As the fall sports season approaches an end at BSM, winter sports are beginning in full swing. The BSM girls’ hockey team captains this year are seniors Emma Peschel, Emma Hoen, and Sophie Melsness. The girls began the season with their first game on Thursday, November 11, against Andover resulting in a tough loss.

Nearly half of the girls’ hockey team is made up of underclassmen, making for an equally experienced and inexperienced group of girls. “This year, we have a lot of girls that need to get up to speed with the varsity level, but they’ve done a really good job so far. The upperclassmen, seniors specifically, have done an amazing job of including the younger girls and building relationships with them. They’re great to have around and it’s fun to see which girls will be in the program for the next few years,” Peschel said

Having a large number of underclassmen on the team this year creates a different dynamic compared to previous seasons, when the team consisted of more upperclassmen. “I started playing on the team in 8th grade so I’ve been an underclassmen with these girls for a while now, but I love being a younger player on the team, just because of how good of leaders all the upperclassmen are,” sophomore forward Sienna Duffy said.

The BSM girls’ hockey team had four seniors sign their letters of intent on November 10 to further their hockey careers in college. Emma Peschel is committed to Ohio State University, Sophie Melsness is committed to Merrimack College, Emma Hoen is committed to Lindenwood University, and Mary Zavoral is committed to the University of St.Thomas.

There are eight seniors on the team this year, and many of these players have been playing hockey together for several years now. “My goal for the season is to make sure I spend a lot of time with this year’s seniors because we have been playing together for the last three years and in three months that’s coming to an end,” Duffy said.

The Red Knights ended their season last year in the section final against Edina, losing 3-1. “Edina is always our top rival. It’s always a tough game because there’s a lot of mental toughness needed….They’re the ones who would most likely be stopping us from reaching the Xcel Energy Center in February, but we’re getting through them this year. I know we can and will,” Peschel said.

With hopes of coming back as a stronger team this season, the Red Knights are motivated to make it to state this year. “It’s always a goal to get to the state championship, especially your senior year. I think with the group that we have, it’s very doable. I’m so excited to see what our team accomplishes and hopefully, we’ll end the year with at least one blue medal, maybe even two,” Peschel said.