CENTURY MARK — Fairmont Area Cardinals defender Mackenzie Householder (9) prevents Minnesota River forward Anna Pavlo (5) from advancing the puck during Big South Conference hockey action March 4 at Martin County Arena in Fairmont. Householder, a junior, scored the 100th point of her prep career earlier this month. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — For the third consecutive year, Mackenzie Householder led the Fairmont Area Cardinals’ offense.

Householder’s 19 points, on the strength of 13 goals and six assists, topped the Cardinals’ statistical charts during the recently-completed 2020-21 season. Her goal total stood atop her teammates, while Bella Larson and Alexis Newville also dished out six assists.

In her fifth year with the Cardinal varsity team, Householder’s total led her to a milestone — 100 career points.

“I didn’t know that I was getting close at all,” Householder said of the career mark. “Once I scored, I got on the bench and my dad (assistant coach Eric Householder) told me and it was pretty much a surprise. I’m pretty honored to be getting my 100th point as a junior, with another year to go.”

Householder joined the varsity team in seventh grade and instantly made an impact. She tied for the team lead with 11 goals, while dishing out eight assists during the 2016-17 season, helping the Cardinals to a 9-13-2 record.

Householder said playing a major role on the team as a seventh-grader brought some worries, but the older players helped her get past them.

“My seventh-grade year moving up, I was scared,” Householder said. “I didn’t think I would be able to fit in. I think I thought that I would just sit on the bench, which I didn’t. I jumped right in and started playing and everything kind of flowed just naturally with the girls. My seventh-grade year, they really brought me under their wing and kind of taught me the ropes and it really helped me grow up and be the leader I am today.”

Householder followed her initial campaign with a team-leading 10 goals as a sophomore to complement four assists.

Householder started her team-leading run when she lit the lamp 15 times as a freshman, while dishing out a team-high 11 assists.

After her first team-leading campaign, Householder was named a team captain as a sophomore.

Now in her second season as a captain, Householder said her long tenure with the team has helped her take a leadership role.

“I feel that these girls know and look up to me a lot more than if it was just like any other captains, because I’ve been on the team for so long,” Householder said. “It’s not normal for, like a player to be on a varsity team since seventh grade. They usually get on during their freshmen or sophomore year. So for me, I feel like, you know, that they can look and they can talk to me about the game because I can see it from a whole different viewpoint being on that team for so much longer.”

In her first year as a captain, Householder led the team again, scoring 16 goals, which put her at 52 on her career to mark another milestone, while dishing out 11 assists.

While she also plays soccer in the fall and runs track in the spring, Householder said she has spent much of her life on the ice. She said the relationships she has built through the sport is one of her favorite aspects of playing.

“I just love the environment of hockey,” Householder said. “But I’ve been in it for so long, I don’t really know my thoughts on it. They have changed throughout with the ups and downs. But the friendships that are made not only from Fairmont, but my other teams around, they make me just want to play more. I know, like, the people around me love it as much as I do. They help me to enjoy it more. I love winning, so when my team wins, it just brings me so much joy.”

A winning season hasn’t come yet in Householder’s time with the Cardinals, but she said that is her biggest goal for her senior season. She said she hopes to help lead the team to a winning record to finish her high school career, before continuing life on the ice in college.

She said she knows there is room to improve before she can move up a level, though.

“I want to improve … my stick handling and getting better with my hands and being able to shoot and score anywhere on the ice,” Householder said.

She will hopefully have time to continue her improvement during hockey camps this summer, after missing them last summer because of COVID-19. She said her first camp will be a college-run camp in Fargo this May.

While Householder continues to work toward a future on the ice, she said she wanted to thank her mom (Trana Householder) for always going to games and supporting her, and CJ Johnson, the trainer she has worked with for much of her life.