Boys varsity hockey team sticks to winning season
January 19, 2019
Junior Cooper Wylie (defenseman) looks down the ice to junior Ryan Roeske (forward) for a possible pass. On Jan. 3, White Bear Lake wins against the boys varsity team 2-1 after a heartbreaking overtime turnout.
The boys varsity hockey team is slashing away at their season with a record of seven wins and four losses. With such a strong winning record, this season could lead the boys to their repeated goal of Conference or State Champions.
The boys hockey team has been led by Coach Matt Doman for six consecutive years, and this year’s captains are seniors Joe Raleigh (defenseman) and Jesse Brown (goaltender). This season, the boys have been focusing on year-round consistency and steadily practicing new and old challenges.
“For us as coaches [we] just continue to challenge the kids everyday. We [give] tips that we have for how to play as a team but also as individuals, and how to make them each the best hockey players they can be,” Doman said.
The team is said to have a lot of experience from the consistency of the same varsity hockey players as years in the past. The experience that the players have this year in comparison to last year has improved according to the team’s record so far and members of the team’s opinions.
For us as coaches [we] just continue to challenge the kids everyday. We [give] tips that we have for how to play as a team but also as individuals, and how to make them each the best hockey players they can be.
— Matt Doman
“Last year we were so young. We didn’t have much experience and there was a lot of good teams out there that had a lot of experience and a lot of good seniors and now this year the tables have turned because we have a lot of experience now. With the chemistry that we have I think we are in store for a good year,” Brown explained.
The hopes for the team are high this season. The age of the players this year has increased along with the techniques that they apply on the ice.
“We only had three seniors last year so a lot of the guys are the same and that’ll help us with more experience,” Raleigh added. “I think we’re going to do good this season.”
The team practices noticeably often because Doman believes that there is always something that the team needs to work on to obtain their full potential.
“I think the biggest thing for us is consistency day in and day out, and from period to period, and shift to shift, and if [the players] want to see the goals that we’ve set for ourself [we just have to] be consistent and not only with effort but execution as well,” Doman explained.
As the team keeps adding more wins to their record, the training and discipline is present for all of their games to come. There is an opportunity that this years boys varsity hockey team can achieve their goals of conference, and possibly state champions.
