Women's Hockey Season Preview

Oct. 29, 2009

ADRIAN, Mich. - The Adrian College women's hockey team put together a great season in 2008-09. The Bulldogs finished the regular season with an overall record of 18-6-1. They were ranked second in the West Region in the NCAA regional rankings at the end of the year. They were also the only team in the country to beat Gustavus Adolphus, who happened to be the number one ranked team in the West Region. Despite all of these achievements the team was not selected to compete in the NCAA Division III Tournament. That outcome could change this year as Adrian will be the newest addition to the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association. Whoever wins the NCHA championship will be an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Head Coach Melissa Lomanto is excited to join the NCHA. "Joining the NCHA means a lot to our program," Lomanto explained. "It gives our team greater national exposure, and we will be recognized by other NCAA teams. It also gives us an opportunity to compete for a prestigious league and playoff championship, as well as a berth into the NCAA tournament."

The NCHA was founded on April 10, 2000 and will be celebrating 10 years of women's hockey this season. The women's division has been a leader in the growth of women's hockey by establishing tradition, a competitive environment, and a unique experience for student-athletes. AC played a majority of the teams in the NCHA as an independent team a season ago. The Bulldogs were successful against those opponents, which led them to being ranked third in the 2009-10 NCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll.

UW-River Falls was selected as the preseason favorite. The Falcons received six of the possible nine first-place votes. They are returning 17 of 19 players from last year's roster including three All-NCHA award winners. UW-Superior was right behind River Falls in the preseason poll. The Yellow Jackets received two first place votes, and also welcome back Jodi Holland, who led the league in goals last year with 19.

Adrian will enter the season with confidence as they were 10-3-1 against NCHA opponents in 2008-09. Two of the 10 wins came against preseason favorite UW-River Falls. Adrian beat the Falcons 5-3 in game one, and then came back to defeat UW-River Falls 3-2 (OT) in the rematch. Even though last year's team played well against NCHA opponents, Lomanto wants to focus on one game at a time. "We have confidence that we can compete in this league, but it will take hard work and determination," Lomanto said. "Last season is over and we will be starting at 0-0."

The team goals for this season are simple. "We want to win the NCHA playoffs, and win the NCAA Championship," Lomanto said. In order for the team to reach those goals they will have to get solid play out of Jessica Grubbs, Stacey Kempson, and goaltender Dana Timm.

Grubbs and Kempson started all 25 games for the Bulldogs a season ago. Kempson led the team in points (37) and assists (19). Grubbs was right behind Kempson in points with 36. She also led the team in goals scored with 25. Timm started 24 games as the goaltender for AC. She made 631 saves, and held a 1.54 goals against average. Timm recorded 17 wins for the Bulldogs last year. She had six shutouts and a save percentage of .946.

AC will be without Lyndsay Laxton, Nicole Zynda, and Alexis Glenn this season. All three players had a significant role on last year's team. Each member of the trio played in over 20 games for the Bulldogs in 08-09. With those players out of the picture look for Brooke Zaleski, Olivia Rork, and freshman Ashley Gniewek to impact the team. Zaleski had a great freshman campaign on the ice. She was third on the team in points (20), and second on the team in assists with 14. Rork played in all 25 games for Adrian and ended the season with nine points. She scored five goals and collected four assists. Gniewek is a newcomer that will get some playing time as a forward. "Ashley is a fast, crafty player who creates opportunities on the ice," Lomanto explained. "She is a hard worker that will always be involved in the play."

The Bulldogs will open the season with a non-conference road game against Neumann on October 30th. The first puck drop of the season will be at 7:00 p.m. in Aston, Pa. Other highlights on the AC schedule appear when the team faces UW-River Falls on December 5-6 at the Arrington Ice Arena and a road trip to UW-Superior on January 29-30.