Page 14 Lake Conference Hockey • Thursday , December 12 , 2024
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Experience at all three levels boosts optimism
JOHN SHERMAN john . sherman @ apgecm . com
MINNETONKA SKIPPERS BOYS HOCKEY
With what could be the best group of seniors in her time at Minnetonka High , girls hockey coach Tracy Cassano is extremely optimistic .
There are veteran players - a lot of them - at all three levels - goalie , defense and forward . Many of the seniors on this team are third- and fourth-year varsity players . There are five senior captains on the team this season . “ Why five ?” coach Cassano was asked . “ Because we can ’ t have eight ,” she said .
The Skippers ’ experience begins with senior goalies Layla Hemp and Ashlyn Hazlett . “ We have two of the best goalies high schools in the state , the country and probably the world ,” coach Cassano said .
Through the first six games of the 2024-25 season , Minnetonka stood 4-1-1 while allowing 1.17 goals per game . The only blemishes were a 2-2 tie with Dodge County and a 3-2 loss to Centennial / Spring Lake Park .
Hemp talked about playing with her Minnetonka teammates : “ I always have so much help . Our coaches are awesome and there are so many support systems with our parents , our teachers and the fans .”
Captain Grace Larson , who plays defense for the Skippers , talked about another factor in the team ’ s
( SUN PHOTO BY JOHN SHERMAN )
Minnetonka ’ s girls hockey captains for 2024-25 are , from left to right : Ruby Rauk , Bella Finnegan , Layla Hemp , Lauren Mack and Grace Larson .
success : “ Everyone works hard and we keep things drama-free .”
Offensively , Minnetonka always puts heat on opponents . It is not unusual to see the Skippers roll to a victory with 40 to 50 shots on net .
Mack , a captain who passed the 100-point mark last season , is one of the top goal scorers in the state . Ellie Zakrajsheck , Ruby Rauk and Senja Leeper are other prolific scorers in the senior class . Captain Bella Finnegan adds offense from the blue line .
Four of the five Minnetonka captains have committed to NCAA Division I programs for college . Their choices are Hemp ( University of Minnesota ), Finnegan ( Harvard ), Mack ( Providence College ) and Rauk ( Quinnipiac ). Larson has not yet made a college decision .
All of the captains want to win a state title for head coach Cassano , one of the most successful coaches in Minnesota history , with previous stops at Burnsville , Chanhassen / Chaska and Rosemount .
“ Tracy is so passionate about the game and such a great motivator ,” Hemp said .
“ She does a good job of teaching us a system and making adjustments ,” Rauk added .
Over the years , Skipper girls hockey has developed intense rivalries with two teams in particular - Edina and Andover .
“ The most joy for me is beating Andover ,” captain Larson said .
“ In most years , the top five teams in the state are the same ,” Hemp said . “ You never know when a new team might move into that group .”
The new team this season might be Centennial / Spring Lake Park , which has experienced players at all three levels , much like Minnetonka , Edina and Andover . Maple Grove and Hill-Murray are two other schools that usually find their way to the State Class AA Tournament .
Mack was asked about personal goals for the season since she is moving swiftly toward 150 career points . “ My sole focus is on winning games ,” she said .
“ Everyone on the team buys into hard work ,” Larson said . “ We all want to be lead-by-example captains .”
For much of the 2023-24 season , Minnetonka was ranked first in Let ’ s Play Hockey ’ s magazine ’ s state Class AA poll . The Skippers finished the season with one of the best marks in school history ( 27-3-1 ).
1 - Senior goalie Layla Hemp 2 - Junior forward Cara Peterson 4 - Ninth-grade forward Isabella Sterns 5 - Junior forward Blakely Van Nest 6 - Ninth-grade froward Lauren Loewe 7 - Senior defenseman Grace Larson 8 - Ninth-grade forward Claire Sommerfeld 9 - Ninth-grade defenseman Annika Drews 10 - Eighth-grade forward Alaina Lindsay 11 - Sophomore forward Annika Eggert 12 - Sophomore defenseman Jemma McAlexander 13 - Ninth-grade defenseman Chloe Ronning 14 - Ninth-grade forward Kennedy Hochbaum 15 - Ninth-grade forward Sydney Boss Krohn 16 - Senior forward Ellie Zakrajsheck 18 - Senior forward Ruby Rauk 19 - Senior forward Lauren Mack 20 - Ninth-grade forward Evelyn Esselman 21 - Senior forward Senja Leeper 22 - Sophomore forward Delaney Miller 23 - Senior defenseman Claire Christopherson 24 - Junior forward Allison Ryan 25 - Ninth-grade defenseman Brooke Kapeller 26 - Junior defenseman Claire Jelinek 27 - Senior forward Jayden Drews 28 - Senior defenseman Bella Finnegan 29 - Junior forward Avery Degel 30 - Junior goalie Adelaide Zinn 31 - Ninth-grade goalie Sydney Petersen 33 - Sophomore defenseman Lily Rogers 34 - Sophomore forward Cecelia Glassbrenner 35 - Senior goalie Ashlyn Hazlett 36 - Ninth-grade defenseman Kennedy Keepman 37 - Sophomore defenseman Emerson Grinsteinner 38 - Ninth-grade forward Barrett Carroll