Playoff bound though it is, as it heads into the final weekend of the WCHA regular season, St. Cloud State isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going anywhere.<\/p>\n
They ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t movin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 up and they ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t movin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 down.<\/p>\n
They are staying right there in fourth place behind that trio of juggernauts, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Duluth.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I keep telling our kids,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said St. Cloud coach Jeff Giesen, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in fourth place, but we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in fourth place behind the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 team in the country. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a bad place to be.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think for a second, then, that the Huskies\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 momentary lack of mobility (upward or downward) will lull them into any lackluster effort during these final two games. Not with the No. 1 team in the land, Minnesota, on the docket for a home-and-home series.<\/p>\n
Indeed, this weekend St. Cloud has nothing to lose, and everything to play for.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think playing the Gophers going into the playoffs,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Giesen, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153is going to be an advantage for us. Regardless of the outcome. Because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to make us perform at a higher level, and a higher speed. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re hoping that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to help.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Coaches crave consistency over all else, preferring a flat line hum over a white-knuckle roller coaster ride any day.<\/p>\n
Right now, the Huskies aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t playing consistently well enough to suit Giesen.
\nHe cited a 4-3 win at Duluth one weekend, followed the next by a tie and loss to lesser light Minnesota State as examples of his team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lack of reliability.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re still looking for that high level,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The consistency thing hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been there for us. (Not) for the last four or six games, either.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Of course, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s difficult to get traction when you are playing \u00e2\u20ac\u0153the Big Three\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a dozen times collectively each season. The eight Frozen Four titles those schools have amassed among them stems from something called \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a culture of winning.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
That culture is something Giesen, now in his third season as bench boss, is trying hard to install and instill.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been a longer process than we thought (it would be),\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s our goal. Higher expectations, and then finding players with those same expectations.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Giesen said that such a culture is made up of four distinct qualities. The \u00e2\u20ac\u0153team\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, preparation, academics, and the recruiting of players with the passion to play.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a matter of changing expectations,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not going to expect to be in the top, then you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re probably not going to be.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
When it comes to players with passion, Giesen thinks of diminutive junior defenseman Danielle Hirsch as passion personified.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no question,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Giesen said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153She brings it every day. For being five-foot-nothing, she can play a physical game. She skates well, does a lot of the little things, and has a great attitude. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happy as a lark to be at the rink every day.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Hirsch actually stands 5-foot-2, and is the freshly minted team record holder for assists by a defenseman — 18 of them and counting.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a really good skater,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Giesen, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153and really handles the puck well. She actually can shoot the puck pretty well, too. But she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be the first to admit that it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t show by the amount of goals she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s scored (just three in three seasons) over her career.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
Giesen and his staff have been busy recruiting more players of Hirsch\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ilk. They may have found a good one in forward Alex Nelson, who will enroll at St. Cloud this fall.<\/p>\n
Nelson is one of five finalists for the Ms. Hockey Award, presented each anum to the top female high school senior player in Minnesota. Nelson, who plays for Andover High, scored an eye-popping 109 goals (and 101 assists) in her first three seasons. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Playoff bound though it is, as it heads into the final weekend of the WCHA regular season, St. Cloud State isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going anywhere. They ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t movin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 up and they ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t movin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 down. They are staying right there in fourth place behind that trio of juggernauts, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Duluth. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I keep telling our kids,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n