Eden Prairie sophomore defenseman Lauren Boyle shouldered both mental and physical weight this season while helping carry her team to its first state-tournament appearance in five years.
Boyle, a smooth-skating defenseman adept at carrying the puck end to end, joined fellow sophomores Angie Heppelmann and Charly Dahlquist to form the Eagles' core.
"Our freshman year, the coaches just wanted us to relax, play our own game and figure it out," Boyle said. "This year they came in with a different attitude and really put pressure on us. That was kind of hard for me because I've never had weight put on me."
Boyle knows what do with weight. She broke a 20-year-old Eden Prairie squat record for a sophomore with a lift of 270 pounds.
Added strength helped her contribute nine goals and 12 assists as the Eagles placed fourth in the Class 2A tournament.
She spoke to Star Tribune reporter David La Vaque about the Eagles' promising future, her work with weights and her less-than-desired nickname.
Talk about the excitement of getting Eden Prairie back to the state tournament for the first time in five years. It was a huge goal for our team to make it to the state tournament. We really came together this year, more so than any other team I've been on. It meant so much to everybody on the team, especially our seniors and our captains.
Tell me about the weight-room squat record you broke in the offseason. I've been lifting weights since I was 12 years old. Last spring, I worked out with the Holy Family boys' hockey team. Then I worked out with some Minnetonka girls' hockey players in the summer, all at Velocity. And then I worked out with my team in the fall. The squat record was 255 pounds, and I reset it at 270 pounds.
