It takes a special level of commitment to play high school hockey if you're a girl from Ashland.

Just ask Lily Pergolski, Alex Pieterek and Trista Bolz, the dedicated trio of Ashland High School student-athletes who travel to Hayward and back every day of the week during the season just for the chance to skate for their high school team.

"It's a lot of dedication," Pergolski, a senior at Ashland, said. "You have to be really committed because going back and forth each day takes a lot of time out of your school day. We don't get to stay at school for the full day, and then we don't get back home until 8:30 every night, so you really have to be on top of school and sports at the same time. So it can be really difficult but it's definitely worth it in the end."

It's as if hockey is in these girls' DNA.

They each came up around the sport and played youth hockey in Ashland, and that deep-seated love of the game continues to inspire each of them as they continue competing at the next level.