Lumen Christi student Emme Evans had a huge accomplishment this season, helping her travel hockey team, Little Caesars, win the 16U State Championship. This was a big deal because it’s the first time in 7 years the team has won at this age level.

Emme said, “We moved on to compete in the National Championships in Amherst, New York, which took place on March 24-27.”

The travelling team was based in Detroit, which meant a lot of time was spent on getting to and from practices and games. “It is a real time commitment. It basically takes up all my time.” According to Evans, driving to practice took about an hour and a half every time.

During the championship game, her team was losing after the first period and had to fight their way back. “We got the lead towards the end of the second period. We started the second period very strong and never gave up,” she said.

Not only did her team win, but Emme played a big role in the win. She was an assistant captain and one of the main forwards on the team. With the game slipping away, Emme found herself in position late in the second period to score a goal and give her team the lead. That shifted the momentum as her teammates rushed to the ice to celebrate.

She also talked about how different travel hockey is compared to playing for school. “Playing for a travel team is very different compared to a school team. I drive very far and have very late nights. I have 15 tournaments a year and about 10 of those are out of state. I play with girls who are from all over the state.”

Even with all the challenges, Emme said her favorite part was the bond her team built. “My favorite memory of this experience is never losing a game and staying strong as a team. My team built a great bond and never grew apart. I also really enjoyed being the team that broke the curse of not winning states at this age group.”