Girls Hockey Team Seeks Help to Compete Downstate

IRONWOOD, MI - Friday, February 6, 2009 - If it weren't for Wayne at Super One Foods and Dr. Franz Aukee of Aukee Chiropractic, a girls hockey team would not even exist in the Ironwood area. Created in 2004, both sponsors have been with the team since the very beginning. Originally 9 girls signed up for the team. At the beginning of this year, the number of players was up to nineteen.

Pictured above are six of the team's 18 players. From left to right in both photos: #12 Ashley Ludtke; #28 Lydia Hendricks; #13 Brittani Williams; #17 Jenny Hamberg; #10 Michelle Bates; and #14 Brianne Bastman. Coaches pictured from left to right: Greg Williams; Stacy Ludtke; and Tim Bates. Players not pictured above include: #1 Cassie Chiapuzio; #2 Kayla Peters; #3 Meghan Douglas; #4 Tiffany Jarvenpaa; #5 Tiana Hanson; #6 Wendy Hyrkas; #7 Jessica Anderson; #8 Liza Vorderbrug; #11 Courtney Alexandroni; #15 Heather Dabb; #18 Morgan Leinon; and #19 Samantha Ofstad.

The team currently has an opportunity to compete downstate. Girl's teams from Ironwood, Marquette, and Escanaba were invited to participate. The problem is the cost may be prohibitive. It will cost over $9,000 to send the team downstate. The costs include lodging; transportation; tournament entry; and this doesn't even include meals. Several people have given donations so far, but the team will have to miss this chance of a lifetime if the funds they need cannot be raised. Stacy Ludtke told the Chronicle that he's been amazed at how people do all they can to help even with the bad economy.

Coach Ludtke told the Chronicle that competition will be tough downstate, but he believes his team can be competitive. In the first round, the team will play Marquette's team. Ludtke believes the Polar Bears are good enough to defeat Marquette. From there the team will play a Little Caesar's team named Captains. He said these teams are generally well-seasoned teams and they are generally sponsored by the owner of the Detroit Redwings. Another match-up with the West Kent Team, from Walker is a possibility.

"I will really enjoy going down there," Brianne Bastman said, "I think it'd be a really good experience for everyone. I'd really like to thank everyone for putting up with our attitude for one."

Jenny Hamberg said, "I'm excited to go downstate because I think going down to play these teams is probably going to be more difficult. It will definitely be a good experience for us because we'll need to be skating up to their caliber and that will only help us in the end. It will also be a good experience for the younger girls who will hopefully be able to go downstate again in the future."

Many of the players have brothers and sisters that are also interested in hockey. All of the parents are "hockey parents."  Jenny Hamberg, daughter of Sue and Bruce Hamburg, has a brother Ryan on the Midget team. Brianne Bastman's brother plays on the Mites team. Her parents are Amy and Andy Tait. Michelle Bates' father forced her to play hockey -- he's an assistant coach for the team. Ashley Ludtke's dad has been the head coach of the team for the past three years. Her mom, Becky, rarely misses a game; she does a lot for the team; and her brother was very active in hockey when he was younger. Britanni Williams parents are Peggy and Greg. Greg was the team's first head coach (the first year) and now he's an assistance coach and manager of the team. Lydia Hendricks' mom Tamara is very supportive as well.

Next week the team will be playing Minocqua, and for Lydia, it will be a homecoming of sorts. She was originally from Minocqua. Hendricks, who obviously was not feeling well, in a voice weakened with a chronic cough, croaked out a response. "I will be at the game! Hopefully I'll be better by then." Lydia told the Chronicle that she moved from Minocqua last year and since joining the Polar Bear team, she has sharpened her skills dramatically.

Each of the players (or their parents) are required to put in 25 hours to help out the Civic Center. The girls team was instrumental in getting the ice down and painting the lines on the rink. When the City's major water main collapsed earlier this year, the Girls team was immediately on the scene to lend a helping hand.

A fundraiser spaghetti feed has been scheduled for February 22, 2009, from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Manny's Restaurant. The cost is $5.00/ticket, and all proceeds go toward sending the team downstate.

If you would like to help the Polar Bear Girls Team downstate for the tournament contact Stacy Ludtke at (906) 932-2775. For more information on the Polar Bear Hockey Program go to www.polarbearhockey.org.