Going one-on-one with Zoe Hickel

What was your biggest take away this weekend? This weekend was big for us because we were coming in with a five-game win streak and just had an off weekend. St. Cloud is a team that’s ranked below us, but it’s still important to get those wins and it’s always a battle in the WHCA. It was important for us to get six points out of this weekend and climb and keep going.

Did you see the European players being more comfortable on the Olympic-sized ice sheet down in St. Cloud?

I think it was good for our team because we move the puck well and we’re pretty fast. We had a couple days too many off because of the snow day, but we adapted well. A lot of our Europeans were just playing in the Four Nations Tournament, where they play on that size rink, and they’re used to it. They like it; most of us liked it.

You’re riding a seven-game win streak and getting goals from just about every line, as well as your defense, so how do you feel your team is clicking at this point in the season?

I’m really happy with it now. We’re still learning little things along the way, but it’s huge for us to get a couple of wins right after an off weekend and step right back in where we left off. It’s good the more people we have in the line up and on the scoresheet, you never know what’s going to happen. THe more depth we have, the better we’re going to be as a team. So that’s good to see. I love it.

What would you say your role is as team co-captain, alongside defenseman Emma Stauber, in keeping your team motivated during a win streak like you’ve had?

It’s just sticking to our game plan. It sounds super simple, but we’re just sticking to what we know. We have to get better every game and never end up satisfied with the last win or last weekend and keep looking forward.

You’re back home this weekend playing Cornell, so how do you keep the momentum going against this team?

We’re nationally ranked, we’re No. 3 in our league and now we go in to play an out-of- conference game against Cornell and that’s huge for us too. In the past they’ve been a very good team. This season they had a late start because they’re Ivy League but I hope they do well in their season. But they are a very good team so we’re excited to play them. It’s important for us to do well and really take advantage of those out-of-conference points.

BY NICOLE BRODZIK Sports Editor

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