There aren't many teams that begin their season with the toughest game of the year, but that's exactly what the women's ice hockey club is doing this year. Tonight the club will face Maryland, a major division rival, at 9:30 p.m. at the Charlottesville Ice Park on the Downtown Mall.
Opening the season versus Maryland is akin to the Florida State football team beginning the season versus Miami. Last year Virginia defeated Maryland in the championship game of the conference playoffs. Maryland was leading Virginia by three goals in the game, but Virginia came back with five unanswered goals to take the championship. It was an elating victory for the club and at the same time a demoralizing defeat for Maryland. The importance and magnitude of tonight's game cannot be overstated.
"It's our first game and will set the tone for the whole season," junior Liz Connor said. "When we beat Maryland last year we came back from a three goal deficit. Now it's seven months later and Maryland has had some time to think about it. There's going to be a lot of the same intensity that was present in the championship game last year."
The women's ice hockey club comes into this season with a question familiar to most collegiate teams: Who is going to step up and lead the team? The club suffered several key losses and is looking for some team members to step up and replace key departed veterans.
"We lost three players last year, including our top goal scorer," Connor said. "But we've added some great rookies and I think they will do a lot offensively and defensively."
Despite the club's losses, team members expect results similar to last year's successful season. The club has added 10 new players and is eager to get them some exposure. The new players start with much acclaim and the addition of so many new players is unprecedented for the team.
"We've been practicing since classes started, from day one," Connor said. "We have been working on integrating a lot of our new players. We have made a lot of changes on offense and defense that I think have made us a lot stronger than in years past."
The Maryland game is one of the most important games of the season not only because both teams met in the championship game last year but because both teams are in the same conference. Virginia and Maryland participate in the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference (DVCHC) and Maryland won the regular season conference championship last year. The Cavaliers were able to upset the favored Terrapins in the championship game.
If they perform well against Maryland, "it would show that last year wasn't a fluke," junior Lauren Holt said. A victory "would set the tone for the entire season. It would be incredibly heartening to beat Maryland."
There is no doubt that the Terrapins will be coming to Charlottesville with revenge on their minds. Friday's game is going to be an extremely close, competitive and exciting game.
"We've been playing up" the revenge factor, Holt said. "It was a dramatic game and they're definitely going to be gunning for us. We're anticipating and actually hoping for that because it would add to the intensity of the game."
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