Mar 11, 2012 11:13:26 - by Zuzana Tomcikova
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Last Blog
It has taken me a while to reflect on the whole season and when I look at the big picture basically on my whole career at BSU.

Right after the last playoff game I had trouble even thinking about the games without crying. I guess that is how it works when you are a girl, and you lose in a game that you put all your heart into.

Our last series wasn't maybe the best hockey we played during the year, but as I said earlier all you can ask for it to play your heart out. I think our whole team did that. The second game was filled of passion and you could tell how much we wanted it. Unfortunately, maybe that made us a little nervous and unable to score.

Looking back now, on my whole career here at BSU, I am proud to say that I played with a wonderful group of women. No matter what class I pick that came before me, laid a path on how we wish this team to perform, act and treat other people. We are classy and treat other people with respect. I think anyone who meets our hockey team has only good things to say and I'm happy that I've been fortunate to be a part of that for four years. I hope our class of 2012 will be a good example for the younger girls that are and will be involved in our program.

I can't believe how fast the four years have gone. I think each one of the seniors has memories that we will treasure forever, but most importantly we formed friendships that will last after college.

I want to thank all the supporters that we have, I can say on behalf of all the girls that we really appreciate all you do for us.  Personally I want to thank all the parents. You really made me feel like I had family here every weekend too.

I know I said it already, but I have to say it as I finish off my last blog, I was really lucky to be a part of this team.  I want to thank all of my teammates of all four years for such an amazing experience. Love you all!!!!

--Z--



Feb 20, 2012 01:56:55 - by Zuzana Tomcikova
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Final Regular Season Series
We traveled down to St. Cloud to finish off our regular season. Even though we knew before the weekend that we will be seeing UND in the playoff series, we wanted to get two wins on our record and gain confidence in our game.

One of the big things this year for us was not being able to perform well on Friday night. I think we only won against Maine, St. Cloud and Robert Morris on Friday so far this year. Performing well on the first night will be a key in the playoffs, so we wanted to start it against St. Cloud. We didn't play great on Friday, but we found a way to win, and beat the Huskies 3:2.

Saturday was another story, even though we had a slower start again, our power play was outstanding and scored 4 goals in the first period and then added another in the second. We were playing well and enjoying the game. The final score was 6:1 and I think we couldn't be happier about the result of the last game in regular season.

This upcoming weekend we will head to Grand Forks for a rematch of last year's playoffs. I'm sure all of us will play our hearts out. I can't wait for Friday to step on the ice.

--Z--




Feb 12, 2012 10:26:07 - by Zuzana Tomcikova
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Senior Weekend
I can't believe it's been four years since I first stepped on the Bemidji campus. I remember Heather (Farrell) picking me up from the airport. She was 15 minutes late and I didn't have a phone, so I had no clue if she forgot about me and how to get a hold of her. I remember that day as if it was yesterday. Sometimes I think it was years ago, thinking of how comfortable I got here, and how I know my ways around here. And other days it seems like it was yesterday. Anyway, I think that's enough nostalgia for now.

The series against Duluth was for us seniors our last two games at home. It's hard to believe that we won't be stepping on the ice for a game in the Sanford Center anymore. It was a bitter sweet feeling after beating the bulldogs 2:0 on Saturday afternoon. It felt great to win and have our families there, but knowing that we were done in this place was sad.

Anyway, I am grateful that I am a part of such a great senior class as ours. I love all of you girls very much. Just because it was 'Senior Weekend' doesn't mean that our season is over soon. I think all of us are ready to play our hearts out in the upcoming weeks to make our last season unforgettable.

--Z--



Feb 6, 2012 04:29:46 - by Zuzana Tomcikova
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Grand Forks Weekend
I don't even know what to write about this past weekend. I've been thinking back at both of those games and I am at a loss for words.

Last week we were all ready to be done with losing, and wanted to get a few points in our league again. We had been playing really good against Minnesota and Wisconsin, but we didn't bring our "A" game to either of the games this weekend. It is hard to explain way, or if there even is an explanation, but I think we are all disappointed with the outcome.

