Back on the ice at TD Garden for the fifth year in a row, after losing for the first three years, the girls’ hockey team succeeded in the Division II State Championship for the second year in a row and were honored at the state house by Alice Peisch and Charlie Baker on April 10.

On March 17, the team beat Notre Dame Academy 3-2 after losing to them three years ago, as well as losing to them and tying them this season.

“It was unreal to win two state championships in a row. Coming into this year I knew it would be much harder to go as far as we did last year, but with a ton of effort and hard work we were able to get there. My hockey career couldn’t have ended any better,” captain Isabelle Kressy ’19 said.

At the beginning of the season, the team struggled a little, losing two of their first four games. They soon came back and won 15 of their last 20 games, finishing with a record of 17-4-3.

The team strengthened particularly under their motto: Strength of the Unit (SOTU).

“Our coach came up with it because he really thought that it represented our team well. We all stick together, and every single girl on our team helps us succeed as a group. One part of the atmosphere that I think is unique to our team is the carpools. We carpool to and from every game, practice, team dinner, and anywhere else we go to as a team, we always have. It really helps us to bond as a team, because we really are like a family both on and off the ice,” said Liddy Schulz ’20.

Once the team started playing more as a unit, they began to experience more success, contributing to their win over Needham 8-0 after tying them earlier in the season.

“Being able to completely dominate them the second time we played them showed how much we had grown as a team…The atmosphere of the team is always like a family. We look out for each other and love each other so much that we’re willing to do anything for the team. Compared to past years it hasn’t been very different. The girls’ hockey team is always a close group of people,” Kressy said.

The team is also very superstitious. Although they joke about them, they take their superstitions very seriously, including what order they sit in on the bus and eating Annie’s Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks before games.

After winning the state championship last year, the high school’s girls’ hockey team was the team to beat this year.

“In every team we played, we got their absolute best, because as my coach says, we are the team that they circle on their calendar. I do think this helped us in the end, however. Playing really good teams helped us to prepare for the playoffs,” Schulz said.

“It felt amazing [to win the state championship two years in a row]. We overcame so much as a team and we really worked for it. It was even harder than last year, but that’s what drove us. We pushed each other to get better with every practice and every game,” Schulz said.

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