The Blazer Hockey team suffered defeat last weekend as the University of Hamline swept the Blazers in two nail-biting games, putting the team on a three game skid. After tying the nationally ranked Concordia Cobbers (9th) the previous weekend, the Blazers went into the weekend confident against Hamline.
On Friday Jan. 28, the Blazers lost at Hamline with a score of 1-2. Frequent visits to the penalty box handicapped the Blazers from going deep into the offensive zone. Junior Defender Catherine Pollock felt the team was sluggish compared to normal.
“We played slower and struggled with playing at our level,” Pollock said.
Senior Forward Kerri Graske had the team’s only goal of the night.
“Maybe it was mental,” Graske said. “After our great performance against Concordia, we didn’t let Hamline play with us. We needed to play our game.”
The Blazers hosted Saturday’s game against Hamline at Torrey arena in St. Cloud, aiming to split the series. The Blazers fell short losing 3-4 despite an exciting game exhibiting lots of offense. Pollock broke the 1-1 tie giving St. Ben’s a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period. Hamline stormed back tying the game at three, and scoring the go-ahead-goal in the final minutes.
“We were close and obviously dominating the game. We fore checked well and got our goals, something we struggled with the night before,” Graske said. “We lacked in the defensive zone and Hamline capitalized on our mistakes,” Graske said. “We need to learn to play with a lead.”
The Blazers have often struggled maintaining leads this season.
“We went into (Hamline) with the hopes that we could win,” Pollock said. “We came down from Concordia realizing that we were a good team and expected to win. The pressure of winning both games against Hamline made us struggle. Sometimes the pressure factor is crippling.”
The players are not the only ones facing the pressures of winning, Head Coach Jennifer Kranz wants to be successful in her first season.
“Any time after you have a big weekend against an opponent that you are outmatched by, it is easy to sit back and rest,” Kranz said. “We can just show up and things will happen. We took it for granted and got away from the basic elements that make us successful,”
The Blazers will face St. Mary’s in a double header this weekend.
“Hamline helped us put things into perspective,” Kranz said. “We need to show up to the rink and work hard Monday through Thursday so that high level performance and execution become second nature. We need to set the tone from the first drop off the puck to the final buzzer in the third period.”
If the Blazers hope to be successful on the ice, they need to implement what they do during practice on gameday. Playing with a high level of intensity will be key.
The Blazers will end their MIAC season with games against St. Olaf, Bethel and Gustavus.
“In these last few games, I want our team to perform like we did against Concordia,” Pollock said. “(We) want to show that we were not a one hit wonder, but can continue to perform well against other teams.”