Robert Brewer/MDN On Monday, the Minot girls hockey team took to the Pepsi Rink at the Maysa Arena for their final practice before opening the season at home against WDA rival Williston.

A year ago, the Minot Majettes finished up the season with an overall mark of 13-10-2-0 and took third at the state tournament.

The MHS hockey club will begin their 2020 campaign with a home contest against the Williston Coyotes today. Williston is coming off a winless 2019 which ended with a 7-0 loss at the hands of Minot back on Feb. 21.

The Minot Daily News reached out to co-head coaches MaKayla Neuhalfen and Chris Stokke to get their thoughts on starting the new season, who this year’s top performers may be, and how the pandemic has affected the overall preparation for the team. Here is what Neuhalfen and Stokke had to say via email.

MDN: What are your expectations heading into the season?

Neuhalfen: My expectation is for us to get better everyday. Good things will happen if we come prepared and focused to practice.

Stokke: We expect every girl to have the “next up” mentality. With the unpredictability of the season, each player needs to have the ability to step into a situation and have a seamless transition.

MDN: What kind of adjustments have you made due to the interruption of the winter sports calendar?

Neuhalfen: We have less time to prepare and get ready for games. Once the season gets going with games, it is constant. The girls haven’t been able to do a lot of the team bonding activities we usually do in the beginning of the season.

Stokke: Really just the way everything is done. Done off-ice in small groups rather than as a team, finding different ways to bond as a team, getting to the rink right before practice and leaving immediately after. You really take that time for granted, that is where much of the natural team bonding occurs is in a locker room.

MDN: What do you think will be the biggest challenge of coaching in this new environment brought on by the pandemic?

Neuhalfen: The hardest part will just be adjusting to the new schedule. We play a lot of games in a short period of time, so I would say being able to be game ready at all times against any opponent and maybe not having the time to prepare for each big game like we have in the past.

Stokke: I think the toughest part is just the unpredictability of everything. We need to be prepared for every scenario, and this year, the scenario list is huge.

MDN: Who are some of your key upperclassmen you are expecting big things from this year?

Neuhalfen: We have a strong core of leaders on defense including Paige Ackerman, Alyssa Enns, and Amber Borkhuis in net. We expect them to hold us down defensively and lead by example for our underclassmen.

MDN: What are some of the team goals you hope to accomplish by season’s end?

Neuhalfen: We hope to come together as a team and get better everyday so we are playing our best hockey come state tournament time.

Stokke: We really want the girls to have fun. This group of girls is part of a large group of kids that have had their time extremely disrupted over the past 10 months. Hopefully we can go out and play every game like it’s our last and I think good things will come from that.

MDN: How long have you been the coach at Magic City, and what is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

Stokke: This will be our second year as co-head coaches. I think the best part is seeing how much the girls grow physically and mentally as the year goes on. Everyday there is improvement happening whether it is on the ice or off.