Eagan Girls' Hockey Poised for Post-Season Respect

A disappointing 2010-2011 season left a bad taste with the Eagan girls’ hockey team. After being ousted in the first round of section play last year, the Wildcats focused on this season and a shot at redemption.

“We were disappointed last year,” said co-head coach Scott Darwitz. “We wound up fifth in the South Suburban Conference (SSC) and got knocked out in the first round of playoffs. Our goal this year was to get our respectability back a little bit, cause last year, we had a good team, but we just didn’t get there.”

After putting in some hard work during the off-season, the Wildcats come down the home stretch of the 2011-2012 season in contention for a conference title and feeling as though they’re ready to make a run at a state tournament appearance.

And that was the goal.

“The goal was just to improve game by game and, to tell the truth, get the kids ready for the playoffs,” said Darwitz. “But we still have a chance at the South Suburban. We knew it would be Lakeville North, Lakeville South and us, and it is. We’re right there. The kids worked hard this summer and decided to get better and its paid off.”

Darwitz made his comments moments after avenging a December 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Lakeville South with a 3-1 victory against the Cougars Saturday at the Eagan Civic Arena.

Eagan is now 15-3-3 on the season and 9-2-2 in the SSC.

The victory held special meaning for Darwitz and the Wildcats because Natalie Darwitz, Scott’s daughter and national hockey icon, is in .

“It was exciting to win and to beat Natalie,” said junior Megan Wolfe, Eagan’s leading scorer. “She helped train us during the summer.”

Natalie Darwitz had a distinguished high school career at Eagan before moving on the University of Minnesota and the U.S.A national team. She had worked closely with the Eagan squad over the summer before accepting the head coaching position in Lakeville. The previous 6-0 loss didn’t sit well with the Eagan players and coaches.

“We played well that game and we caught Eagan on an off night,” Natalie Darwitz told Patch after that game. “But I can tell you when we meet again in January, I’m sure they won’t have an off night.”

That turned out to be the case Saturday as Wolfe scored two first-period goals and Alanna Stangl added an empty-netter to seal the victory with less than a minute to go in the game. Wolfe has a total of 38 goals on the season.

“No doubt about it,” said Scott Darwitz, when asked if winning that game meant a little something extra. “We worked hard in practices this week and obviously I’ve seen Natalie’s team play quite a bit, so I know what they do and she knows what we do and we kind of challenged each other. That’s what it was all about today.”

The rivalry is as much fun as it is competitive. 

But the impact Natalie Darwitz has had on this year’s Eagan team can’t be dismissed. Ironically, her summer coaching may be partly responsible for a now conference rival’s success.

“She taught us a lot,” said Wolfe of the team’s summer sessions with Natalie Darwitz. “It was a great opportunity and a fun experience. We learned a lot of new things.”

But Natalie is also quick to credit her father’s coaching for helping her to succeed and there’s no doubt of his impact on the Wildcat’s attitude and work ethic.

“They tell us to approach the game with hard work and a good attitude and have fun,” said Wolfe. "They don’t harp on us too much, they just like us to have fun.”

Scott Darwitz says the Wildcats are feeling better about this year’s chances. Eagan has four games remaining in conference play before section games start on Feb. 6.

“We worked hard all year,” he said. “We’re not a real big team and we’re not a real strong team physically, but we battle and try to win those individual battles on the walls. That’s what we try to tell the kids, win those one on one battles and good things will happen.”