As the end of the regular season draws near, the Saint Benedict hockey team takes some time to recognize the senior class, who have two games left. The senior class of Christine Brodersen, Ally Nielsen and Kaitlyn Rolando will go on to face No. 9 St. Thomas tonight (Feb. 21) at home at 7:30 p.m. before heading to St. Paul for tomorrow's game at 2 p.m.
 
Since her first year, Brodersen has made a set of goals and pushed hard to reach them. "My goals as a Blazer were quite simple. I wanted to continue my college hockey career by having fun, developing skills, and creating a winning tradition for the women's hockey program at St. Ben's," she said.
 
Her hard work ethic has worked towards creating this new history for the Blazer hockey program, as the seniors leave having the best season of their careers.
 
Some of Brodersen's best memories with the team have been beating Augsburg her freshman year by scoring her first collegiate goal, while and her friend, fellow senior Kaitlyn Rolando, earned her first career shutout in the 1-0 win.
 
"Another highlight was sweeping Stevenson earlier this season. It was a team highlight because it gave us confidence and momentum to start the season. It was a personal highlight because I earned the honor of being named Blazer Athlete of the Week," said Brodersen.
 
Being part of a small senior class, Brodersen automatically assumes the role of mentor to the underclassmen: "With such a young team, there were a lot of nerves at the beginning of the season, it was important to help calm them so they could play well from day one." Being the only senior on the defensive side of the bench, Christine has stepped up to be a "resource to the defense."
 
Brodersen cites Blazer positivity as a team forte: "One strength we've carried with us year to year has been our positive attitude and our ability to bounce back from undesired results. We've been able to use these things to help keep us motivated," she explained.
 
On the Blazers' sweep of Gustavus: "It was unreal. It's still hard to believe that it actually happened." With St. Thomas looming as the last matchup of the year, Brodersen is not phased: "There is nothing about our routine that will change as we face UST."
 
Senior Forward Ally Nielsen also started her first year as a Blazer by setting goals, which she has fulfilled in her time here. "Coming into my career as a Blazer, I had always hoped to find success and be a very active player on the team. I think that I fulfilled that roll."
 
Nielsen explains how her career highlights include, "traveling to Chicago and Boston, starting and scoring during my first college game freshmen year, scoring twice against St. Kate's my junior year, and sweeping Gustavus!"
 
Being a senior, Nielsen also helped Brodersen and Rolando to work with the younger members of the team. "We try to fill in the underclassmen about team expectations, standards and traditions, and help make them feel like part of the Blazer family. Being a first-year is always an awkward transition, so it's important to make sure that they feel welcome and informed," she states.
 
Working towards the team's ultimate goal through strength and conditioning improvement is what Nielsen believes the Blazers' strength to be. "This team has improved each and every year, and that is on account to the awesome effort that our players have given in order to keep getting faster, stronger, and better overall!."
 
Sweeping Gustavus led to a feeling of pride and success. "I had so much emotion running through my body that I was shaking," says Nielsen. This is attributed to the high energy and confidence Blazer Hockey is centered around. This can carry over to the upcoming matchups with rival St. Thomas to end the season: "At this point, we know what we have to do in order to beat a good team."
 
"I will leave here knowing that the team and the program is better than when we started," senior Goalie Kaitlyn Rolando said. "I think that this goal has been reached on the ice and off the ice. As with any, it is the goal to keep getting better and better and getting closer and closer to our maximum potential as a team. We have definitely reached a turning point in Blazer hockey."
 
Kaitlyn also reminisces about her first-yerar matchup with Augsburg as a career highlight: "I got my first collegiate shutout and Christine Broderson scored her first collegiate goal. It was really special for us as first-years," she said. Rolando's other career highlights include traveling to Boston with the team her sophomore season and of course, sweeping Gustavus this season.
 
Rolando has also worked hard caring for the underclassmen alongside Nielsen and Brodersen. "Whether it is on or off the ice, we are there to help them understand any questions that underclassmen may have about hockey, or how to manage in the classroom," said Rolando. She also stresses the importance of all team members to feel as if they are in a safe and comfortable environment.
 
The team's strengths, according to the senior goalie is that the Blazers never give up. "We are one of the hardest working teams in the league and I think that we is something to be proud of," explains Rolando.
 
Kaitlyn notices that the strength and conditioning of Blazer Hockey has given them the edge during the second half of the season. "We are stronger and more conditioned than every team that we have played this year," she explained. This is what led to the glorious defeat of hockey giant Gustavus: "We went out there and outworked Gustavus. I was really proud of the way that we played."
 
The constant drive to succeed is what will carry them to success against St. Thomas. "If we work hard and play the game that we know how to play, we will be successful on the ice. We are continuing to do the things that make us successful including competitive practice and working hard in the weight room," said Rolando.