Hockey team to compete for national championship
Women plan on reaching season goal by winning a national tournament this weekend.
Tony Jensen
Issue date: 3/3/10 Section: Sports
On the weekend of March 5-7, Blaine, Minn., is hosting the American Collegiate Hockey Association Women's National Tournament, where the SDSU women's hockey team will be competing for a championship.
SDSU was chosen as one of six teams to compete in the Division II portion of the tournament by a committee made up of coaches across the country. Despite having the best record in the Western Division (17-4-0-1), the committee awarded SDSU the third seed in Pool A. Others in Pool A include St. Scholastica and undefeated Northeastern University.
One disadvantage of being the third seed is that SDSU will have to play two games on Friday within five hours of each other, which is unheard of in hockey. What makes that challenge even more difficult is that the second game is against tourney favorite Northeastern College. Even though the team is deserving of a higher seed and is facing a tough challenge, the fact that they are the underdog has not discouraged the team members in the least.
"We are the underdog, and that is fine with us. Our goal is to win," explained Ashley Verdeck, a senior left wing from Marshall, Minn.
Verdeck is one of four seniors on the team hoping to end the season and their careers with a championship. The other three seniors are Natalie Domagala from Luverne, Minn., and Andi Ribstein and Christa Friedrich from Brookings.
"Our goal from the beginning of the season has been to win a championship. With the new players we had coming in and players we had returning this year, we knew we had the talent to compete for a championship," said Domagala.
Domagala would know. She is a two-time First Team All-American and led the division in points this season. Second in points was Verdeck, who was also an Honorable Mention All-American along with Emily Little (goalie) and Sarah Jensen (defense).
Coach Heath Isaacson, who lives in Iroquois, S.D., travels to Brookings twice a week for practices and games. Dallas Shearer of Sioux Falls, S.D., assists Isaacson, traveling to Brookings for practices and games as well. Both Isaacson and Shearer are graduates of SDSU and played on the SDSU men's hockey team. Both men volunteer their time to team, which doesn't go unnoticed by the team members.
SDSU was chosen as one of six teams to compete in the Division II portion of the tournament by a committee made up of coaches across the country. Despite having the best record in the Western Division (17-4-0-1), the committee awarded SDSU the third seed in Pool A. Others in Pool A include St. Scholastica and undefeated Northeastern University.
One disadvantage of being the third seed is that SDSU will have to play two games on Friday within five hours of each other, which is unheard of in hockey. What makes that challenge even more difficult is that the second game is against tourney favorite Northeastern College. Even though the team is deserving of a higher seed and is facing a tough challenge, the fact that they are the underdog has not discouraged the team members in the least.
"We are the underdog, and that is fine with us. Our goal is to win," explained Ashley Verdeck, a senior left wing from Marshall, Minn.
Verdeck is one of four seniors on the team hoping to end the season and their careers with a championship. The other three seniors are Natalie Domagala from Luverne, Minn., and Andi Ribstein and Christa Friedrich from Brookings.
"Our goal from the beginning of the season has been to win a championship. With the new players we had coming in and players we had returning this year, we knew we had the talent to compete for a championship," said Domagala.
Domagala would know. She is a two-time First Team All-American and led the division in points this season. Second in points was Verdeck, who was also an Honorable Mention All-American along with Emily Little (goalie) and Sarah Jensen (defense).
Coach Heath Isaacson, who lives in Iroquois, S.D., travels to Brookings twice a week for practices and games. Dallas Shearer of Sioux Falls, S.D., assists Isaacson, traveling to Brookings for practices and games as well. Both Isaacson and Shearer are graduates of SDSU and played on the SDSU men's hockey team. Both men volunteer their time to team, which doesn't go unnoticed by the team members.
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