Ice Cats skate to fourth straight state title

Posted 3/15/18

A 20-0 regular season record guaranteed the Ice Cats would see every opponent’s best effort in the postseason, which doesn’t always bode well. Just last season, the Rock Springs team entered the state tournament undefeated, only to come up short …

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Ice Cats skate to fourth straight state title

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Going into the state tournament earlier this month, the Park County girls’ hockey team knew they had a target on their backs.

A 20-0 regular season record guaranteed the Ice Cats would see every opponent’s best effort in the postseason, which doesn’t always bode well. Just last season, the Rock Springs team entered the state tournament undefeated, only to come up short in the championship game. Their opponent? The Ice Cats.

“I think that was probably the biggest source of stress for me going into the tournament, the fact that we were undefeated,” said Ice Cats head coach Angie Johnson. “And I think because we were undefeated, everyone thought we had it in the bag. That created a ton of pressure — for the kids and the coaching staff — that it was expected.”

Johnson needn’t have worried: Behind a dominating offense led by captains Lauren Asher and Jessica Shankle and outstanding play in the net by goalie Kayla Kolpitcke, the Ice Cats skated to their fourth straight state championship, pounding Casper 4-2 in the title game.

“All we did was set our goals, and go from there,” Johnson said. “I told the team, ‘Let’s go out there each game and win it shift by shift, goal by goal, period by period and game by game.’”

Kolpitcke said the key was to stay level-headed.

“We had to keep it in our head that we could lose,” she said. “We could go in too confident, and that would be a problem. We just had to stay focused, stay together as a team. We had to keep working like we had been the whole season.”

Ice Cats 6, Rock Springs 1

The Ice Cats opened the tournament against Rock Springs, whose perfect-season aspirations they ruined last year. Asher scored the first goal of the tournament, on an assist by Shankle, at the 2:53 mark of the first period. The floodgates opened from there, with Park County cruising to a 6-1 win.

Asher netted a hat trick, finishing with three goals and an assist. Shankle, Kennedi Johnson and Kamden Harris rounded out the scoring for the Ice Cats, netting a goal apiece. The Miners avoided the shutout with a goal late in the third.

Kolpitcke was almost perfect between the pipes, turning away 21 of 22 shots in the contest.

“We’re just a really close-knit team,” Kolpitcke said. “It helps that most of us grew up playing hockey together. Knowing that we have each other’s backs and can rely on each other is great.”

Ice Cats 10, Sheridan 2

Against Sheridan in game two, the Ice Cats scored early and often. Shankle notched five goals, including three in the opening period. Asher recorded her second straight hat trick, scoring three goals in the third period in a 10-2 rout.

Harris also found the back of the net for the Ice Cats, as did Hudson Selk, who recorded her first goal of the tournament.

Kolpitcke continued to shine in goal, making 28 saves in 30 shots.

“Our coach always reminded us to play like we were one point behind, even if we were winning by five,” Asher said. “So we just really had a great mentality for the whole weekend.”

Ice Cats 8, Casper 4

Park County squared off against Casper in the third round, with Harris and Shankle giving the Ice Cats a quick 2-0 lead in the first period. Casper halved the lead with a goal of its own.

Shankle completed the hat trick with two goals in the second period and Asher also scored. After a pair of Casper goals, the Ice Cats held a 5-3 lead entering the final frame. Shankle scored two more goals in the third with Asher adding another to cap the 8-4 win.

Kolpitcke had her busiest game of the tournament against Casper, turning away 41 shots in 45 attempts.

Ice Cats 4, Casper 2

It’s never easy to face a team twice in a tournament, something in the back of Park County’s mind as it faced Casper in the title game.

But despite a tough, physical performance from their southern rivals, the Ice Cats controlled the game throughout and won 4-2.

“Casper was by far the toughest team in the state this year,” Johnson said. “You knew going in they would be very physical, and you knew they would be tough. So the girls needed to be mentally tough, envisioning yourself beforehand doing the best that you can.”

