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February 20, 2007
Pipers trump Royals 3-1
Winter in Minnesota. It’s cold. Days are too short. Sickness and disease are ubiquitous. Nevertheless, as agonizing as Minnesota winters are, they do endow us with a comforting sense of consistency. Every year at this time a few things seem to be perpetual: Punxsutawney Phil surfaces from his burrow to decide whether or not spring will come early, Valentine’s Day sails by, and the women’s hockey team at Hamline has a losing record. Suppose any one of those constants was to change, what would it do to our fragile contracts with reality? Would time stop? The Hamline Pipers women’s hockey team has won 11 of its last 13 games. They are poised, for the first time in school history, to make the playoffs. No worries. Clocks still tick, the universe hasn’t collapsed.
“I think the team is learning how to win. Whether beating someone up pretty bad, or getting beat pretty bad, they are finding ways to win. It’s a skill that this team is improving on every game,” said head coach Garnett Asmundson.
An important goal of the team has been to stay hot. In last weekend’s matchup against sixth-seeded Bethel, Hamline won both games. It took two days for Hamline to achieve what had previously been the culmination of six years of hard work. Going into the game, Hamline had beaten Bethel only twice in the two teams’ history.
In making sense of the Pipers’ recent surge, junior forward Emily Dusold said, “I think it has had a lot to do with how over the past few weeks we really came together as a team. We have a lot of talent on our team, but it’s been the fact that we can take the talent and work together that has led to the wins.”
Indeed the Pipers have put things together, as the style of their victories against Bethel showcased two of the many ways this team can win. For starters, this Piper squad can get things working early. Hamline put two of their first three shots in the net in their first-game Friday showdown against Bethel. First-year Melanie Leveille and sophomore Kate Raasch scored the goals, which ended up being enough for a victory. Of course strong play by sophomore goaltender Crystal Testolin helped seal a win. Testolin saved on 24 of 25 shots, almost double the amount of shots by Hamline’s offense.
The Pipers’ second game against Bethel proved more difficult, at least early on. Hamline trailed for nearly two periods, until scoring-leader junior forward Sara Mickelson added two goals. Mickelson’s goals, her 17th and 18th of the season, were good to tie and break Hamline’s single-season goal record. Raasch broke open the tie in the third period, and then Mickelson added the final score to cement a Piper 3-1 victory.
With only a few games left, a playoff berth seems likely. When asked what the Pipers chances for success in the playoffs (if they clinch), Asmundson responded, “There are two teams that will be in the playoffs that we’ve beat. That should give the players confidence. Playoffs are a one-game series; many things good or bad, can happen. Why not keep the streak of good things going?”
Go ahead Pipers. Mess with our sense of winter comfort. Break these trends. Just don’t be frightened by your own shadow. Longer winters mean only that we get to watch you continue your record-setting season.
Posted by dwright at February 20, 2007 01:36 PM
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