Boys High School Hockey Team Previews-Honorable Mention & Others

I'm going to put out a series of posts previewing boys high school hockey teams for the 2007-2008 season. I'm beginning today with teams that finished in the "Honorable Mention" category last season as well as any other teams that may have caught my eye during the process of doing research on this season.

I normally compile my own statistics when I put the previews together, but since Power Play from Wisconsin Prep Hockey had already done that part, I used his information as a starting point (thanks Power Play).


Unranked Teams From Last Season

Hayward-I haven't been able to locate a roster from last season to look through all of Hayward's losses to graduation, but their biggest loss was undoubtedly All-State goaltender Al Armour. Returning this season are two high octane forwards in Senior Casey Kirley and Junior Nik Van Vonderen, both of whom were Honorable Mention All-State last season. Also in the fold is Sophomore defenseman Nolan Kirley who is also a member of Team Wisconsin Minor and was selected for the Select 15 National Development Camp this summer.

River Falls-River Falls graduated six Seniors, all of which were forwards. The biggest loss at forward was Sam Pilney who contributed 28 goals and 14 assists for 42 points. Returning for the Wildcats is two-time State Honorable Mention forward and Team Wisconsin Major forward Senior Trent Frey. He'll have help on offense from Junior Levi Johnson who I am told is one of the fastest forwards in the state. Also back for his Senior campaign is goaltender Wes Kusilek who managed a save percentage of 90% last season and a 2.70 goals against average. In addition, Sophomore defenseman Luke Jenkins could make an impact after playing with Team Wisconsin Minor in the pre-season.


Honorable Mention Teams From Last Season

Appleton-Big graduation losses were sustained by Appleton this past offseason with 4 forwards, 5 defenseman and a goaltender having moved on. Remaining is Honorable Mention All-State senior goaltender Josh Lehr, as well as sophomore Matt Paape who is a member of Team Wisconsin Minor.

GF 116 - GA 41

Losing 10 Seniors

(F) Ryan Campbell
(F) Nathan Huntington
(F) Phil Laird
(F) Andy Miller
(D) Tyler Wanke
(D) Tom Parsons
(D) Nick Vanden Heuvel
(D) Mike Klinger
(D) Mike Lindeke
(G) Mike Turner


Waukesha Catholic Memorial-This team may be better than last season after graduating just two players, both of which were forwards. Junior forward Jeff Costello, who was Honorable Mention All-State and is playing for Team Wisconsin Major will be back, as will one of the Team Wisconsin Minor goaltenders, Sophomore David Chapin.

GF 97 - GA 62

Losing 2 Seniors

(F) Andrew Krueger
(F) TJ Waite


Madison Edgewood-This is another team with a small graduating loss, with just one forward and one defenseman to replace. The bigger offseason loss suffered by Edgewood though was losing Junior defenseman Taylor Kuypers to the Madison Capitols. Even so, Junior forward Cody Strang and Senior defenseman Tyler Sorenson both are members of Team Wisconsin Major, with both also having been Honorable Mention All-State last season and will be returning. Add in two Team Wisconsin Minor junior forwards in Patrick McCoshen and Chris Kanak, and Edgewood still has lots of firepower. One can only imagine this team if Jordan George had not left for Russell Stover last season (and is now with Topeka in the NAHL), and Taylor Kuypers had not left for the Capitols this season.

GF 85 - GA 48

Losing 2 Seniors

(F) Matt Kloppenburg
(D) Mark Stemrich


Mosinee-They top the list so far with 11 players having graduated, 8 forwards, one defenseman and a pair of goaltenders. Their graduation losses scored 33% of their goals last season, lead by Honorable Mention All-State forward Brody Zebro with 27. Even so, lots of firepower returns with Honorable Mention All-State Senior forward Kevin Radke returning, along with Honorable Mention All-State senior defenseman Chase Drake. Add in Junior forwards Parker Tomczyk and Ethan Nauman who are members of Team Wisconsin Minor, and you can see there's still some firepower left in Mosinee. The questions will likely be whether or not they can replace all of their losses and have quality depth.

GF 144 - GA 70

Losing 11 Seniors

(F) Brody Zebro: 27g-15a = 42 pts
(F) Vince Hagman: 10g-12a = 22 pts
(F) Jacob Pitt: 8g-10a = 18 pts
(F) Brogan Schantz: 1g-6a = 7 pts
(F) Jacob Stephany: 1g-3a = 4 pts
(F) Brian Dombrowski: 1g-0a = 1 pt
(F) Cale Charneski: 0g-0a - 0 pts
(F) Kyle Koprowski: 0g-0a - 0 pts
(D) Dan Gliniecki: 0g-0a = 0 pts
(G) Jordan McKellips: .897 Sv%
(G) Seth Cramer: .690 Sv%