We have to look forward to our last two regular season series and get wins out of them. Not only because of the points, but to get our confidence back. Saying that, I don't know where the season went, it feels like yesterday when we were playing Providence, and on Saturday we will play our last game at the Sanford Center. I hope we can send ourselves off with a great weekend.

We have Duluth coming in, and they are a talented team, but so are we. Hopefully we can end this losing streak on Friday and get some happy thoughts again. :)

--Z--



Jan 30, 2012 01:46:10 - by Zuzana Tomcikova
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Fill the Bowl
Traveling down to Wisconsin was a long ride. I don't know exactly how much time it took us, but it felt like forever.

On our way down we stopped in Eau Claire to eat. I think the little café was called Smiling Moose. Their food was amazing and the way it was designed and decorated just made you feel cozy. Anyway, after we got down to Madison we practiced at Wisconsin's practice rink because Kohl center was hosting a men's basketball game. We peeked in before the game started and watched the teams warm up for a little bit. I wish we could have stayed for the game.

Anyway, we had a great weekend of hockey again. Unfortunately we didn't bring any points home. We played well, and it really hurts to lose both games by a single goal. Sometimes you just wish you would get blown away than to lose like that after a well played game.

On Saturday it was the "Fill the Bowl Game," and we had over 12,000 people in the stands. Of course they weren't our fans, but it was still fun to play in front of that many people and to experience the atmosphere. I wish we would get that many people to all of our games.

--Z--




Jan 23, 2012 10:10:11 - by Zuzana Tomcikova
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Weekend in Minneapolis
Playing the Gophers this past weekend was a very emotional time. A tragedy had happened earlier this week; Nicole Anderson, a wonderful young lady unexpectedly passed away at the age of 23. Her younger sister Stephanie plays for the Gophers, and she showed huge courage and strength this weekend. Nicole was also our friend; she went through the nursing program at BSU and became a friend of ours thanks to our former teammate Lexy Parenteau, who was her cousin.  Nicole's sister played great in both of the games, and it was great to see the number of people who showed their support. There were a lot of signs and words of encouragement in the rink. It was a great display of how close the hockey community is, and how supportive people are of each other.

The games this weekend were played in front of a great crowd. A lot of people showed up, and I think it was the best weekend of Beaver hockey so far this season. We were toe to toe with the no. 2 team in the country.

It was great to see some of the alums in the stands or even their parents. It feels wonderful to know how people care and enjoy watching us play.

Next weekend we are on the road again. We will be taking the bus down to Madison, so I'm hoping the girls bring some good movies on the bus so the never ending ride will go by faster.

--Z--



Jan 16, 2012 09:50:56 - by Zuzana Tomcikova
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Buckeyes at the Sanford Center
After coming up from the split series with the Mavericks, we were preparing for Ohio State coming to our rink. We didn't do very well in our first series of the season, taking home only one point out of the whole weekend. We wanted to improve and get a sweep.

Unfortunately, we didn't break the spell of not playing well on Friday. We haven't played that great, and Ohio won the Friday game 5:3. We were a little slow and gave Ohio way too many chances to score. We were pretty upset with ourselves after the game, knowing that we lost very important points in the standings. Before the weekend started the buckeyes were a point ahead of us, standing in 5th place. In that matter the series was very crucial. If a team would get a sweep they would separate themselves from the bottom.

Having lost the game on Friday, we didn't want to be that team who did great the first half, and then would just fade away and be in the bottom half. We started out great on Saturday, scored quick two goals in the first period, and set the pace during the whole game. We were able to keep Ohio away during the whole game, not giving them much of a whiff of the game.

We have hard schedule ahead of us. We are on the road for the next three weeks, and we need to come up with some points out of these games.

--Z--




Jan 8, 2012 08:56:31 - by Zuzana Tomcikova
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Maverick Weekend
Our first series in the New Year featured the Minnesota State Mavericks. It was great to have just hockey to worry about the whole week, since classes haven't started back yet. The week of practice was very energetic, and we were looking forward to the games with Mankato.

