The Royals girls hockey team’s season ended this past Saturday afternoon at the Parade Ice Arena in downtown Minneapolis.

The girls did not go down without a fight.

Hopkins lost to Benilde-St. Margaret’s by a score of 0-2, but the Royals have much to take away from the game. The Royals outshot BSM all game with a positive difference of shots on goal with 38-8.

During the second period, Hopkins played lockdown defense, not allowing a shot on goal for the whole 16 minutes.

Late in the third period was when BSM started to finish. BSM’s seniors Amanda Nylander and Samantha Deterding both scored within the last five minutes of the game to close out Hopkins’ season.

“The game was so frustrating because we outworked them for all three periods. We had so many shots and opportunities but didn’t always take the best shots. We’re a young team and didn’t think that with the stressful environment, we prepared as well as we could have for the game,” said Hope Docter, senior. “The locker room after the game was all frustration. We felt like we played well enough to win, and we did.”

The roster for the girls hockey team looked a little different this year. Due to low numbers at St. Louis Park, Hopkins decided to merge teams. The process was long, with the merging having to be approved by all other Lake Conference teams.

Head coach Chris Erickson maintained his head leadership role throughout the process and kept the girls busy with consistent practices at the Minnetonka B Ice Arena every weekday after school. The girls were told to be on the ice at 3:15 and usually ended practice around 4:45.

“Conditioning was a big emphasis at practice this year, and the team focused on a a lot of shooting drills and stick skills,” Docter said.

In early December, Hopkins beat BSM at home at the Minnetonka Ice Arena with a final score of 2-1. Last year in the section playoffs, Hopkins beat BSM by a score of 2-1 before losing to Minnetonka 3-7.

The girls have only won one playoff game over the span of the last five years.

The girls finished the 2015-2016 season with a record of 11-13-1 and a conference record of 1-6-1. One of the highlights this season was in mid-December when the team beat the now number two team in the state, Minnetonka, by a score of of 4-3.

Hopkins has a lot to look forward to next year, as they only have four current seniors that will graduate at the end of the year, and two captains coming back to the team.

“We have a lot of girls coming back next year and we’re excited about our potential for next season,” said Jenna Kimbrel, junior. “I’m excited to work with the St. Louis Park girls again and hope that the team can make a deep playoff run for my senior year.”