This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Warriors Girls Hockey Rallied to Right a Lopsided Season

The Warriors eventually found a winning rhythm to finish up the season strong.

The Henry Sibley High School girls varsity hockey team played its final game of the 2010-11 season last week, ending their year in the second round of the section 3AA playoffs with a 3-0 loss to the Apple Valley Eastview Lightning.

Although the Warriors got off to a rough start last November, compiling a 2-8-1 record to begin the season, Head Coach Mike Haedrich was ultimately both pleased and impressed with the effort his team put in over the year. The Warriors ended the year with a 13-10-2 regular season record, advancing to the 2nd round of the playoffs after defeating the East Ridge Raptors 4-3.

“It was one of the most exciting years we’ve ever had,” Haedrich said. “It’s a real tribute to the girls that they were able to play with all the best teams and never give in, never get blown away by anybody.”

Although he expressed disappointment with the playoff loss to Eastview, Haedrich acknowledged that the Lightning, who ultimately advanced to the playoff championship game, were a tough opponent.

The Warriors’ season will be remembered for the squad’s dramatic mid-season turnaround. Following a heartbreaking 3-2 home loss to the Tartan Titans on Dec. 17, which put the Warriors’ record at 2-8-1, the remainder of the season became a rally. The team began pulling it together the very next game, defeating the St. Paul Blades 5-4 after being down 3-1 in the 2nd period.

“(From that game on) we just got on a roll, winning our Christmas tournament and beating Orono, who were undefeated at the time,” said Haedrich.

Although the Warriors never looked back, Haedrich couldn’t identify any single aspect of their season which accounted for the dramatic difference in the team’s record. Sibley won five straight after defeating the Blades before tying against the Simley Spartans and then losing to the Hill-Murray Pioneers in mid-January. After recovering their winning ways against North St. Paul, the Warriors would lose only one more game–to the South St. Paul Packers, on Jan. 22–before last week's playoff loss against Eastview.

“I think we just learned how to win,” Haedrich said of the change in the team’s play. With a healthy squad and good team chemistry from start to finish during the year, senior co-captain Emily Usset was more blunt about the turnaround.

“We just got tired of losing,” she said when asked what made the difference. “We realized (at the time) that they were all close games, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

Team members said that their record early on didn’t necessarily reflect the quality of their play. The season’s poor start could be partly attributed to a string of tough non-conference games, as the Warriors played powerhouses Irondale and Hopkins, alongside tough opponents Cretin-Derham Hall and Eagan, in the season’s first six games. Each of Sibley’s first four losses were by a single goal, with defeats against Hopkins and Eagan both coming in overtime.

Haedrich was quick to credit a well-rounded team for the Warriors’ ultimate success, citing the outstanding play of senior forwards Tara Baago, Dani Gish and Kaleigh Kramer, junior forwards Lauren Ahern and Rachel Friberg, and sophomore forward Jessica Goldberg. Haedrich also cited the defensive excellence Usset displayed all year, although he stressed that the Warriors’ season was really the result of a fantastic group effort by the young athletes.

“We just got better,” Haedrich said when pressed to account for the dramatic change in the Warriors’ record. “We were improving steadily, and everyone contributed.”

Usset said that, though it was a tough thing to quantify, the team’s remarkable chemistry, with girls of all ages getting along really well, helped the team jell as the season progressed.

“I think everyone would agree with me (on that),” said Usset.

Including the playoffs, the Warriors ended the season with a 14-11-2 record.

The team’s celebratory banquet will be held in a few weeks, after which time girls hockey at Henry Sibley will not meet again until the start of the 2011-12 season. Looking forward, team members said the Warriors’ success next year would depend on younger players adequately assuming the mantle left by departing senior goalies Shannon Cunningham and Ellen Johnson.

Find out what's happening in Mendota Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Usset also called on current junior co-captain Rachel Friberg to step into her leadership role even further, while Coach Haedrich said a number of current third line forwards, including Alexa Wild, Erika Hillstrom and Demi Cooper, would prove crucial to the Warriors’ 2011-12 season.

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Mendota Heights