(Photo: Black Ice ran in five tries over visiting MN Valkyries. Bruce Ryman photo)

The Denver Black Ice got a nice boost after dropping their opener to the Austin Valkyries, and rebounded with a 29-14 win over the visiting Minnesota Valkyries. 2012 marks the first year that the Minneapolis side has not competed in the four-year-old Women’s Premier League.

The Valkyries are rebuilding and were without key players like Christy Ringgenberg and Kristin Zdanczewicz, but didn’t let their absences slow their intensity. Minnesota’s forwards, behind key players like Libby Berg, kept the Valkyries in contention all game and got on the board within the first five minutes for the 7-0 lead.

“We were still settling in against a good team and were trying to figure out how to handle their forwards,” Black Ice coach Wendy Cook said. “They were really tenacious, counter-rucked a lot. We adjusted and buckled down, and found our groove about 20 minutes in.”

That’s when Black Ice started running in the tries – the first from scrumhalf April Digiannantonio, followed by lock Molly Kling and inside center Ashley Haight. Amie Kern added a conversion for the 17-0 lead.

“They played us really physically, so we just had to figure out where the gaps were,” Cook said. “Minnesota only had one or two subs, and with the altitude, they got tired.”

Fitness was something that Black Ice has really focused on, especially after their opener was decided in the last 20 minutes.

Kling and Digiannantonio, both of whom really stepped up their game for Saturday’s match, repeated their first-half efforts, as did Kern, and outscored Minnesota 12-7 in the second half for the win.

This victory was especially momentous for Black Ice, which went winless last season. The team has its dedicated coach back after a year sabbatical, and added Krissy Vargas to the staff. The squad didn’t play much 7s over the summer and instead Cook held a series of individual skill sessions to prepare the squad for league season. And now they’re starting to gel.

“This team isn’t built on any superstars,” Cook said. “No one plays at Westerns; they’re really playing for each other. We’re discovering really talented athletes, women who might not have a place on Glendale, and now we’re getting athletes in the backs that we haven’t really had in the past few years. I love watching them play together. We have some work to do, but we’ve already made huge improvements since last year.”

Black Ice will be tested against Detroit next weekend and won’t be traveling with all their subs, but will still field a good squad. Detroit fell 34-5 to Chicago North Shore, the strongest DI team in the region.