For Roseville Girls Hockey Team, Will The Puck Stop With State Tourney Title?

From the first faceoff this season, Roseville High School girls hockey coach Vic Brodt knew he had an exceptional team.

"The goal at the beginning of the season was to win state," Brodt said, a target that seemed realistic after his team's solid play after its first five or six games.

Oh, and don't forget his team won the state title in 2010 and narrowly missed returning to state last year. And that 2010 team? Eight players from that squad were back again this season. 

"Expectations have been high," the coach admitted. But after a 24-2-2 record, the Roseville Raiders are now back in the State Class AA tournament with a shot of going all the way. "We're excited," he said. 

Roseville is scheduled to play its opening round game later this morning against Grand Rapids/Greenway at the Xcel Center in downtown St. Paul. That's a team that Roseville beat 7-0 in its first game of the season.

But Brodt said he and his players are not taking the first-round pairing lightly. "The score was not indicative of the close play," he said, noting that Roseville scored a couple of short-handed goals in that early season contest against the Grand Rapids squad that broke its resolve. 

"I expect it (Thursday's state tournament game) to be much closer this go around," Brodt said.

Lee Stecklein, a Roseville senior who plays defense, agreed. "I am hoping that we make it to the state championship game," she said. "But we can't ignore any of the steps along the way. We need to work every step and can't under estimate anyone."

Still given the strength of Roseville, Brodt said he and his team's hope to win the state championship is not unrealistic. He said the strength of his team is its disciplined defense that permits the opposition few quality shots on goal. In 28 games this season, Roseville shut out its opponents 13 times. 

Besides Grand Rapids, teams in the upper tournament bracket with Roseville include Mounds View and Edina. This season, Roseville also beated Mounds View and tied Edina.

Roseville is seeded second in the state tournament, trailing only to Minnetonka. Roseville lost to Minnetonka during winter break in December. But Brodt noted that occurred when two of his team's star players, Stecklein and Kate Flug, were gone for five games  to play on the under 18 USA girls' hockey team which competed in the Czech Republic.  

Whatever the hype, Brodt said his team is approaching the state tournament as "business as usual. This a a bigger stage. But we have to play our game. If we work hard, i think it will take care of itself."

That is something that Roseville has done in the past with the girls hockey team winning the state tournament in 1996, 1999 and 2010. 

"It should be a good tournament," he said. "We are looking forward to the challenge."