer. Wisconsin got the better of Minnesota, who got the better of Ohio State, who got the better of Minnesota Duluth.<\/p>\n
This can and probably will change as the season continues. Ohio State is the closest to the most complete team among the WCHA top-four. Minnesota, to me, has the higher ceiling. However, Wisconsin is more likely to reach theirs as February and March draw near.<\/p>\n
In hindsight, it makes sense that Wisconsin would need more time to get all its parts on the same page. The opening loss to Penn State on a night with no other game also played a role in a perception that can be hard to shake, fair or not.<\/p>\n
You watch more Wisconsin than anyone so I\u2019ll defer to you as to where the Badgers are in their journey to peaking at the right time. The series against Minnesota showed a preview as to how Mark Johnson can bring in Jesse Compher and KK Harvey to complement an already deep lineup. (Related: Is Casey O\u2019Brien the most underrated player in the WCHA? ) It was technically a shootout loss, but I was impressed in the opening game with how Wisconsin battled back after trailing for the entire third period. That continued the next afternoon in the win.<\/p>\n
This time of year is one where I start to pay attention to how teams respond to adversity. What lessons do players take away from poor performances? Which adjustments are made? Wisconsin opens the second half with a tough schedule, but has the opportunity to find its identity and be a scary team down the stretch.<\/p>\n
That goes for several teams, both inside the WCHA and across the nation with a multitude of fantastic conference races. With so many veterans playing an extra year, star players with name value, and newcomers making their own, the sport is at a really fun place right now.<\/p>\n
Nicole:<\/strong> I wrote a whole paragraph in which I argued for the ceiling of both Wisconsin and Ohio State and just deleted it because it ultimately doesn’t matter and the moral of the story is hat we are absolutely spoiled this season in particular, with the bonus year and the players returned from centralization.<\/p>\nI usually say this in response to some boneheaded comment about women\u2019s sports\/hockey from a troglodyte, but honestly, imagine not watching women\u2019s college hockey. Absolutely thrilled that could not be me.<\/p>\n
(Related: shoutout to both Hockey East and the ECAC for having their games on ESPN+, where the feeds are always great and the price tag is reasonable. I\u2019m also thrilled with the WCHA\/BTN+ package. The feeds are sometimes more of a struggle, but at least everyone\u2019s games are in one place. It\u2019s relatively easy and inexpensive to watch all this great hockey.)<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve covered a lot of WCHA ground, but since this is the last thing I\u2019m posting until the new year, it seems a good time to talk about the best players. You mentioned UW\u2019s Casey O\u2019Brien as underrated in the WCHA. I\u2019d add Colgate\u2019s Danielle Serdachny as a player who has not gotten enough attention. Vermont\u2019s Nat\u00e1lie Ml\u00fdnkov\u00e1 has been one of my favorite players to watch so far this season, particularly in combination with Theresa Schafzahl. My other favorite pair is Olivia Mobley and Shay Maloney at Quinnipiac. None of them have the big name recognition, but they\u2019re playing some beautiful hockey and making huge impacts for their teams. \nOne more player that has been electric is Makenna Webster at Ohio State. She transferred from Wisconsin to become a two sport athlete at OSU. She missed a number of early games to finish out the field hockey season, so her point totals aren\u2019t going to be among the top, but goodness did she make an immediate impact on an already very talented hockey team.<\/p>\n
I would have given Sophie Jaques the Patty last season, so it\u2019s probably no surprise that she\u2019s at the top of my list so far this year. I\u2019d also include Izzy Daniel from Cornell in my top ten. The shortened Ivy schedule may have kept her off some folks\u2019 radar, but she and teammate Gillis Frechette are third in points per game. I think Heise will get another shot, though I have to admit that I\u2019ve been more impressed by Grace Zumwinkle than Taylor so far and she\u2019d be my choice if I had to narrow it down to one Gopher. Alina M\u00fcller and Katy Knoll of Northeastern are making good cases. Knoll is second in the country (behind Jaques) with 15 goals.<\/p>\n
Yale\u2019s Pia Dukaric and Providence\u2019s Sandra Abstreiter are my top goalies so far. I really like Logan Angers at Quinnipiac, as well, but I don\u2019t think the Goaltender of the Year Award will go to anyone who splits time.<\/p>\n
