Kacy Ambroz watched Minnesota Duluth's women's hockey national championship season of 2007-08 from a distance as a senior at New Prague (Minn.) High School.
This year, the freshman forward is one of six newcomers who will try to help the Bulldogs defend their title -- and they'll have plenty of help, too.
UMD returns 18 players from the team that defeated Wisconsin 4-0 in the Frozen Four final on March 22 at the DECC for its fourth NCAA title in eight seasons.
"Right away, I knew they had something special going on," said Ambroz, a four-time Class A All-State honorable-mention selection. "With all of the returners, it's a good fit. We're going to be really good this year."
The freshmen joining Ambroz are defender Jenni Asserholt of Orebro, Sweden; forwards Justine Fisher of Littleton, Colo., Tori Shelafoe of Forest Lake, Minn., and Pernilla Winberg of Malmo, Sweden; and goaltender Lana Steck of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
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"Awesome players came in, awesome freshmen that are not only good but they're also experienced," said Tawni Mattila, a senior forward from Duluth.
Junior goaltender Kim Martin, the Frozen Four's Most Outstanding Player and a top-three finalist for Division I player of the year honors last season, anchors a group of returners that helped lead the Bulldogs to a 34-4-1 record in 2007-08.
Gone are forwards Karine Demeule, now a graduate assistant with the team, Jessica Hawkins and Iya Gavrilova.
Gavrilova, who led UMD as a freshman with 41 points in the first 26 games of last season before missing the final 13, is unable to participate in team activities while the NCAA continues to investigate her eligibility status. The 21-year-old Russian also is recovering from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament she suffered in the summer and won't be able to skate until February at the earliest, coach Shannon Miller said.
"We still have a medium-aged team -- not heavy on the seniors, not heavy on the freshmen -- sort of down the middle," Miller said of a squad with 12 sophomores and juniors. "So there's a healthy balance of defending national champions, new energy in the six freshmen, and when you have a balanced team you always think you can do great things."
Miller, who begins her 10th season with the Bulldogs, has a new coaching staff. Out are former assistants Caroline Ouellette (Canada) and Julie Chu (United States), who are training with their respective national teams. In are former Northeastern head coach Laura Schuler and former UMD player Michelle McAteer.
The Bulldogs, who won Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season and playoff titles in 2007-08, open the season in Niagara Falls, N.Y., for a two-game series with Niagara on Oct. 3-4. Then they come home for a WCHA series against rival Minnesota on Oct. 10-11 at the DECC.
Miller wasn't concerned about complacency as UMD began its season with its first official practice Monday at the school.
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"I don't believe that there's one kid on my team that's gonna be overconfident or take anything for granted," she said. "I would guess that with the balance that we have with regards to maturity and experience, you're gonna see a lot of hungry people to repeat."
JIMMY BELLAMY covers UMD women's hockey. He can be reached at (218) 723-5390 or by e-mail at jbellamy@duluthnews.com .
