University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Five Minutes with Alex Woken
3/19/2019 8:10:00 AM | Women's Hockey
Junior forward Alex Woken chatted with the Voice of Gopher Women's Hockey Dan Hamann last weekend.
MINNEAPOLIS – Junior forward Alex Woken chatted with the Voice of Gopher Women's Hockey Dan Hamann before Minnesota's NCAA quarterfinal win over Princeton last weekend.
Dan Hamann: Welcome back, Gopher women's hockey coming at you today from Ridder Arena, and it's NCAA quarterfinal time. I'm joined by junior Alex Woken out of Fargo, North Dakota. As you gear up for today, what kind of thoughts are going through your mind?
Alex Woken: It's super exciting. I think everyone is a little more excited around the locker room for sure. I know I have been. Getting to the rink, it feels more real. The game is finally here, and we're all really looking forward to it.
DH: What was that weekend off like before the WCHA Final Faceoff? It didn't seem like it affected the team that much, other than the fact that I think you were pretty sick of playing against one another in practice.
AW: I think the weekend off was really beneficial for us. We were able to break down some things that we hadn't worked on for a while, and bring that into that last weekend there and really keep building on what we had going for us, and then bring that into this week.
DH: This will be your third NCAA tournament, but unfortunately as a freshman you were unable to participate with an injury. Your third time around now, is it any different than the first time you stepped onto the ice for an NCAA quarterfinal game against Wisconsin?
AW: Yeah, it's awesome being at home. I think that brings a whole other element to it. It just feels like another game to an extent, but then again it's the NCAA quarterfinals, so that's awesome. We were actually just talking about it this morning about how different it feels being a junior and going into this game – how much bigger it is. We didn't really realize how big the games were when we were younger. Now that we're juniors, we know these are huge games.
DH: Time is running out. The clock is ticking. Every team that starts in September wants to hoist the hardware at the end of the year, but the clock is ticking here for you, isn't it?
AW: Yeah, let's go on a run here. Three more games hopefully.
DH: It's amazing how fast the season actually goes. You mentioned, three more games left. I can't get that through my mind because this becomes such a big part of the year and makes the winter go that much faster.
AW: I think you get to December, right before finals, and we still have a whole half of the season left. Then you get back from winter break, and it just flies by. Being a junior, after this it's only one more year and it's done. It just goes by so fast when you look back on it.
DH: Always an exciting time this time of year. Your linemates Taylor Heise and Taylor Williamson, you have a pretty decent chemistry going. Your line played really well in the WCHA tournament last week and didn't really get a lot on the score sheet for your efforts, but when you go out here, what makes a shift or a game successful for you in your mind, aside from getting a goal or two?
AW: Thank you for that. I think we know what we do best, and that's bring a lot of energy and a lot of speed. We try to get things going on the offensive zone even if we don't get on the score sheet. We know we aren't going to be super flashy, but we grind it out and create chaos and try to build off that and bring energy for the rest of the lines.
DH: You certainly did the yeoman's work last weekend against Minnesota Duluth and Wisconsin. As you look ahead to wrapping up this season to make a deep run, you obviously have to get some balanced scoring. I don't think you can really look to one line. As far as balance goes on any NCAA team's roster, I think this team is about as balanced as any team has ever been?
AW: Absolutely. I think we know that any line can go out and score. That takes a lot of pressure off everyone, just knowing that we have such a deep team with four lines that can go out in any situation and make an impact. That's huge and awesome for us because we can play a full game at 100%.
DH: How much more fun is it in a quarterfinal game like this, as a player, to be going up against a team that's new, that's different?
AW: It's always fun to go out and play non-conference games during the year, going out east. It's fun to have new teams come in, get a new look at a different team. We don't really have any expectations to build off, so I think that brings a whole new look to it and more excitement because we haven't seen them before.
DH: It's new and exciting for you, but I imagine it's just the same for Princeton. What's it going to boil down to, in your mind, for Minnesota to be successful?
AW: I think it's just going to be the team that sticks to how they play, keeping it simple and not trying to over-complicate things in the zone. Just doing the work that we need to do and sticking to our values. Our team has done such a good job of coming around and coming together and really sticking to our four values that we have.
DH: Looking forward to today's game, hopefully two more after today. Alex, thanks for your time, and nothing but the best.
AW: Thank you.
DH: That's Alex Woken, my guest here today, and you're listening to Golden Gopher Women's Hockey.
