“They just love it here,” Mandryk said. “Most of them just started playing last year and we don’t play in a regularly competitive league, so this is really special. The experience for them is 100%.”

The Ontario coach said the distance is not bad as Minnesota is “pretty close to home.”

Nicole Cook has a daughter, Brianna, who plays on the Chill.

“It’s been great, a real learning experience,” she said of the tournament. “Just having your daughter be able to play in a tournament like this. The experience is the main reason [to come to the tournament]: to show the girls how huge the sport really is and to see what it’s like to play at an international level.”

Cook said that some of the girls could not fall asleep the night before or eat a meal because they were too nervous.

“They take it very serious but they are having fun,” she said. “I’m proud to be a part of this tournament and I’m humbled by the overall size of it.”