Becca Kniss is almost always happy.
While her coach isn't complaining, Eden Prairie's Jaime Grossman said Kniss' attitude makes it difficult for her Eagles teammates to figure out how she is feeling.
“You can’t tell if she is having a good day or a bad day because she is always happy,” Grossman said.
Saturday was definitely a good day for Kniss, as the freshman forward scored her first two varsity goals to propel the Eden Prairie past Thief River Falls 7-2 at the Eden Prairie Community Center on Saturday.
Described by Grossman as someone who has a bubbly personality, Kniss experienced a high point when she tallied her first goal.
“I was so happy,” said Kniss, whose score gave the Eagels a 3-1 lead in the second period. “I’ve had so many chances, and it finally came.”
She added her second goal in the third period, as Eden Prairie, ranked No. 5 in Class 2A by Let’s Play Hockey, pulled away.
The scoring drought hasn’t been limited to just Kniss. Her entire line has struggled offensively this season, which has been a surprise to Grossman.
“At times, they’ve been our best line,” he said. “They just haven’t gotten the goals that come with those chances they’ve gotten. They’ve really created chances every game they play.”
Against Thief River Falls, however, Kniss’ line finally turned those chances into goals, and they weren't the only Eagles to do so. Six different players scored, creating a scoring gap too large for the No. 2-1A Prowlers (7-3) to overcome.
Thief River Falls coach Whitney Restemayer said her team has a few things to figure out on defense after the Prowlers gave up seven goals to Minnetonka last night in addition to the seven goals scored by Eden Prairie.
However, she doesn't regret scheduling back-to-back games against two ranked Class 2A teams.
“It takes down our confidence a little bit, but we learn a lot too,” Restemayer said. “It stinks in the moment, but we end up taking a lot away from it.”
Restemayer said her team came away understanding there is a big difference between playing in Class 2A and Class 1A.
One of the differences is depth, with teams in the larger class having more. This didn’t bode well for Thief River Falls since Eden Prairie prides itself on possessing plenty of players.
That large talent pool allows Grossman to put Kniss on the third line, even though she is a talented offensive player.
“We feel we have a great third line,” Grossman said. “We feel that is one of the strengths of our team. We are deeper than most.”
Grossman didn’t feel this way coming into the season, though.
He said his coaching staff thought the Eagles may take a step down after graduating multiple seniors who Grossman considered to be all-state players.
This hasn’t been the case for Eden Prairie, which boasts a 5-2-1 record.
“It says a lot about our young players and our team that we haven’t really missed a beat,” Grossman said. “I thought we would take some lumps early in the year since we play one of the toughest schedules in the state. Yet, we are winning games.”
Kniss is a key part of the success, and having her on the third line will pay dividends near the end of the season when opponents are tiring out late in games.
Grossman is just as happy as Kniss when he thinks about his third line.
“When you look at a third line that can score in big games, we are excited about the future,” Grossman said.
