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March 18, 2010

Gold-medal inspiration

Agosta's Olympic experience inspires Steadman, Mercyhurst

By COURTNEY LEWIS



Kelley Steadman and the rest of the Mercyhurst women's hockey team watched teammate Meghan Agosta lead Canada to an Olympic championship last month. Then they got to see her gold medal up close.

Now the Lakers want their own hardware. Specifically, the NCAA championship trophy.

"The next weekend (after the Olympics) was our league championships in Detroit, and (Agosta) came with her gold medal and showed it to us," said Steadman, a Plattsburgh native who went to the Northwood School. "It kinda motivated us to win our own championship. We saw what our teammate had done for her country and for herself. And I think that's a big part of our motivation."

The Lakers have had to play without Agosta — last year's leading scorer — all season, but they've still found their way back to the Frozen Four. No. 1 seed Mercyhurst will face Cornell today in the semifinals in Minneapolis, Minn. Minnesota-Duluth meets Minnesota in the other game, with the winners playing for the championship on Sunday.

The Lakers made the program's first Frozen Four appearance last year. As the upstarts, they beat Minnesota in the semis, but Wisconsin shut them out 5-0 in the championship game. That loss has driven them this season.

"To get that close and fall short, especially by that margin, we definitely have a chip on our shoulders and we want to prove we belong there," Steadman said. "That definitely motivated us a lot this year to get back and try to win it all."

Mercyhurst (30-2-3) has been ranked first in Division I most of this season and has won its last 10 games, including the CHA championship contest.

The Lakers beat Boston University 4-1 in last week's NCAA quarterfinals to punch a return ticket to the Frozen Four.

With just one senior on the roster, and without the world-class Agosta — the top player at the Olympics — Steadman said the juniors and sophomores have had to fill bigger roles this season.

"(Agosta) is a great asset to the team and we'll be excited to get her back next year, but we had to do it without her," Steadman said. "We've had a lot of players step up, and the leadership has been coming from younger players.

"There's definitely a different chemistry this year; I think all of us had to chip in more."

Steadman, a sophomore, ranks sixth on the team with 28 points. With 15 goals and 13 assists, she has surpassed her totals from last year. She's tied for second on the team with five game-winners.

Steadman thinks last year's Frozen Four experience will help the Lakers feel like veterans this time around.

"I think last year, it was kind of nervewracking to be there. None of us had really been in a big game like that," she said. "I think we've gotten rid of the jitters already, and we're ready to play."

Three teams — all from the WCHA — have combined to win the nine previous NCAA titles. The Lakers would like to end that streak of western dominance this year and continue to earn respect for their program and their conference.

"I think a lot of people have underestimated us — they don't think we belong because they think our league isn't as strong," Steadman said. "We're going in the right direction."

E-mail Courtney Lewis at: clewis@pressrepublican.com

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