The score was 4-4, and as overtime loomed, New Trier Hockey Club’s girls hockey team knew that their state championship was close. The United Center in Chicago, a dream rink for a team of hockey players, presented the high stakes up on the jumbotron, each pass depicted in detail. As the clock ticked further through the sudden death overtime, senior captain Addison Stewart scored the game-winning goal, marking her fourth goal, a Texas hat trick, and bringing home the state win.
On Sunday, March 16, New Trier’s girls hockey won the state championship in the game against Barrington High School, bringing home the seventh state victory since the team’s start in 1994. The game proved to be rigorous, going into overtime with two highly competitive groups. Taking place at the United Center, the win was even more satisfying.
“It was definitely surreal because we all have wanted it, for me at least, for the past four years,” Stewart, who will be playing Division One at the University of Connecticut next year, said. “Being able to win it in overtime made it so much more exciting and a little nerve wracking during the game.”
Although the majority of Barrington’s team are upperclassmen, New Trier is in a unique situation in that the group is relatively young. The players were not only able to prove themselves through their win, but they also have more time to grow, becoming even better for next season.
“I think we went into it knowing that Barrington was such a good team and they were strong players,” Stewart said. “We kind of stood together because we’re younger—there were freshmen on our team who it was their first time playing New Trier girls hockey. Being able to do it all together and not be a one-man show made it easier for us to [play] as a team during [the game].”
While the team played strongly in the championship, they ultimately built their confidence and mentality for state throughout the entirety of the season.
“For every single game we played leading up to the state championship, we were like, ‘Guys, we’re winning state,’” junior Megan Gallagher said. “We took the games really seriously. We [went] in knowing ‘Yeah we got this; we’ve been doing it all year.’”
The ability to build this trust and confidence throughout the year was largely due to the fact that the team is so closely-knit, and the players build strong bonds to help improve their play.
“I think [we were successful] because we had so many people that wanted to be there and wanted to win and wanted to play as hard as they could throughout the whole bench,” Stewart said. “Not just two lines were playing their best, but everyone, the full team, full roster, wanted to be there and wanted to play and wanted to win.”
While New Trier hockey is elite, especially this season, most of the athletes play on multiple club teams to keep up with their training. While most New Trier sports hold multiple practices a week, the team only meets once on Sunday nights, making their win even more impressive.
“There’s some girls that play Triple A and within that there’s three clubs that the girls play for: Storm, Mission, and Team Illinois [TI],” junior Evan Pagliaro said. “There’s some girls who do Double A, and then some girls that don’t even do club. Even though everyone’s at a different place for what they’re doing with hockey, it’s still a very connected community.”
For Stewart, this is especially true. The morning of state, she and the other Chicago Mission players competed in their regional final. With a big win on her club team, Stewart took home two championship titles that day.
“With my club team [Chicago Mission], I had just won regionals [that morning] and we were advancing to nationals,” Stewart said. “Then I kind of set that aside and tried not to put two and two together, taking them both separately. Then, when it came to the New Trier game, we just wanted to get it done and win.”
Playing on multiple teams has ultimately proved to increase the strength and knowledge of players on and off the ice. One of the things that makes the hockey community so unique is the fact that the girls will play with and against their teammates. While a group of players may compete together on their club team, they can then play against each other in the high school league.
“I would tell [New Trier the other team’s] strengths and weaknesses that I knew to help everyone be aware when they were on the ice,” Stewart said. “I tried to give everyone as much information that I could so that we could all succeed together.”
However, the great successes of the team haven’t come easily this season. With ties and injuries, the team had to keep a positive mindset in order to make it to the United Center. Gallagher acknowledges that one of the biggest strengths of the team is their willingness and ability to work through hardships together.
“We were able to overcome adversity,” Gallagher said. “Midway through the season we had a bunch of ties and then we had one loss. I think working through that kind of helped us build our confidence of going to win the state championship.”
Reevaluating team play was also key this season. When senior captain Maddy Romanoff broke her collarbone right before the state playoffs, the team had to come together to re-strategize.
“People stepped up, played some defense when we were short, and people were playing all around because our numbers got short during the season,” Stewart said. “We all put in everything we had and played any position to make us go as far as we could.”
The team, even now, is looking to next year, wanting to improve and return to the United Center in hopes of another state win. While the feeling was surreal this year, they know it won’t be their last time on the United Center’s ice.
“[Winning] state is a kind of a feeling you can’t really top,” Pagliaro said. “Playing at the United Center is a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I hope it’s not.”