Girls hockey played Bloomington Jefferson in the first round of sections on Feb. 8. Hosting a section game for the first time in years, Hopkins Park ruled the rink and won 4-2. The Royals finished the game strong in the third period, breaking the tied score of 1-1 left over from the second period.
Head coach Ryan St. Martin said the energy was high being at home for the start of sections, and it felt more comfortable for the team. He said he was grateful to have the team prove themselves and win in their rink.
“It was an honor to start at home and we’re so grateful to get this win and prove ourselves at our home base. I thought it comforting to be here and have our normal routines for such a big game,” St. Martin said. “The energy was sky high. It was fun to see the stands packed and have such high stakes at home.”
Sophomore Lianna Hess said this game was important for the team’s season and got everyone excited for the next game of sections. She said being at home amplified the electricity of the game.
“This game was significant and will make us very hyped and excited for sections. We haven’t had such a great game in a long time, and we’re going to be ready to go for the next game,” Hess said. “We haven’t had a home game for sections in a long time, and this is exactly what we wanted. Winning this game was so exciting and important to all of us.”
Senior captain Rowan Jansen said as the team leader, she worked hard in this game to encourage others on the ice and make sure everyone worked as a team during the difficult plays. She said the encouragement and positivity from this game will help the team feel uplifted going into the next round of sections.
“As a leader on the ice, it’s key to be encouraging along the way. Hockey is a stressful sport, and it can be hard to play as one player by yourself and not as a team. Everyone has to work together. We focused on team bonding and communicating before this game to understand what we would focus on,” Jansen said. “It’s going to be a challenging road from here because we’re in the hardest section, but having this win under our belt will give us momentum and encouragement will get us there.”
St. Martin said it’s important for the players to trust what they have been working on all year and the results will show that. He said taking the game one play at a time is key.
“The key to the team’s performance tonight was taking it one play at a time and being worried about staying out of the penalty box. We needed to control our controllers,” St. Martin said. “My message to the team was to stick to our process, trust in what we’ve been doing all year and we’re going to see good results.”
Hess said a big part of winning games is being able to trust each other as a team as well as preparing beforehand and stepping into their roles on the ice. She said moving the puck around and creating more momentum within plays is important for success.
“Our team had really good chemistry today with moving around the puck and looking to our teammates. We created more movement with the puck and trusted each other out on the ice,” Hess said. “The key to our performance was preparing a lot before, trusting each other and coming into our positions and roles out there during the game.”
Jansen said this game was more emotional being at home as it could have been one of the last games for the seniors this season. According to her, coming together as a team and playing as a whole helped the team to achieve more and improve their performance in this game.
“There were a lot of emotions because I’m a senior this year and one bad game could be the end for all of us this year. If we played selfishly and not together, it would have ended the season,” Jansen said. “There were a lot of emotional moments for me, but the energy in the locker room and before the game felt amazing. We haven’t played on home ice for years, and to have the first section game be a win felt so good for all of us.”
Park girls hockey plays their next game against Edina at 8 p.m. Feb. 12 at Parade Ice Arena.
