Sabre Girls U12 Captures 2011 Girls' Blackhawk Cup State Championship Title

BOLINGBROOK—Walking into the locker room at the Rocket Ice Arena, the atmosphere is raucous and full of energy. The smell is also a little bit … pungent. With pads and skates on, it is go time.

Readying for practice, it’s clear the teammates are having fun because there is so much laughter and camaraderie.

While they are as tough as any hockey player taking to the ice, the girls on the Sabre Girls U12 hockey team also are like sisters. And, giggling may ensue at any moment.

Girls hockey still is not as visible as some other sports, but the Sabre teammates said they would never think of trading their pads to don frilly skirts and twirl around on the ice like the figure skating "twirlie girls." They are dedicated to the sport and to one another.

That determination and effort paid off for the team this year. The team won the 2011 Girls Blackhawk Cup State Final Friday, playing against the Yellow Jackets from Crystal Lake at The Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville. 

 The team already has won the coveted  in the Northern Illinois Hockey League and the league’s . Winning Friday's game means a state title and a trip to national competition in California later this month.

A SPECIAL SISTERHOOD

 The girls do not appear to be shy, at least not on the ice. And off of it, they are very sure of themselves and ready to give their opinion.

“We are all like sisters,” said Devin Porazinski, 10, of Bolingbrook. “We are there for each other.”

Another player, 12-year-old Emma Paravola of Oswego said it was great that the team made it this far without getting into any fights with one another.

“We’re one big family, we’re really tight," she said.

Sure, there are days when the girls think they would rather not have to practice, but they know it takes focus and determination to be a team, Devin said.

“We have really good coaches who push us and make sure we work hard,” said Lexi Peterson, 12, of Woodridge.

When she puts her padding on, Lexi said “you feel stronger, like you can do anything.”

Emma added, scoffing, “boys think girls can’t play hockey, but we can. We’re chicks with sticks!”

MAKE-UP, CLOTHES, BIEBER:

And, despite their tough attitude on the ice, they still are normal girls. When they aren’t playing, they worry about dressing nicely, how their hair looks or whether their make-up is applied properly, said hockey moms Gretchen Cockey and Lori Regovic, both of Naperville. Cockey’s daughter Anna, 11, plays on the team with Regovic's twin daughters, Sarah and Sophie, 10.

Regovic said her daughters watched their brother play and have been playing with the Sabres for four years.

“It’s been a huge confidence builder, and they have also built friendships with their other teammates,” she said.

Cockey’s daughter Anna never had an interest in figure skating, she said.

“One thing I can say about these girls is that they go out on the ice and they are competitive, tough and motivated,” Cockey said. “As soon as they off the ice, they are girlie girls.”

Lexi said that when she told a friend she played hockey, her friend assumed she was a tomboy, but that isn’t the case.

Asked about their favorite musicians, the girls start shouting out names: Justin Bieber, Black Eyed Peas and Bruno Mars.

The girls get along well and are closer with one another in some cases than they are with classmates. Team members come from all over including Batavia, Lisle, Naperville, Bolingbrook, Huntley, Oswego, Aurora and Plainfield.

Though there is no checking in girls hockey, the sport is still rough and the girls often get bruised and banged up, but it’s no big deal, they said.

The moms agree. Most of the time the girls have so much padding on that getting injured is rare, though it does happen.

“We are about trusting each other and protecting each other,” Devin said.

Making it so far into tournament play has been a lot of fun, but it’s been a group effort, Anna said, adding that through hockey she has learned “you have to work for your teammates and not just yourself.”