WCHA 2015-16 Women’s Season Preview

Minnesota Duluth senior goaltender Kayla Black (MHM Photo / Dave Harwig)

MINNESOTA DULUTH

Coach:  Maura Crowell, 1^st season

Last season:  20-12-5, finished in fourth place in the WCHA (14-10-14-2, 48 pts.)

Key losses: Forward Zoe Hickel (19g-13a=32pts) and defenseman Brigette Lacquette (7g-18a-25pts), both second-team All-WCHA players, graduated, as did career 100-point scorer Jenna McParland.

Key returnees: Ashleigh Brykaliuk scored 16 goals last season (14a=30pts), senior forward Lara Stalder scored 10 (19a=29pts) before competing for Switzerland at the 2015 World Championships and Michelle Löwenhielm – who played for Sweden during the 2015 Worlds– contributed 12 points (3g-9a) as a freshman. Sidney Morin and Jessica Healey (fresh off a stint with Canada’s National Development Team), lead the defense in front of senior goalie Kayla Black, who owns UMD’s all-time record with 19 career shutouts.

Top newcomers: Maddie Rooney is potentially the next great UMD netminder. Rooney led Andover to the state girls prep title in Minnesota as a junior and then played boys hockey last year at Andover and was named honorable mention all-conference.

Outlook: The Bulldogs will bond with their new coach quickly as they have only four home games before Thanksgiving, but Crowell likes what she has seen from a team picked to finish in fifth place.  “We take to the road early, but it is a great opportunity to build team camaraderie,’’ said Crowell. “We are excited to see what we have. They are a very mature group who has been through more than any other college program has been through. They are anxious to get going. There is obviously a little apprehension. They don’t know what the new expectations are and what it’s going to be like, but as we’ve been implementing those philosophies, they’ve been meeting them with open arms.”