MHS grad Emily Heckendorf is finding the NCAA D3 college game well within her reach, even at the start of the season.
Heckendorf is 2nd on her Concordia University team in scoring, sandwiched between a pair of seniors, with 9 points on 5 goals and 4 assists heading into Tuesday’s contest with Lake Forest College. She trails senior Hilary Christiansen (3 g, 7 a) of Eagan, Minn., by a single point.
“It’s perfect,” she said of the level of competition. “Playing with guys (on the MHS boys varsity team), the speed has meant a lot to the transition to the college game. I see the play and react quicker. If I didn’t react quick enough, you got checked.”
Emily is enjoying playing for the 5-3 Falcons.
“I love it,” she said. “The team is awesome. We all get along. It’s just a lot of fun.
“I’m skating with two seniors and we’re connecting. They’re making great passes and I’m getting great opportunities to score.”
Tomahawk native Jim Ingman is the team’s coach, and the squad will play Bethel U., of Minn., at 2:00 p.m. on Sat., Dec. 10, at Tomahawk’s SARA Park.
Prior to a 3-1 loss last Saturday, the team was off to a 5-2 beginning, “which (Ingman) said was the best start in school history,” Heckendorf noted.
Heckendorf scored her team’s only goal to tie it at 1-1 through two periods, but St. Norbert’s pulled away in the third.