Congratulations to the Glenview Stars U10 Girls team for winning the All American Girls Tournament in Blaine, Minnesota.

The tournament, held Nov. 21-24, is the largest female hockey tournament in the United States, fielding divisions at the U10, U12 and U14 levels, and was played at the largest ice arena in the United States, the eight-sheet Schwan Super Rink.

The Stars opened up the weekend facing a tough Junior Mirage girls team comprised of players from the cities of Proctor, Hermantown and Twig, Minnesota. The Stars emerged with a 4-2 victory, with four separate Stars' girls lighting the lamp. The Stars proceeded to secure victories over both the Duluth Icebreakers and the Forest Lake Rangers to earn a spot in championship game on Sunday.

The championship game, against the Thunder Bay Fury from Ontario, proved to be the fastest-paced and most intense game of the tournament. The Stars opened the scoring in the first period with a goal by Karly Kolssak. Dani Friedman followed up with a hard-working "dirty goal," assisted by Kristina McKay late in the period to give the Stars a 2-0 lead after one.

At the start of the second period, the Fury came out with a more agressive attack than they had in the first, but the Stars girls stayed tough and went toe-to-toe with them. The turning point in the game came late in the second period when the Fury put themselves two players short by earning separate body checking and hooking penalties within a 30-second span. The Stars worked the puck well on the resulting 5-on-3, culminating in a great pass from Gianna Miranda to Gabriela Sennett who rifled in her fourth goal of the tournament to give the Stars a 3-0 lead going into the third period.

Stars goalie Jill Hertl kept the Fury frustrated by turning away every shot that came her way, including a couple of tense flurries, and Kolssak added a fourth goal in the third period, giving the Stars a 4-0 championship game shutout victory.

This tournament victory was a team achievement from top to bottom. Every player on the Stars' team contributed in some way, shape or form to help deliver the final result. There were eight different girls who scored goals in the tournament, including four different game-winning goal scorers: Jillian Guittar, Olivia Foran, Sennett and Kolssak. Ten different girls had points in the series and all girls on the team participated on the PK (penalty kill), helping kill off a penalty.

Tireless play and workmanship face-off battles by Guittar and Friedman, coupled by agressive two-way play from Caroline Curtis, Foran, Teagan Connors, Paige Southwood, Sennett and McKay -- who led the team with five assists -- paved the way. Stellar defensive play by Alejandra Ubarri, Annabelle Merkel, Bella Crist, Anna Sosin, Gianna Miranda and Kolssak, along with "Bigfoot" Hertl maintaining order between the pipes, led to the team's success. Coaches Don Ridge and Nick Lavalle were extremely proud of the girls' effort and felt that girls truly worked together as a team to get the job done.