News

By Pete Waggoner 

The Delano tigers score goals by the bushel basket, averaging 6.83 per game, and boast 3 Division I commitments on their roster.  With a 10-1-1 record at the midway point of the season, the team that was once ranked in the top spot of the AP Let’s Play Hockey Class 1A coaches poll takes it all in stride with their sights set on St. Paul and the State Tournament. 

The Tigers, who are currently ranked #2 in the most recent LPH poll suffered their only defeat this season to the Hermantown Hawks by a score of 4-3 in the Duluth tournament.  The fact remains though, that the Tigers have not qualified for the State Tournament in school history and have had their season ended by the Breck Mustangs four straight years including two straight Section 2A finals.  Regardless of the past history and heartache, this year’s Delano team is not letting the past cloud their future and are taking an impressive approach to reaching their team goal of being state champions.  

“I think it’s become old to them,” Tiger head coach Gerrit van Bergen said.  “I think they know it’s a lot more than just Breck.  For a couple of years now we have spoken about our first goal built upon a 3 game winning streak at the end of the season.  Whether it’s playing Breck which it often has been, or it’s Orono who is our longest standing rival, or Blake who has been a team that we have really battled with over years or somebody else coming along in Section 2 right now, it’s really not about who they are, it’s about us and who we are.  We know that we want to win the conference but after that we have to have a 3 game winning streak in the postseason.”

van Bergen is a high energy, well spoken leader and his program has seen the benefits of his leadership.  This season marks van Bergen’s third as head coach of the program and he is no stranger to the program having played for Tigers in high school and then coach Steve Brown.  When coaching and teaching in Delano became a possibility, van Bergen jumped at it and spent the 10 seasons coaching a the JV level under Brown who would become a mentor to him. 

Under Brown, the Tiger program saw a steady improvement over the years that led to the development of the program’s first Division I player Tyler Heinonen who is in his senior season at Michigan Tech in the WCHA.  Heinonen, along with others on a quality team, paved the way for many other young players to take their game to another level in Delano.   

“I had a chance to play for Steve in high school and after college he asked me to come back which was great and he and I had the opportunity to work together for 10 years,” van Bergen said. “It was his time to step away and then had groomed me appropriately to be able to take over which was a huge honor and something that still, he and I talk on a regular basis and it’s really fun to have that connection.” 

There is no shortage in talent on this year’s Tiger roster with Maine recruit Ben Meyers (22g-31a-53pts) and Michigan Tech recruit Brian Halonen (21g-21a-42pts) leading the way.  Their linemate John Keranen (14g-21a-35pts) rounds out a devastating offensive punch that is hard for most teams to stop.  The team boasts a power play that connects on 43% of their chances.  It has been suggested, and not in this space, that the Tigers are a one line team and van Bergen takes exception to that.  

“I have heard the topic of a one line team and that is just absolutely not true,” van Bergen explained. “We have guys like Gabe Halonen, Kyle Ylitalo, and Sam Voss skating together right now and those guys are competing.  They are very physical, very tough to play against, and they have got some touch.  Gabe has 8 goals and Kyle is second on the team in power play goals (5).”  

van Bergen made mention to the number of other players on the roster that round out a team that pays attention to all facets of the game yet play an exciting and up tempo game that delivers great puck distribution.  “Garrett Pinoniemi (St. Cloud state recruit) is young (freshman) but has an incredible upside and future to him.  Justin Daly and Matt Carson are extremely hard workers.  Ross Oja is someone who is not going to get a lot of recognition but is someone who will do anything we ask of him and he is so committed.  As scores reflect it, we have a lot of offensive power and there’s no doubt that a lot of attention has been paid to Ben Meyers, Brian Halonen, John Keranen and Andrew Kruse.”

