By Greg Bates
Correspondent
ASHWAUBENON – Youth is being served this season for the Bay Area Ice Bears girls’ hockey team.
Of the 28 girls on the varsity roster, 17 are sophomores or freshmen.
“Every game, we’re getting better,” said sophomore forward/defenseman Ella Chilson. “Going from youth hockey to high school is a big difference. The younger girls are starting to adjust, which is helping us play better and start winning more.”
Four of the Ice Bears’ five goals against the Fond du Lac Warbirds Jan. 10 were scored by underclassmen, including all four in the second period as Bay Area pulled off a 5-3 conference victory at the Cornerstone Community Center in Ashwaubenon.
The game could have easily gone awry for the Ice Bears after the Warbirds netted a pair of goals in the first 2:44 of the opening period, but second-year head coach Eric Widas called a timeout to settle his team down.
“When coach said, ‘Everybody needs to get it together,’ we realized we were not playing well and none of us came ready to play,” Chilson said. “We got in the right headspace turned it around, especially in the second period.”
Bay Area turned the 2-0 deficit into a 4-3 lead heading into the third period.
Chilson had a pair of goals in the second – to go along with an assist – and fellow sophomores Josie Bender and Sophie Boxer also tallied scores.
An empty-net goal by Kamdyn McCracken with 1:10 remaining sealed the victory for the Ice Bears.
“Those girls have lots of heart,” Widas said. “They’ve never given up all season. They’ve played lots of tough games this season, come out on top in a couple and fallen short in a couple, but they never give up.”
Getting the win continues to grow the confidence of the young players.
“The games help them get better, then all the hard work we put in, the workouts we do before practice, they really push themselves to be better,” Ice Bears senior captain Aria Van De Hei said.
Since the Ice Bears’ offensive barrages are generally led by the young skaters, the upperclassmen have taken on the role of helping where they can.
“The seniors and the juniors help with the maturity of the game,” Widas said. “They’re supportive on the bench, during practices and in the locker room. They’re supportive of the young players and help them out. They’re definitely a team.”
Said Chilson: “They help with motivation and keeping our spirits up and telling us to keep working harder. They push the younger girls to work harder because the younger girls want their spots on the varsity team.”
The Ice Bears (8-6-1) are coming off perhaps their finest game of the season.
Albeit, it was a loss, it was progress.
Bay Area trailed the defending state champion Fox Cities Stars by only a pair of goals Jan. 4, and an empty-net goal sealed a 3-0 defeat.
“We played them tough,” Widas said. “The shots were even the whole game. We had a couple of pucks not bounce or way, and that was the difference. When we’re this young and playing against the defending state champions that well, I’m hopeful for the future.”
Chilson said it was the best her team played all season.
“It helps because we see we can hang in there with those good teams,” she said. “It motivates us to play at that level every game no matter what team we’re playing.”
Since Christmas, in which the Ice Bears are 3-2-1, Widas has witnessed his team become stronger in a number of areas.
“We’ve played lots of good competition,” Widas said. “It’s preparing us for the big games and the big moments. We’ve been in these situations before – we’ve been down before.”
With the start of the playoffs six weeks away, Widas said he is hoping his team can continue to improve.
Expectations are also high amongst the players.
“I think we’re capable of going to the state championship, if we continue to work hard and work together,” Van De Hei said. “We need to work together, and we can do it.”