When it comes to rookies, Penn State\u2019s Tessa Janecke had the early lead, but Wisconsin\u2019s KK Harvey is definitely making her own case. Both are such stellar two-way players that any other player will really need a convincing case for me to think they can usurp them. Mercyhurst\u2019s Thea Johansson and Providence\u2019s Reichen Kirchmair are on my radar, as is Stonehill\u2019s Alexis Petford.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll stop there so that you also have something to talk about. Sorry! But do you have any arguments against my picks or did I leave anyone out that you think needs to be getting consideration?<\/p>\n
Nate:<\/strong> Is it too late to rehash our regular Taylor Heise-Sophie Jaques 2022 Patty Kazmaier discussion? No? It\u2019s not? Both would have been worthy choices. To me, what Heise was able to do raising her linemates to her level in ways that complemented her stats.<\/p>\nHowever, for 2023, right now I would put Jaques at the top of my list. The Patty Kazmaier is a subjective award, one we often wonder what it takes for a defender to win. If a repeat performance, one that is even better on both ends of the ice to help keep Ohio State on top, does not change some minds, that is an answer.<\/p>\n
Heise is also proving to be in the mix, as this year looks to be similar to the past few in where the reigning winner likely finds herself in the top-10. She won\u2019t be the only familiar name, as several other top-3 finalists (hello Alina M\u00fcller, Gabbie Hughes, and Grace Zumwinkle) continue to play and make heavy contributions to their team.<\/p>\n
When discussing names that should be recognized more, the first three who came to mind were Serdachny, along with the Quinnipiac duo of Mobley and Maloney. Both Bobcats are heralded – Mobley is the rare Minnesota Ms. Hockey who went to play out East – yet their impact goes beyond the stats any time I watch QU. Northeastern\u2019s Maureen Murphy, who missed out on the top-10 last year despite being the nation\u2019s leading goal scorer at the time, is another among the large list of Huskies. Only Jaques has more goals per game than her. It\u2019s also difficult to choose one from Clarkson, but Gabrielle David would be my pick.<\/p>\n
I agree with you that Dukaric and Abstreiter are the goalies to watch right now for Goaltender of the Year. Gwyneth Phillips coming in after three years backing up Aerin Frankel and not missing a beat is one of the more impressive stories. I also agree about goalie platoons making it difficult for others to get in the conversation – Colgate\u2019s Kayla Osborne and Hannah Murphy are another duo who combined would be up there.<\/p>\n
The recurring theme seems to be the number of upperclassmen. More than ever, the extra year of eligibility combined with Olympic returnees makes these lists very veteran-heavy. We haven\u2019t even brought up Princeton\u2019s Sarah Fillier and St. Lawrence\u2019s Julia Gosling to end 2022, which would have been crazy to think about at the beginning of the year. Same with Boston College\u2019s Hannah Bilka.<\/p>\n
Still, it\u2019s great to see new names emerge and underclassmen make an impact. That is the one constant. Everyone eventually graduates, even if it seems like some have been there since Lee Stecklein and the Lamoureuxs. Each year new players replace and make their own names.<\/p>\n
Both Janecke and Harvey are living up to the extremely high expectations placed upon them as rookies. Right now, I would give the nod for Rookie of the Year to Janecke given what she has meant to an upward Penn State program that continues to reach new highs. She is asked and relied upon more than Harvey is at Wisconsin. However, I would not be surprised to see KK take over as the season goes along and the Badgers try to peak at the right time. This is only the first half of the season. There is one more still to go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nicole: In case you missed it in the first Wednesday Women of the year, the format is a little different this year. I\u2019ll be joined by guest writers throughout the season to share their unique insight. This week I\u2019m joined by Nate Wells (or as he lives in my head and conversations, Gopher State Nate), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":137676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1513],"tags":[819],"coauthors":[823],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
NCAA Division I Women\u2019s Hockey: Wednesday Women with guest Nate Wells \u2013 C - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n