With the State Tournament looming, the BSM girls’ hockey team has defeated Hopkins 2-0 in Section 6AA’s, and is going on to the next round to face Edina.  The game was in a scoreless tie until 3:22 left in the third, when sophomore Mandy Nylander scored to make it 1-0.  Later in the period, fellow sophomore Sammy Deterding added an empty net goal to seal the shutout victory at 2-0 for the Red Knights.  Senior captain Anna DeGuilio was especially impressive in the affair, stopping all 39 shots she faced.  

While it’s true that every team makes it to Sections, the seed each team gets depends on their overall season record.  “There are seven teams in our section; the first ranked team gets a “bye,” the second seed plays the seventh, and so on.  A “bye” automatically gets you to the second round,” senior captain Sydney Simone said.

The team is both excited and nervous for this year’s tournament and is hoping for a better outcome than that of last year’s.  “[I am] excited to see how far we can make it in the section tournament.  [We are] looking for redemption from last year.  Obviously [we are] nervous because sections are ‘do or die,’” senior goalie Anna DeGiulio said.

The team wants and plan to do everything they can to keep their season going. “I guess I’m nervous because if we all don’t come ready and prepared to play, it could easily end our season,” senior captain Julia Stelljes said.

For the most part, the team relies on similar game strategy for each game, but changes it up sometimes depending on various factors.  “It kind of depends on how our first period goes. Going into every game we have to outwork them, and have to try and generate a lot of scoring chances, then, depending on how the first period goes, the coaches come in and talk to us about what we can do better going into the second and third periods,” Simone said.

This year’s team is quite similar to last year’s, aside from four new freshmen that have joined the ranks.  “We had a few seniors last year.  This year it’s a lot of the same players from last year and we have a few new freshmen.  I think going into sections this year will be better because most of the girls have experience from last year and kind of know what to expect, I think that will help us out,” Simone said.

As for rituals and superstitions, the team as a whole has a routine, and so do each of the individual players. “We just realized that listening to old rock music gets us pumped up before the game and we come out and play our best,” DeGiulio said.

From running laps, to getting Starbuck’s, to having her skates sharpened, most players have a unique pre-game ritual.  “I have to get my skates sharpened for the practice the day before the game,” Simone said. “I always get a Starbucks “Strawberry Refresher” before the game, and depending on the rink, try and run four decently fast laps, because otherwise I feel like my legs aren’t warmed up,” Stelljes said.

“For every [regular] season game you want to go into it prepared and with the desire to win, and with sections there’s more on the line because if you lose, you’re done.  You need to be really focused and ready to play the game, because if you don’t win your season’s over,” Simone said.

As for their game against Edina, they will battle the Hornets on Wednesday, February 10, at 5:30pm at the famed Parade Ice Gardens in Minneapolis.