Four captain the Husky ship

The Huskies are looking forward to a strong 2009-2010 season led by an impressive senior class, boasting eight exceptional players.

The team will rely on the senior class to step up and lead the team throughout the season.

“It is really important that the seniors and team leaders are doing things the way we want them done and better than everyone else. That way, the freshmen see how things are accomplished and can see what Husky hockey is all about,” Head Coach Jeff Giesen said.

Giesen agreed that there are additional things the team anticipates from the veterans.

“Obviously there are added expectations of the seniors. They know what is supposed to happen and how things are supposed to work. They need to carry those skills with them at all times,” Giesen said.

“If they are working as hard as they can, and doing the things they need to do, then it all works out in our favor.”

Out of eight seniors, four players, instead of the usual three, were awarded the privilege of wearing a “letter” on their jerseys.  Giesen declared, “The vote was that close. Our team voted, and obviously they picked 4 great leaders. I did not have any problem with having the extra captain.”

Claiming the “C” is senior Felicia Nelson. Nelson, a St. Paul native, transferred from Minnesota State after one season to play for St. Cloud State.

Last season, Nelson played in 33 games tallying 21 points (8 goals, 13 assists).  In her career, she has played in a grand total of 71 games, scoring a total of 46 points (23 goals, 23 assists).

Picking up one of the Alternate Captain positions is fellow senior, Danielle Hirsch.

Hirsch is from Bloomington, Minnesota, and played hockey in high school at Shattuck St. Mary’s. In her career, she has played in 107 games notching 40 points (3 goals, 37 asssists). In 2008, she earned the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week and set the Husky single season record for defenseman assists with 18.

Clinching another Alternate spot is St. Cloud native, Holly Roberts.

Before becoming a Husky, Roberts played for Warroad High School where she was a five-time letter winner for hockey. A key player for SCSU, Roberts has scored 77 points (33 goals, 44 assists) in 112 career games. Last season, she was tied for team lead in penalties with 54 penalty minutes.

Along with Hirsch and Roberts, senior Caitlin Hogan also sports an “A” on her jersey.

he Oakdale, Minnesota local led the team with 136 shots and earned WCHA Scholar Athlete honors last season.

In a total of 112 games, Hogan has tallied 84 points (34 goals, 50 assists) in her career at SCSU.

Although having four strong recognized leaders, Coach Giesen does not expect them to carry all the leadership roles on the team.

“I don’t get too hung up on having a letter. I expect all of our seniors to lead, whether it is Meaghan Pezon, Katie Kemmerer, or Felicia Nelson. Just because you do not have a letter does not mean you cannot be a leader. All of our players are expected to do things to help lead the team,” Giesen said.

However, it is extremely beneficial to the team to have a strong core of accomplished players leading the team.

“Player ability helps leadership because when the other players see how highly skilled players work, and how much effort they put into the game, they think, ‘I want to be like that’ The leaders have to perform and bring everyday- they cannot really take a day off when everyone is looking up to them,” Giesen said.

Leadership is not the only thing the Huskies value. The team has placed a huge emphasis on team chemistry and unity on and off the ice.

“Our first and foremost core values as a team are community and unity. All the decisions I make are based off of what is best for the team. The girls know that they need to put the team before everything else. We try to facilitate some things so the girls get to know each other and become that unit, but they do a good job of accomplishing it themselves. They have found over the past few years how important it is to get along and to have a good relationship with everyone else,” said Giesen.

“The girls are definitely friends off the ice. They have a lifelong friendship that carries on even after they graduate.”

Despite being in the most competitive conference in the United States, Coach Giesen expects nothing but the best from his team.

He said, “It is not even a question that the WCHA is the toughest conference in the country. There is a reason they have won 11 straight national championships.

Regardless, I think we are headed in the right direction. We found out our first weekend that you cannot just play one game of the series and not the next. I have high expectations and I think the players have high expectations, so hopefully that will carry over.”

The Huskies will return home to the National Hockey Center to play conference rivals, University of Minnesota, Friday, Oct. 23 at 2:07 pm.