BSU Women’s Hockey Preps for 3 Games in 4 Days; Fryklund Assists with U18 Team USA

It’s a busy week for Bemidji State women’s hockey as they begin the second half of their season by playing three games in four days.

The first is on New Year’s Day at the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum Face-Off Classic in Lakeville, MN, where they’ll battle the University of Minnesota. The Beavers will follow that with two more games on Friday and Saturday.

It’s an unconventional schedule to be sure, but it’s one they are prepared for.

“When you have three different teams that play three different styles, it’s more about how we’re going to play,” said Assistant Coach Emma Sobieck. “We’re going to have our video sessions for each of the teams. We’re going to focus it game by game, so [our players are] able to see kind of those little details, maybe to adjust between those games, but huge key for us is focusing on us, making sure [the players] are getting rest, recovery. And with no school, they’re able to do that a little bit more.”

“Throughout the whole season, we’ve been preparing for two games in a weekend. For sure, this’ll be more,” added freshman forward Autumn Cooper. “But I think we’ve done the conditioning and we’ve been working hard, having our Monday work days and our Tuesday work days, and I think we’re ready for this quick stretch and we’re really excited.”

The contest on Wednesday is not considered a conference game and therefore will not count toward the WCHA standings. Bemidji State will then take on Penn State on Friday and Brown on Saturday, with both games at Ridder Arena at the U of M and facing off at 1 p.m.

Head Coach Amber Fryklund was not at the women’s hockey press conference because she is currently with Team USA traveling to Vantaa, Finland for the Under-18 Women’s World Championships. The Beavers’ bench boss will serve as an assistant coach for a team that’s on a quest to win back-to-back gold medals. She will be joined by former BSU goaltender Mackenzie Bruch, who is serving as the teams goaltending coach.

The tournament runs January 4th-12th, so Bemidji State will play five games without Fryklund. Assistant coach Emma Sobieck will assume head coaching duties in her absence.