New Boys Hockey Program Coming to Stella Maris Academy

This hockey program will be the first team added to Duluth in the past 60 years.

DULUTH, Minn.– This upcoming fall, Stella Maris Academy is opening a high school campus in Duluth. In addition to their expansion, the academy plans to add a boys hockey program to their athletics department.

“Hockey is huge and we know that the sport itself is important to this community, but also, from a school perspective, extracurricular activities bring in such an opportunity for a well rounded education,” says President of Stella Maris, Andrew Hilliker, “That’s important to us at Stella, especially when we get to also incorporate our faith and our values in building that foundation outside the classroom, as well as inside.”

The Sentinels hockey program will begin its season during the 2023-2024 school year, under instruction of Coach Scott Pionk.

Pionk says, “To add another team here is something we really need here, and I think one of the elements to this too is, there’s not a Catholic high school that offers hockey in a circle from, Fargo, to St.Cloud, to the Twin Cities, to Green Bay, and everything north and east of that is a big void for this, so we’re going to try and fill that.”

Coach Pionk offers 40 years experience on the ice, coaching athletes at all levels of play. In addition to hockey, Pionk’s faith is near and dear to his heart.

“The high school hockey scene I think is just going to be fun to throw another element in there, another team. I know that the academic piece, the social and spiritual piece are going to be done really well, we just have to get the hockey part up to that level,” says Pionk.

This program will be the first hockey team added to the city in nearly 60 years, giving hockey fans something to look forward to come hockey season.