Minnesota has started to feel like home for Lakeville South senior Morgan Fritz-Ward. A second home, anyway.

The Iowa native moved to the Twin Cities two years ago for one reason: better hockey. She is part of a Cougars team this season that hopes to be in the mix among some of the best in the area -- if not the state.

The team is only a handful of official practices into the season, but already optimism is high.

"We're looking pretty good," Fritz-Ward said. "Our team is one of the best this school has seen. This is our year. We want to go far."

After playing junior varsity as a sophomore because of transfer rules, Fritz-Ward burst onto the scene last season, finishing with 32 goals and 25 assists. It helped earned her a full-ride scholarship to Quinnipiac beginning next fall, where she'll be a freshman with Cougars teammate and starting goalie Chelsea Laden.

Laden, a two-year captain, has been on varsity team since seventh grade. Her final season in a Cougars uniform could be a monumental one. Along with Fritz-Ward, six other leading scorers from last season return to play in front of her. Four players finished with more than 30 points.

"The more time you spend together, the more chemistry you build," Laden said. "The defense and the [forward] lines in front of me, they know me and how I like certain things to play out. We don't even have to talk about it anymore; they know where they're going by now. I trust that. And that gives me a lot more of a cushion, some support back there."

With turnover inevitable in high school sports, the experience Lakeville South brings to the ice this season is rare. That can work to the Cougars' advantage on multiple levels.

While it's true you cannot put a price on experience talent-wise, the mental aspect is there as well.

Every player on this year's roster will remember the feeling of being upset by cross-town rival Lakeville North in last year's Class 2A, Section 1 final. The Cougars won both regular-season meetings but fell short in the one that mattered most. It would have given Lakeville South back-to-back state tournament appearances. Instead, the Panthers celebrated their first trip to state as the Cougars watched.

"We feel really good with all that we have," Cougars coach Perry Wilkinson said. "It's a solid roster with a bunch of really good kids who have learned a lot together playing a lot of hockey. It would appear we have the making of what could be a pretty special year for our program."

The Cougars enter the season ranked No. 8 in Class 2A by Let's Play Hockey magazine. They are the lone south metro team among the top 15.

"You can say that means a lot, but then look at last year's section final and say that doesn't mean anything," Wilkinson said. "In the end, our experience helps because of the leadership we'll have. I know all offseason they talked about making this one memorable. They really have their minds in the right place."