(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
As the Arizona State women’s hockey team begins to wind down its third year and begins to prepare for its final few weekends of regular season play, the Sun Devils have gained chemistry that has fueled their success all season long.
The team has recorded 10 more goals than last season in eight fewer games, establishing that statistic as the most goals the organization has ever seen. With two more wins, the Devils will eclipse their current record of eight wins from last season.
Although much of the team is freshmen, the upperclassmen have played a prodigious role not only on the ice but off the ice as well. The older players have demonstrated chemistry and a connection to one another — a trait that is crucial when playing on a large team. One connection that is unbreakable is the one between Alisa Manny and Madison Quinonez — two junior defensemen.
Their bond began during the inaugural season of ASU women’s hockey in 2016. For the two of them, that friendship clicked from the beginning.
“It was [our] first year here and we just said, ‘I love you,’” Manny said.
ASU’s inaugural season in 2016-2017 was one to forget after finishing with just two wins. Manny finished with four points during that season and Quinonez finished with two.
The two defensemen did not play last season, however. Manny took a year off to visit her mother in Kentucky, while Quinonez was ineligible to play for the Sun Devils but practiced with the team every week. Now, being back on the ice together for the first time since the inaugural season, the two have not missed a beat.
“I missed [Manny] — missed the game. It’s good to be back,” Quinonez said. “It’s like a racehorse. The gates are finally open and I’ve been ready.”
The two have combined for eight points this season on a team that has been the best ASU women’s hockey team to date. It is hard to disagree that a great amount of success comes from the chemistry the two share.
“When they have a better relationship off the ice, it definitely translates to on the ice, in the locker room, everything like that,” head coach Lindsey Ellis said. “When you have a bond like that, it rubs off on everyone else in a positive way.”
The roster is made up of 11 freshmen out of the 20 total players — demonstrating that this team lacks college-level experience. Surprisingly, however, four out of the five top scorers on the team are freshmen. A majority of that is attributed to the amount of skill each player has but also from the chemistry that each player exhibits every time they step on the ice.
“With so many new players, [Manny and Quinonez] came in excited to play this year not having played games last year,” Ellis said. “I think just the excitement those two had coming in helped the freshmen get amped up for games or practice.”
So, what’s it like having your best friend on your team?
“It’s a support system on the ice,” Quinonez said. “You have your fans watching from the stands but it’s nice to have that person in your ear hyping you up, telling you good job, you need to do better … it’s really nice to have that on the ice.”
With ASU’s remaining schedule consisting of home games against Minnesota and Grand Canyon — followed by the WWCHL Playoffs in Las Vegas — Manny and Quinonez are locked in and set to finish this successful season with an exclamation point.
“Finish out strong,” Quinonez mentioned as a goal for the rest of the season. “Do as best as we can in Vegas and definitely not lose to GCU.”
You can catch the two best friends and the Sun Devils face off against the University of Minnesota on Jan. 25th at 5:30 p.m. and Jan. 26th at 7:30 a.m at Oceanside Ice Arena.
