The Warroad Holiday Tournament ran December 29 through 31 and put the North Shore up against three ranked teams in three days, a stretch that tested the Storm in every possible way.
As the North Shore Storm girls hockey team made their way to Hockeytown USA, they were also fighting holiday fatigue, illness, and injury. Yet the Storm did what they do best and rallied, bringing home a second-place finish.
“It was a good tournament,” said Head Coach Mike Hoff. “We played two top ten teams in the state and won one of them and could have beat the number one team in the state, so we can’t complain.”
The challenge was made even steeper by the roster strain the Storm carried into the weekend.
“We’re battling sickness now, a few injuries and stuff like that start to show up this time of year,” Hoff said. “It’s all part of the learning curve, how to live on the road for three days and play high-level hockey.”
The injury list was real. One of the team’s two goalies, junior Michaela Lindgren, is out with a knee issue.
“We’re going to have to make another goalie for this week and see what happens,” Hoff said.
Forward Ella Peterson, a senior, missed the entire trip with influenza A. There is also a lingering back injury for a JV player, which Hoff said “is still kind of nagging her a little bit.”
Add in the usual winter bugs and the grind of travel, and the Storm were skating uphill before the puck even dropped.
But high-level hockey is what the Storm knows how to deliver, beginning with a big win against Albert Lea, ranked seventh in the state. Scoring didn’t open until late in the second period, when junior Hayden Bright buried a power play goal at 12:30, unassisted. Berkley Hoff, also a junior, added another before the period ended, with senior Stella LaPointe on the assist.
In the third, junior Reese Costley scored unassisted at even strength, and Charlee Ernest followed with a goal set up by LaPointe and Costley. Albert Lea broke the shutout late, but North Shore closed out a 4–1 win.
Day two for the Storm also featured a scoreless first, this time against Crookston. Bright tied the game in the second with help from Costley. Then Bright and Hoff assisted Costley to tie it up again in the third, sending the game into overtime.
Costley ended it quickly, scoring less than a minute into OT with assists from Hoff and junior Reagan Hogenson.
New Year’s Eve brought the title game against the number one team in the state. The first period was once again scoreless as both sides settled in. Warroad struck in the second, but LaPointe answered to tie it, Hoff assisting. Warroad regained the lead before the period ended.
They scored early in the third, but Hoff capitalized on a power play with help from Bright and sophomore Ashlyn Cavallin to keep it close. A late Warroad goal, on an empty net, sealed the 4–2 finish.
Even in defeat, the Storm had the game’s standout performance. Sophomore goalie Emmy Bentler faced 66 shots, a workload that would bury most teams long before the final horn. She turned away chance after chance and kept the North Shore in a game where the margin could have been far wider.
“It was a good weekend, good bonding trip for the kids,” Hoff said. “We watched a lot of hockey. Kids have a lot of fun. It brings the team together, since we’re from three different towns.”
Despite the injuries, the illness, the exhaustion, and the holiday chaos, the Storm left Warroad with a second‑place finish and a clear goal for January: get healthy and be ready for the final stretch of the season.
