Coach Venditti has turned the University of Southern Maine women’s ice hockey team into a very competitive Eastern College Athletic Conference division III program. This year will not be any different than the past three years with Venditti at the helm. The Lady Huskies are off to a strong start, gracefully skating to a 3-2-1 overall record.
However, the Huskies are coping with the loss of ECAC Division III East Player of the year Holly Manning. Considering the team not only lost Manning, who was also named second team All-American, but also five other seniors to graduation, they are playing quite well.
Despite the significant loss to graduation that the team has been forced to endure, Venditti remains positive in his outlook. He refuses to make excuses for his youthful team and is quick to point out that teams with more experienced rosters will not intimidate the Lady Huskies.
“We are young, but we will still be competitive. We are not rebuilding, we are continuing to move forward,” said Venditti.
However young the Lady Huskies may be, they are exuberant and poised to battle for another berth in the ECAC post-season tournament. Their hope is to surpass last year’s journey to the ECAC semi-finals.
The 2003-2004 Women Huskies return nine players to this year’s squad, but only Captains goalie Karen Jamnik and forward Tricia Kamp are seniors.
Kamp came to USM as a freshman and was successful in her attempt to walk-on to a very talented team. Her evolution has played out like a feel good sports movie with the fans, peers and coaches serving as her appreciative audience. Kamp’s ability to pass and score poses a serious threat to all opponents. This season, Kamp has already scored one goal and assisted on another.
The talented Jamnik is sure to leave behind a long athletic legacy at USM. The magical net minder began receiving high praise and ECAC accolades as early as her sophomore season. During the 2001-2002 season she was not only named First Team All ECAC but was also recognized as the ECAC goalie of the year. Last season Jamnik, who boasts a career record of 38-24-7, was awarded second team All ECAC honors.
The Huskies last game improved their ECAC record to 2-2-1 by way of an exciting 3-2 come from behind victory over in-state rival Colby. The Lady Huskies next return to the friendly confines of the Costello Sports Complex is on Wednesday Dec. 10 at 7:00 p.m. This season promises to be an exciting one as Southern Maine alum Coach David Venditti aims to lead his team back to the excitement of the ECAC tournament for the fourth consecutive season.
The University of Southern Maine women’s hockey team introduced itself to the greater Portland area in 1997 as a club team. Much has changed since its humble beginning, which included ice time at the Portland Ice Arena. After two very respectable seasons, the path of the program was completely altered by the hiring of Venditti, a competitive and knowledgeable new coach, who took over prior to the 2000 – 2001 season.
Coach Venditti came to USM following an extremely successful stint as head hockey coach at Cheverus where he was instrumental in the revitalization of the Ocean Avenue school’s ice hockey program. At a school where basketball had previously been the winter season’s feature presentation, Venditti developed his team into a perennial playoff contender. Coach Venditti then moved on to fill the women’s head coaching position at USM, and the rest is history eerily similar to what occurred at Cheverus – instant success.
Andrew Sparda can be contacted at [email protected]