This week marks the last week of J-Term and pretty soon we will be back at it with the regular spring semester class load. This past weekend we had a really strong series against Augsburg. They are ranked at the bottom of our conference so we won the two games pretty handily. Those games were definitely a good break after some really intense games with Stevens Point and St. Thomas. We try to take all of our games seriously, but sometimes it is nice to have a game where we can work hard, but not have the stress of difficult competition. 

We haven't tied so much in a season as we have already this season. Stevens Point left our rink with a tie on Tuesday night, 2-2. We were unhappy with the way we played as our timing seemed off and our legs didn't seem there. However, we were able to answer to both of their goals pretty quickly on our power play so that was a good thing. Stevens Point plays us differently than any other team we play, so it is up to us to be prepared the next time we meet them this season.

Our St. Thomas series was as exciting as it always is. We played them intensely on Friday night, coming away with yet another tie, 1-1. That tie left a bad taste in our mouth and we knew we had to get the job done on Saturday night in order to put us where we wanted to be in conference rankings.

Saturday night seemed to be the same sort of intense match-up with St. Thomas as it always is in our rink. We won that game 1-0 with a great goal by one of our juniors, Laura. She really deserved the goal and definitely earned it and we were all happy for her. With pulling off the victory we came away just one point ahead of St. Thomas in the current conference standing, which is important to us.

After three very tough games last week, we have an extra day off this week. It is a good day to rejuvenate our minds and bodies after some big game emotions and stress. We will be looking forward to Augsburg this weekend to focus back on the little things that make us good.

This January is flying by. Even without having a class I find myself more and more busy with working, LSAT studying, and commitments I've made to hockey in my free time. Tonight I going to try to make a nice meal at my house and enjoy some relaxation time.

This week we've had two days of practice in which we really worked on our systems and special teams. Our focus right now is on Stevens Point. We've had quite the regional rivalry with their team over the time I've been here. Stevens Point is a team that definitely knows how to play against us and works really hard. Tonight I know they will give us a good game.

Since I haven't talked much about what happens on game days, I figured today I'd give a little run through of how a typical game day goes for us in D-III. On the day of the game, we generally get up in the morning and dress up in nicer interview-ish clothing. (We apply the cliche "look good, play good," you see.) Usually we have a normal routine of classes until around 3:30, which is when we have a team meal in the cafeteria. That gives us a good three hours to digest until game time. Typically on our team, many of us eat things like cereal, a bagel, pasta, or a salad. We try not to eat anything that will make us feel full for long.

After meal, we have about an hour and a half of downtime to rest, read, or do whatever. Some people like to go to the rink. I prefer to have alone time to just do my own thing for a while.  We are usually at the rink and dressed for warm-ups around 5:30. We spend some time doing static off-ice stretching and an active warm-up before we actually take on-ice warm-ups. Many times we have a quick information session before we get our equipment on to talk in-depth about the team we are about to play. We go over what to expect from them and remind ourselves of the goals we have for that game. After that, we put on loud music in the locker room and get our equipment on to go out and play.

Apart from hockey, it has been freezing and snowy conditions the first few days of this week. A few of my friends and I took advantage of this and bundled up to go "traying." Gustavus sits atop a hill in St. Peter and overlooks the Minnesota River Valley, which means we have lots of fun sliding hills. Students use the trays from the cafeteria as sleds and take to the hills of Gustavus. My friends and I always like to take advantage of the good snowfalls and hit the hills for some good traying action. The snow was deep last night so we had to take turns creating sledding lanes. After we finished that, we made a nice jump and tried launching ourselves into the air off of the tray. It ended up being quite fun, however cold.

I know my team is so excited for the Point game tonight. This week we were ranked #1 in the country which is sort of surprising as we practically jumped from #6 to #1 overnight. With that being said, we really don't want to worry about rankings because when it's all said and done, rankings aren't the most important thing at this point in the season. We know we just need to keep getting better every game from here on out. And along with that, we also are aware that we need to show up and play to our ability every game because now we have an even bigger target on our back.

The Bethel game ended well for us. As we learned in December, Bethel is a chippy, hard working team that gave us some excellent competition. The last time we played them, we didn't score until the third period, and that is exactly what happened in our game against them on Friday. It was a scoreless game until the third period. We scored twice before they scored in the third, which gave us some momentum. I think the game was sealed once a fellow senior, Jenny, came down and scored on a backhand. The final score was 3-1.

