(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)
Less than a year ago, Amber Galles achieved the first-ever hat trick for the Arizona State women’s club ice hockey program. Now in the program’s second year, she is continuing her outstanding success in what is her final season with the team .
Galles is a Minnesota native from Prior Lake, Minn., a city 20 miles southwest of downtown Minneapolis with a population around 26,000.
It has been quite the change of scenery for Galles, leaving the “State of Hockey” and coming to the desert to play hockey in Arizona. In Prior Lake, it only took a short walk outside to play hockey during the winter on the frozen lake near her home.
“It’s not as common down here,” Galles said about hockey in Arizona. “I get a lot of people who are shocked that I play hockey. In Minnesota, it is very common for almost all females to play hockey up there.”
Galles would make her own rink on the naturally frozen lake surface. She and her friends set up walls and lights to enjoy hockey the old-fashioned way.
Now a senior, Galles has made a smooth transition to Arizona State University, where she is majoring in kinesiology. She has also found herself a new home with the friends she has made on the team with ASU women’s club ice hockey.
Galles leads the Devils with five goals this season, all in different games. Her hot streak to start this season grows deeper, as she has at least one point in every game through six games played in 2017 for a total of nine on the season.
“Every time she steps on the ice, she’s always one of the hardest working people, no matter if its practice or against the opponent,” head coach Lindsey Ellis said. “I think that sets her apart from the rest of everyone on the ice. And I think that’s why she has all those points.”
Galles is exceptional at filling up the stat sheet. Aggressiveness and teamwork are the exact pieces she brings to the team to complete her team like a finished puzzle.
“She has a lot of drive to get to the net,” junior forward Taylor England said. “That’s how she scores all the goals that she’s been scoring. But she’s also a team player. She passes the puck a lot and talks on the ice, and a lot of girls see her as an open opportunity for scoring chances.”
Galles wears the bold ‘C’ patch on her sweater for ASU this season. She is team co-captain, alongside senior defender KC McGinley.
“She was an assistant last year, and all her hard work and her leadership,” Ellis said about the decision to name Galles co-captain. “Just everything she does on and off the ice for this program, not only hockey-wise, but just the relationships she makes with the rest of the team is what ultimately led to that decision.”
Galles has proven herself on the ice time and time again. However, it is her personality off the ice that has won her teammates’ adoration.
“She makes all the jokes and she’s a good time,” England said.
Coaches and teammates alike love Galles for her goofiness and ability to lighten the mood. She is good at knowing when to have a good laugh and when to work hard.
As a senior in her final season of hockey, Galles is pushing toward the goal of making it to the playoffs. She continues to tell her teammates to believe they can compete with any team that the Devils face.
“I want to come out strong my final year. I want to leave this team knowing that we’re good. I want to create that program. I know with a short roster coming in again this year, a lot of teams were looking at us like we weren’t going to be anything. That was a big motivator. We have a lot of talent, we have a good team, and we will come out and be competitive.”
