Shari Dickerman has always aspired to be consistent.
As a goaltender at Minnesota State, she prided herself on never getting too high or low, and she has approached her coaching career the same way as an assistant at MSU over the last 16 years.
As she enters her first season as head coach of the MSU women’s hockey team, she wants her players to take on that personality, especially when adversity inevitably hits.
“Personally, I’m going to try to be consistent standing behind them … being a former goalie, I kind of am just that way,” Dickerman said. “Even if there’s chaos going on, I try not to let anyone else see it. As soon as other people see it and feel it, they come for you.”
Dickerman has a mature team that’s ready to embrace that approach.
MSU returns almost its entire roster following the retirement of John Harrington, and Dickerman’s promotion. Only two players departed via graduation and one left through the transfer portal.
That lack of turnover is unheard of in the current era of college athletics, especially amid a coaching change.
“I think it was a very fluid transition. It wasn’t unexpected, we all had a little bit of an understanding that we were going to get a coaching change,” MSU fifth-year senior Jamie Nelson said. “It was best-case scenario that Shari was able to just step up.
“I think it’s just our personalities and relationships off the ice that everyone wanted to stay.”
Sydney Langseth (15-17—32) and Nelson (20-10—30) were MSU’s top scorers last season, and both decided to return for a fifth season. Forwards Whitney Tuttle (10-16—26) and Taylor Otremba (8-14—22) ranked third and fourth on MSU in points last season, respectively, and are also back. Those four accounted for 43.4% of MSU’s points last season.
Other key returning forwards include Claire Vekich, Alexis Paddington, Madison Mashuga, Kamryn Van Batavia and MacKenzie Bourgerie.
MSU got off to a rough offensive start in conference games last season, only scoring five goals in their first eight. The Mavericks did much better following the slow start and there’s a confidence that will carry over into this season.
“Shari is preaching ‘attack, attack, attack.’ We don’t want to be sitting back in the neutral zone, we want to go straight to the net,” Nelson said. “Force the other team to make mistakes and just get pucks on net.”
The D corps loses captain Charlotte Akervik, but everyone else is back.
Defenders JuliAnna Gazdik, Lilie Ramirez, Jenessa Gazdik, Kianna Roeske, Shelbi Guttormson and Jayden Seifert only missed six of MSU’s games combined and will be anchors in the lineup.
In goal, Suzette Faucher and Hailey Hansen return, while Jessie McPherson joins the program as a graduate transfer. Hansen started 14 games last season, while Faucher started 13. Dickerman said there isn’t a clear starter heading into the season.
Guttormson, an alternate captain, has liked what she’s seen in practice, and feels all the returners are fighting hard to push up the depth chart.
“The compete level is way higher than I think it has been in the past,” Guttormson said. “Playing at a higher speed in practice is going to relate to the games.”
Dickerman knows the top-half of the WCHA is as daunting as ever, but feels the Mavericks should still aim high.
At WCHA media day, she suggested a goal of hosting a WCHA quarterfinals series, which means the Mavericks would have to finish top-four in the conference standings.
Coming off a sixth-place finish that included eight one-goal losses in conference games, the players are also confident the team can make a jump.
“An undeniable belief in each other will get us far, we have the skill,” Nelson said. “Last year we lost so many one-goal games that could’ve went the other way. I think the difference could just be a belief … I think we have that this year.”
Added Guttormson: “We’re working every day to make sure those one-goal, two-goal games are in our favor.”
The Mavericks open the season with a nonconference game against LIU at 6 p.m. Friday at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
Follow Kevin Dudley on X @Dudley7Kevin.