When someone approached a member of Huron’s U-14 or JV girls’ hockey teams this year, and told them that they skated like girls, she stood up proudly and said, “Thank you, I know.”
The two teams recently returned from their respective tournaments with second place finishes, posting finishes that exceeded their seeding.
The JV girls went into their tournament in Watertown seeded fourth, but took down undefeated top seed Sioux Center, Iowa in the opening round, before falling to second-seeded Sioux Falls in the final.
The U-14 girls had a similar tournament, in Sioux Center. The Huron girls came in seeded third, but dispatched second-seeded Brookings in the opener, to move into the title game, where they were defeated by Watertown.

Both teams were coached by Bryan Small and Sam Casper.
“We couldn’t be prouder of these young ladies,” Coach Small stated. “They are a great bunch of girls with a ton of talent, and it was an amazing season. I am already looking forward to the next season to see what we can do as a team.”
For a generation of Huron hockey girls, in the wake of the inspirational fold-medal performance by the U.S. Hockey team at the Winter Olympics, solid finishes at their state tournaments is a solid foundation for the rebuilding of the Huron girls’ hockey program.

PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED

Members of the Huron Hockey Association’s Girls’ JV Team include, front row, from left: Deja Phillips, Kylee Small, Alissa Ferguson, Abigail Thomas and Cassandra Valer. Back row: Coach Sam Casper, Jenna Stephens, Ashely Busch, Paige Snyder, Shelby Timm, Izabel Casper, Alexis Priest, Kaitlynn Harms, Fatima Reyes, Devin Hunter and Coach Bryan Small.

Next, members of the Huron Hockey Association’s Girls’ U-14 Team include, front row, from left: Alexis Rashaad and Marissa Ready. Middle row: Libby Heyer, Kylee Small, Shelby Timm, Devin Hunter and Anna Fuerst. Back row: Coach Sam Casper, Alexis Priest, Kaitlynn Harms, Ashley Busch, Azalea Rashaad, Izabel Casper, Fatima Reyes and Coach Bryan Small.