The Cohen Cup
After a wildly successful 2024-2025 season, the Madison Girls Ice Hockey team is preparing to face new challenges. After the competitive re-seeding, Madison has moved up a division, pitting them against powerhouse teams for the NJIIHL – Cohen Cup. The re-seeding has inspired the team to give this season their all, different from the last, it is no longer about constant success, but rather growth, resilience, and determination to reach the next level.
2024 to 2025 Season of Success
Last season, Madison Girls Ice Hockey were one of the top teams within the Annis Cup, with a record of 10-2 and constantly producing large margins of victory. Led by Head Coach Ryan Bailey, the team’s competitive nature, hardworking players and coaches, and determination led them to a championship, resulting in their allocation to a higher division, where they are now fighting for the Cohen Cup.
The New Playing Field
As the Madison Girls Hockey team is thrust into this new environment with new teams and level of competition they begin to adjust. The captains, Scarlet Baisch, Calista Farrell, and Athena Halewicz, now in leadership positions, are facing the biggest challenges the team has faced in these past few seasons. After a rough start to the season with a 3-0 loss to Trinity Hall, the team reflects on the differences and challenges they are faced with in this new level of play. Captain Calista Farrell says, “I am really excited for the season. We faced a loss in our first game, but we are moving on and using it to help us.” Trinity Hall is a highly competitive team with their 2024-2025 season record of 15-5-2, and already in this season they have a record of 5-1. During Madison’s game against them on December 7th, Trinity Hall’s goalie, Katie Cisar, had 30 saves making her a game leader. Although Madison suffered a loss in this game they continue to work on team building and keeping the team environment healthy and fun while still learning from mistakes and maintaining motivation for success. “It was really nice seeing the team come together during that game as we finally set our line and got comfortable with one another,” Farrell said. “Moving up from the Annis Cup has been challenging, but playing these harder teams has really motivated us and I think we have great things to come.”
With their next game against Chatham on December 21st, Farrell has a positive attitude and is confident this new challenge will only bring the team together and drive them to success.