'Six-pack' leading lady Bulldogs to success

By Duluth Budgeteer

January 23, 2008 at 11:00 PM

Inexperience and success usually don't go together. However, the University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team has put these characteristics in sync and become an anomaly: young, but great.

With only one senior on the team, the Bulldogs look strong (they've won 11 in a row) heading into the playoffs.

Going into the season, Shannon Miller, the head coach, expected the team to make it to the Frozen Four (which will be held in Duluth this year).

She also wanted the team to take a shot at being ranked in the top two of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and the top four in the country.

"The one thing we were worried about was leadership (going into the season), because our team is so young," Miller said. "We do have a group of sophomores and juniors that have really stepped up to lead this year."

The Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in the WCHA and No. 3 in the country, according to a USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine women's college hockey poll.

Miller points to team chemistry, goaltending and "attacking creatively" as their keys to success this season.

"Hockey is a game of read and react, and it's a game of instinct," Miller said. "When you have talented players, as long as you coach them to move and support the puck, and to move the puck quickly, then their own individual creativity and abilities will make the rest happen."

Another reason is what Miller calls the "six-pack," consisting of senior Karine Demeule, juniors Myriam Trepanier, Sara O'Toole and Tawni Mattila and sophomores Saara Tuominen and Kim Martin.

"They're six players that I see as leaders and their teammates see as leaders," Miller said.

These players have helped the team survive a tough schedule.

"On the ice, we are a really talented team; we can create lots of good things, offensively and defensively," said Demeule, a forward, in an e-mail. "Also, we have good speed and we can play physical when we need to. Off the ice, we have great team chemistry. Everyone on the team is getting along, which is amazing."

One mistake a young team deals with, Miller said, is inconsistency.

Her team has kept that to a minimum. Rather than being inconsistent for one game, or even a couple of weeks, the team has kept it to a period at a time.

"We are young, talented, hungry and motivated," said junior defender Myriam Trepanier in an e-mail. "This team is a family. We stand up for each other and, together, we are all going in the same direction."

After going through some large obstacles this season, the team doesn't want to get ahead of itself.

"... The challenge for me is to keep them motivated, disciplined and progressing forward, so that in March, we are much better than we are today," Miller said. "That (looking ahead to the playoffs) is one of the challenges, because a lot of people are talking to me, as well as them, about the Frozen Four because we are hosting it this year. I want that to be on our minds as a responsibility that we have; however, it cannot be our primary focus."

Trepanier keeps the same attitude.

"If we want to get there and be successful, what matters is how we are performing right now," she said. "If we want to be the greatest, we have to be great in every single game before we get there."

Not looking at other teams as weak also keeps the team on its toes.

"Our approach is to take one game at the time," Demeule said. "All the teams are getting better season after season, and lots of surprises can happen. Therefore, we don't take anyone for granted. We take each opponent seriously, one game at a time."

UMD Bulldog Schedule

Jan. 26 North Dakota* at 7:07 p.m.

Feb. 1 at Ohio State* at 6:07 p.m.

Feb. 2 at Ohio State* at 3:07 p.m.

Feb. 8 Wisconsin* at 7:07 p.m.

Feb. 9 Wisconsin* at 7:07 p.m.

Feb. 23 St. Cloud State* at 3:37 p.m.

Feb. 24 St. Cloud State* (Senior Day) at 3:07 p.m.

Feb. 29 WCHA Playoffs (First Round) at TBA at 3:07 p.m.

March 1 WCHA Playoffs (First Round) at TBA at 3:07 p.m.

March 2 WCHA Playoffs (First Round) at TBA at 3:07 p.m.

March 8 WCHA Playoff Championships at Duluth at TBA