The Mavericks play a similar style of hockey as we do. They have energy, they battle hard, and they don't give up no matter what the score is.

On Friday we started out good. We had good chances, but we weren't able to put more than one puck into the net. We were leading 1:0 after two periods, but somehow the Mavs were able to take the game away from us in the third in a matter of 20 seconds. They scored two quick goals and walked away with three points. After the game no one was happy about it, you could tell by the quietness in the locker room. We knew that we lost 3 points which we needed in the standings.

Walking to the rink on Saturday, we knew we had to improve our game and take the remaining 3 points from the series. We started out slow. The first period wasn't what we imagined it to be, but after our talk in the locker room about how we could improve as a team, we took the momentum away from Mankato. We played great in the second and third periods scoring 2 goals in each of them. After the final buzzer the score was 4:0 and we were pleased with the outcome of the game.

There are a lot of things that we need to improve on before the end of the season, but right now we need to concentrate on playing the Buckeyes next weekend as they come to our building.



Jan 1, 2012 10:14:27 - by Zuzana Tomcikova
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Robert Morris Weekend

To finish off the 2011 we traveled to Pittsburgh to play theRobert Morris Colonials. Our trip started earlier than usual. For most awaytrips we leave on Thursday, but this time we went down to Minneapolis on aWednesday, and stayed a night. We had four to a room, so it was one big slumberparty :) We arrived in Pittsburgh on Thursday, practiced at the RMU Island Sport Centerand then headed to check in to the hotel.

Friday started off a little hectic, since we had to go backto the rink and pack up our gear, go back to the hotel for pregame meal and thenhead downtown, because we were playing at the Consol Energy Center, the home ofthe Pittsburg Penguins.  It was a greatexperience for us to play in such a great facility.

Saturday's game was back in the RMU home rink, the game wassimilar to Friday's. We had a lot of attempts but we weren't able tocapitalize. It was noticeable that we haven't played in two weeks. Luckily forus, we were able to win both nights, 3:2.

As a tradition of winning on the road, we got to go to Cold Stonefor ice cream. That's a great way to finish the year off!

--Z--

Dec 12, 2011 06:08:49 - by Zuzana Tomcikova
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Last Hockey Series Before Christmas Break
Finishing our first half of the season, we were hosting Wisconsin at the Sanford center. I think we had a good week of preparation; we worked hard in practice and really looked forward to play a tough team like Wisconsin.

Friday night, we played hard and disciplined in our end. And even though we gave up a lot of shots, we played well. We were able to score the first goal of the game, but unfortunately we took a few penalties in the second period and gave up two goals, which cost us the game.  Even though we played great in the third and out shot the Badgers, they were able to score an empty net goal to confirm their win.

Saturday, we wanted to come out hard and get some points from Wisconsin. We wanted to continue how we finished on Friday, but unfortunately it didn't happen. We gave up three goals in the first period, and it's hard to turn the game around with such a skilled team. Even though we fought till the end, we weren't able to steal points from them.

It was a sad way to finish the first half like that, because I definitely thought we deserved better than to get swept.

But if I look back on the first half of the season, I think we got some things accomplished for us. We just need to continue work hard and get points every weekend.

So with that, I hope everyone has a great Christmas break, and I will be back with another post after the New Year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

--Z--




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All Blog Entries

Last Blog
Final Regular Season Series
Senior Weekend
Grand Forks Weekend
Fill the Bowl
Weekend in Minneapolis
Buckeyes at the Sanford Center
Maverick Weekend
Robert Morris Weekend
Last Hockey Series Before Christmas Break
Fighting Sioux Weekend
Weekend in Duluth
Hall of Fame Game
Beavers vs. Mavericks
Gopher Weekend
First sweep in the WCHA
Far, far away or in other words Maine weekend
Ohio Weekend
Providence Weekend
Thunderbay Queens Weekend
2011-12 Season Preview