After Payton Adams started every game in goal for the Fox hockey team as a freshman, Warrior head coach James Hohmeier wanted to lessen her workload this season.
With the Mid-States Club Hockey Association playoffs approaching, Toby Heimgartner relieved Adams in a 4-2 loss to Rockwood Summit Jan. 1 and in a 7-0 win over Parkway South Jan. 9. Adams has rested since a 2-2 tie with Parkway Central Dec. 30. Fox is 4-11-3 for 11 points and is seventh in the Suburban Conference. The Warriors will compete in either the Wickenheiser Cup or Founders Cup for the postseason playoffs.
The MSCHA has 35 varsity clubs across three counties, Jefferson, St. Louis and St. Charles. Craig Ragland, the president of Mid-States, said that of the 1,284 players in the league, 52 are girls and that MSCHA has always allowed girls to compete with the boys. It’s one of the few area sports organizations that’s co-ed at the highest level of competition; high school wrestling in Missouri was co-ed before the girls were sanctioned for separate competition starting with the 2018-2019 school year.
“That (.04) is a small percent,” Ragland said. “I would rather focus on having 52 girls in the league; 16 play defense, 25 are forwards and 11 are goalies.”
Adams said she switched from being a skater when she was 7, playing for the Meramec Sharks. Since then, she has played in goal for the Triple A Blues.
“(The Sharks) had a tournament and we needed a goalie and I stepped in and fell in love with it,” Adams said.
Oakville native Pat Maroon, a member of the St. Louis Blues 2019 Stanley Cup champion in the National Hockey League, played in MSCHA and the league has turned out many skilled collegiate players from such private-school powerhouses as Christian Brothers College prep, De Smet and St. Louis University High.
Fox didn’t play any of those clubs this season, but Adams faces plenty of talented skaters from public-school conference rivals Rockwood Summit, Parkway West and Lafayette, among others.
“It’s challenging for sure, but I’d rather play with the boys,” Adams said. “The shots are harder and they skate faster. (Last season) came with its challenges. Starting every game was a mental battle.”
Goalies use different playing styles, such as standup and butterfly, and Adams employs the latter. A butterfly goalie guards the lower part of the net by dropping to the knees, using the pads and hands spread out like a butterfly’s wings.
Adams estimates that she sees about 30 shots per game.
“I like that goalies have to be by themselves,” she said. “You’re the last line of defense. I love my sport and position and it’s fun to play.”
Adams said she admires Nicole Hensley, who after playing for Lindenwood University was one of the goalies on the USA Olympic team that won gold in 2018 and silver in 2022. Hensley was the first goalie selected in the inaugural Professional Women’s Hockey League draft last year and plays for the Minnesota Frost.
“I want to play (NCAA Division I) hockey; it’s been my biggest dream,” Adams said. “It takes a lot of early morning practices.”
A 1-0 shutout over C-6 rival Seckman Dec. 21 was the highlight of Adams’ season. She made 17 saves that night and remembers one in particular.
“I stopped a breakaway in the second period,” she said. “It was a straight shot to the glove.”
Adams and the entire MSCHA organization were devastated in November when Colin Brown was killed after being struck by a bullet while he was coming home from playing a game for CBC. Two men have been arrested in connection to Brown’s death. Adams said she knew Brown well.
“He was my boyfriend’s best friend since they were 7 years old,” she said. “I saw Colin three or four times a week. Everyone’s growing and learning from this experience. We’re a tight community.”