Autumn Siers was looking forward to her senior year on the ice.  Her shoulder, however, had other plans

“It’s going to be different for all the girls playing, but they should have Kat’s back just like they had mine”, said senior goaltender Autumn Siers.

Siers has recently been sidelined from the SHS girl’s hockey team due to tearing her rotator cuff last season. She ended up playing through it because she didn’t realize it was torn. After having surgery recently, she was notified that she will be able to play sports competitively in April.

Meanwhile, sophomore goaltender Katrina Casper will be taking her place to be the team’s next back stop.

Most of the team is very young. Paige Lach, Rose Ion, and Autumn Siers are the only seniors on the team.

The entire team is buying into the process and striving to become the best they can. Few girls on the team are new to the game of hockey, but seniors and more seasoned players are still helping everyone build the team as a whole. This helps avoid the team from fluctuating, like having a powerful first line and a weaker third line.

“If we practice hard enough, the team will succeed”, said Ion.

Every day, the team has practice at SAHA arena after school. When they finish, they head into the weight room to do bodyweight exercises and heavyweight training. They incorporate weight training into the routine, such as bench press, parallel squat, hex training, and barbell lifts.

“We complete a variety of different circuit training workouts. We’ve gotten progressively better with endurance on the ice because of these workouts and the conditioning we do. All of the girls have much more stamina, muscular endurance, and speed on the ice”, said Lach.

Ion believes that the C on the jersey is just a letter. It takes more than one person to make a great hockey team. She continued talking about how important Siers’ role is on the team.

Siers, despite being hurt, still greatly influences the team in many ways. She attends all the practices and games, is there for all the girls, and hypes them up for games.

Their first game was at home on Nov. 17 against the defending state champion Eau Claire Memorial. The Spartans lost the game 1-9.

After the first loss behind them, they now can rise up together to face the challenges to come. If there is one team that can face adversity and learn from their mistakes, it’s the SHS Girls Hockey Team.