Adirondack United brings girls high school hockey to Section 2

High school girls hockey is coming to Section 2 this year, with the establishment of the Adirondack United hockey team.

The team will be a combination of six schools: Corinth, Glens Falls, South Glens Falls, Hudson Falls, Saratoga Springs, and Queensbury. Adirondack United head coach Jeff Willis said the team will provide valuable opportunities for girls in the area.

“What you find is a lot of girls that are very athletic, very good at hockey, they end up taking those skills and applying them somewhere else,” said Willis. “It’s great that we have this opportunity in front of us to continue to keep girls locally.”

Willis said the support from the girls and parents helped bring the squad to fruition, saying hockey parents are “a different breed.”

“And I’m saying this in the nicest way. I’m one of them,” added Willis. “They picked it up, and they were attending, like, every school board meeting. They were at South Glens Falls, they were at Glens Falls, they were at Queensbury. They just were not going to let this go.”

Willis also said the coordination between the six schools has been strong.

“The support has been really great across all school districts,” Willis said. “From my perspective as the head coach, I think everything’s going really well.”

As of now, Adirondack United is the only girls hockey team in Section 2. Willis said the team will compete in Section 7 this year, competing against schools such as Beekmantown, Saranac Lake Placid (a combination of Saranac Lake and Lake Placid), Plattsburgh, and Malone.

“That’s our league, and we’ll play in their sectionals,” said Willis.

Willis said that a majority of the team’s roster will come from the Adirondack Northstars travel organization, and mentioned he expects players from the Troy-Albany Titans and Clifton Park travel organizations to try out.

The head coach also said he expects the team to be competitive. Willis, who coaches one of the Northstars teams, mentioned several players who have made a big impact with the organization.

“We have three players here locally that have been selected to the U.S. National Team selection process that are in the program right now,” said Willis. “Bayley Duffy, Maddie Macauley, and my younger daughter, Lillian Willis. They were all selected to go to Minnesota as part of the national team selection process.”

Adirondack United provides an opportunity for these girls to advance their hockey careers at home, with Willis noting that this has not traditionally been the case in the area.

The squad will open its season with a tough test, playing defending state champions Skaneateles of Section III on Nov. 23. The United team will play several other Section III schools during the season, including Clinton and Oswego, and Section X programs such as Potsdam and Massena, in addition to its Section 7 league games.

“My philosophy is, I’ll play anybody anytime and anywhere,” said Willis.

Adirondack United will play its first home game on Dec. 3, hosting Beekmantown at 1 p.m. The game is set to be played at the Glens Falls Recreation Center, but Willis said there is a possibility of hosting the contest at Cool Insuring Arena.

“We think we’re going to hold it at the Rec Center, but if we sense that we’re going to get a really big crowd and (Cool Insuring Arena) is available, we maybe will pursue that,” Willis said. “That’s one of our focuses. I really want to pack the house the first night.”