An identity crisis has hit the Irondale girls hockey

 

team.

 

The Knights are sporting an 11-0 record and the

 

Pioneer Press' No. 1 ranking in the metro after a 9-0

 

thumping of Totino-Grace in a North Suburban

 

Conference game Saturday afternoon, but they are

 

not convinced they are one of the elite teams in the

 

state.

 

"We think we know where we are at in the whole

 

scheme of things, but we aren't an elite team yet,"

 

Knights coach Tom Rodefeld said. "We aren't 100

 

percent sure where, but we are close."

 

Their play Saturday was worthy of a state power

 

with junior all-state forward Meghan Lorence

 

scoring four goals and assisting on two in a game

 

Irondale dominated from the opening faceoff.

 

Samantha Donovan chipped in two goals, and Gina

 

McDonald had a goal and two assists. Irondale has

 

outscored the opposition 91-18 this season.

 

"They're an exceptional team," Totino-Grace coach

 

all year, and we've had a tough schedule. We weren't

 

prepared, and that was my fault. I didn't prepare

 

them well enough for that club."

 

Irondale will see soon enough how far its program

 

has come, playing in the Edina holiday tournament,

 

which begins, Dec. 28. The Knights ?nished last out

 

of eight teams last season in the tournament that

 

features many of Minnesota's elite teams. Irondale

 

opens against Grand Rapids/Greenway, which is 4-

 

6-2 with most of its losses against state powers.

 

Irondale lost to the Lightning in overtime in last

 

year's quarter?nals.

 

Also in the tournament are host Edina, Hopkins,

 

Hill-Murray, Maple Grove, Duluth and Lakeville

 

South.

 

"It's really exciting to have played so well to this

 

point, but we have so much more to do," said

 

McDonald, who has given an oral commitment to

 

play at Harvard. "Doing well in that tournament is

 

something we're capable of, as long as we continue

 

to play at a high level."

 

Said Rodefeld: "Finishing eighth last year was

 

actually a good experience. It was our chance to

 

play three great teams without any expectations."

 

And now?

 

"We have incredible talent, experience and depth,

 

but we aren't going to get ahead of ourselves," he s

 

aid. "When we play in those high-level

 

tournaments, you notice that those great teams make

 

adjustments. We used to be one-dimensional and

 

couldn't do that. If we're going to be one of those

 

great teams, can we make those adjustments to hang

 

with the big teams? We will see."