 "Photo: Jen Stiles")
It took until game 36 of her career for Stephanie Moberg to know what losing in collegiate hockey meant.
She had Manhattanville to thank for that.
But before that, she went through the motions as a defenseman for the Plattsburgh State women’s hockey team in her 2006-07 rookie campaign for an undefeated, national championship winner.
“It seemed like no matter what adversity came on us, we’d overcome it,” Moberg said. “We didn’t have the most skilled team, but we played as a team. We weren’t the greatest friends off the ice, but on the ice we showed up and did what we needed to get done.”
Moberg was accustomed to playing through adversity.
Prior to her career at PSUC, which has seen her blossom into one of the best pure point-getters in the country, Moberg dealt with people and coaches telling her she wasn’t good enough.
That inspired her to compete hard in winning her second national championship in as many years in 2008 and compile the 129 points she has through this season — her senior year.
“I think she always had confidence,” PSUC Head Coach Kevin Houle said. “I think she also had a need to prove herself as being a top player. That’s what separates the best players from the very good players. She has that need to prove herself as a top player, and I think that’s what makes her one of the premiere players in all of D-III hockey.”
Moberg started out playing roller hockey with her brother, Rob, and other neighbors in the suburbs outside Anaheim, Calif.
As long as she was prepared, her parents had no problem with it.
“(She) just put on her helmet and her shin guards and off she went,” said Paul, Stephanie’s father.
The Mobergs picked up and moved to Saratoga Springs when Stephanie was 7.
Then she started playing ice hockey.
Around age 13, she decided she wanted to play college hockey.
She improved her hockey skills playing high school hockey in Saratoga and then playing for Northwood Prep School in Lake Placid for her junior and senior years.
That freshman season at PSUC was the only one in which Moberg flanked the blue line for the Lady Cardinals.
She also played for the Syracuse Stars as the defense partner of current PSUC defenseman Kara Buehler.
But after that freshman season, she moved to forward for her sophomore year and has stayed there since.
“She was so good at seeing the ice and carrying the puck,” Buehler said. “That hasn’t changed. It didn’t surprise me that she would go on forward. It just comes naturally to her.”
When she came to PSUC, there was a need to fill the blue line.
But Houle could see the potential Moberg had to be a point-producing forward.
“We’d watch her in practice when we did certain cross-ice games and just thought she’d be such a good forward, and eventually that’s where we put her,” Houle said. “You could see her puck skills and her shot, and you knew she’d be a very good player at the forward position. She certainly grew into that as a sophomore and stepped into her own last year as a junior.”
Last season brought a first-team All-American honor for Moberg, who led the team in goals (18) and points (39) in 29 games.
This year, she has followed up with 22 goals and 39 points through 24 games.
She leads the team with seven game-winning goals as one of two senior captains for the Lady Cardinals.
This season was the first time the team voted for its captains.
Moberg and Laurie Bowler were voted into the positions.
“I think it proves they respect me and Laurie both,” Moberg said. “And having your team’s respect goes a lot further than having coach assign it to you.”
Support from the team goes a long way, but so does the support Moberg gets from her parents.
Paul and Margie, Moberg’s mother, are at nearly every game, home or away.
Moberg said she can count the number of games they have missed in her college career on one hand.
At every game, Paul brings his camera to take pictures of his daughter and milestones in the careers of the other players.
“Somebody’s got to be their fan,” Paul said. “I try to capture the moment. I’ve taken a lot of kids’ pictures who scored their first goals and we give them a framed picture of their first goal. It’s pretty fun.”
With the Lady Cardinals headed into a playoff run in the ECAC-West tournament next weekend, Moberg sees the potential of this season’s team.
She said she thought the team was going to need to do a lot of work after watching it in the first few practices this year.
But now, a year after the team lost in the NCAA quarterfinals, even though she said they were a skilled team, she sees this year’s team as having the right amount of heart to have a strong playoff showing.
“I’ve won two national championships and one ECAC championship, so I’d like to even those out,” Moberg said. “I think after we swept Elmira (in November), it proved that hey, we can go somewhere with this team. It was a little skeptical before that point. But we have a great team. Couldn’t be happier to go out with anybody else.”
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