FARMINGTON, Minn. -- By Christmas the Farmington High School girls hockey team will have played as many home games as outdoor games. One.
Nine of their first ten are on the road starting on Tuesday, November 12 at Owatonna. After five more bus rides the home opener is Saturday, November 30 with Prior Lake at Schmitz-Maki Arena. The next game is Wednesday, December 4 when the Tigers face Benilde-St. Margaret's at the St. Louis Park Recreation Center, a covered open-air rink.
The players are thrilled.
"I'm super excited because, me personally, have never played on an outdoor rink for a game. And at St. Louis Park, I've seen their outdoor rink. It's super big and it's super nice," proclaims senior Kennedy Meier. She's also happy to be playing a top-notch opponent like BSM.
"We're excited. We're rowdy. "We're getting ready," states junior Makena Underwood, who remembers some youth practices at the Dodge Middle School rink. "It's going to be definitely a fun game. I don't think we've ever had an outdoor game before. So, that'll be fun. Benilde's very good, got a lot of friends on the team. We'll play hard against them. We'll battle, and hopefully come out with a win."
"I think it's going to be really fun. In youth we had a few games or practices outside but it's probably not going to be anything like this," says senior Addison Moudry.
Coach Jon Holmes says the outdoor game was lined up with the help of FHS grad Amber Heglund, who is on the coaching staff at BSM.
Of the road-heavy schedule to start the season Holmes says, "Road games with young teams forces you to bond. To be able to really get into an idea of, hey, we're on the road a lot and that means that we're going to get into a routine out there. And the nice part about it is January we come home and if things didn't work for us, we can start over."
The schedule balances out with 12 of their last 13 at home.
Underwood and Moudry shared goaltending duties last winter. Moudy says, "We get prepared for each game like we're both going to play. Whoever is on the bench, we track our stats. Both are busy and we're both doing something to help each other. We support each other. Give our goalie partners positive talk."
Moudry is one of the captains, "I believe it's being a leader and supporter to the whole team, just supporting and helping each other to the common goal of winning games…I think our team chemistry [is a team strength]. We all know each other on the ice. We can get along well."
She says last year's seniors did a great job connecting with the younger players and wants to continue that legacy.
Underwood went 9-4. Moudy was 8-5-1. The two combined for four shutouts. Each had a goals against average of less than 2.5 and a saves percentage north of .910. FHS went 17-9-1 (11-6-1 for third in the South Suburban Conference). The Tigers beat Rochester Mayo in the first round of sections before falling to Lakeville South.
Underwood says, "We had a super successful season. We were beating our old scores then what we did, and I think this year will be a big improvement for us still. Splitting games, every other one with Addi. We had a phenomenal season, shutout a lot…[This season] I think we have a lot of talent. I think we have a lot of strong, ambitious girls who are ready to work and ready to play hard and ready to win."
She takes pride in her role as a captain, "A leader, someone who is there for the girls, kind of a big sister in a way that I put it. Someone who believes in the team, someone who is positive all the time. And very strong ambitions about the team."
"We have been young for the last couple of years. So, we're young, but veteran," Holmes points out with just a few seniors on the roster. "With this team in specific, a lot of it is managing expectations in a way where they're high and the demands at practice are the same of what we ask of them during the game…Forcing them to really push themselves, knowing that we've got a pretty good set of talented players, but being so young we can't take time off."
Junior forward Addison Trapp is "beyond excited" to return to the ice after missing last season with injury, "I got a different perspective on it, which I feel really helped just standing on the bench seeing the whole game differently helped me and helped understand plays and what to do."
She's optimistic about the potential up front, "Our forwards are really good. We are really young but we move the puck very well and have very good teamwork…Since we are so young, I think we need to have really good team chemistry on the ice and being able to move the puck good will really help us."
Trapp started her varsity career as an eighth grader, "Since we had such a young team, every team was really big compared to us…You kind of have to learn to play the body and just get stronger."
The Tigers return four of their top five scorers from last season, Jenna Goblirsch (20G-15A, 35 points), Amelia Goblirsch (10-20, 30 points), Lexi Giller (12-11, 23 points), and Paige Johnson (10-10, 20 points).
Meier believes the defense will add to the offense, "I think the biggest thing with defense is communication. If there is someone on you or have a bump off the wall or reverse. We're very like an offensive [defense]. In the offensive zone defense will be really a part of it because we run a five-man offensive zone. Always try to have the defense be lower like top of the circles instead of hanging back."
Meier, a fifth-year varsity defenseman, played boys hockey before then and had to adjust her game, "When I came in my eighth grade and ninth grade year I had a lot of checking penalties. So, I had to learn how to control my body in the boards. And I think over the years I have really gotten better in growing the mental side of the game, the hockey IQ."
She says this team and others in the student body take a 'Feed the Farm' approach, "We want to be known as The Farm. If you think of farmers, you get up at 6 am. You put hard work in. You always farm with other people because you can't do it individually. You need other people's support. So, how we do that in hockey is we all have everyone that supports you, no matter on the ice, off the ice, mentally, physically. We always put the work in. We have a hard work ethic, and it shows in our games and our performances."
After the opener at Owatonna, it's a trip on Saturday, November 16 to Shakopee for a 2 pm puck drop. Road games follow at Apple Valley (Tuesday, November 19), Rosemount (Thursday, November 21), Blake (Saturday, November 23 in Hopkins), and Lakeville South (Tuesday, November 26) before the home opener.
Farmington hosts the 20th annual Louis Schmitz Holiday Classic December 26-28. The first game of the new year is a home showdown with Minnetonka on Thursday, January 2. The final game of the regular season is Saturday, February 1 with Eastview. Playoffs begin on Wednesday, February 5.
