SAINT JOSEPH, MINN. – The College of Saint Benedict Hockey Team, which finished 10-12-1 a year ago, will open the 2022-23 season by hosting No. 6 UW - Eau Claire in nonconference play on Friday, Oct. 28 at 7 pm and on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 3 pm at Ritsche Arena in St. Cloud.
 
A year ago, CSB finished 6-7-1 in league play and lost to Saint Mary's in the MIAC quarterfinals, 5-3. CSB, which finished sixth in the league standings, opens again one of the top 10 teams in the country according to the DCU-USCHO rankings which has UW-Eau Claire ranked No. 6. CSB opens conference play on Friday Nov. 11 at Concordia College (Minn.) in Moorhead, Minn., before hosting Concordia College on Nov. 12 at the Ritsche Arena in St. Cloud, Minn.
 
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MIAC Notes – Competition runs from Nov. 10 to Feb. 18
MIAC plays run through Feb. 18 Conference play runs through Saturday, Feb. 18 with teams scheduled to play 18 conference matches, including two games against each MIAC opponent. The top five teams at the end of the regular season will meet in the 2023 MIAC Women's Hockey Playoffs. The quarterfinals is set Thursday, Feb. 23 with semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 25 and the championship on Saturday, March 4. The winner of the MIAC playoffs earns the league's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA DIII Hockey Championships.
 
CSB's roster includes 16 returns and 12 newcomers 
 
The Bennies, which will be led by first-year head coach Lindsey Macy, return 16 players from the 2021-22 squad, including sophomore Jenna Timm, who had a team-best 17 points on five goals and 12 assists a year ago. Also back is sophomore Ava Stinnett, who had 13 points with five goals and eight assists. CSB's leading returning goal scorer is sophomore Sami Boerboom who had 10 points with six goals and four assists. In addition, the Bennies also have experience in the net with a pair of goalies returning who saw action a year ago. Those goalies include Ally Frantzick, who played 10 games and recorded 228 saves, while Kate Moffat played in four games with 89 saves. The roster also includes 12 first year or new players.
 
A year ago, CSB ranked fifth in the MIAC in goals scored with 56 or 2.43 per game. The Bennies finished ninth in goals allowed with 64 or 2.78. In points per game, CSB was fifth with 5.74 on a total of 132 points across 23 games. It was a team that had success on power play with their percentage of .213, ranking third. St. Ben's also finished sixth in faceoff winning percentage at .519 and was fourth in penalty killing percentage at .845.
 
About the BlueGolds
UW - Eau Claire has been projected to finish second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), according to a preseason poll released on Oct. 19. The Blugolds, ranked No 6 in the USCHO.com poll, finished 23-6 a year ago, which included an 8-2 record in league play. They advanced to the WIAC Tournament Championship before falling and earned their fourth at-large NCAA DIII postseason bid (first round loss to Gustavus Adolphus of the MIAC). The Blugolds return 16 skaters and 2 goalies from their record setting team last year, including All-WIAC honorees Hallie Sheridan, Samantha Scherling and Stephanie Martin. Sheridan and Scherling return for their senior seasons with UWEC after Sheridan led the team with 13 goals and 15 assists (28 points) and Scherling recorded 16 points and two game winning goals.  

Series Notes
In the all-time series, CSB trails UW-Eau Claire, 7-1, and has lost seven straight to the Blugolds. A year ago, CSB fell to the Blugolds, 5-1 and 4-2 to open the season at Eau Claire, Wis. 
 
Macy takes over hockey program
Lindsay Macy begins her first year as head coach at St. Ben's. She  hired on May 2 as the program's eighth head coach. Macy comes to Saint Benedict after two seasons as the head women's hockey coach at Finlandia University, and she brings plenty of coaching experience as well as high-level playing experience. Prior to joining CSB, Macy served as head coach at Finlandia since May 2020, and she orchestrated a rebuild of the program in her two seasons. She earned NCHA Coach of the Year honors – a first in Finlandia women's hockey history – after guiding the Lions to their best record since the 2017-18 season. Macy also owns Relentless Hockey, a summer hockey school in Idaho that trains hockey players at all levels of the game. She started her coaching career at the Coeur D'Alene Hockey Academy in Cour d'Alene, Idaho, where she spent three seasons as the general manager and head coach of the U19 women's team that competed as the only U.S. team in the prestigious Canadian Sport School Hockey League. Macy was an assistant for both the boys' and girls' varsity hockey programs in her hometown of Owatonna, and served as the head coach of the JV boys' team.- Before stepping on the ice as a coach, Macy had a successful playing career that started in high school and continued through a stint with the Minnesota Whitecaps and the U22 National Team. She started her collegiate career at the University of Wisconsin where she scored 74 points in 66 games, and finished her career at MSU-Mankato where she scored 44 points in 62 games. She helped the Whitecaps win the Western Women's Hockey League championship and reach the Clarkston Cup Final in 2008-09.