With four new players and six freshmen, the girls hockey team is dealing with some younger talent this year. With only one returning senior, the girls are feeling the pressure to step up.

“It’s a lot different because we relied on the seniors a lot last year, and now we all have to step up and fill their shoes,” said sophomore Megan Engebretson.

Juniors Riley Emerson and Destiny Muir have stepped up to fill roles as team captain, taking over for two-year captains and ’13 grads Riley Smith, Anissa Flick and Natasha Hizer.

“There is not as much individual talent, so everyone will need to step up. We all have to just put our talent together,” said Muir.

The team is hopeful that even though they are juniors, the girls will step up and fill the role of captains well. The captains are specifically expected to lead by example, attitudes and effort at practice.

“They are just getting used to it. They are still feeling out the captain roles, but it’s not about age at all. It’s more about leaderships,” said Engebretson.

With the start of the season barely behind them, the girls have already run into some challenges. Senior goalie, Miranda Jessie is unsure if she will be playing this year. The team is trying to find other girls to fill the net if she doesn’t return.

But not only are the girls unsure of their goalie status, they are also dealing with some tension on and off the ice.

“As captains I feel like we don’t get a lot of respect. People put a lot of pressure on us to fix the drama, which is not possible,” said Emerson.

Despite the tension, the girls are staying positive and plan on doing more team building exercises throughout the season. Last year, the girls had a team sleepover at the arena, and most of the players are looking forward to doing something like that again.

“We are happy with our team, and are growing close, like a second family,” said Engebretson.

With such a young team, the girls know they have a challenging season ahead.

“I think it’s definitely an improvement year, it’s mostly just a training season for next year. The scores might not necessarily reflect our efforts this year,” said Engebretson.

2012 grad Lydia Cloud, who now plays for Marian University, was the girls lead scorer last year with 46 goals in 22 games. Even though the team has lost some talented players like Lydia, it seems to have benefited some of the skaters.

“A lot of the girls have blossomed into great hockey players now that it’s their turn. They can’t watch Lydia take the puck down the ice and score. They have to take it and score themselves,” said girls hockey coach Steve Mickelson.

New talent is filling in the gaps. Every sophomore on team has at least one goal this season. Kacie Suchanek and Miranda Hizer have two a piece.

“I know we have a lot of new talent, but everyone is willing to step up which makes it easier,” said Muir. “We all just have to come together and be a team.”

Mickelson said that the girls’ attitudes have been good and practices have been fun. He and the team are ready to handle the adversity that this season will throw at them.

“What to expect is different. We have girls playing different positions trying to find the right fit that makes us most affective,” said Mickelson.