###
| Listen to Woken's interview. |
Dan Hamann: Welcome back, Gopher women's hockey coming at you today from Ridder Arena, and it's NCAA quarterfinal time. I'm joined by junior Alex Woken out of Fargo, North Dakota. As you gear up for today, what kind of thoughts are going through your mind?
Alex Woken: It's super exciting. I think everyone is a little more excited around the locker room for sure. I know I have been. Getting to the rink, it feels more real. The game is finally here, and we're all really looking forward to it.
DH: What was that weekend off like before the WCHA Final Faceoff? It didn't seem like it affected the team that much, other than the fact that I think you were pretty sick of playing against one another in practice.
AW: I think the weekend off was really beneficial for us. We were able to break down some things that we hadn't worked on for a while, and bring that into that last weekend there and really keep building on what we had going for us, and then bring that into this week.
DH: This will be your third NCAA tournament, but unfortunately as a freshman you were unable to participate with an injury. Your third time around now, is it any different than the first time you stepped onto the ice for an NCAA quarterfinal game against Wisconsin?
AW: Yeah, it's awesome being at home. I think that brings a whole other element to it. It just feels like another game to an extent, but then again it's the NCAA quarterfinals, so that's awesome. We were actually just talking about it this morning about how different it feels being a junior and going into this game – how much bigger it is. We didn't really realize how big the games were when we were younger. Now that we're juniors, we know these are huge games.
DH: Time is running out. The clock is ticking. Every team that starts in September wants to hoist the hardware at the end of the year, but the clock is ticking here for you, isn't it?
AW: Yeah, let's go on a run here. Three more games hopefully.
DH: It's amazing how fast the season actually goes. You mentioned, three more games left. I can't get that through my mind because this becomes such a big part of the year and makes the winter go that much faster.
AW: I think you get to December, right before finals, and we still have a whole half of the season left. Then you get back from winter break, and it just flies by. Being a junior, after this it's only one more year and it's done. It just goes by so fast when you look back on it.
DH: Always an exciting time this time of year. Your linemates Taylor Heise and Taylor Williamson, you have a pretty decent chemistry going. Your line played really well in the WCHA tournament last week and didn't really get a lot on the score sheet for your efforts, but when you go out here, what makes a shift or a game successful for you in your mind, aside from getting a goal or two?
AW: Thank you for that. I think we know what we do best, and that's bring a lot of energy and a lot of speed. We try to get things going on the offensive zone even if we don't get on the score sheet. We know we aren't going to be super flashy, but we grind it out and create chaos and try to build off that and bring energy for the rest of the lines.
DH: You certainly did the yeoman's work last weekend against Minnesota Duluth and Wisconsin. As you look ahead to wrapping up this season to make a deep run, you obviously have to get some balanced scoring. I don't think you can really look to one line. As far as balance goes on any NCAA team's roster, I think this team is about as balanced as any team has ever been?
AW: Absolutely. I think we know that any line can go out and score. That takes a lot of pressure off everyone, just knowing that we have such a deep team with four lines that can go out in any situation and make an impact. That's huge and awesome for us because we can play a full game at 100%.
DH: How much more fun is it in a quarterfinal game like this, as a player, to be going up against a team that's new, that's different?
AW: It's always fun to go out and play non-conference games during the year, going out east. It's fun to have new teams come in, get a new look at a different team. We don't really have any expectations to build off, so I think that brings a whole new look to it and more excitement because we haven't seen them before.
DH: It's new and exciting for you, but I imagine it's just the same for Princeton. What's it going to boil down to, in your mind, for Minnesota to be successful?
AW: I think it's just going to be the team that sticks to how they play, keeping it simple and not trying to over-complicate things in the zone. Just doing the work that we need to do and sticking to our values. Our team has done such a good job of coming around and coming together and really sticking to our four values that we have.
DH: Looking forward to today's game, hopefully two more after today. Alex, thanks for your time, and nothing but the best.
AW: Thank you.
DH: That's Alex Woken, my guest here today, and you're listening to Golden Gopher Women's Hockey.
###
Follow Women's Hockey
Women's Hockey Tickets
Experience the excitement and tradition connecting generations of Gopher fans! Create memories for a lifetime with your friends and family while you root for your Golden Gophers. Get Tickets
Support Women's Hockey
Support the University of Minnesota Women's Hockey program. Your support helps our student-athletes succeed athletically, academically, and socially. It takes just seconds to make a monthly or one-time donation. Thank you for your support! Give Now
Thursday, April 02
Monday, March 23
Sunday, March 22
Friday, March 13