The defending state champion Aberdeen Cougars will have a similar look on the ice, but a new look on the bench this season.

Last year’s assistant David Sandvig has taken over the reigns of the squad this winter.

He said it doesn’t feel much different moving into the role of head coach.

“If it was a different group of girls, I’d probably say maybe,” Sandvig said, “but I head coached these girls since they were in squirt level, through U14s, been with them at varsity as an assistant coach to where it really feels pretty comfortable.”

The Cougars, who start their season by hosting Jamestown on Saturday night at the Odde Ice Center, return a dozen members from last year and Sandvig knows what the current players are capable of accomplishing.

“I’ve had them for a lot of years, so know them pretty well. We’ve always played the game pretty straight up, pretty straight forward along the way,” Sandvig said. “We’ve had a lot of successes with this group. We’ve gone to tournaments out of state, Minnesota, North Dakota, that kind of thing, we’ve had some first places, second places. Solid group, they’ve played together for quite a while.”

Captain for this year’s squad is defenseman Maddie Sandvig, and assistant captains are forwards Rachel Siefken and Alyssa Roehrich.

“Maddie’s been on the team since she was an eighth-grader,” Coach Sandvig said. “She’s definitely the most seasoned amongst the group.”

Siefken and Roehrich bring experience and energy to the squad.

“Rachel and Alyssa both are just phenomenal forwards. … Rachel’s methodical. She’s got amazing puck control and vision,” Coach Sandvig said. “Alyssa has as big of energy as she has a smile and just constantly works. She backchecks like nobody else. She forechecks like nobody else. She’s always puck hungry.”

Then there’s goalie Chloe Vikander, who is coming off a shutout in last year’s state championship game.

“She was pretty much tied with the other top goalie in the state” Sandvig said of last year’s final stats. “Shots on and saves were within three. … To go from being a skater a couple years ago to that level is pretty cool. She’s been putting in some work and continues to improve.”

To be sure, the Cougars did lose some firepower off of last year’s team, but Sandvig is confident that other players will be able to pick up the pace this season.

“We lost three seniors last year and you always miss them every time. The maturity and game presence and seniority always has a value to the group, but our girls that are coming up have been playing a long time together,” Sandvig said. “The girls that are coming up behind them have also been playing with these girls intermittently for a while, too. They’ve been playing with the similar coaches. I don’t really feel or see that there be a lot of fall off from that.”

What might be just a tad different this year is a little less depth. In the past the Cougars have worn opponents down with three relentless lines.

“Our numbers will be a little smaller than they’ve been in past years,” Sandvig said, “so that doesn’t change things dramatically, but it’s not quite as straight up, just running three straight lines.”

He said he would like to see the Cougars continue to push the pace on the ice, but also have the ability to finish off possessions and not have as many close calls.

“Wearing people down is a good thing, but wearing them down and keeping it close at the same time is not something we’re hoping to do this year,” Sandvig said. “We’d really like to create a little more separation, a little comfort, support our goalie a little bit better and keep a little bit better separation in the scoring.”

While the Cougars have been an elite team for the past decade, Sandvig noted that things could get a litlte interesting in the league this year due the addition of some new skaters.

“It sounds like some girls have moved into towns from out of town, so I think there’s some people that we haven’t seen before that we’ll see this year, which is fun. I think we’re looking forward to the season,” Sandvig said. “I think there’s some question marks on who’s going to beat who this year, which is really fun. There’s been a lot more parity in the league in the last few years then there was years ago.”

That said, look for the Cougars to remain among the state’s top teams and be right in the mix for another state championship this season.

“I’ve got a great group of girls, great group of parents,” Sandvig said, “and I think we’re ready to have a great season.”