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Today, one can almost wonderčby virtue of what invention has women's hockey coach Garnet Asmundson turned the tide of the Pipers’ war for success? That is not, of course, to compare a fight against an evil face of fascism with that of a fight to compete in the MIAC. Nonetheless, some similarities are unmistakable. Since the inception of women’s hockey at Hamline roughly five years ago, the teams have been, if measured simply by wins and losses, disappointing. The teams have failed to place better than ninth in the MIAC.

At start of the season, it seemed as though the Pipers were doomed to disappoint, again. Through five games, the Pipers had only one win. Expectations seemed low leading into the second game against the Gusties the following afternoon. But it was that “mismatched” Saturday showdown that proved to be fateful for the Pipers. They did what few thought they were capable of doing: they took the reigning MIAC superpower Gusties into overtime. While they eventually lost the contest 2-3, they didn’t walk away empty-handed. Something new was created out of the sweat and vigor of that loss. Attitudes had changed. Something clicked. Hamline had created its own “cavity magnetron.”

“Tying [Gustavus] in regulation was a huge thing. They’ve been number one for the last two years, and we hung with them until the end. It made us feel like we can play against any of the top teams,” said sophomore forward Brianna Miller.

Contrary to what one might suppose, the change in attitude was not necessarily sudden. “I just think the team took ownership and bought into what we are trying to do,” said Coach Asmundson. “When success happens, people jump on the bandwagon.”

It is no secret that with a win there is often the company of growing confidence. Yet, in this team’s case, they were confident before they ascended the standings. “The atmosphere has always been very positive,” said first-year Samantha Aarthun.

Yet it wasn’t just atmosphere or mood that helped breed the winning attitude. It was the expectations set forth early on. “At the beginning of the year coach told us that the goal is to make it to the playoffs. We were all like, ‘you’re nuts!’ With the team’s past records, we knew that the tenth spot [in the MIAC] wouldn’t cut it,” said Aarthun.

After dropping a one-point loss to Concordia, Hamline won the next contest, producing a 1-0 shutout. This stood as the first shutout in Hamline’s history. The next four games, against non-conference opponents resulted in four victories. In mid-January the Pipers returned to MIAC competition. Hamline produced another shutout, in their first game of what was a sweep over St. Catherine.

Along the way the Pipers have rewritten their record books. Junior forward Sara Mickelson looks poised to break not only the single season record for most goals (17) but also career goals (26). Hamline has already improved on overall wins and conference wins in a season. The Pipers’ 16-7 victory over Chatham more than doubled their record for most goals in a game.

If one considers that all of this has been done on a team with no seniors, the achievements are significantly more impressive. “We have all kind of matured, because we don’t have that senior leadership. The entire team has had to step it up,” said Mickelson.

Suppose the Pipers’ season was to end today, it would still be regarded as a resounding success. Mind you, there are still five games left in the season. How do the players feel? Is their mission complete? Hardly. “We’re ready to go to the playoffs. There have already been so many records and wins that have helped our season, but if we don’t make it we will be very disappointed,” said Miller.

The Pipers still need to finish strong. Doing so will represent another historic “first” for the team, given that four of their next five contests will be against teams they have never before beaten: St. Thomas and Augsburg. But why believe that this hurdle is any different than the myriad this team has already crossed? After all, as Coach Asmundson said, “winning breeds winning.”

Even if the Pipers somehow fall short of their goals, they will enter next season with eager anticipation. They now have that new attitude; that realistic expectation that something desirable is likely to happen. They have that special “briefcase” which contains the prototype for success.