PREP GIRLS HOCKEY: Milbrath takes over reins of Trojan girls

WORTHINGTON — As a new coach, it is tough to know how your team is going to react to a change in leadership. So far, that has not been a problem for first year Worthington girls hockey coach Eric Milbrath.

“Everything has been going really well so far in my first season,” Milbrath said. “They have been learning a lot from me. It is a lot easier to teach them because they want to learn.”

Last season the Trojans finished third in the Southwest Conference behind Luverne and Marshall with a 4-3-1 record. Overall, Worthington was 4-14-1 and ended the season with a loss to Fairmont in the Class A Section 3 tournament quarterfinals.

Milbrath hopes to improve on last season’s record, but he will have to do it without the leadership and skills of Haley Rogers, Jo Jo Matthews, Corinne Oberloh, Mandi Vote, Taylor Heidebrink and Dorian Martinez. Newly named captains Kirsten Aljets, Morgan Johnson, Alivia Rowley and Shelby Veen will be called upon to pick up the slack and lead by example.

“We have four seniors and we both agreed they would all be captains on the team,” Milbrath said. “They have all played three to five years now and are leaders in school and on the ice. They have even been out there helping the new girls with their skating.”

This season, the Trojans will be fielding a team of 13 players, which means short shifts and conditioning become that much more important. Of those 13 players five are new to the team and four have limited experience in hockey. Given all those things, Milbrath knows hockey fundamentals will be more important than anything else for his young team.

“We have been conditioning in the first two weeks and then moved on to breakouts and transitions,” Milbrath said. “I couldn’t be more happy and proud of the kids and how they have performed. They have only gotten better.”

Navigating the Southwest Conference will be another challenge for Milbrath and the Trojans’ given how strong Marshall and Luverne have been in recent years.

“Luverne is a good and fast team,” Milbrath said. “They will be tough to beat. Windom is a small team, but they could be dangerous. Beating those teams will involve a lot of conditioning and making sure our average shifts are 30 to 40 seconds long.”

In net, Worthington will be looking for a solid season from junior goalie Amanda Bristow. Backing up Bristow is seventh- grader Bailey Kruse, who is out with an injury.

“Amanda will be our starter this year,” Milbrath said. “I hope there is a good goalie challenge between the two once Bailey is back. If one of them struggles I have no problem with making a change because I know that the rest of the girls are confident that whoever is in the will stop the puck.”

Even though it is tough to tell how the Trojans will perform this season, Milbrath doesn’t want to set the teams goals too high or too low.

“It is tough to say how we will do or to set any kind of goal for this team,” Milbrath said. “We will shoot for .500, but we have a tough conference, so I feel like that is a good starting goal for us.”

The Trojans’ next game is against Marshall on Nov. 27 in a double-header with the boys team also at home.

Daily Globe Reporter Jordan Willi

may be reached at 376-7335.

WORTHINGTON TROJANS

Coach: Eric Milbrath.

Experience: First season.

2011-12 Record: 4-14-1 overall; 4-3-1 Southwest Conference; 3-7-0 Section.

2012 Postseason: Lost to Fairmont in Class A Section 3 Tournament quarterfinal.

Players Graduated: Haley Rogers, Jo Jo Matthews, Corinne Oberloh, Mandi Vote, Taylor Heidebrink, Dorian Martinez.

Players Returning: Amanda Bristow, Sr., G; Shelby Veen, Sr., F; Alivia Rowley, Sr., D; Allison Kremer, So., D; Morgan Johnson, Sr., D; Betsy Thompson, So., F; Kirsten Aljets, Sr., F; Ashley Thompson, 8th, F.

New Players: Bailey Kruse, 7th, G; Maggie Graber, 8th, F; Allison Vote, Jr., F; Aleanna Heig, Jr., D; Tessa Machado, 7th, F.

Strenghts: The Trojans are returning a strong core of players with years of hockey experience. The four captains all have three to five years of experience and will lead by example. Bristow will should be solid in net as the returning goaltender and newcomer Kruse will lend a hand at backup, if Bristow faulters.

Weaknesses: Worthington only has 11 skaters and two goalies this season, so depth will be an issue. Of those 11 skaters, four are new to the sport and will have to advance quickly for the Trojans to find success. Worthington is also a very young team and a lack of experience could make it hard to win in close games.

Outlook: “It is tough to say where we will end up this year,” Milbrath said. “But we are shooting for finishing the season with at least a .500 record. We have a tough conference, so I feel like that is a good goal for us.”

Schedule

Nov. 16: vs. St. Peter/LeSueur/Henderson/Tri-City United, L, 8-3

Nov. 27: vs. Marshall

Nov. 29: vs. Luverne

Dec. 6: at Windom Area

Dec. 15: at Waseca

Dec. 18: vs. Fairmont

Dec. 27: at Schwan Cup, Blaine

Dec. 28: at Schwan Cup, Blaine

Dec. 29: at Schwan Cup, Blaine

Jan. 5: at Morris/Benson

Jan. 8: at Marshall

Jan. 10: at Fairmont

Jan. 19: vs. Morris/Benson

Jan. 22: vs. Windom

Jan. 26: vs. Waseca

Jan. 29: at Luverne

Jan. 31: at Windom

Feb. 4: at St. Peter/LeSueur/Henderson/Tri-City United

Feb. 8-14: vs. Section Tournament, TBA

Feb. 20-23: vs. State Tournament, TBA

LUVERNE CARDINALS

Coach: Nick Domagala.

Experience: First season.

2011-12 Record: 12-10-1 overall; 7-0-1 Southwest Conference; 6-2-1 Section.

