Freshman Off To A Fast Start For Gophers Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- She led Benilde-St. Margaret's to the state title game last season. This season, she's leading the entire nation in scoring by a freshman.
For Kelly Pannek, the transition from high school to college has barely looked like a transition at all.
"I didn't try to think about it too much," Pannek said. "I just tried to come in and play my hardest. (I) never really knew what to expect coming in and I knew it would be a challenge, and obviously coming from high school to college it's a jump, but I just tried to work my hardest. And hopefully something would work out and it did. So I'm happy with where I'm at, and I hope to improve on it as well."
Pannek is fourth on her own team in scoring, becoming an immediate contributor in her first college season. And she seems to be only getting better. In just the last nine games, she has seven goals and 11 assists.
"She's just getting more and more comfortable," coach Brad Frost said. "And she's certainly not playing like a freshman. Kelly started slow, and I think she was still trying to figure out the college game, and over the last number of weeks, she's really started to figure it out and is playing great for us. She's added a new dimension for us, given us that secondary scoring, and that's been huge."
It's a sizeable role for a player barely out of high school.
"The biggest thing, I think for anyone, whenever you're changing levels, is confidence," Pannek said. "And just kind of having the first half (of the season)under my belt with both school and hockey, it just gives you that much more confidence for the next half. And I think that is what really kind of changed my game, is having confidence in myself."
