As students who saw them in the hallways today can attest, Baldwin ice hockey players are excited to participate in a long-standing team tradition practiced after making playoffs: Dying their hair blonde.

“The team getting together to dye their hair before playoffs is a big tradition for the hockey team,” junior Zack Pender said. “We were kind of honored to get to take part in it.”

The players got together on Sunday during the day to dye their hair bright blond before their away game against Franklin Regional that night. The team lost 5-4, but the Highlanders already had qualified for the playoffs.

The players pointed to a win a week ago against Upper St. Clair as reason for playoff optimism.

“Upper Saint Clair is No. 1 in our division, so we felt excited when we won the game against them, on senior night too,” junior Noah Fischer said.

Although the team had previously made playoffs in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 season, younger players are especially excited because it is the first time for some of the players to be in the playoffs.

“This is the first time that juniors like Noah and me have made it to the playoffs, so we’re pretty pumped,” Pender said.

The players acknowledged some nerves about playoffs, but think they can rise to the challenge.

“We haven’t made it to this level before so it feels new and weird, but I definitely think we’re ready,” Fischer said.