Page 20 Lake Conference Hockey • Thursday , December 12 , 2024 sailor . com
RIVERHAWKS GIRLS HOCKEY
Young co-op hocky team embracing tradition
JEREMY LAGOS jeremy . lagos @ apgecm . com
North Wright County brought in some reinforcements this season . With some talent on the roster mixed in with a lot of inexperience , the team has beaten the teams in games it should but the schedule will continue to bring challenges .
“ We like our tenacity and we feel like we ’ re resilient ,” said second-year Head Coach Kaleigh Bean .
North Wright County will fight teams until the final horn sounds so even when they are down they are not out .
That is a special trait for a team as young as the RiverHawks are . The underclassmen have been leading the charge in the scoring department , a positive sign of the team ’ s potential .
Out of the team ’ s top nine forwards , four are freshmen .
“ It ’ s been really cool whether it ’ s been the D , goalies or forwards , watching our upperclassmen and our senior leaders embracing our younger players and showing them the Hawks way ,” Bean said .
The underclassmen have been leading the charge in the scoring department , a positive sign of the team ’ s potential . They bring a lot of energy to the team and ask a lot of questions trying to
grow as players .
“ They ’ re fitting in really well . They can skate really well and that ’ s a big part of the game . We ’ ve been trying to instill confidence in them and bringing the puck to the net ,” mentioned Bean on the freshman .
Freshmen Brooke Williams and Charlotte Heckendorf are tied with senior Danika Weiland for first place on the team in terms of goals . Sophomore Lexi Schumm is tops in points . Sophomore Alexa Larson in addition to Heckendorf and Schumm are at the top of the leaderboard in points .
Weiland and fellow senior Roz Landkammer are right behind in the scoring department . Those are two players who have played a lot of minutes for North Wright County and are integral parts this year . They are smart players who know where they want to go with the puck .
NWC has been creating a lot of scoring chances so they have been close in early season games , but the team has left some goals on the ice . It ’ s a good sign that they are making those opportunities happen so if they can begin to convert more consistently that ’ s going to be a problem for the Lake .
Inconsistency has hurt North Wright County . Not just game-to-game but period-to-period . They
( SUN PHOTO BY JEREMY LAGOS )
Felling cut : St . Michael-Albertville senior forward Lucy Felling skates with the puck along the strongside boards in the attacking zone during North Wright County ’ s 3-0 win over Osseo / Park Center on Nov . 26 at Dick Vraa Arena . Felling had an assist in the game .
will play strong for stretches but will get caught on their heels from time to time . That combined with how many penalties they tend to take sometimes are their biggest issues .
They need to be stronger on their feet and on the mental side but that will happen with a young team . As they play deeper into the season those things can begin to even out .
Something that the RiverHawks always seem to have is strong goaltending . They return last year ’ s goaltending tandem in seniors Nicole Schumm and Katie Lemke . They began last year rotating before Lemke became the regular starter .
1 - Senior goaltender nicole schumm 2 - Freshman forward charlotte heckendorf 3 - Freshman forward taelyn tolifson 4 - Sophomore forward ella baetsen 5 - Junior forward alivia bame 6 - Senior forward lucy felling 7 - Sophomore forward piper peterson 8 - Sophomore defenseman lexi schumm 9 - Sophomore forward alexa larson 10 - Freshman forward kendall ringa 11 - Senior forward / defenseman ava pelowski 12 - Senior forward belle leland 13 - Senior forward / defenseman josie brill 14 - Senior forward roz landkammer 15 - Senior defenseman lauren weimer 16 - Sophomore defenseman stevie mae lawrance 17 - Sophomore defenseman paola hernandez 18 - Freshman forward brooke williams 19 - Junior forward madison moores 20 - Senior forward danika weiland 21 - Junior forward olivia geryol 22 - Junior defenseman samantha beck 23 - Junior forward / defenseman julia duchene 24 - Junior defenseman sophie labatt 25 - Junior forward ellie fischer 26 - Sophomore defenseman kylie jo lawrance 27 - Sophomore defenseman addison rowan 28 - Sophomore forward samantha nied 29 - Sophomore forward syren bystrom 30 - Senior goaltender katie lemke 31 - Junior forward lillie nelson 32 - Senior defenseman martha effertz 33 - Sophomore forward avarie metcalf 35 - Sophomore goaltender mckenna sale
This season they have rotated again and both have had success . Nicole Schumm made 15 saves
to shutout Minneapolis and Lemke stopped 16 shots to blank Osseo / Park Center .