North Wright County senior captain Sydney Petersen leads the RiverHawks into the 5AA Section Playoffs.

NWC: Straight Outta Albertville

Led by head coach Cailyn Olesen, the North Wright County RiverHawks aspire to be Minnesota’s next suburban powerhouse

With a signature upset victory over #3 Minnetonka in January and a 14-8-1 record, the North Wright County RiverHawks girls hockey team has developed into a force to be reckoned with in Class 2A.

NWC sports a 6-2-1 record in the tough Lake Conference and is currently ranked #16 in the latest Janjet rankings, with the Section 5AA playoffs set to begin on February 12.

“We’re not fancy—we’re grinders—that's what we do and getting the girls to trust in that process and trust each other and just work as hard as they can with what we got has been the biggest thing,” head coach Cailyn Olesen said.

Olesen is in her sixth season as the RiverHawks’ head coach and her seventh season in the program. She is a teacher at St. Michael-Albertville High School and was offered the head coaching job after one year as an assistant.

In her first year, she coached junior varsity girls soccer along with junior varsity girls hockey, so she got involved with the hockey program right away.

“The coach ended up leaving after that first year that I was in the program, and they asked me if I wanted to interview, and I was like ‘I'm 22, there’s no way.’ Then, I ended up interviewing and getting the job,” Olesen said.

The North Wright County team is a co-op program, which is made up of both St. Michael-Albertville and Monticello High School players.

“It's different being a co-op and being two schools put together. It's been a challenge in itself but also something that's awesome,” Olesen said. “As a program, getting these girls from two different schools to work together and become one team has been a lot of fun,” Olesen said.

Ups and downs, a surge and a drought

The RiverHawks started their season with three decisive wins, outscoring their opponents 17-1 before dropping their next three contests against ranked teams; Moorhead, Hill Murray and Blake. However, over the month of December, North Wright County went 7-1-1 against some tough opponents, including Class 1A #1 Orono and a dangerous Elk River/Zimmerman squad.

Olesen believes the 3-2 win over Orono on Dec. 7 pulled her team out of its “rut” and into its stellar December performance. “We kind of had a talk of ‘hey, this is where we turn our season around. Go out, play hard and let’s see what we can do,’” Olesen said.

After Orono, North Wright County tied #11 Wayzata, 3-3 on Dec. 14, which “was really huge” for them as a team, according to Olesen.

Coming together, forming a bond

Senior defender Chloe Finnerty hopes to end her prep career with a trip to the state tournament. 

Senior defenseman Chloe Finnerty believes some of the team’s early-season struggles were due to a lack of togetherness.

“In the beginning of the season, our team wasn't as bonded. We didn't know the younger girls as well, and then, as the season progressed we got more team bonding, and we got to know each other better, and I think that helped on the ice,” Finnerty said.

The team spent a lot of time in the locker room and on the bus together, but they also did activities outside of hockey to come together as well. For example, after one game, the team stopped at a park to play games. For Olesen, this was her favorite off-ice memory from the season thus far.

“Team-wise, I think when we did our team bonding event after Alexandria, that was probably the most fun for me,” Oleson said. “It was the first weekend of the season and the girls were literally throwing balls in the air on sheets and doing egg runs or tug of war. It was just super simple but a lot of fun, and the girls got to know each other super well.”

Junior goalie Jaydn Weiser thinks the improved team chemistry has helped lead to the team’s success.

“This year we've been really put together as a team,” Weiser said. “Everyone's having a good time, and I feel like that's helped a lot because it's mostly the same people as last year.”

Strong on the back end

One key factor that Olesen believes has led to her team’s success is Weiser herself.

“We have a phenomenal goalie; she keeps us in a lot of games and saves a lot of shots. When you have a good goalie back there that can keep you in games, that's huge,” Olesen said.

“The fact that I was starting varsity sophomore year probably boosted my confidence so far,” Weiser said. “I feel like I'm on the right track as a goalie, and I'm getting the right help in the association through different goalie coaches.”

Weiser, a junior, has 532 saves, an impressive .930 save percentage and has played all but eight minutes on the entire season. In front of Weiser is a strong group of defenders.

Junior goaltender Jaydn Weiser has a stellar .930 save percentage on the season. 

“I think that one of our biggest strengths is that we have D that are strong, and we can trust any of them against any line,” Olesen said. “We have three or four lines that we can roll through to keep them all fresh, so I think that's kind of one of our top strengths of the team.”

Chloe Finnerty agrees with her coach’s sentiment.

“We have a very deep team, so we can roll all of our lines and all of our defense that we have, which helps a lot because then if we're playing overtime, our team can play harder for longer, because we have a deeper team,” Finnerty said.

Chloe’s dad, Kevin, coaches the defensive group and has been in the program longer than Olesen. Finnerty played college hockey at Vermont and grew up in northern Minnesota. He runs the team’s defense and, according to the head coach, “does a phenomenal job.”

“He knows the game super well, is very knowledgeable and brings a lot to the team,” Olesen said.

A big win over the Skippers

The team’s top win of the season thus far was a 2-1 victory on Jan. 8 over third-ranked Minnetonka. Going into the matchup, the River Hawks were confident in their abilities.

“Last year we tied them, and we stuck with them, so it's not like we can’t beat them,” Weiser said. “If we're in the right mindset and we get everything put together right, I think we could do pretty well against them.”

"I think the biggest mentality that I have with my girls going into this is that we just have to believe.”
--NWC coach Cailyn Olesen

After reaching their highest-high of the season, the team dropped the next three games consecutively to Edina, Rogers and Wayzata—getting shutout in all three games.

“We had our opportunities against those teams, we just did not capitalize on them. The biggest thing that we focused on was that we were getting opportunities against these top level teams, we just needed to find a way to put those opportunities in,” Olesen said. “After the three games, we spent a lot of time working on finishing and scoring opportunities in small area games and keeping the girls’ heads up.”

The team came into its next game against Eden Prairie focused on breaking out of their slump. The RiverHawks scored three goals in the first five minutes on their way to a decisive 6-1 victory.

Leading the offense is the top line of Sydney Petersen, Dani Weiland and Lily Gillespie. The trio has combined for 90 points thus far, and will be leaned on heavily as sections begin.

“They move the puck really well, which is why I think they score a lot of the goals that they do, and they're unselfish and move the puck, so I think that's why all the majority of the goals have been coming from them,” Olesen said.

Visions of a state tournament berth

As sections near, the team is determined to end its season on a high note, as their ultimate goal is to make it to the state tournament. The RiverHawks have not been to state since 2013, so none of the current players have been to the tournament.

To send off Finnerty and the rest of North Wright County’s seniors in style, the team must make it past teams in its section like Rogers, Centennial and Maple Grove.

“So many times you go in against these teams that are so good thinking you have no chance, and getting our girls to change their mindset and having the positive mindset of playing our game no matter what and playing as hard as we can is what we’re looking for,” Olesen said.

“Our biggest thing is, we just have to stick to our game and play strong, get pucks deep, and I think the biggest mentality that I have with my girls going into this is that we just have to believe.”