Lions look to show growth in non-conference weekend at home
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HANCOCK -- After a tough weekend on the road, the Finlandia Lions women's hockey team returns home this weekend, excited to officially hit the ice at the Houghton County Arena for a pair of games against the Concordia-Moorhead Cobbers.
The Lions enter the weekend having learned a lot about themselves last weekend, when they were clobbered 11-1 and 5-2 over the course of the two-game series.
Friday night, Jayde Pederson picked up the only goal for the Lions, coming just 6:10 into the contest.
From there, the St. Catherine Wildcats scored nine more times in the contest.
For the Lions, the final score was a bit of a learning experience. The Wildcats had come into Friday's contest fresh off a win over then-No. 2 Gustavus Adolphus in exhibition play.
"I don't know if they tied them, or if they beat them, but that Tuesday night, (they) went out and played a really good game against Gustavus Adolphus, who is the No. 2-ranked team in the country right now," said coach Mike Kuruc.
"You go down there, and you decide to abandon any semblance of systems or anything like that, and it gets a little tough."
The loss was a wake-up call for everyone involved.
"I think that it was it," he said. "We needed it. I think that we were riding a little bit too high off of maybe the success (the team) had last year, not really having any adversity so far in the season. Then you get beat 11-1, and you give up 67 shots. It really does kind of change your perspective on the outcome of your season.
"I think that night one was, most people wouldn't say that that's a really good experience, but I think we gained a lot out of it."
In the hotel overnight, several players met with Kuruc, who had a chance to get a sense of just where the team's morale was.
"We had a lot of conversations Friday night," he said. "I think facing that adversity Friday night was good, as we talked about.
"We had a lot of conversations Friday night, whether that be myself and our captains, myself and our leadership group, anybody that wanted to come and have a conversation with me. I sat in the lobby of the hotel for a very long time and had conversations with a lot of people. We were on a clear page going into Day Two."
Despite the score, Kuruc felt there was much to learn from the experience.
"I don't think the effort level was bad," he said. "I think that there's a lot of other factors that go into that. I think that we just had a lot of confusion in the (defensive) zone. We were bad in transition. We were bad off the rush. But, I don't think the effort level was bad. I think everybody competed hard."
The message appeared to be well-received by the players, because the Lions went out and lost 5-2 on Saturday in a game that without a pair of mistakes, could have been a one-goal contest. Breanna Bisek and captain Aspen Wallin scored in the contest.
"Realistically, if you look at Day Two, they scored a goal off of a horrible change, which led to a 4-on-1, which is horrible," said Kuruc. "We took a bad penalty, made a mistake in the top of the (penalty kill). I would probably say that there were a couple that other small mistakes could have made up for. Even with just those two, it's a one-goal hockey game against a team that went out and beat you by 10 goals the night before."
The effort level throughout the weekend was something that Kuruc made sure to emphasize with the team after the weekend ended.
"St. Kate's has a fantastic hockey team," he said. "I think that they're going to do some great things, but I think that that was a learning experience for us. Going into this weekend, I think we're gonna have a really good chance, if we can bring that effort level back in our own barn."
Scouting the Cobbers
This weekend, the Lions are home for their first two games of the Kuruc era. They host the Concordia-Moorhead Cobbers in a non-conference weekend.
The Cobbers come into the weekend having defeated Northland College on Saturday, 2-1, in overtime.
Ellie Brewer scored the game's opening goal 4:32 into the contest before the Lumberjills evened things 5:06 into the middle frame.
Grace Doerring scored the game-winning tally 2:39 into overtime.
"I think that we're pretty comparable teams at this point," said Kuruc. "I think they have a lot of skill, but I think that we're going to be able to use our speed, and attack the outside of the rink to open up some lanes in the middle that are really going to be advantageous for us.
"I think, 5-on-5, we're going to have a really good chance of this, as long as we stay structured, and we block some shots."
Game times
Opening faceoff Friday night between the Lions and Cobbers will be at 7:15 p.m. Friday night at the Houghton County Arena. Saturday's contest is set to start at 4 p.m.