Kruse has been impressive this year coming off a broken fibula during an Upper Midwest High School Elite League game that ultimately required surgery.  In 10 games, Kruse has lit it up for (2g-19a-21pts) from the blue line.  Consider that he was not at 100% and even to his own admission, Kruse said he was limited to start the season.  Still, van Bergen was quick to pass out praise to the rest of his defensive corps and said, “Tanner (Glasrud) is easy to spot at 6’7” and he is learning his game as a bigger guy and learning how to take away time and space.  We’ve got some rock solid guys, Ray Heikkila, Jordan Peterson and Nick Schreyer are just guys who will simply make the plays that they need to make.  They will distribute that puck quickly and come up ice and join the rush when they can and are just a bunch of competitors.”

The Tigers shore it up in goal with a pair of goalies who spit games on the season.  “Whether it is (Jackson) Hjelle or (Erik) Peterson in net, guys who are going to make the save they should on a regular basis and some pretty outstanding, what we coin as impossible saves which every goalie needs to make in big games, those guys are certainly putting themselves in position to do that regularly.”

What makes this group stand out goes beyond it’s talent as a team.  it is about the understanding that everyone plays a role in making the team successful.  Senior Kyle Ylitalo introduced the term “Sweep the Barn” to a reporter and went on to explain it’s meaning and said,  “Sweep the Barn, means that no one is too good to help the team. Play defense, everyone is in it for each other, and that is pretty much what it means. That is how it is and we have posters in our locker room with that.” 

Senior defenseman and captain Andrew Kruse also added that the team has been together as a group since mites and squirts and that they all look to give rather than receive.  In reference to the “Sweep the Barn’ phrase, Kruse adde that it is a phrase that keeps perspective of the entire team and said, “It’s one of the phrases we use to make sure everyone is helping out and not being selfish and have more of a give mentality.”

Senior defenseman Nick Schreyer, who is a three sport athlete at Delano playing hockey, football, and baseball, said the team does not allow distractions to get in the way of their goal to winning a state championship and as a group follows a simple plan.  “Our motto this year is 31 steps all the way to the state championship,” Schreyer said.  “We are taking each game just one step at a time and we don’t want to look ahead at anything and just focus on the task that is at hand.  At school and through parents you hear how we are doing in the rankings but as a team when we are all together were are never talking about what our rankings are.”

The Tigers stay together and play a lot of hockey on the pond when not practicing or playing high school games.  “Every weekend we are always out on the pond together and even if we are screwing around we are always pushing each other,” Schreyer said.  

“We just try to make it a focus to have a give mentality and not to have a selfish mentality,” Kruse added.  “We play a lot of outdoor hockey on the weekend or 3 on 3 and watch other high schools together and we are pretty tight.”

Delano is fast becoming a hockey town with the youth hockey program experiencing growth each year and a focus on their player development program with van Bergen and other key members of the community, the foundation for a successful program is in place. Schreyer said that the community as a whole has supported the team and that it is appreciated by all of the Tigers. 

“I think our program is probably bigger than some people realize,” van Bergen pointed out.  “We right now have 5 squirt teams.  We have 4 Pee Wee teams, last year was the last year we will only have two bantam teams hopefully forever.  You go to intro (mites) and there’s 50 to 60 kids out there. When I talk to my friends at Rosemount or other programs their numbers are the same or not totally off the mark.  Now Edina, they have an unbelievable amount of teams.  I’m not saying we are in that caliber but we are bigger than people might realize in terms of number of kids that are playing.”

Ylitalo is the last of five brothers to have donned the Tigers sweater and is in his senior season.  The things he has learned from his brothers Trent, Ben, Eric, and Reid are the same that each group that comes through Delano are the same that today’s younger players are picking up under van Bergen and the system.  

“You have to work hard every day,” Ylitalo said of the crash course he learned about the game from his brothers.  “That is what they taught me, we used to play on the backyard rink and I was just a little guy and they were so much better than me at the time it just showed how hard you have to work.”

“You always watched and looked up to the high school teams when you are younger,” Kruse observed.  “That was your goal to get there and your expectations are high just because it looked like a lot of fun.”

Kruse and his teammates have plenty of memories from watching teams in the playoffs and it has stuck with them and is a part of their seasons goals.  “I remember watching the section final Tyler’s (Heinonen) senior year and remember thinking we better win that when I’m there.” 

They have a good of a chance to get that done with a balanced effort along with offensive talent and if everyone Sweeps the Barn.