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1-2 punch!

12/16/2017, 9:30am CST
By Bryan Zollman, Let's Play Hockey

Gabbie Hughes and Anneke Linser create special on-ice chemistry.

When Gabbie Hughes and Anneke Linser were in eighth grade, Centennial coach Kristi King saw two special players with high hockey IQs who would benefit from playing with each other.

Five years later and that is proving true.

Hughes and Linser have created the state’s top tandem - a one-two punch that is wreaking havoc on opponents. The pair entered this week as two of the top 10 scorers in the state and have led the Centennial Cougars to a 9-0-1 mark to start the season. After a 10-year drought since their trip to the state tournament in 2008, Centennial is looking to get through Section 5AA with two of the state’s best all around players.

“They both know the game so well and play it much differently than any other high school kids across the nation,” said King, who took over as Centennial’s head coach in 2013, the same year she put Hughes and Linser together on a line. “They know where each other is going to be without even looking.”

The chemistry the two share on the ice was almost immediate.

“Over the last five years they have played maybe one or two games apart,” said King. “They have had chemistry since the first day we put them on a line together.”

After Saturday's 1-1 ti vs. section rival Maple Grove, Hughes has tallied 22 goals and 36 points. She is described by King as a “deceptive puck handler, playmaker and goal scorer.”

“Between her edge work and her hands, she maneuvers her way through the smallest openings to get to the scoring area and finishes,” said King. “She is a leader who prides herself in hard work and holds her teammates to the same standards.”

Hughes is always first in line for every drill, whether it is on the ice, during conditioning or in dryland training.

“I have a positive, upbeat attitude and energy that I am always trying to bring to the team,” said Hughes. “I try to be the best I can be and contribute to the team’s success.”

Linser is described by King as a player who is “extremely strong, wins battles and creates opportunities all over the ice for her and teammates.”

“She has the ability to be both a great playmaker and goal scorer,” she said. “Her vision is incredible and she sees the play develop far before it happens.”

Like Hughes, King said Linser is a great leader both on and off the ice. She currently has 11 goals and 20 assists on the season and had two big goals in the Cougars’ win last Tuesday over Blaine.

“I think my best skill is my vision for the game,” said Linser. “I know how to find people pretty well and I have good hockey sense.”

Both players started playing hockey at a young age. Hughes cut her teeth on her neighbor’s pond when she was two years old. By the time she was five, she was skating on the AAA Skate to Excellence Team and trained with Acceleration. Her dad, Terry, has been her coach through her youth until she went to high school.

Linser grew up in Hortonville, Wis., and grew up around a hockey-playing family (The Reynards). Like Hughes, she first started skating at age 2 when her father and the Reynards built and shared a rink. Because the Reynards babysat Anneke, she was always tagging along to hockey games played by the Reynard kids — Nicole, Jimmy and Rachel. When she moved to Minnesota, Linser decided she, too, wanted to be a hockey player.
Hughes and Linser started playing together at the 8U level and have since not only grown a solid chemistry on the ice, but an amount of respect for their teammate.

“Gabbie has a great mind for the game,” Linser said of her linemate. “I learn a lot by watching her hands and the types of plays she makes. She has a knack for scoring and she knows where to go when she doesn’t have the puck.”

Hughes appreciates Linser’s work ethic and skills.

“She is a hard worker all of the time,” she said. “She’s a leader on and off the ice and is a great teammate. She always puts the team first and does what she can to contribute to the team’s success.”

Due to their individual success, both girls were heavily recruited by Division I schools. Linser originally committed to Ohio State University before signing on to play at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Hughes was slated for the University of North Dakota, but once UND dropped their program, she had a decision to make.

“I was shocked when I heard they dropped their program,” Hughes said. “I was upset as I had been dreaming of going there and was really looking forward to it. But I have to realize that everything happens for a reason. And Duluth was always one of my other top choices. They were very welcoming and it just felt like home.”

Before they venture on to continue their careers as Bulldogs, Linser and Hughes have some unfinished business at Centennial. With a 9-0-1 record and a No. 3 ranking Class AA, they are looking to end the 10-year drought for the Cougars and return to the state tournament.

“Our team goals are to be conference champs, section champs and state champs,” said Hughes.

King knows teams will be keying on their two stars and that it will take a collective, group effort to accomplish those goals.

“We have a lot of selfless, hard-working, talented girls who not only understand their role, but accept it,” she said. “We have great team chemistry which translates well onto the ice. These girls all want to go the extra mile…they watch game film and do all the little things to get better every day.”

With Linser and Hughes leading the way, Centennial is certainly a favorite to not only get to state, but be one of a handful of teams who could hoist the trophy in the last game of the year.

“Ultimately, I want to lead our team to play in the state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center,” said Linser. “It would be incredible for this team to win it all.”

 

Photo: Nick Wosika
 

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Tag(s): State Of Hockey  News  Bryan Zollman