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Five Minutes with Olivia Knowles
12/5/2018 4:55:00 PM | Women's Hockey
Sophomore defense Olivia Knowles chatted with the Voice of Gopher Women's Hockey Dan Hamann last weekend.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Sophomore defense Olivia Knowles chatted with the Voice of Gopher Women's Hockey Dan Hamann last weekend before Minnesota's 3-1 win on the road at Yale. Knowles reflects on the strengths of the Gophers' defensive unit and more.
Dan Hamann: Today my special guest is sophomore Olivia Knowles, as she was able to get her second goal of the season yesterday. As a freshman, she was named to the WCHA All-Rookie team, with seven goals and 13 assists, totaling 20 points. She hails from Campbell River, British Columbia. So let's talk about that goal yesterday, Olivia. A nice backdoor play; I didn't know if Taylor was going to see you back there.
Olivia Knowles: Yeah, it's not too often that I'm at the back door all by myself like that, but I was and I was glad Taylor saw me. Amy told me after that she was screaming to give me the puck too, because there was no one within ten feet of me on either side. So, I'm pretty grateful she saw me back there.
DH: It's not often that you get a chance to do that, but at times can be pretty risky. What are the keys that you look for to whether or not you can jump up and make that play?
OK: Well, we had possession of the puck, so I felt confident that I could be a part of the play on offense and I saw a huge opening. I thought I could get down there, and if it wasn't going to happen, at least I could back check if it goes sideways. I learned a lot from Sydney Baldwin last year, she was always in the play on offense and scored a lot of goals.
DH: It seemed like you and Sydney had a special connection last season, would that be a fair assessment?
OK: Yeah, she was a great mentor. With our limited players, I was fortunate enough to see a lot of ice last year, and her being my partner, she really helped me out with adapting and adjusting to the pace. She was great.
DH: Was there one special thing that stands out that she provided?
OK: She was a great leader, one of my biggest memories of her would be coming in, knowing that she was a pretty serious person on the ice and I had people telling me not to get intimidated, but overall we had a great bond on the ice, and I think that really helped develop our bond off of the ice. I miss her.
DH: Have you been able to keep up with her much?
OK: Yeah, we see the occasional text from her and Caitlin Reilly. It's always nice to see how they're doing. I think it's a pretty big adjustment for them to be playing over in Europe. I think they're having a great time, but it's a learning experience, especially with the language barrier. They're doing great though, like always.
DH: The last seven games, this team has scored forty goals, so offensively, the team has been hitting its stride. Where do you see this team defensively? Have you hit your stride or is there room for growth?
OK: I think there's always room for growth defensively. Every game, we are getting better and we're making adjustments. We are doing well, especially our goalies, and we are learning from our mistakes, even from week to week. Our D-core has been very attentive to critiques that Coach Johnson points out. I think we are getting better.
DH: Sophie seemed to have a hard time adjusting back to defense, but she leads the team in plus/minus. Where do you see her at? She seemed a little rushed to the puck perhaps, but it's a tough transition going back and forth.
OK: Yeah, I think it's always a little tough to switch back and forth from offense to defense play, but we have really amazing players on our team, and I think Sophie and people like Katie Robinson are amazing in the way that they contribute both offensively and defensively. We need offensively-minded players on D, and Sophie an asset on our team. She sees the game differently, and I enjoy that we have different perspectives on D. I think she's doing well. She's amazing with how she's been able to adapt back and forth. She's just a versatile player, and we love that on our team.
DH: All right, well congratulations on the goal yesterday, and let's keep this ball rolling. Thank you, Olivia.
OK: Thank you.
###
| Listen to Olivia Knowles' interview. |
Dan Hamann: Today my special guest is sophomore Olivia Knowles, as she was able to get her second goal of the season yesterday. As a freshman, she was named to the WCHA All-Rookie team, with seven goals and 13 assists, totaling 20 points. She hails from Campbell River, British Columbia. So let's talk about that goal yesterday, Olivia. A nice backdoor play; I didn't know if Taylor was going to see you back there.
Olivia Knowles: Yeah, it's not too often that I'm at the back door all by myself like that, but I was and I was glad Taylor saw me. Amy told me after that she was screaming to give me the puck too, because there was no one within ten feet of me on either side. So, I'm pretty grateful she saw me back there.
DH: It's not often that you get a chance to do that, but at times can be pretty risky. What are the keys that you look for to whether or not you can jump up and make that play?
OK: Well, we had possession of the puck, so I felt confident that I could be a part of the play on offense and I saw a huge opening. I thought I could get down there, and if it wasn't going to happen, at least I could back check if it goes sideways. I learned a lot from Sydney Baldwin last year, she was always in the play on offense and scored a lot of goals.
DH: It seemed like you and Sydney had a special connection last season, would that be a fair assessment?
OK: Yeah, she was a great mentor. With our limited players, I was fortunate enough to see a lot of ice last year, and her being my partner, she really helped me out with adapting and adjusting to the pace. She was great.
DH: Was there one special thing that stands out that she provided?
OK: She was a great leader, one of my biggest memories of her would be coming in, knowing that she was a pretty serious person on the ice and I had people telling me not to get intimidated, but overall we had a great bond on the ice, and I think that really helped develop our bond off of the ice. I miss her.
DH: Have you been able to keep up with her much?
OK: Yeah, we see the occasional text from her and Caitlin Reilly. It's always nice to see how they're doing. I think it's a pretty big adjustment for them to be playing over in Europe. I think they're having a great time, but it's a learning experience, especially with the language barrier. They're doing great though, like always.
DH: The last seven games, this team has scored forty goals, so offensively, the team has been hitting its stride. Where do you see this team defensively? Have you hit your stride or is there room for growth?
OK: I think there's always room for growth defensively. Every game, we are getting better and we're making adjustments. We are doing well, especially our goalies, and we are learning from our mistakes, even from week to week. Our D-core has been very attentive to critiques that Coach Johnson points out. I think we are getting better.
DH: Sophie seemed to have a hard time adjusting back to defense, but she leads the team in plus/minus. Where do you see her at? She seemed a little rushed to the puck perhaps, but it's a tough transition going back and forth.
OK: Yeah, I think it's always a little tough to switch back and forth from offense to defense play, but we have really amazing players on our team, and I think Sophie and people like Katie Robinson are amazing in the way that they contribute both offensively and defensively. We need offensively-minded players on D, and Sophie an asset on our team. She sees the game differently, and I enjoy that we have different perspectives on D. I think she's doing well. She's amazing with how she's been able to adapt back and forth. She's just a versatile player, and we love that on our team.
DH: All right, well congratulations on the goal yesterday, and let's keep this ball rolling. Thank you, Olivia.
OK: Thank you.
###
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