On January 20th 2026, the Prior Lake Girls Hockey team played against Shakopee. They rolled past them with a 10-0 win, allowing only 8 shots at Shakopee’s home rink.
Clearly,the behind-the-scenes preparation the players and coaches did before the game played a big part in the win. Preparation for players starts right when they wake up. Having a good breakfast in the morning can decide whether they perform well or not.
Interviews with the team show that breakfast provides a lot of value on game days. Both sophomore Liv Heinicke and junior Abby Anthony ate breakfast sandwiches to prepare for the game. Other athletes ate things like cereal, yogurt, and fruit to get something in their stomachs before the long day ahead of them.
While food consumed on the day of a big game does affect performance, other factors also come into play. Routines also play a very important role for both the players and coaches, helping them stay focused and ready.
With the game taking place at Shakopee, routines changed slightly. Players and coaches arrived at the rink earlier than usual to catch the bus that left Dakotah Ice Arena at 4:45 pm.
While the bus may leave at 4:45 pm, players and coaches get to the rink with plenty of time so they can mentally and physically prepare for the game.
Freshman Avery Olson arrived at Dakotah at 3:50 pm. When she got there, she went up to the dry land area to shoot pucks and get her blood moving. She then went back to the locker room to tape her stick and listen to music.
Sophomore Maddie DuChene arrived at Dakotah around 4:05 p.m. Instead of shooting, she decided to mentally prepare in the locker room by taping her stick while listening to music.
Even though the coaches are not the ones physically playing, they also carry a heavy load on game days.
Head coach Kiersten Nelson arrived at around 4:15 p.m. where she prepared for the game by looking up Shakopee’s stats. This helped her figure out what line ups she wanted to use for the game.
Following routines becomes more challenging on away game days, but for the players and coaches, these habits create consistency, making them feel more relaxed and excited to play.
Another big factor on game days involves superstitions. Both players and coaches of the Prior Lake Girls Hockey team shared their game-day rituals. Assistant coach Claire Goldsmith wears mittens to every game. She only changes the pair if the team lost the game before.
Coach Nelson wears her “gameday shoes” to every game. Not for any reason in particular, just as a superstition.
DuChene wears a bright pink shirt along with red socks under her gear during every game. No matter how many times DuChene washes this shirt, she never fails to wear it on gamedays.
When the bus pulls into the Shakopee Ice Arena, players and coaches enter the rink to watch the JV game that started at 5:00 p.m.
After the second period of the JV game, the varsity team heads out to warm up. They form two lines and complete different exercises to get their blood pumping.
Players finish stretching at different times and head into the locker room to start getting dressed. While getting ready, the loud music in the locker room gets the girls excited for the game.
Finally, at 6:50 p.m., the team hit the ice for their warmup. Both the players and coaches were ready and prepared for the game to begin. The puck dropped ten minutes later, and 10 points later, it’s a big win!
