The women's ice hockey program is off to a good start with Head Coach David Venditti and the rest of the coaching staff already seeing consistent improvement in all players after only two weeks of practice. Mallory Young, a Colby graduate of the class of 2005 and former Colby women's hockey defensive player, will be the assistant coach this season.

With eight players graduating last season, the team has changed considerably. This season's squad comprises 12 upper-classmen and nine first-years. Nonetheless, the Mules are expecting a successful season.

Last year's season ended with 12 wins, 11 losses, and three ties. Seven of the wins, seven of the losses and two of the ties were in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) games. In the last four years, the Mules found themselves in the conference semifinals three times. In March of 2008, two seasons ago, Colby made it all the way to the NESCAC Championship game at Amherst.

The first four games of the season will all be home games against good competition including Middlebury College and Williams College. Victories early on will hopefully set the Mules on the right track to the conference playoffs. Losing to Middlebury last year in the NESCAC semifinals will surely be an incentive for Colby to play with strength and determination. The Mules play Middlebury on November 29, at home.

"Our goals for the season are to focus one day at a time, making sure everyday each individual works as hard as possible to make the team better. We will try to out-work our opponents all the while doing the little things in the game better then our opponent. If we accomplish this then we will be successful," Venditti said.

Captain Stephanie Scarpato '11 scored 13 goals for the team last year with 19 assists, only a few points away from Class of 2009's Rebecca Julian's school record of 20 goals and nine assists in a season. Last year's totals give Scarpato an impressive 52 career points through just two seasons. Returning goalkeeper Loni Pisani '11 and first-year goalkeeper Filomania Falcucci are both expected to have a strong season following the success of goalkeepers Lacey Brown '09 and Shelley Payne '09. Also returning to the ice for the Mules are Liz Osgood '11, who had nine points last season, captain Andrea Fuwa '10, a defenseman with two goals and one assist last season, nevermind Marissa Simmons '12 and Meryl Poulin '11, who both contributed four goals and five assists each for the Mules last season. These top players hope to step up their game this season and add to the team's success.

The Women's hockey season opens Saturday, November 21, at 3 p.m.` against New England College at the Alfond Rink.