There was one box left unchecked for the veterans on the Loyola girls hockey team.
The Ramblers, who lost in the state championship game in 2014 and 2015, were well-versed in playing at the United Center, site of the Amateur Hockey Association Illinois state finals. They had walked past the Blackhawks’ locker room to get to their locker room. They knew what it was like to be surrounded by more than 20,000 maroon seats when they were on the ice. Their best offensive players — sophomore Anne Bloomer and juniors Val Caldwell and Tess Dettling — had all scored at least one goal at the United Center prior to the state championship game against Barrington on Friday, March 18.
The one thing left for Loyola to accomplish was to win at the United Center.
“I remember the first time I got here, it was kind of like an experience — ‘At least I’m getting to play on the United Center ice,’ ” Caldwell said. “Obviously it hurts to lose, but being here twice and losing — it’s like, ‘I’ve been to the United Center. I’ve experienced it. Now, I want to experience the win.’ And we did!”
Loyola beat Barrington 5-3 to win the program’s first girls state championship since 2004.
The Ramblers (19-3-5) dominated the game. They scored two power-play goals, one short-handed goal and two at even strength. Loyola led 5-1 late in the third period. That margin could have been even larger if Barrington sophomore goalie Eryn Cooley hadn’t made several quality saves.
The Ramblers’ three go-to scorers all came through in the biggest game of the season. Bloomer scored twice and picked up an assist. Dettling netted two goals. Caldwell finished with one goal and one assist.
“They weren’t worried about themselves,” Loyola coach Conor Sedam said of Bloomer, Dettling and Caldwell. “They weren’t worried about scoring, they were worried about the team scoring and the team winning. I think getting that other experience out of the way of, ‘Hey, I scored a goal at the United Center. How cool is that?’ — I didn’t get a sense that anybody cared about that today. They just wanted to win.”
Caldwell and Bloomer agreed with Sedam.
A year ago, Loyola lost in the state championship game in large part because it couldn’t stop Latin all-state forward Grace Zarzecki, who now plays for Harvard. Zarzecki finished with two goals and one assist to lead Latin to a 4-3 victory.
This year, it was imperative for the Ramblers to play excellent, disciplined defense against Barrington all-state senior forwards Andrea Renner and Nicole Guagliardo.
Renner scored a pair of goals in the final 1:12 of the game, but Loyola largely held her in check before that. The Ramblers’ defensemen, including seniors Margaret Cusick and Clara Darcy, played very well, but slowing down the Fillies’ high-powered offense was a team effort.
“My mind-set at first was defense because they have a couple of players who like to make long passes and skate through everyone,” said Bloomer, who was named MVP of the game. “I focused on backchecking hard and … then the offensive opportunities would come. I knew it would definitely help my team if I got a couple of goals, but it wasn’t my main focus. They just came along with that (defensive) work.”
Sedam described winning a state championship as a relief, following two straight years of finishing second. Caldwell called it unreal — the best feeling ever.
“We’ve lost twice and I know how that feels,” she said. “I didn’t want to (lose) again.”
The Ramblers will graduate seven seniors from this year’s team, but four of their standout players — Caldwell, Dettling, Bloomer and sophomore goalie Tianna Lavalle — have at least one year of eligibility remaining.
Caldwell’s hope, looking ahead, is that Loyola returns to the United Center for a fourth consecutive year.
“We’ve got to work for it. It’s not a given,” Caldwell said. “Every time you step out on that ice, you’ve got to put it all out there. I hope to be back next year. I really do.”
Eric Van Dril is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
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