WORTHINGTON — The Worthington High School girls hockey team was young last year and it is more of the same this season.
This year’s Trojans squad may be even younger than last year with only two seniors on the roster. But head coach Chad Nickel’s team is not one completely lacking in varsity experience, as many of the younger girls got plenty of playing time as eighth graders last year.
“So far, we’re picking up on our speed,” said the coach. “A little more communication on the ice between the girls has been a lot better this year already. But we’re still yet a young team, but you can see the progression even from the eighth graders to ninth grade this year already.”
WHS is four games into the season and still in search of its first win.
The season opened Nov. 12 with a 10-0 loss to Mankato West and then a narrow 1-0 loss to Austin followed two days later. After that came a 7-0 shutout defeat to Marshall Nov. 21 and the latest loss came 3-1 to South Central Nov. 23.
Continued growth and development is key if the Trojans want to be a competitive team this year and Nickel has already seen that, especially from his younger players.
The standout youngsters include a nice group of freshmen with that varsity experience as eighth graders. Forwards Breeta Johnson, Sydnie Van Briesen and Maddie Cummings, along with defenders Tayler Nickel and Leah Nelson all saw playing time last year.
There’s also fellow freshman Macie Mahlberg at the goalie position, with playing time there last year and is improving with every match.
Tim Middagh / The Globe
The group is all back with all of them gaining valuable experience in their first varsity seasons a year ago.
“Oh, that’s huge as far as the maturity level, and, like said, more ice time and the play going from a youth to a varsity level, the speed is a lot faster,” Nickel said.
Leading the way on the ice are the lone two seniors Sadie and Peyton Nickel. Sadie is back at her primary position on defense and Peyton, herself normally a defender, has moved up to forward this year.
The position change has been a big adjustment for Peyton, but she’s already getting used to playing at the forward spot.
“Forward is definitely a lot more work, a lot more skating,” she said. “So it’s taking a lot more, having to put in a lot more work and get more in shape. But I like forward more than defense. I feel like I’ve improved a lot over just the past couple games as a forward.”
Being one of only two seniors on the roster, Peyton is also stepping up into a bigger leadership role along with Sadie. She said the time on varsity last year from the freshmen has paid off in terms of team chemistry and that the team is connecting well with each other.
Tim Middagh / The Globe
On the ice, the Trojans still have a lot to learn, but the head coach is seeing his team working together well and getting better defensively at cutting down opposing shots on goal. He still wants to see improvement on offense.
“We’re going to continue to try to work on gaining their speed with some stick handling and being able to forecheck a little bit more in the offensive zone to try to create more pressure down there in the offensive zone,” said Chad.
WHS still has plenty of its schedule left to go in the regular season and up next is a game Dec. 6 at Prairie Centre. Two more road games are after that, including one at a Luverne team that went to state last year, before returning to the Worthington Ice Arena Dec. 12 against Windom Area.
Tim Middagh / The Globe
As the season progresses, the Trojans will look to keep their early momentum going in terms of having solid chemistry and being competitive.
“For myself, I want to see a lot of improvement,” said Peyton. “As a team I think that we need to work together better and I think after a while, after a couple more games, we’re going to get that connection. We’re finally going to get it and get it going.”
“I’d like to see them continue to grow and be a more competitive team,” said Chad. “And that’s always been my goal is to create a competitive team.”
Skyler Jackson joined the Globe in July 2023 as a reporter covering both news and sports. Born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa, Skyler attended South Dakota State University and graduated in 2023 with a degree in journalism. After graduating college, he decided on settling in Worthington for his current job at the Globe.
