Underclassmen Earn Their Ice
Written by Chris Walby
December 21, 2010
There were several games this past Saturday in WIAA action, 36 to be exact. As injuries pile up and flu bugs take their toll, the lineup for several teams across the state is a revolving door. With key players out of the line up, coaches prepare their understudies to fill important roles.
Cedarburg forces overtime and knocks off Waukesha 4-3
The Cedarburg Bull Dogs (3-5-0) have been banged up since the start of the season. “This (injuries) has forced us to play a lot of young players that have very little or no high school hockey experience,” said Cedarburg Head Coach, Dale West.
This past Saturday, the Bull Dogs fell behind 3-2 late in the third period to the Waukesha Wings (2-6-0). “Given the adversity we had to deal with already this season, I was very proud of the way our boys handled it,” said West.
With less than a minute to go, the Bull Dogs’ Mitch Gall, a senior forward, tied up the game with his second tally of the night. Gall, who has played well this season, according to West, capped off the hat trick by notching the game winner in overtime.
“We’re hoping that this win versus Waukesha and the quick maturation of our younger players will help us turn this young season around,” said West.
Onalaska topples Sun Prairie 4-1
In Onalaska (6-0-0), Coach Tim Ebner is busy developing a younger team, while cashing in on his elite upper classmen. “We only have 4 seniors, so we are a young team that needs to become more consistent day in and day out,” said Ebner.
In the win over Sun Prairie this past Saturday, Ebner was pleased with his Hilltoppers’ performance. “We were able to put a full 51 minute game together. Our Defenseman did a great job of getting the puck out of our zone and that allowed our forwards to generate some quality scoring opportunities,” said Ebner.
Gabe Flood, a sophomore forward for Onalaska, led his Hilltoppers to a victory over Sun Prairie, scoring two goals in the contest.
“Gabe Flood had his best game of the year and Tredinnick, Burkhardt, and Bronston played well up front. On the back end, I thought Havlik and Aschenbrenner had their best game of the season,” said Ebner.
Onalaska travels tonight to Eau Claire North (0-7-0) for a Tuesday night tilt. Coming off a nice win and after a long bus ride, the Hilltoppers’ mixture of youth and skilled senior class, will be tested to prove they can remain consistent.
“As for the season, we are a work in progress,” said Ebner. “As everyone does, we hope to continue to improve as the season goes on.”