The upstart Woodbury Royals feature a mix of senior leadership and youthful skill. Freshman forward Laini Gnetz leads the team with 10 goals.

Royal Family

Under second-year coach Angel Crowley, the Woodbury Royals have found stability and are off to the best start in team history

For the Woodbury High School girl’s hockey team, its players have “been through the wringer”, according to head coach Angel Crowley.

And, she’s right. The Royals have changed coaches four times in the past five years, leading to players having to constantly adjust to different goals, team cultures and coaching styles.

Now, with Crowley at the helm in her second season, she has added some much-needed stability and that has helped lead the Royals to an 11-4 record heading into 2023.

“You would never leave these girls if you gave them a chance,” Crowley said. “It is the best group of kids I've ever worked with.”

Senior defenders Alli Hoschka and Hannah Graunke have been through the majority of these changes, with Graunke saying “it’s been difficult” to adjust and get comfortable.

“Once Angel stayed this year with the rest of the coaching staff, I think we all kind of just took a breath,” Hoschka said.

Historically, Woodbury hasn’t been known for its girl’s hockey prowess, typically being looked down upon and overshadowed by other more established hockey schools in the Suburban East Conference and in the state.

Now, the Royals’ goal this season is to make a name for themselves as a program.

Junior Abbey Lendzyk is second on the team in scoring with nine points in 13 games. 

“Our goal is to gain respect for the program,” Crowley said. “The fact that this is happening is proof to the girls right there that people are paying attention.”

Woodbury started the season hot this year, taking down its first six opponents and outscoring them 24-11. However, the team dropped two games to Roseville/Mahtomedi (in OT) and Stillwater, sending a bit of a reality shock to the players.

“I think we needed that,” Hoschka said. “We're not going to win every game. It's not going to be an undefeated season, but from there, I know we've really stepped up in practices and in our mentality.”

Crowley said her team wants to win “as much as everybody else”, but the Royals don’t focus just on winning; instead, they focus on supporting each other.

“We have each other's back, and we play to remind ourselves how fortunate we are to be together every day and to grow and develop,” Crowley said.

One reason for the Royals’ “bigger than hockey” attitude is senior Samantha Hansen, a player who was diagnosed with cancer after last season. Hansen scored six goals and played in 22 games last season before her diagnosis.

When she feels up to it, Hansen still acts as a manager for the team and sits on the bench during games. The players have T-shirts, stickers and “34 strong” bracelets to honor Hansen in everything they do.

“We have each other's back, and we play to remind ourselves how fortunate we are to be together every day and to grow and develop.” -- Woodbury coach Angel Crowley

“Every day I go to the rink, she doesn't get to be on the ice with us, so I'm playing for myself, but also for her,” Hoschka said.

Graunke and Hoschka, who are both captains, are tasked with keeping the culture of playing for “something bigger” than themselves: playing for Hansen. One way they do so is by leading the nine combined eighth and ninth graders on the team.

“I like to challenge people to get better and to push them,” Graunke said. “I'd say my biggest part is just being a role model around the team.”

Hoschka is like the glue that holds the team together.

“Keeping everyone intact and trying to keep everyone together as a group, that's one of my bigger roles on the team,” she said.

However, Crowley said her players were “too humble” when describing themselves.

“They're fantastic leaders,” Crowley said. “On the ice, you don't really want to mess with either of them.”

Crowley said Graunke “likes to be physical” and will likely lead the team in penalty minutes this season. Hoschka is “not going to get beat” on defense. Together, they are a “pretty incredible duo,” according to Crowley.

Because they both lead the team so well, they play on separate lines so Crowley can utilize their abilities throughout the game.

“We want that presence on the ice as often as possible,” Crowley said.

Beyond the two senior captains, there is plenty of other talent across the roster. Just 15 games into the season, 12 different Royals have scored 39 total goals for the team, with 10 of those goals coming from the stick of freshman forward Laini Gnetz.

Crowley said there is a strong class of freshman coming through right now, which gives the Royals hope to continue their winning ways in the future.

“Our freshman class, you could pick anybody out on that list,” Crowley said, “and they’re worth watching.”

Woodbury junior defender Paige Fasching. 

Another sign of future success for the Royals is the junior varsity team’s current success. The team has only a few losses and has a few players that Crowley is confident will be moving up to varsity.

An interesting facet of the Royal Family is its number of siblings: six total. The team consists of two sets of twins as well as one sister duo in Graunke playing with her freshman sister, Hailey Graunke.

“I thought it was going to be kind of problematic,” Hannah Graunke said, “but actually I think it's been my favorite part of this whole entire year.”

Hailey Graunke has three goals thus far, with her first goal coming in her first varsity game in the Royals’ season-opening win on Nov. 10 over Mound Westonka/Southwest Christian.

“Watching her score her first-ever varsity goal, it just made my heart happy,” Hannah Graunke said. “I love playing with her, and I love just seeing her accomplishments come true.”

With 10 regular season games left, the Royals hope to continue making a name for themselves as a program and to prove the doubters wrong.

“Last year, their team goal was to gain respect as a program, just because Woodbury has been looked down on,” Crowley said. “As a whole, we've all agreed that we've done that. Nobody really looks at us sideways anymore.”

Now, Crowley thinks they can talk about the ultimate team achievement.

“We're able to have the conversation about state; whether it's this year, next year or the year after, it's not far away,” Crowley said. “The talent is there, the culture is there, and now it's just about getting a couple of those looks and getting a couple good bounces.”

Cam Kauffman can be reached at kauf8536@stthomas.edu