Coming off a state championship win two seasons ago and a runner-up finish last year, the Bay Area Ice Bears girls’ hockey team is currently 18-1 and looking to return to the state championship game for a third year in a row.
The Bears team is a co-op team with girls from area schools such as Notre Dame, De Pere, Bay Port, West De Pere, Ashwaubenon and others.
Addi Dahl, Ava McDonald, Lucy Phillips, Kade Kitchenmaster and Carmen Muniz Capel represent Notre Dame.
Despite the differences in schools, the Tritons on the team are very thankful for the relationships they have built with their teammates.
“Our team is very close, and we spend a lot of time on and off the ice together,” explained McDonald. “Most of the time, when we are not at school, we are at the rink together.”
“The older girls in the program make the younger ones feel welcome. My favorite part about being in this girls’ program is the support we get from the older class and the friendships,” added Kitchenmaster.
This Bears team started the season with a comeback mentality after last year’s championship loss.
“The standard was set right away at the beginning of the season. We have all accepted our different roles on the team which makes a big difference,” said Dahl.
McDonald commented on this year’s team chemistry: “We can put the puck in the net, and our defense is strong. We score many goals without letting many up. It means a lot to me that we all have the common goal of returning to state. We are a motivated team, and our work ethic is unmatched. We all push each other to be the best team we possibly can be.”
The Bears are currently ranked number one in the state with their 18-1 record. Their only loss was to Blake High School in Minnesota. Right behind them at number two in the state is the Central Wisconsin Storm. The Storm beat the Bears in last year’s state championship game.
McDonald explained that the Bears team has a lot of motivation to get redemption from last year.
The Bears will have a chance for that redemption as they face the Storm at home to close out the regular season on February 15.
“Even though we do not play CW Storm multiple times like we did last year, I think the excitement and anticipation leading up to the game is greater because of that,” explained Dahl. “We see this game as a rivalry game and any time we play each other we know it will be a good game.”
After the game on February 15, the Bears will head into the playoffs with the goal of a state championship in mind. Though that is the big picture, the team is focused on taking it one game at a time.
Dahl explained, “We know that we will get every team’s best every single game so we have to show up and dominate every single game. We know that we want to get back to state and win it all but we also know that we cannot look too far ahead into the future.”
“Our goal is to finish our last games as strong as possible,” continued McDonald. “We want to go into these games with energy and spirit. We have to show up for every shift of every game. Going into the playoffs on a high is going to be important.”
The team is excited for their regular season finale vs the Storm and is encouraging fans to come out to the home game.
“I encourage people to come out and watch this game because we have an amazing team this year, and we are super fun to watch,” said Dahl. “It is one of our biggest games of the year, and it would be awesome to get some fans to come out and watch.”
