November 16, 2018 at 1:26 p.m.
Team preview: RHS/Antigo girls' hockey
Mix of old and new rings in new year for Northern Edge
Team preview: RHS/Antigo girls' hockey
Unsure of what the makeup of the team would be - or if they'd have a team at all - during the offseason, the Edge is relying on a mix of new and experienced skaters is it prepares for its season opener Monday night against Medford in Antigo.
"I have no clue what to expect, being my first year, but I think we'll be all right," coach Tom Roeser said.
Roeser takes the head coaching position from Kevin Sandstrom, who stepped down during the summer to further his education. Following an offseason of consternation regarding numbers, and a near last-minute co-op with Northland Pines, the team brings a roster of 13 skaters to the table for the upcoming season.
There's a good deal of talent back. The Edge welcomes back three all-conference recipients including first-team goalie Alicia Turunen and first-team defender Madi Losch, but the team also has some first year skaters trying to fill the void of a large class of graduating seniors.
The team graduated three of its top five scorers from a year ago in Payton Bunnell (10 goals, 15 assists), Kourtney Carrico (3 g, 11 a) and Ellen Padgett (5 g, 6 a).
For the Edge, it starts with Turunen, who was a unanimous choice as the GNC's best netminder last year. She went 6-15-1 on the season with a 3.45 goals against average and stopped an even 90 percent of the shots that she faced.
Turunen didn't play every game in goal last year. She's also a very capable skater who scored three goals and had three assists in the few games she skated out, but Roeser said the plan is to keep her in net this season.
"She's really athletic, really quick in the net," he said. "We're pretty thankful for her. There's probably going to be some games where we see some shots. Knowing we have a goaltender that can keep you in about any game you're in is a big deal."
A solid goalie can keep a team in games, but a squad needs to put a few pucks in the back of the net in order to win.
To that end, the Edge welcomes back five players who scored multiple goals last season. Losch led the team with 17 goals last season and figures to be an offensive weapon again this year, though she will enter the season as the team's top defender.
"I've always tried to teach a system where defensemen have a lot of freedom and our forwards would cover for them," Roeser said. "Especially if you have some skilled defensemen, you don't want them just standing on the blue line."
Honorable mention all-conference skater Lauren Kefalinos (7 g, 7 a) is back, along with Jade Forster (3 g, 4 a), Evie LeVeque (2 g, 5 a) and Nevaeh Forster (2 g, 3 a) from last year's squad, though Roeser said LeVeque and Nevaeh Forster may join Losch back on the blue line.
The team also hopes to get a scoring boost from Antigo sophomore Emily Kassler, who joins the team after playing at the Bantam level last year.
"She's a good, young skater," Roeser said. "She's skated up with the boys too and we're working on some stuff with her. I expect her to be a goal scorer. She's good in front of the net. She's had some issues shooting keeping the puck below the crossbar. We're working on that with her, doing a lot of shooting."
Roeser added that instead of trying to stack on standout line, he's going to look to distribute the talent evenly between the team's top two forward units.
But, because of the team's low numbers, the Edge's success this year may ultimately be determined by how it manages its depth and how it gets its first-year skaters up to speed.
"Depth-wise, we're still struggling," Roeser said. "We have a couple ineligibilities to start out the year. A team of 13, 14, having two gone hurts. We're trying to stay healthy. We're getting stronger, I think, and we're shooting a lot of pucks in dryland."
To that end, Roeser said improvement will be the team's No. 1 goal this winter.
"That will be a goal, just keep getting better," he said. "We've got some new skaters that have really impressed me. Brooke (Beauchaine) gets better every day. Everyone gets along great and they're a joy to be around. I can't really complain about anything."
Monday night's game against Medford will kick off the Great Northern Conference season for the Northern Edge. Roeser said he's looking to gain some more knowledge about his roster in game situations in Monday night's opener. The team will not play again until it heads to Northland Pines Dec. 3.
All four GNC programs are in a similar boat with some talent returning while struggling with numbers.
"They're all going to be tough matches for us," Roeser said. "We're a young team. I'm not sure where the other teams' rosters are, probably comparable, but we're probably younger than anybody and have some new skaters."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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