Coming off a huge 3-2 state title victory over Edina, the Skippers’ Girls Hockey team is looking to repeat their championship run.  The Skippers lost five key seniors to graduation, including Ms. Hockey Finalist Rachel Ramsey and Goalie of the Year Julie Friend.

The team still has many talented players, but the title of “defending champions” sets high expectations for the 2011 season.  Senior Mariah Geyen says, “There is an extreme pressure to live up to last year’s reputation. Our team, like last year, is stacked with very talented players but we do have a target on our backs being the number one team in the state. Every team is there to wipe us out and we have to try our hardest to stand our ground and remain the best in state! I think our whole team feels the pressure to repeat the championship.”

In their mindset for the upcoming season, the Skippers are being careful not to get too overconfident.  According to Captain Laura Bowman, “We would love to take another trip to the state tournament but we have to get a little into the season before we start making our team goals. We have a day, a few weeks into the season where the team sits down as a whole and make our goals for that season. I think that has really helped our team in the past, giving us direction and motivation to keep getting better every time we stepped on the ice.” 

As for the high expectations following last year’s state championship, Bowman says, “Our goal is to remember last year and let that push us to be the best we can be, but also focus on the fact that this is a completely different team and we need to focus on this season, not the past season.”

The girls are looking like they are ready for another state tournament run, although they will need some young players to step up their game after the departure of such a strong senior class.  Still, these girls are definitely capable of another state championship, and we are all looking forward to seeing them win again.