Two members of the NIU D III hockey team are making history this season.

Sophomore defenseman Cheri Klosak and freshman goalie Jessica Stubitsch are the first two females to play for NIU hockey.

So far this season, Klosak has played in 11 games and has one assist and no goals.

Stubitsch has started two games, winning both of them.

Klosak, who is in her first year playing hockey at NIU, said her decision come back to the sport she’s been playing for 15 years was simple.

“I just heard it was a ton of fun,” Klosak said. “And I just missed hockey a lot because I didn’t play last year, so I decided to join.”

Stubitsch, a McHenry. Ill. native, said there were a couple reasons why she chose NIU.

“My mom actually works here; she is a professor,” Stubitsch said, “She wanted me to come here. I was actually looking at a few other schools and it came down to the last-minute. I was between Northern Michigan or here, which is a lot closer to home.”

Stubitsch played on Team Illinois, a AAA girls team, before coming to NIU.

“I think men’s hockey in general is just a quicker paced game, so I did have to adjust a little to the speed of play,” Stubitsch said, “But I’ve played with boys before team Illinois, like my whole life, so I was somewhat used to the speed of play and I actually enjoy it more. It’s like more challenging and it’s a lot more fun.”

Klosak said because of her gender, other teams are sometimes conflicted on how to handle her presence on the ice.

“It differs from team to team,” Klosak said, “Some teams choose to avoid [it] completely and not hit me, and then other teams will either hit me. Like anybody else [and] nothing changes. Or some people will hit me even harder and maybe throw in a couple cheap shots because they just can.”

Being two females in an otherwise male locker room might create some problems, but Stubitsch feels the team has treated both of them well throughout the season.

“All the guys have been really great,” Stubitsch said, “Me and Cherri always feel welcome. We hang out with all the guys all the time and it’s been a lot of fun the whole season so far.”

NIU D III captain Pat Giannini, who has three sisters who all play hockey, doesn’t see having two girls on a men’s team as that unusual.

“I’m used to it,” Giannini said, “I don’t see it as a big deal. I know some people would come in there and say, ‘Why aren’t they playing with a girls team?’ [It’s] because they can hang with a guys team, so why not play with them?”