Future is bright for La Salle’s touted twins

When Matt Desrosiers found out he’d landed Sara and Kate Manness, he knew the all-Manitoban package deal was a big get for his program.

The head coach of the Clarkson University Golden Knights women’s hockey team confessed he was torn between being excited and surprised that the heavily recruited fraternal twins from La Salle chose his NCAA Division 1 program, but also relieved that his persistence paid off.

“It was exciting for us when they finally told us that they wanted to come to Clarkson, because they are impact players and, obviously, we’re seeing that from Day 1 as freshmen,” Desrosiers said.

The Manness twins have quickly exceeded expectations since arriving in Potsdam, N.Y., and have become impact players for the 10-6-1 Golden Knights.

Sara, an offensively gifted centre playing on the top line and power-play unit, is leading the team in points with four goals and 17 assists through 17 games. The 5-9 forward’s average of one assist per contest is tied for sixth among all skaters in the country, and she is currently one of just two first-year players in the top 10 in that category.

Kate, a steady blue-liner, was thrust into a minute-eating role on the top pairing — including time on the power play and penalty kill — and has flourished after an early injury to a teammate.

The 5-6 defender, who has two goals and seven assists on the season, has quickly become a pillar on the back end for the Golden Knights.

“I think we had high expectations for ourselves, because we were committed to the Minnesota Gophers… we actually committed here because we wanted to be put in situations where we can be on power plays, situations where we need to score, because the main goal is for us to get better,” said Sara, who is also tied for the team lead in plus/minus at plus-13.

“It was kind of expected. Maybe not this much, but it was expected.”

It didn’t take long for Desrosiers to be convinced that the 18-year-old sisters could shoulder important roles. He believes the touted twins are built for it.

After torching the Junior Women’s Hockey League with the Balmoral Hall Blazers, Sara spent the last two seasons with the Burlington Barracudas in the competitive Ontario Women’s Hockey League’s U22 division — as a 16 and 17-year-old — where she registered 69 goals and 86 assists in 72 contests (including the post-season).

Meanwhile, Kate amassed 12 goals and 57 assists in 72 games (including the post-season) in Burlington. Her point totals have never garnered the kind of attention that her sister’s get, but the right-shooting blue-liner has stacked an equally respected reputation as a dependable defender and tremendous puck mover.

“We’re really excited to see what the future holds for them,” said Desrosiers.

“If they’re this good and getting this type of success so young in their career, and having the opportunity to get looks from Hockey Canada as well, I can just imagine what it’s going to be like when we have three more years to work with them and develop them and put them in these high-pressure situations. The future is bright for them, no question about it.”

Like any young player, there is still plenty of room for improvement, and the Manness’ are aware of that.

They joined a program with some of the highest standards in the country. Clarkson, a winner of three national championships (2014, 2017, 2018), is the only team from the Eastern College Athletic Conference to win the women’s Frozen Four and has qualified for the NCAA tournament 13 times out of the past 16 tourneys. The program is also the alma mater of several current and former women’s professional hockey stars.

That is to say, the bar isn’t low. This is a school that fully expects to be competitive each year and, to do that, it will need its players to be at their collective best every outing.

“It’s been pretty difficult. A lot of these players are really strong, and the teams in our league are really strong defensively, so it’s a lot harder to produce offensive chances,” Sara said. “It’s a bit of a difference from before, but we are also playing with better players than before, so that also helps.”

As for the college experience, that, too, has met — and in many ways exceeded — the girls’ expectations in the early going.

“We kind of have what we expected — a small school, a small town, and we know there’s not much to see outside of the school, but that’s what we were expecting. We honestly love it here,” Kate said.

No, Potsdam, a town of about 8,000, isn’t known for its robust nightlife and tourism. In fact, the closest major city is the Canadian capital, Ottawa, which is about a 90-minute drive north. That’s left the sisters to focus on their studies and business at the rink — just how they like it.

“There are no distractions,” Kate said.

winnipegfreepress.com/joshuafreysam