Sports
Roseville Raiders Girls Hockey Team Hungry For Return To State
Raiders have six seniors from 2010 championship team that will look for one more title.
Roseville Raiders girls hockey players will enter this season about 21 months removed from their 2010 state championship, and they are hungry for more.
“This team resembles a lot of 2010,” Raiders coach Vic Brodt said. “We had several seniors that lost to Stillwater in the section finals the year before.”
The 2011-2012 edition of the Raiders has a group of eleven seniors that saw their season end last year in the sectional finals against Hill-Murray, 4-3. It ended a season where the Raiders won the Suburban East Conference with a 15-3 record while defending their state title.
Find out what's happening in Rosevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“Sometimes you have to lose before you can win,” Brodt said.
To win, the Raiders will have their hands full with a powerful SEC. Last year, the Raiders edged Stillwater and White Bear Lake for the title, and Brodt anticipates those teams being as good as ever this season.
Find out what's happening in Rosevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
He also believes that Cretin-Derham Hall and Park of Cottage Grove will be up-and-coming teams in the SEC this season.
“It's a tough conference,” Brodt said. “The SEC has produced two of the last three state champions.”
Stillwater won it in 2009 and will enter the season ranked No. 9 in the Let's Play Hockey preseason Class AA coaches poll. The Raiders have the No. 4 ranking.
Highly ranked teams also fill spots on the Raiders non-conference slate. They will play No. 3-ranked Edina on Dec. 13, a rematch of the 2010 title game. The Raiders will also see ranked teams at the Kaposia Classic Tournament in late December, which will feature six ranked teams.
Though the Raiders will have a tough schedule, they have plenty of talent. Senior defensemen Lexi Slattery, Lee Stecklein and Paige Jahnke will play NCAA Division I hockey after graduation. Goaltender and senior Erika Allen has minded the net for the Raiders since her eighth grade year, and she helped the 2009-2010 team win state. Senor forwards Hanna Brodt, Katherine Pauletti and Sarah Hill also give the Raiders offensive power.
“We can come at teams from all directions,” coach Brodt said.
The Raiders opened their season in Grand Rapids on Friday. The Lightning reached the Section 7 finals last year and lost to Forest Lake. Last year, the Raiders needed overtime to beat the Lightning 3-2.
“It's a good early-season trip for our girls to bond,” coach Brodt said. “Grand Rapids is a pretty solid team.”
