2008-09 Women's Ice Hockey Season Outlook

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA — The Williams College women’s hockey team is hitting the ice in attack mode this weekend, and if head coach Shannon Bryant has anything to say about it, the Ephs will remain in attack mode all season long.

The Ephs won only five games during the 2007-08 season, but behind the leadership of seniors Joey Lye, Sam Tarnasky and Mallory Green, look to improve upon that mark beginning Nov. 15 when they host Middlebury at 3 p.m. at Lansing Chapman Rink.

“Our seniors have been awesome,” Bryant said. “Sam, Joey and Mallory have come in and done a great job. They don’t want to have a five-win season again and they’ve come back with a renewed focus, they’re in great shape, they’ve been keeping things organized and they’ve seamlessly folded our young players into the program by setting good examples.”

With that leadership, Bryant is hopeful a great mix of seasoned veterans and enthusiastic and talented first-years enhances the Ephs chances. The good news for Bryant is that four of her top five scorers from last season return. Improving upon their 50-goal in 24-game output has been and will be a focus all season long.

Tarnasky led Williams with 10 goals and 21 points, while junior Tracey Ferriter was second with 8 goals and 9 assist for 17 points. Junior defenseman Kait O’Brien (3g., 8a.), who has recovered from an off-season injury, senior Lye (3g., 6a.), who has been moved into a more offensive position, and sophomore Allison Page (2g., 7a.) have also returned.

“We have really been focused on putting the puck in the back of the net,” Bryant said. “We have the potential to be a pretty good offensive team.”

To that end, Bryant will employ the 2-3 system, which really plays as a 2-2-1. The two forwards up front are forecheckers, while the two players in the “middle” of the line-up are the playmakers, i.e., the quarterbacks of the offensive attack. All four will be asked to score of course. That leaves one traditional defenseman in the back with the goalie and one defensive person as a big part of the offensive attack.

“We’ll give up some two on ones,” Bryant said. “But we’re working very hard on cycling and on take overs in our zone to try and minimize our opponents opportunities.”

In the back for the Ephs will be senior Green, sophomore Page and sophomore Lauren Zurek. They’ll be the last line of defense in front of the goaltenders.

“All three are so solid defensively,” Bryant noted. “They all have good vision, handle the puck well, apply pressure in the zone well and they’re not afraid to mix it up.”

The Ephs do have a hole in the net after the graduation of Denise McCulloch, who played 75 percent of the minutes available last season and compiled a 3.61 goals against average and a .902 save percentage.

However, junior Betsy Laurin does return after playing in parts of seven games, and she will be battling junior Sara Plunkett, a transfer from Div. I Colgate University who played just one period over the last two years, but was a standout for St. George’s School.

“I’m not ready to name a starting goalie yet,” Bryant said. “But I have a lot of confidence in our goaltenders this season and I think we’re going to be very good back there.”

The players Bryant has earmarked for the middle of her system include Lye, O’Brien, sophomore Erin Mandigo and first-years Sarah Herr, Kate Foley and Eliza Foster. Bryant said she feels all are solid defensively, but some will need to improve the offensive part of their game.

The true forwards in the line-up will come from a group that includes Tarnasky, junior Tracey Ferriter, sophomores Jackie Berglass, Stephanie Berger, Mimi McClatchy and first-years Hannah Systrom and Kristen Tubbs.

“I think the key is in the way we approach practice every day,” Bryant said. “If we can have high-intensity, up-tempo practices every time out where we compete against each other, it creates a good habit. In doing that, naturally you continue to get better every day.”

Bryant has been encouraged early in the preseason by both the conditioning her team came in with and the attitude they’ve possessed since the beginning.

“The attitude have been outstanding,” she said. “They’ve shown me they’re just really committed to be here. They have bought into the mindset that we have to prepare to play 120 minutes of high energy hockey every weekend and not just go through the motions, and the best way to do that is by doing it in practice all week long.”

Bryant pointed to Amherst, Bowdoin, Middlebury and even Trinity as proof that parity has hit the NESCAC, but in a good way — several programs continue to improve.

That doesn’t stop the third year coach from thinking her team can compete in the conference.
“I think, obviously, we’d love to qualify for the (NESCAC) tournament and also host a tournament game. And I think we’d like to play in the NESCAC championship game. To win the NESCAC would be a nice goal for us.”