The Bethel game can be a good stepping stone for us when we take on UW-Stevens Point and St. Thomas this week. Bethel plays us hard and I think close games like that make us a better team. We had a little break from hockey this weekend on Saturday, but we'll get back into things today and Monday before we host Stevens Point on Tuesday.

This is a huge week for us. We've been advised to make sure to keep up healthy habits by drinking lots of water, eating the right foods, and getting adequate amounts of sleep each night. I think if we can do this we will be ready for the next week of tough games. As usual, I am really excited for both teams as both have proven to be our biggest rivals throughout the four years that I've been at Gustavus.

This week especially it will be nice that I am not taking a class over J-Term so I can really try to focus and prepare myself for these important upcoming games. We usually have lots of  alumni that come back to watch the conference series against St. Thomas. There is a heated tradition in playing St. Thomas that many players and fans get wrapped up in. I'll be looking forward to the excitement of the rivalry and seeing past teammates and friends when we play the Tommies this weekend. 

 

 

The last time we played Bethel was before Christmas and I think we've come a long way since then. Our first real "home" game played on our campus ice was against Bethel when we tied them 1-1. The next night we beat them 1-0 at their rink. This Friday will we be traveling up to the SuperRink in Blaine once again to play them in a non-conference game. I am looking forward to seeing if we can keep up the intensity that we played with in our upset against Amherst. 

Today I am riding a high off of hockey that I haven't felt after winning in a long time. Since coming to Gustavus, I am not sure I've ever been a part of an upset throughout my career. We generally are not the under dog, and if we are, I can't remember a time that we have won. Last night was different in beating the number one ranked team in the nation, Amherst.

The game started out really fast paced. We were not at all surprised at Amherst's talented group of skaters. Their team was also smart and played their positions well. We didn't necessarily come out slow, but there were times in the first period when we felt we were out-worked in our defensive zone especially. Our goalie, Danielle, fortunately was at the top of her game. I think we owe her a lot for making some amazing saves in that first period and keeping us in it. We had a great first period goal on the power play to put us ahead 1-0 at the end of the first period.

In the second period the game really swayed into our favor. We mentioned in the locker room before the period how important for us it was to just skate hard and use our speed. I heard my linemate, Mari, mention that if nothing else, we needed to use our feet and beat them to pucks. She said by moving our feet and just working hard, things will happen. And, she was right. Things did happen. We dominated the second period through pure work ethic. There were flurries of shots and opportunities that seemed to never stop in that period and I don't know if I've ever been so excited and proud of our team because of the way we worked in the second. We kept our composure and just continued to give 100% effort. Mari ended up getting our second period goal on a rebound and she really deserved it.

Going into the third period up 2-0 was a little surreal. It's not that I didn't expect us to be ahead. Instead, it felt a little like a dream that we were so calm and collected in understanding what we needed to do to win the final period and the game. We came out in the third period and continued working as hard as we could, knowing we could get the job done. When we won, it felt so good. We ended up winning 3-0 and took care of our business until the final buzzer.

After the game, the parents put on a meal for both teams and we ate sub sandwiches and fruit in the upper level of our athletic facility. We met some of the Amherst players and found out a good majority of them were from Minnesota, like our team.  I can't say how nice it was to be hosting at our home ice and enjoy our friends and family after feeling so good about winning in our own rink. 

Emotions were running so high after the game. I could really feel the happiness in every single one of my teammates when I saw them or exchanged a smile with them. Our team chemistry has been really growing in terms of how well we enjoy each others' company, and tonight seemed to solidify a stronger bond knowing how good it feels to accomplish something great together. I am not much of a touchy-feely kind of person, but this is how I feel about our team this year. I am just really happy to be a part of such a fun and passionate group of girls.

So, to make a long story short, the win was worth coming back to school early from Christmas break. Looking back, I guess it also wasn't so bad to have to bus to various rinks when our ice wasn't in. We spent a little extra time together and maybe that isn't a bad thing. Now that the ice is in, we really appreciate it. Maybe when it's all said and done, we'll have lots more success on our new temporary ice sheet.

I know I am excited to see what happens in this next month of hockey. We have a lot of tough games. I think my roommates and I counted eight tough games in a row counting Amherst. We will have to see where we are at by the end of the month. The win last night has definitely helped our confidence and I think we are continuing to improve. I know that I will definitely be excited to go to practice this next week.