The Glenview Stars Girls U12 team matched up against their nemesis, the season leading Wilmette Girls U12 team, for the Wolves Cup Championship Game. The Stars beat the Admirals 3-0 in the semi-final game, and Wilmette got past the Jets with a score of 3-0. The teams met four times during the regular season, each with two wins, so Coaches Myles Gottainer, Phoebe Amberg and Nick Lavalle knew it would be a close matchup.

The game started off as a pretty even back and forth game. Both teams came out strong and determined to win the championship banner. Then with about seven minutes to go in the 1st period, Shannon Schmitt scored on a one-timer on a pass from Sarah Sanders. The Stars had the early lead, but they knew they had to keep up the momentum. With both teams battling fiercely, no goals were scored the rest of the 1st and 2nd  periods.

After a rousing round of Sweet Caroline at the break before the third period, the Stars came out energized. Through the first half of the third period, the Stars were working to maintain their lead, while Wilmette knew they had to score. With three minutes left, Coach Myles Gottainer made an inspired coaching decision and put defensive player Katerina Poulos at forward. A beautiful shot by Lindsey Gulliksen did not quite get past the Wilmette goalie’s formidable pads, but Poulos was in perfect position to pick up the rebound and scored, putting the Stars ahead 2-0.

However, the vaunted Wilmette team was not done fighting. After Poulos' goal, Wilmette tried a different tactic, firing a stretch pass to a speeding defensive player, who skated through traffic, made a great move, and scored to make it 2-1. Knowing they had little time to score another goal to force an overtime, the Wilmette team decided to pull their goalie, which was a grave mistake because the Stars were advancing into their offensive zone. A confused Wilmette team tried to recover by putting a player back on the ice to halt the advance, but the goalie was already working her way back to the net. With too many players on the ice, Wilmette got a penalty. After 10 seconds of play, the Stars were assessed a hooking penalty, aggravating Stars fans. Since the faceoff was in the Stars’ defensive zone, Wilmette again pulled their goalie to gain a one player advantage. Center Elizabeth Ahne controlled the puck and put it in the corner, buying precious time, and the Stars were able to eat away the clock to hold on for a 2-1 victory. The Stars' faces were shining and no hair was out of place for the team’s pictures and trophy ceremony.