Since its inception this past winter, hockey fans at St. Olaf have been starved for exciting games at the ice rink. Marred by disappointing outings and a distinct lack of winning on behalf of both Ole hockey teams, the reputation of the ice had begun to falter.
As unthinkable as it might sound, the infinite wisdom of St. Olaf College as its effort to “bring ice home” was being called into question. Fear not though loyal readers, for all of the naysayers have been silenced following the masterpiece of a hockey game we were blessed with this past weekend.
In a battle for the ages, the St. Olaf women’s hockey team fell in an overtime thriller to their longtime cross-ice rivals, the St. Olaf figure skating club. Bolstered by a strong defensive performance and a magical outing by star left-wing Sena Spinella ’20, the figure skating club was able to outlast the women’s team in the final minutes, securing their 2-1 victory.
“Yeah, they were just too wily for us to handle” responded Ole goalkeeper Sara Mandelbaum ’23 when asked about the loss.
“The amount of tripping over sticks and clinging to walls for balance really threw us off,” Mandelbaum said. “They were just the better team today.”
This impressive win is yet another step towards the figure skating club establishing themselves as a perennial powerhouse in Division III club figure skating. In response to the recent success, team captain Katie Dokas ’20 was quoted saying, “Hockey? Wait, whats hockey?” Unfortunately, game MVP Nathan Rinzler ’22 was unavailable to comment on the team due to a postgame accident in which he accidently tied his skates together while taking them off.
Despite a strong showing, the women’s hockey team is still alluded by their first win at the ice rink. St. Olaf fans can only hope that they achieve the feat before the ice grows up and decides to once again leave home, for it will be very unlikely to bring it back at that point.
