 From 2009 to 2013, Warlord Girls Hockey and state tournaments basically went hand in hand. The Warriors captured two state titles and three state runner-ups in six years. After missing two straight seasons, Warlord made it back to state last year, capturing a third place title and now they're back for some unfinished business. Ask around the Warlord Girls Hockey team and there's no question about what their expectations are for this season. Well I think, you know, when you put on the black and gold the expectation is you want to get to the XL every year. We for sure want to make it back to state but the biggest thing is just conquering our section because if we don't conquer that then there's no way we can make it to state. But the Warriors have a much tougher schedule this time around. Sitting five, three and one, six of their first nine games have come against teams ranked in the state's top 20 in both class A and 2A. You just test, yeah, and you find out how good you are. You don't have to wonder, you know, you play the Minnetonkas and the Dinas of the world and then you get up against our tough section teams and you find out what you need to improve on to be better come February. There are 11 new players on the roster with the team's average age under a sophomore and they know they need to do some growing up this season. We're a young team. We graduated quite a few and we're looking for our identity a little bit this year and, you know, mostly it's just growing up a little bit and maturing and knowing what's expected every day when you put on the jersey. But with such a young group, the focus early on has been on finding player roles as well as working to get more consistent. I think we need to improve on our consistency. We're not always consistent in shooting the puck and scoring or passing and catching the pass and also capitalizing on our chances. We need to score when there's a chance to make sure that we can stay ahead of the other team. But there's no doubt that come tournament time, the Warriors will be right back battling to head to state. We just want to make it back and show that world is here and we're going to come in the next few years, too. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.