Ready to go

By PAUL DUNLAP

Journal Sports Editor

NEW ULM -- The New Ulm High girls hockey team has been waiting for this day since February.

Now, the Eagles must wait a little longer.

Tonight's game against Hutchinson, slated for 7 p.m. at Vogel Arena, was postponed until January due to a scheduling conflict at Hutch. New Ulm must now wait until Thursday to open the 2000-01 season, hosting Willmar at 7 p.m.

A few extra days to organize doesn't bother coach Todd Nelson.

"I'm anxious to see what we are capable of," he said, "but at the same time having a couple of extra days for the team to get used to each other is beneficial as well. We face Hutch and Willmar just once a year, and a loss means that we would be dropped to the bottom of the section (seedings). It's nice that we don't have to face both of those teams right away."

Gone are such players as center Shelly Gramentz and goaltender Angie Weisensel, two key contributors to the 1999-2000 campaign.

"What will be missed is the bond that (departed seniors) had on this team," Nelson said. "So far, things have been going real well for us; the teams seems to be jelling well."

The upcoming season has Nelson a little excited.

"This year is going to be pretty great, I think," he said. "We scrimmaged Marshall on Saturday, and even though scores weren't really kept track of we won the game by a score of about 15-1."

Which may be a sign of things to come.

"For the first time in this program, we have three full lines of equal strength," Nelson said. "We've spread some people around, and we have much more speed and depth than we've had in the past. Things seem to be going in the right direction."

Replacing Weisensel between the pipes will be Jenny Neveln and Shannon Abel.

"We're once again fortunate to have two goalies that can play," Nelson said. "Jenny will probably begin the season for us because she has some varsity experience, but Shannon has looked real good out of the blocks and will definitely see some playing time this year."

The young Eagles should be led by senior co-captains Abby Johnson and Caitlin Nelson as well as sophomore sniper Ashley Dietz, but Nelson warns that "all the girls are going to contribute in the scoring for us.

"Last year was a big stepping stone for us scoring-wise, and this season we are going to be strong defensively as well as strong offensively."

That combination should push the Eagles to their second straight South Central Conference title, a title that Nelson wants to win outright this season. That's not all the goals set for this squad, according to Nelson.

"We want to win our conference, win our section, and go to state (tournament)," he said. "Those are some lofty goals, but I think if we stay healthy we'll have a great shot at it this season."

That's a big concern -- staying healthy.

"We've had a few injuries," Nelson said. "Plus another worry could come if the girls don't get along. That hasn't been a problem at all so far."

Last year's goal was a .500 record for the season. That won't be this season's goal.

"Despite some bumps in the road, I believe we shouldn't have a problem winning every game we play," Nelson said. "I would say our goal this year is to win 75 or 80 percent of our games, which we can do."

No matter what, it should be exciting.

"This year should be a breakthrough year for us," Nelson said. "With the personnel we have, everything should be in place."