Oct. 15—BEMIDJI — Through four games, there's a noticeable trend for the Bemidji State women's hockey team that differs from a year ago.
Defensemen have been eager to make an impact offensively, and sophomore Lola Macuiba is currently at the center of it.
She's currently tied with Maddie Kaiser and Kasey Senden for the team lead in points (three) and is tied with Izy Fairchild for the team lead in goals (two). It came after a freshman season where she had just two assists in 36 games.
"She has the confidence that comes from getting a lot of minutes last year," BSU head coach Ambert Fryklund said. "She put in the work this summer. She worked extremely hard in the areas she wants to get better in. You see that every day in practice, and you see her continuing to elevate her game. ... her shot continues to get better, and you saw her get rewarded for that. She continues to elevate herself in the details."
In total, defenders have scored four of the Beavers' 11 goals in four games this season.
"The coaches let us know we can take those chances," Macuiba said. "It's been emphasized in practice that we can jump up in the play and get more people going offensively when it's there for us."
While it's early, Macuiba looks primed for a breakout season on a team that sorely needed more offense from its blue line. Carmen Bray provided a boost last season after transferring from St. Cloud State with 12 assists in 35 games. But the next highest-scoring defenseman was rookie Senden with a goal and four assists, followed by Olivia Dronen with three assists.
"I think one thing I jumped in with was my confidence offensively," Macuiba said of entering her sophomore season. "Over the summer, I worked a lot on my shooting — shooting to score — and I think I just felt ready coming into this (season)."
Macuiba scored in each game against the third-ranked Gophers two weekends ago at the Sanford Center. She added another assist in a nonconference game against the U of M on Sunday in the East/West Showcase in Minneapolis.
For the Seattle native, shining on the weekends starts in practice, a setting where she's garnered a reputation.
"You don't want to go against her in practice, I can tell you that," Fryklund said. "She makes it really hard to get to the net. She's so physical, she's strong, she's hard on pucks. She backchecks so hard — if she gets beat, she recovers. She has that hard-to-play-against mentality. If you go into the corner with her, you don't want to, because you're going to pay a price. Every rep is a game for her — that's how she practices."
Behind the scenes, the Beavers nominate a Gritty Player of the Week, and Macuiba was the first honoree. Her hard-to-play-against persona made the inaugural choice obvious.
"It's something I like to take a lot of pride in," Macuiba said. "I know I can make an impact that way. I love to be hard in the corners, hard on other players. It's a fun way to play."
Macuiba's offensive jump comes with the caveat of being unwilling to sacrifice herself defensively. She said she wants "to be more in control" of herself in the defensive zone while being tighter on her gaps. In the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, featuring some of the nation's top title contenders, it's a mandatory way to play at Bemidji State.
"It was definitely an adjustment," Macuiba said of acclimating to the WCHA's speed and strength. "It wasn't quite as scary as I thought it would be initially, but just the pace of play is a lot faster, especially against teams like Wisconsin and Ohio (State) when we have to be really good defensively. But I think because we were more positionally sound (against Minnesota), we had more of those opportunities offensively because of how we defended."
Bemidji State returns to WCHA action at 6 p.m. on Friday against Minnesota Duluth at the Sanford Center. The Beavers conclude the series at 3 p.m. on Saturday.