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The girls varsity hockey team was invited to participate in a unique game against Grosse Pointe South on Thursday, Dec. 18. They were given the chance to play at the ice rink in Comerica Park.

“It was an amazing experience for us, so exciting to get to play where the Red Wings were going to be play after us, just awesome,” senior co-captain Susan Tomasi said.

Tomasi described it as an unreal experience as she watched the snow begin to fall when they hit the ice. The game took place at 8:30 a.m., but that didn’t stop friends, family and hockey enthusiasts from coming out to watch in the freezing temperatures, Tomasi said. Junior co-captain Karina Lucchese also didn’t mind the time or temperature. She was ready to hit the ice.

“It was really cool to start the game with the lights on because the sun wasn’t up yet,” Lucchese said. “It snowed, which made the whole thing seem even more like a dream.”

The first period started off shakily, but the team was able to pick it up for the second and third according to Tomasi. She was also proud of the newer players who started skating this season. South ended up scoring the final point and winning 5-4 in the last few minutes of the game, but the team saw the overall experience as more important than the final score.

Tomasi admitted her favorite part was seeing Pavel Datsyuk from the Red Wings in the hallway on her way back to the locker room. Given the chance, she thinks her whole team would agree they would do it again if given the opportunity. Lucchese agreed with her co-captain that this game wasn’t about winning and losing.

“I usually get really upset after a loss, but after that game I just wanted to stay on the ice and do it all again because I know it was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Lucchese said.