This edition of student-athletes’ pre-game rituals features Penelope St-Pierre ‘27. This is part of a series of articles about student-athletes’ pre-game rituals. Read them all here.
Penelope St-Pierre ’27. Photo by Mr. Michael Aldridge.
“Before a game, it would be rare that you would hear me say a word. I get up super early on game days, and the first thing I do is text my dad, my biggest supporter. We will talk about hockey and have a good laugh. If we play early in the morning, I don’t eat anything, but if we play later, I will eat something. But I hardly ever eat before games, and if we have two games, you’ll always find me eating chicken or pasta with fruit.
“ Two hours before the game, I always have my headphones on, listening to my music. That’s my focus time. I’m in my bubble so I don’t hear anything around me. As soon as I arrive, the first thing I do is put on my hockey socks and change for warm-ups. On the road, Meg and I always sit beside each other in the locker room. I always warm up in slides; it’s been my ritual since the beginning of the season. No matter how cold it is, I will always be in slides. After warming up, I take five deep breaths to calm myself down and release the stress and pressure. Then I will go look at the rink and the ice for a little.
“About 20 minutes before the game, I sit alone against the wall. I talk to myself, I say positive things, and I remind myself why I’m here and all the sacrifices I’ve made to get here. I do that for about 5 minutes. About 15 minutes before the game, I start getting dressed. My skates are always the last piece of equipment I put on. It takes me about five minutes to get fully dressed.
“Then, I leave the locker room and sit on the floor across from Franny and Gilly, and we talk about hockey. About eight minutes before going on the ice, I go back to the locker room with my coaches. I am always the last to sit down and I splash some water on my face.
“Here we go! Our team always has two songs that we have a ritual for, and then it’s game time! And finally, after the team cheers, I always do my handshakes with Reese, Annette, and Sara.”
As told to Anna Monette ’26.
