Fienhage ready to step in

Well, we know that captain Chay Genoway will not be on the trip to Denver today. Coach Dave Hakstol confirmed that on the UND coaches' show tonight. He said that the decision was made after practice today [listen to the coaches show here].

That means we'll see Corey Fienhage again this weekend. Fienhage had a strong season debut against St. Cloud State on Saturday night. Hakstol said that Fienhage needs to assert himself as an efficient, reliable guy. He also said that the sophomore defenseman needs to be playing more games. This weekend will be a good chance for Fienhage to earn that spot.

This isn't an easy task at all. Fienhage is stepping in against St. Cloud State and Denver -- perhaps the two deepest forward units in the WCHA.

"He has pretty exciting upside abilities," Hakstol said of Fienhage. "The first thing he needs to do is build a solid base of good, reliable defensive play. We're not looking for highlight reels out of the gate. We're looking for reliability and efficiency out of the gate."

Fienhage's has multiple noteworthy elements to his game. He plays with a mean streak and isn't afraid to deliver big hits. He also has the capability of adding offense. In watching practice this year, I've noticed that Fienhage has a cannon if he's able to get his slap shot off.

It's hard for UND to lose its best offensive player, best defensive player and captain. But it has got to be nice to be able to see someone as talented as Fienhage step into the lineup (he's the highest-drafted defenseman on the team).

Posted by: Schlossman on Thursday, November 19 at 3:12 AM | Comments (14) | Permalink