Anna Dale hits career hockey milestone on NCAA DIII college ice
- Klas Stolpe
- 2 hours ago
- 7 min read
Junior captain scores 50th goal for Lebanon Valley College Dutchmen
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
2023 Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé graduate Anna Dale continues to follow her ice hockey dream as she pursues a nursing degree at NCAA Division III Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pennsylvania.
Dale, a forward and team captain, scored her 50th career college goal Feb. 13 in a 2-1 victory over the Stevenson University Mustangs at the Reisterstown SportsPlex in Reisterstown, Maryland.
“Anna Dale is a game-changing force every time she hits the ice as a junior,” Lebanon Valley College assistant coach Jon Benchich said. “She has produced one of the most successful hockey seasons in the Mac Conference, leading the nation in scoring categories. Just is such a clutch player. Game-winning goals, short/handed goals, she does it all.”
“I actually had no idea that I had scored my 50th goal until my coaches told me,” Dale said. “It was actually pretty funny because I scored my first NCAA goal ever, my NCAA-leading goal last year and my 50th goal in the same rink at Stevenson. Afterwards though, after I knew, it was kind of just a ‘wow’ moment. To realize how much I have done and to not take the rest of the season and my next-to-last year for granted. That is my biggest advice for younger players, to not take anything for granted. You only have a certain amount of time playing competitive hockey and to cherish every moment of it.”
Dale’s success this year is coming off a sophomore season as the MAC Offensive Player of the Year and the first hockey All-American in LVC history.
“It doesn’t feel like my award,” Dale said of last season’s honor. “It is shared. I was just so happy about it because, yeah, I wanted to be successful, but I also feel like coming from Alaska it is almost even cooler because we just don’t have as much resources and availability as people, especially on the East Coast, with hockey have. It is nice to know that for both boys and girls from back home it is possible in Juneau, you just have to work hard for it.”
For LVC head coach Matt Yingst and assistant coach Benchich, who took over the program nine years ago, the addition of Dale has put the Dutchmen on the recruiting map.
“She is just so dominant on the stat sheet, offensive and defense,” Benchich said. “But she also defines the game as just a great person on and off the ice. I mean definitely in the classroom she is such an example on the ice being a nurse, doing clinicals, getting everything she needs to get done. She has been a dream to coach. And it is definitely going to be a shame to lose her next year after her senior year, but I can tell you she is going to shatter records.”
Dale currently has 83 career points — 50 goals and 33 assists — and is averaging five points per game for her career.
“She will leave here as the all-time leading scorer in LVC history and I don't think anyone is ever going to come close to that,” Benchich said. “She was a diamond in the rough. We found her and she didn't really get the chance to visit our school. Obviously she visited online, but we are just so happy that we found her, and definitely we will try and find players in the future that fit her mold if we are recruiting for LVC.”
Dale and her Dutchmen teammates are creating a buzz around their campus.
“Students are walking around wearing hockey jerseys,” Benchich said. “Girls hockey jerseys. People know who plays on the ice hockey team and everyone is thrilled about the season. I don’t want the season to end, this is definitely a fun year, and they are a really fun and good group to be around. I will tell you the girls are tired, though.”
Dale routinely will put 30-plus minutes of game time on the ice.
“Some days we just can’t stay out of the box so Anna is in, out there on the penalty kills,” Benchich said. “She is first-line on power play. She has done a great job adjusting because once you are an all-American and everybody knows who you are you are, you are getting the best line every time and she just has been able to stand up to the game. Her line is clicking and we have even moved her off a couple times just so we could score, get some opportunities for her to create some stuff. And she has been nothing but, ‘Yeah coach, whatever I need to do to help the team.’ She is just a dream to coach.”
If the Dutchmen win out, defeating Alvernia University on Friday for senior night and Stevenson University on Saturday, both Dutchmen home games, they will clinch their first-ever home playoff game, a MAC semifinal on Feb. 28.
“That would also set a record for us for wins,” Benchich said. “We are just so happy with what we are doing. Obviously, we are going to lose a couple players this year, but Anna as a captain is just a leader on the ice and her return is definitely helping recruiting because now as a program we are top of our conference, and really everybody wants to really look at our school. Obviously, Anna is going to leave here with a college degree in nursing and be able to put so many opportunities with a job. Personally I believe if she wanted to try and go play pro somewhere I think she would have that opportunity because she is that good.”
The LVC Dutchmen (17-6) are ranked 22nd in the nation and have beaten the NCAA Division III’s fifth-ranked team in the country this season, a 4-3 overtime win over MAC opponent Wilkes University (21-1-1) in November and played them within a goal in late January.
“Skating at the college level is so much more than I would have imagined,” Dale said. “There are about 1,200 D3 women’s ice hockey players so just playing at this level and succeeding is such an accomplishment. When you are ranked in the top 30 teamwise or for individual statistics, it is so rewarding. Knowing that myself as well as my team is among the best in the country has been one of the greatest feelings ever.”
LVC coaches also credit Dale’s hockey upbringing.
“I think why she is such a dominant player is obviously where she played and where she came from, there wasn't really girls’ hockey,” Benchich said. “So she's played boys’ hockey her entire life. And if you haven't seen the college game with girls, it is really physical now. They are letting them bump and grind, and she's in there and she has taken some hits, and she is able to absorb them and continue on. She never complains. She's always blocking shots. I don't know how she does it. And her course load is unreal because now she is doing clinicals for her nursing. So she is up late at night doing her clinicals, doing all this stuff and she'll rush over for practice. And on the ice she hates to get praise, which I think is so funny because obviously it's not about her, but it is. Like I've said, anyone starts to try and praise her, she'll turn it around back and it's all on the team...Like I said, she never visited our campus, but when she committed and stepped on campus for our first day of school, it has been our lucky day ever since.”
Dale noted what it takes to play at the college level.
“Spending time training and conditioning to stay in shape is so important during the summer and out of season,” she said. “First, with the time commitment, I think the offseason is the most important. Spending time training and conditioning to stay in shape is so important during the summer and out of season. When you start the season here at college, we immediately begin playing six days a week October-March so there is not much downtime at all. This makes being in shape very important not only for success but so you don’t get fatigued during season since there is little downtime to recover...You need to come into practice ready to go because you also have the classroom, which is even more important if you want to stay on the ice…”
The LVC staff said Dale’s career for the Dutchmen doesn’t end at graduation.
“That is one thing we tell the recruits,” Benchich said. “We don’t want you for four years, we want you for the rest of your life. That is what is really cool is that now we are getting alumni reaching out after they have graduated from the program…It is going to be a sad day when we have to say goodbye to Anna, but we think if she wanted to she could play at the Winter Olympics. But she really cares so much about people and also really wants to return to Juneau and be a nurse and care for her hometown.”
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