2012 Postseason: Lost to Redwood Falls in Class A Section 3 Tournament championship.

Players Graduated: Lauren Christensen, Alice Anderssen, Abby Pierce, Jessica Calvin.

Players Returning: Kennedy Gonnerman, Fr. G; Samantha Priebe, 8th, F; Kristen Reisdorfer, Fr., F; Madisyn Dingman, Fr., F; Madilyn Oye, Fr., D; Ellen Dahl, Jr., D; Mace Walgrave, Fr., F; Katie Eeten, Sr., D; Makayla Sterrett, Fr., F; Hailey Sommers, Jr., F; Briana Erickson, Jr., D.

New Players: Madison Crabtree, 8th, F; Mariah Aukes, 8th, F; Morgan Hohn, 8th, F; Carly Serie, 8th, D; Monique Aanenson, 8th, F.

Strenghts: The Cardinals will be young and fast this season. Despite losing top its top scorer in Christensen, Luverne will not lack in scoring with both Dingmann and Sterrett back to put the puck in the net. The scoring ability and chemistry of the Cardinals’ top two lines will be keys to their success.

Weaknesses: Goaltending could be a weakness for Luverne with freshman goalie Gonnerman just in her second year at the position. The Cardinals’ defensive depth will also be tested this season with just two upper-class defensemen on the blueline.

Outlook: Luverne will be hungry to defend its Southwest Conference title this year from the likes of league runner-up Marshall.

Schedule

Nov. 15: at Windom Area, W, 12-2

Nov. 17: vs. St. Peter/LeSueur/Henderson/Tri-City United, W, 4-2

Nov. 27: vs. Fairmont

Nov. 29: at Worthington

Dec. 4: at Marshall

Dec. 13: vs. Windom Area

Dec. 15: vs. Morris/Benson

Dec. 21: vs. Marshall

Dec. 27: at Kasson-Mantorville Invitational

Dec. 28: at Kasson-Mantorville Invitational

Dec. 29: at Kasson-Mantorville Invitational

Jan. 4: vs. Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Wadena-Deer Creek

Jan. 8: at Fairmont

Jan. 18: vs. Watertown-Mayer

Jan. 25: at Morris/Benson

Jan. 26: at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Wadena-Deer Creek

Jan. 29: vs. Worthington

Jan. 31: at Windom

Feb. 2: at St. Peter/LeSueur/Henderson/Tri-City United

Feb. 8-14: vs. Section Tournament, TBA

Feb. 20-23: vs. State Tournament, TBA

WINDOM AREA EAGLES

Coach: Dean Drahota.

Experience: First season.

2011-12 Record: 0-20-0 overall; 0-8-0 Southwest Conference; 0-10-0 Section.

2012 Postseason: Lost to Marshall in Class A Section 3 Tournament quarterfinal.

Players Graduated: Amber Svoboda, Kylie Willard, Hailey Cory.

Players Returning: Elizabeth Schoenenberger, So., F; Katie Schoenenberger, Jr., F; Alexis Jellema-Baerg, Fr., D; Kaylee Rosenkranz, Fr., F; Angela Patterson, Jr., D; Annie Hanson, Fr., F; Arica Svoboda, Jr., F; Kaylee Jansen, Fr., D.

New Players: Emily Steen, 7th, G; Porsha Porath, 7th, D; Jolyssa Higley-Purrington, 7th, F; Faith Willard, 7th, F; Addison Beaty, 7th, F.

Strenghts: Experience will not be lacking for the Eagles with eight players returning from last year’s team. Of those returning players, five are forwards, which will give the Windom Area offense a much-needed boost. Seventh grade goalie, Steen, will give the Eagles an upgrade in net and could be a long-term answer.

Weaknesses: Last season, the Eagles spent too much time in their own zone, allowing opposing teams to average 50 shots-on-net per game. Another thing Windom Area needs to improve is its scoring depth. The Eagles only scored 12 goals last season and no returning skater has more than three goals in their career.

Outlook: “Our goals for the season are simple, improve every time we hit the ice and continue to work hard,” Eagles coach Dean Drahota said. “Success is on the horizon for this team, with continued effort and desire. I see us being a lot like the Worthington teams of a few years ago. They were young, did not win or score much, but continued to work hard and now they are paying the dividends with a very good team. Hopefully, we can follow that path and be a strong team by the end of the season and years to come.”

Schedule

Nov. 10: at Albert Lea, L, 0-13

Nov. 15: vs. Luverne, L, 2-12

Nov. 26: vs. Luverne

Nov. 29: vs. Marshall

Dec. 4: at St. Peter/LeSueur/Henderson/Tri-City United

Dec. 6: vs. Worthington

Dec. 8: vs. Morris/Benson

Dec. 13: at Luverne

Dec. 15: vs. Albert Lea

Dec. 20: at Fairmont

Dec. 27: at Waseca Invitational

Dec. 28: at Waseca Invitational

Dec. 29: at Waseca Invitational

Jan. 10: at Waseca

Jan. 12: at Morris/Benson

Jan. 15: at Marshall

Jan. 17: at Luverne

Jan. 19: vs. St. Peter/LeSueur/Henderson/Tri-City United

Jan. 22: at Worthington

Jan. 25: vs. Fairmont

Jan. 31: at Worthington

Feb. 2: at St. Peter/LeSueur/Henderson/Tri-City United

Feb. 8-14: vs. Section Tournament, TBA

Feb. 20-23: vs. State Tournament, TBA

Tags: sports, prep, hockey, luverne, girls, windom, trojans