Joe Drennan
Sports EditorMost people would think being a first year coach is hard enough, but then there is Forest Lake girls hockey coach Shawn Everson who inherits a team with only two juniors, two sophomores. The rest of the team is made up of eighth and ninth graders.
Everson is excited about the youthfulness of his team and the direction the program is headed.
ìI see the girls program here in Forest Lake growing so quickly and itís really exciting to be a part of that,î Everson said.
With the strong defensive pair of Kelly Lewis and Stephanie Haider, Everson remains optimistic. Having a young, athletic goaltender like eighth grader Kim Fredricks doesnít scare Everson either.
ìWeíve got an extremely young team,î Everson said. ìItís going to be a lot of development this year, but I think youíre going to see a competitive team by the end of the year.î
Having so many young players on the team, the goal for the season is to see improvement over the course of the season at both the team and individual level. Everson says that the team that took the ice against Chisago Lakes for the first game on Nov. 18 and lost 3-1, is a different team than the one youíll see skating come seasonís end.
ìThe things we want to emphasize is weíve got a young growing team that has a lot of enthusiasm,î Everson said. ìThe girls love to play the game of hockey and I think thatís going to carry over and help them get better.î
Having a first year coach and a young team excited Everson.
ìI think itís a huge advantage,î Everson said of having a young team in his first year. ìA lot of these girls are skating at the varsity level for the first time, so weíre learning together. The players and myself were very excited about this.î
Looking around the section, Everson thinks Cloquet will be a strong team, but other than that, he feels the competition is tight.
The Rangers lost their second game of the season to Duluth East by a score of 2-1. Kathy Curdo scored her first varsity goal in the game. The Rangers lost their home opener 2-1 to Duluth Denfeld/Central. Kate Haglundís goal was her first of the season.
The girls next home game is Saturday against Park (Cottage Grove) at 8 p.m.
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