Prior to the game, the Ice Cats were given a hero’s welcome by the parents and fans in attendance, who formed a tunnel from the locker room to the ice.

“It was amazing, it was unreal,” Johnson said. “That was definitely inspirational. The Yellowstone Quake players were there as well, and that was really fun for the girls. The community really came out and supported us, and that helped.”

Both goalies were on point in the opening period, with Shankle providing the only score on an assist by Sydnie Torczon. The Ice Cats broke the game open in the second, however, as Asher got on the board at the three-minute mark. Casper answered with a goal of their own, but Anna Brenner countered with her first goal of the tournament to give Park County a 3-1 lead. With just 30 seconds left in the period, Shankle scored again off an assist by Asher to push the lead to 4-1 going into the final frame.

“We knew they were going to come out and give it all they had,” Asher said. “We knew that we had to leave everything on the ice. ... I think our team had a stronger mentality; we were more prepared.”

The third period was a defensive struggle, with the Ice Cats held scoreless in the period for the only time in the tournament. Casper scored once more, but got no closer, giving the Ice Cats the title.

Kolpitcke was stellar at goalie again, recording 23 saves on 25 shots. Her save percentage for the tournament was an impressive 93 percent.

Kolpitcke said the final period was the longest she could remember, though Asher remembers it differently.

“For me, it went by so fast,” Asher said. “It was so much fun.”

Asher finished with 19 points for the tournament, behind nine goals and 10 assists. Fellow captain Shankle was equally impressive, netting 13 goals and assisting on six others for 19 points.

Moving forward

“Our older players provide that leadership, so that from there down, our 15-year-olds and 14-year-olds, getting down to our 10-year-olds benefit from that,” Johnson said. “We’ve built that throughout these last four years, and that has helped a ton. Each year, you lose a couple players, you gain a couple players.”

One loss will be that of team captain Asher, who will graduate this spring from Powell High School, ending a long and successful career with the Ice Cats. Watching Asher from the first time she stepped on the ice, coach Johnson knew she would be a special player.

“She’s always been a quiet leader, but I always knew she had what it would take to be somebody that would bring leadership to the team,” Johnson said of Asher. “The last couple of seasons she really started finding her voice a little bit more. With that being said, she would always bring something to the team before our games that a true leader would say.”

Johnson added that Asher is very “balanced” in her approach to the game — keeping her emotions level to lead the team while being very competitive.

“She has awesome hockey skills; she’s a natural,” Johnson said. “We’ll really miss her next year. But her leadership has taught some of the younger players how to lead, so her presence will be felt.”

Kolpitcke said she could always count on Asher’s positivity and ability to get the team motivated, even if they weren’t feeling it.

“She’s [Asher] always able to pump us up,” Kolpitcke said. “She gets to know each one of the girl’s specifically, and if anyone of them is ever down, she’s the first one to go over and try to cheer them up. And she’s also a great hockey player. She’s just a great captain.”

For Asher, her fourth straight title brings mixed emotions, as the realization that it’s her last is slowly sinking in.

“It’s pretty bittersweet,” Asher said. “It was amazing to win, but it was sad that it was my last game. But I wouldn’t have wanted to end it any other way.”

Asher said being with her teammates — “an amazing bunch of girls” — is what she’ll miss the most.

“They [the Ice Cats] are the most amazing team, everyone is really close,” she said. “Everyone works hard, and is very dedicated. This team tries really hard to keep a close bond. We work together to win, and I think that’s really great.”

Asher was also quick to praise the coach who’s guided her to multiple titles over the years.

Johnson is “so positive, and she really pushes us — she believes in each and every one of us,” Asher said. “She makes sure we’re working to achieve our goals and helping us along the way.”

For Johnson, the admiration is mutual.

“I’ve been blessed the last four years with having a good group of kids and a good group of parents,” Johnson said, saying the group has been supportive like a family.

“They all come from different backgrounds and have different adversities in life,” the coach said. “But when they stepped on the ice, they turned on that switch and were an automatic team. They knew what they wanted to do.”

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