This week marks the start of the prep girls hockey season in Minnesota. For Proctor/Hermantown, they’re starting right where they left off, in a state tournament rematch against defending Class A champions Warroad.

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“Obviously the girls are going to feel revenge. We lost to them in overtime in the quarterfinals, which we didn’t feel was or should have been a quarterfinal game. Maybe a semi, even a championship game. But we’re excited to see them again, see what they have. They’ll be excited to play us and see what we have,” Mirage head coach Emma Stauber said.

“We just can’t think about what happened last season. Just keep our heads forward and hopefully get business done in the next week,” senior forward Ella Rothe said.

The Warroad matchup isn’t the only exciting thing on the Mirage’s mind this week. Senior Jane Eckstrom announced she’s committed to play college hockey for Hamline University. She’s first looking to end her high school career with one final trip to the state tournament.

“So last season, we lost a lot of players, but this year we got lots of young talent. We have a lot to work with, lots of talent, and we’re hoping to go back to State. So I think we have a lot to work with and we obviously have one big goal,” Eckstrom said.

The then-junior forward finished last season second on the team in points with 35, from 13 goals and 22 assists.

Eckstrom and the Mirage will seek regular season revenge over Warroad as the puck drops Friday, November 8 at 7 p.m. at the Hermantown Hockey Arena.