QUOTH THE RAVENS …

WASILLA — The Mat-Su Ravens hope to do a lot of crowing this season.

More than 20 Valley high school hockey players spent a spirited practice session Monday evening on the ice at the Brett Memorial Ice Arena. The girls are preparing for their Nov. 3 opener to kick off the Ravens’ fifth season of high school hockey.

It’s a season head coach Dudley Boehn hopes will see the development of some young prep hockey talent. He graduated five seniors from last year’s squad and only has a few this year, with a strong group of underclassmen returning or making the Ravens for the first time.

“We have a lot of freshmen, like Heather Gray, who haven’t played with the program until this year,” Boehn said.

One thing the Ravens have going for them is “they’re passionate about playing,” he said. “They take hockey seriously and they don’t think they get enough credit for being the girls’ hockey program.”

Some of this year’s Ravens may be new to the all-girls team, but not to local hockey, the coach said. One key addition for 2010 is goalie Tessa Muilenburg, who replaces Dominique Sheutter, a strong goalie who graduated from last year’s team.

“This is her first year for us, but she played with the boys before,” Boehn said. “When she found out we needed a goalie, she came over here. She’s played JV and has played some comp hockey. We had some outstanding goaltending (with Sheutter), so I’m hoping Tessa can pick up where that left off.”

Muilenburg looked sharp Monday, demonstrating good vision of the ice and strong positioning as her teammates peppered her with pucks.

“She takes up a ton of net and she’s played hockey for awhile,” the coach said.

Strong play in the net will be key for the Ravens as the team gains experience with its young roster.

“We’re fighting an uphill battle as for what I’ve seen from years gone by,” Boehn said. “Bartlett, Service, Dimond East and Fairbanks, they all have a solid three lines. We have a handful of girls who have played with boys teams or comp teams, but a lot who haven’t played a lot.”

Returning Ravens include Indy Beck, Sarah-Belle Srebernak and Bonnie Fujimoto, a sophomore left wing who also plays on the penalty killing unit.

Beck is a solid all-around player, Boehn said and Srebernak “will play whatever I ask her to play, except for goalie.”

Boehn has coached the Ravens since the team’s inception four years ago and has seen marked improvement each season.

“I’m not a big state guy,” he said. “I look at how the girls improve. We improved a lot last year. We beat just about every team. There’s only one of the better teams we didn’t beat. … We want to compete, get better.”

Groups like the Ravens formed because there hasn’t been enough girls at individual schools to form hockey teams, but that may be trending the other way, Boehn said. While there aren’t enough girls to field a team for each Valley high school, it’s nearing the point where the Valley could put two teams on the ice. That growth would also help lead to another advancement for girls’ hockey — a tournament.

A regional or state tournament would be a logical conclusion for a Southcentral region of girls’ hockey, he said. This year, the Ravens will play a 22-game schedule, beginning Nov. 3. All home games will be played at the Brett Memorial.

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.