College of St. Benedict Women's Ice Hockey

Kranz hopes to take that one step further and translate it into a move up the MIAC rankings in her sixth season with the program in 2016-17. Saint Benedict, which has seen increased success against ranked opponents in each of Kranzs first five seasons, swept No. 4 St. Thomas and beat and tied No. 9 Gustavus in 2015-16. The sweep of the Tommies marked the first for CSB since 1999-2000, and the win against the Gusties was CSBs third in the past two years. CSB is now 3-0-1 against Gustavus which has been nationally ranked in each game in the past two seasons. The big wins were part of a 2015-16 season that saw Saint Benedict finish 7-15-3 overall and 5-10-3 in the MIAC. CSB, which looked to be a playoff contender midway through the season, finished eighth in the conference. Junior Elli Marvin earned All-MIAC honors to lead the Blazers in 2015-16. She is the first athlete to be named to the leagues first team since 2011. Junior Maddie Rainey and sophomore Brigette Miller earned honorable mention accolades. Miller tied the school record for points in a game with four against St. Thomas. First year goalie Angel Hillstrom also had a big year for CSB. She set the school record for save percentage in a season at .929, and also earned MIAC Athlete of the Week honors twice after her big weekends against Gustavus and St. Thomas. She is the first CSB hockey player to earn multiple player of the week honors in a season. Marvin also earned MIAC Athlete of the Week honors after a big weekend in CSBs sweep of St. Olaf. Saint Benedict finished 7-13-2 overall and 6-10-2 in the MIAC in 2014-15. The Blazers picked up one of the biggest sweeps in Kranzs tenure in 2013-14 when it defeated Gustavus Adolphus ranked No. 7 in the NCAA Division III at the time in a home/away series late in the season. The loss was the Gusties first in MIAC play since 2003-04. CSB finished the year 7-18 overall and 4-14 in the MIAC. Kranz is 31-76-12 overall and 21-59-10 in the MIAC in her first five seasons at the helm. She guided CSB to a 5-13-4 overall record and a 3-13-2 record in the MIAC in her second season with the team in 2012-13. Kranz finished her first season 5-17-3 overall and 3-12-3 in 2011-12, and picked up her first win as a head coach in her first game on the bench when the team played Marian and won 4-2 on Oct. 29, 2011. CSBs recent wins over St. Thomas and Gustavus are just a part of the increased success against ranked opponents. CSB tied No. 9 Concordia 3-3 in 2012, and the next year tied the Cobbers again by the same score. Also in 2012-13, Saint Benedict beat St. Catherine, which was receiving votes in the national poll, 3-0 and handed the Wildcats their first MIAC loss of the year. The Blazers split with Augsburg in both 2013-14 and again in 2014-15. Kranz has coached 11 All-MIAC Honorable Mention selections and two All-MIAC picks. She has also coached 21 Blazers who have earned Academic All-MIAC accolades. Kranz came to CSB after serving as an assistant coach at nearby St. Cloud State from 2006 to 2011. With the NCAA Division I Huskies, she assisted in daily practice planning, with a concentration on coaching forwards. She also served as the teams recruiting coordinator and monitored the academic progress of her players. Competing in the rugged Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), a league where members Minnesota, Minnesota Duluth and Wisconsin had combined to win all 12 NCAA Division I Womens Hockey Championships at the time, she helped the Huskies to a third-place finish in 2009-10. That season the Huskies became the first team in league history outside of the UM, UMD and UW to finish in the top three. She also helped SCSU to two fourth-place finishes, in 2007-08 and 2008-09. During the 2010-11 season, Kranz served as an assistant coach for the Under-18 U.S. Womens National Team, winning a gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden. Before SCSU, Kranz served as a coach at Shattuck-St. Marys School in Faribault, Minn., from 2002-06. From 2004-06, she served as the assistant girls prep hockey coach and helped the team win back-to-back USA Hockey Girls Under-19 national championships. During her tenure at Shattuck-St. Marys, she was responsible for recruiting, travel and budget management, and also served as the public information coordinator for the private schools athletic programs. A native of Waukesha, Wis., Kranz played collegiately at NCAA Division I Providence College from 1998-2002, scoring 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 104 career games with the Friars. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 2002 from Providence. Kranz has also been active as a coach and team leader with USA Hockey, serving as an evaluator for the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association since 2000, while also working with the Minnesota Selects 15 camp since 2008 and coaching at the USA Hockey Central District Camp. 2010-2011: Assistant coach for Under-18 US National Women's hockey team 2008-Present: Works with Minnesota Select's 15 camp in Mankato, Minn. 2006-2011: Assistant women's hockey coach at St. Cloud State University 2002-2006: Assistant girls' hockey coach at Shattuck-St. Mary's 2000-Present : Evaluator for Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association 2002 : Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Providence College Scored 22 career points while playing hockey at Providence College   Kranz's Milestones: 1 st victory - Oct. 29, 2011 Marian University 25th win - Nov. 7, 2015 Marian University