At the beginning of the season, the Dutchmen had enough forwards for four lines, minus one — meaning Dale would be double shifting, going out every other shift and as the season progressed she would share that duty with her roommate.
“It was getting (to be) a lot,” Dale said. “Then we got more injuries so we had to go to three lines…It is hard to play the ‘what if’ game but it definitely could have been different if we had a full roster. Other teams were consistently rolling four lines but we only had three lines of offense. Towards the end of the season it was getting to us…We were all pretty fatigued and tired. But we were really close.”
Dale is excited for next season as the Dutchmen graduate just three players, and coaches are recruiting.
“It looks like we are in good shape for next season with
Last season as a freshman, Dale was a MAC Second Team All-Conference selection.
“It was definitely a different game because I grew up playing with the boys,” she said. “The NCAA DIII women’s level is a step quicker in the sense that we might not individually be as fast but with team country wise email marketing list concepts and the overall play of the game it is overall just a bit faster. I had played girls’ hockey a few times my junior and senior year but it was at the tier II level.”
Dale supplemented her high school play as a member of the Idaho Vipers, a USA Hockey Tier II club competing in the Rocky Mountain District, and helped them reach the USA Girls U19 Nationals the juneau-douglas high school: in Irvine, California, as a senior.
“But that play was slower than my coed team (JDHS Crimson Bears),” she said. “So it was a bit faster when I first got here. So I think just adjusting to the speed and strength was the biggest thing.”
Dale said her adjustments from freshman to sophomore seasons were more internal
“I didn’t necessarily have a bad freshman aero leads season; it just wasn’t as successful as this year,” she said. “I think our team dynamic was really good this year. Everybody wanted to be there and everybody was working hard to win. I think that internally might have pushed me a little bit more and I also think I had a little bit more confidence, not being a freshman. Having a year under my belt and knowing what was ahead of me. And just overall we had a really good team this year so it is obviously easier to be successful offensively if we are not always in our defensive zone.”