and his star freshman, Rose Alleva, was being recruited by Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, an elite boarding school for prep athletes.

Alleva's decision to stay home changed everything.

While the Wingers won just a single game in Alleva's seventh-grade season, Red Wing has qualified for the state tournament in four of the past five seasons, including a third-place finish last year.Haley points all that success back at Alleva, whose tireless work ethic set the tone for years to come.

"He basically told me you don't get off the ice — even if you're about to die," said the soft-spoken Princeton senior, who was the top-scoring defender in Division I women's hockey as of Nov. 14.

Alleva and Paige Haley, a Minnesota Gophers freshman, were Miss Hockey finalists as seniors. Thanks to a recruiting promise — to play in Minnesota — made four years ago by Princeton head coach Jeff Kampersal, the former teammates will square off Nov. 30 in what could be dubbed Red Wing Day at Ridder Arena.

Red Wing's youth hockey teams will play between periods and the current high school squad, ranked No. 3 in Class A, plans to attend en masse. More than a few have hopes of following in their predecessors' footsteps — including the all-Division I line of Nicole Schammel, Emily Stegora and junior Reagan Haley.

"They just followed (Alleva) around like a little puppy dog," coach Haley said of his current stars. "That baton was passed along to Paige when she was making national camps. That was followed up with Reagan, Nicole and Emily. And those guys are doing it now with the little girls."

"She was the biggest reason I started to take hockey seriously," Reagan Haley said of Alleva.

Schammel and Stegora signed last week to play at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Schammel sniped her way to a state-best 126 points last year, while Stegora added 61.

The youngest Haley is one of the most highly sought after juniors in the state, but she remains coy about her college decision while weighing numerous Division I scholarship offers. Coach Haley, her father, says "she could decide next week or a few months from now."

"I'm really just privileged," said Reagan Haley, whose 149 career assists are just three behind the unofficial state record held by former Eagan star Natalie Darwitz, according to the Minnesota State High School League website. "I'm narrowing it down right now."

That trio averaged an astounding 9.9 points per game last season. While still early, that line is at 13 PPG after a pair of 6-0 victories. The synergy is obvious, coach Haley said.

Schammel's hands and hockey instincts are second to none, while Reagan Haley possesses rare playmaking skills. Stegora's size and athletic ability are best utilized in front of the net, where she's proved a handful for opposing teams.

"I think each of us are different players and we just complement each other perfectly," said Schammel, who has an outside chance to pass Darwitz as the state's all-time leading scorer.

With all that talent, practices have the potential to be lamp-lighting affairs. However, all-state junior goalie Ashley Corcoran said it's "really exciting to be tested by them" on a daily basis.

That situation was unthinkable just a decade ago.

"This might be pretty special and it's probably not going to come around again," coach Haley said. "I'm really trying not to take it for granted."