Hockey Figures into College Plans for Quintet

Kelsey Patten made the latest start in hockey at the age of 11.

Unlike many athletes who follow in the footsteps of older siblings, Patten was convinced after watching her younger brother and sister play. Her father had also been a player and coach.

“Once I started, I was in love with the sport,’’ she said.

Patten, who attends Stevenson High School, joins Jessie Gould (Long Grove) and the Lake Forest High School trio of Marie Soukup, Haley Conroy and Dana Markee to form the five seniors on this year's Scout girls' ice hockey team, which faces Loyola at 2:20 p.m. Sunday at The Edge in Bensenville. At stake is a third straight trip to the United Center on March 23 to probably meet New Trier for the State title.

• See related story: Senior Quintet Seek Return Trip to United Center

However, because of her involvement with the Chicago Young Americans, she resisted joining the Lake Forest team until her junior year.

“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to play on two teams at once,’’ said Patten, a two-year all-state selection who has accounted for 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists) this season. “But a lot of my friends on travel teams were doing it (playing high school hockey), so I decided to give it a shot.’’

In addition to playing lacrosse in her final spring at Stevenson, Patten will continue to stay in shape for hockey by playing in pickup hockey games at local rinks. She will play hockey at Division III Saint Anselm in Goffstown, N.H., next year.

“There are a lot of college guys who come out to the rinks and I enjoy playing against them,’’ she said. “I like them to go hard, not physically, against me because it makes me play better.’’

Marie Soukup, who admits to having been a girly-girl, dumped her figure skates and ballet slippers for hockey at the age of 9.  “I joined a 3-on-3 league, went to a U-12 girls team for a year and then started playing on boys teams,’’ she says.

Soukup is headed to play hockey at Division III Chatham University in Pittsburgh, where she plans to head into the field of physical therapy and possibly become an author some day.

“I want to be able to give something back to the sport,’’ she said.

Markee, who dropped travel hockey when she moved to Lake Forest two years ago, is hoping to make one of the club teams at Michigan State University, where she plans to major in elementary education.

“Michigan State offers two club teams,’’ she said. “Their ‘A’ team won the national title last year and is back at the nationals again this year. I’ll probably receive a weightlifting schedule by June and will report to school in mid-August. In the meantime, I will be playing in pickup games and do a lot of running.’’

College Plans Still Taking Shape

All-staters Haley Conroy and Jessica Gould have yet to finalize their college plans.

“I plan to play at the Division III level,’’ Conroy said. “I guess I still have another month before I finally have to decide where I will be attending.’’

Conroy, whose sister Hannah is a freshman forward with the Scouts, followed the footsteps of two older brothers and started playing hockey with the Falcons at the age of 8. Her brother Dylan, who is a year older, was also on the team and now plays club hockey at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.

“Dylan treated me like any other teammate and would always make me work,’’ she saids. “I always wanted to be better than him. I think I am now.

“When I was 4 or 5, my dream was to play in the Olympics," Conroy continued. "Now, after college, I’ll try to find a women’s league, play as long as possible and then maybe become a coach. I have always liked my coaches and I think it would be fun to teach the game to others.’’

Gould, who says she has been on the ice since the age of 3, could end up joining Markee at Michigan State or play club hockey at Miami (Ohio). Along with Patten, she also has 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) on the season.

“I didn’t want to play Division I hockey and not be able to explore other things in my college life,’’ she saids. “Nothing is concrete yet, but I am looking into athletic training.’’

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