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"Our record wasn't as good as last year's," said the Wildcats' third-year head coach, Corey McKinnon, "but we were a better team.  We played a much tougher schedule.  We had to play each of the top teams in our conference twice.  Also, we got rid of some weak non-conference opponents and added tough teams like Rochester Lourdes."

McKinnon talked about each of his lines. "Our Gold Line players - Tony Skoog, Nick Bratrud, DJ Haus, Zach Cunningham and defenseman Jon Lien - are an intense group of players that put pressure on other teams because of their speed.  Zach is a gifted athlete.  I've never seen someone play goalie one year and come back to play forward another year.

"Our Red Line players - Bob LeVasseur, Ross Jones, Scott Liebsch, defenseman/forward Andy Slagle and defenseman Terry Bergren - are a hard-working bunch.  They're not a bunch of pretty boys.  They love to scramble for the puck.  Terry does a great job quarterbacking the power play, and Andy loves to push the puck up.

"Our Black Line players - Luke Angrimson, Jeremiah Bergren, Aaron Slagle, defensemen Jake Parenteau and Jeremy Patterson - are a physical group," said McKinnon.  "They love to hit and do the dirty work. Jeremiah reached his season's goal of ten game-changing hits.  Aaron's not afraid to stand in front of any shot.  And Luke focused on using his gifts of size, speed and a hard shot to his advantage.  Jake and Jeremy feed off each other well.  Jeremy doesn't care about statistics, and Jake loves to handle the puck."

"Halfway through the year," continued McKinnon, "we gave our goalie, Tommy Fitzer, a challenge.  He had to run five gauntlets every time he gave up a soft goal from that point on.  Tommy took the challenge as an opportunity and ran with it.  He gave up just one goal the entire second half of the season that was a little soft and had to run two-and-a-half gauntlets.  He stopped everything else he was supposed to.  And he had a great attitude.  He pushed himself in practice even though he knew he was going to start virtually every game."

"Our Team Player of the Year award is not an MVP award," said McKinnon. "It goes to the player who sacrifices the most for the benefit of the team.  This year's two recipients, Aaron Slagle and Jon Lien, were well-deserving.   

"Terry Bergren, our Hobey Baker Award winner, certainly exemplified the sportsmanship ideals that the award stands for and that we strive for as a team. 

"And since we like to stress to the players that they should have a well-rounded life - balancing school, athletics and being a good person - it's nice to see the boys rewarded by having four players on the Academic All-Conference team and to see the team win the award as the top academic team in the conference," the coach continued.

"It's tough to say goodbye to this unique group of seniors," said McKinnon.  "How often do the seniors sit at the front of the bus?  And the locker room had a great atmosphere.  Young players and transfers were accepted right away.  There were no boundaries between players of different classes.  They set a great example and I hope it continues in the future."

Record

Season Record 12-14-0

Conference Record 7-5-0 (3rd)

Team Awards

Most Valuable Player - Offensive Scott Liebsch

Most Valuable Player - Defensive Jake Parenteau

Team Player of the Year Aaron Slagle & Jon Lien

Most Improved Brandon Mueller

JV Player of the Year

Tyler Willis

Rookie of the Year Cale Arhart

North Suburban All-Conference

Luke Angrimson

Terry Bergren

Scott Liebsch

Jake Parenteau

North Suburban All-Conference Honorable Mention

Tom Fitzer

Ross Jones

Robert LeVasseur

Aaron Slagle

Academic All-Conference (Seniors Only)

Tom Fitzer

Ross Jones

Robert LeVasseur

Scott Liebsch

Hobey Baker

Sportsmanship Award

Terry Bergren

Team

North Suburban Conference Academic Champions

Letter Winners

Ninth

Ryan Hawley, Matt Peterson

Tenth

Cale Arhart, Derek Budde

Eleventh

Aaron Bergerson, Jeremiah Bergren, Nick Bratrud, DJ Haus , Jon Lien, Jeremy Patterson, Tony Skoog, Tyler Willis

Twelfth

Luke Angrimson, Terry Bergren, Zach Cunningham, Tom Fitzer, Ross Jones, Robert LeVasseur, Scott Liebsch, Jake Parenteau, Aaron Slagle

Statistical Leaders

Goals 16

Robert LeVasseur

Assists 19

Scott Liebsch

Total Points 29

Scott Liebsch

Plus/Minus +14

DJ Haus

Shots 98

Luke Angrimson

Takeouts 75

Jeremiah Bergren

Blocked Shots 10

Aaron Slagle, Jake Parenteau

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