Sports

Women’s hockey opens season in Vt.

Team looks to build on last season's success

By Matt Hritz

Posted on Oct. 24, 2002, at 12:00 a.m.

The University of Maine women’s hockey team begins the 2002-03 season with a weekend series against the University of Vermont Catamounts. The Black Bears hope to improve on last year’s 16 wins, the most in team history.

“I am very happy with everything we have gone through,” head coach Rick Filighera said. “With the amount of injuries we had, we had enough depth to win down the stretch. We played the team that went on to win our league in an extremely tight game on the road in our first playoff game ever.”

This season marks the start of the newly created women’s Hockey East division. In the past four seasons, the Black Bears have competed as part of the Eastern College Athletic Conference, but will begin in Hockey East as part of a six-team division that includes Providence College, Northeastern University, University of New Hampshire, University of Connecticut and Boston College.

“The new Hockey East division is going to be extremely competitive,” Filighera said. “All the teams are pretty even. It’s going to come down to who gets out of the gate fast.”

The new league will be important for several reasons to the Black Bears and the other teams in the division, the first of which is scheduling. For example, when the men’s hockey team plays an opponent at home the women’s team can play the same team at the opposing rink, which will most likely be open.

It will also help in recruiting, as the tradition of the men’s Hockey East is well-known in the college hockey world. The switch also will aid in the promotion of the team, in that both women’s and men’s teams can play on the same weekend.

Senior forward Jarin Sjogren was named captain of the Black Bears this season by her teammates.

“I am honored to be the team captain this year, but I feel that this team is a team that has many leaders, especially a strong senior class that will be one of the key factors if our team is to have success,” Sjogren said.

The defense this year will have a new look to it with the addition of first-year players Vicky Johnstone and Morgan Janusc. Returning to the fold is senior Raffi Wolf who will convert to defense after playing forward last season. Wolf is returning to the team after playing for Germany in the Salt Lake City Olympics this past year.

“When you have three defensemen come in with the existing defense we already have, we are going to be very strong this year,” Filighera said.

The Black Bears will play Vermont this weekend, a team that is entering its second year in Division I. Last season the Catamounts won only one game, but the team isn’t to be taken lightly. Vermont has already won a game this season and has played tight in their three losses against Hockey East opponents.

“Our goal is to try to score very early and to establish a lead because I think if we can establish a lead early we can shut them down,” Filighera said.

So after coming off a 16-win season, how far can the Black Bears go with the team’s nucleus intact and an influx of highly talented first-year players?

“Our team has more potential then it has ever had. We’ve got great offense, and our defense is much better than last season. With an improved defense the sky’s the limit,” junior forward Meagan Aarts said. “I think we can go all the way, really.”

The Black Bears will open their home schedule against Providence College Nov. 9-10 at Alfond Arena.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 24th, 2002, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.