Last Updated on Wednesday, 09 March 2016 14:06
The Hayward Hurricanes captured their second Wisconsin state girls’ hockey title in the last four years
By Andrew Vitalis
Speechless might be a word to use when discussing the Hayward’ co-op girls hockey program. Dominating may be another. Whatever term one uses, it all fits. The Hurricanes have shown their power in the past, and last weekend at the Wisconsin state girls’ hockey tournament, they did it again by blowing away their competition, skating to their second state title in the last four years. Hayward did so by beating the University School of Milwaukee Wildcats – the very team that beat the Hurricanes in last year’s state title tilt.
While the two teams played to a stalemate for the first period and a half, Hayward pressed on the accelerator, driving their way to a 4-1 win. Considered by many one of the deepest teams in the state, the Hurricanes balance proved too much.
“I think the difference was they had more depth last year than this year,” Hayward head coach Tom Doig said. “We played them earlier in the season, so we knew if we played our game, went hard at them, if we get to the third period and we are even, we would be feeling pretty good. We wore them out, I think, in the end and that was the major difference.”
When you look back on it, the 2015-16 season model worked to perfection for Doig and his squad. Using the formula patented by Superior, their neighbor to the north, Hayward stacked their regular season schedule with the best of the best, playing programs from Minnesota and the power programs in Wisconsin.
Already members of Section 1, which is considered to be the strongest section in the state, the Hurricanes played 10 teams from Minnesota throughout the year. Of their eight losses at the end of the regular season, six were against Minnesota programs.
From there, the Hurricanes blew across the state, searching for the top teams in Wisconsin as well. They found them. Of the top 10 ranked teams in the state at the end of the year, Hayward played four of them, including the first- and third-ranked teams (Central Wisconsin, USM).
By the time the regular season came to a close, Hayward had played their way to a No. 1 seed in Section 1. Three more wins followed in sections, including one-goal games over St. Croix Valley and Hudson. By the time the Canes reached the state tourney, they were actually breathing a little easier than they had been before. The breath of fresh air showed immediately as Hayward rolled over Rock County and USM, outscoring their two state opponents 10-2.
“We had a little more pace in our game at state than we did at sectionals; it was a little less stressful actually,” Doig said. “We were in the toughest section in the state. There were four teams that could have easily won state. Once we got to state, we had a little more breathing room because of the scores (6-1, 4-1) instead of one-goal games we played at sections. It’s strange to say, but we were almost a little more relaxed than we were before at state.
“We are fortunate. We are kind of modeling our schedule after what Superior has done. They play in the Lake Superior Conference and now we are playing there, too. We played 10 schools from Minnesota this year and the other 14 games we played almost everyone in the top 10 in the state of Wisconsin. Adding to that, we only played seven or eight home games, so we are road warriors. I think that has really made us tougher to play against. We have learned to adapt well when we have to.”
The goal from the very beginning of the season was one thing and one thing only – win state. While some programs set their sights on records or conference titles, the Hurricanes are, and have been, different over the years. The momentum the program has developed is staggering when you consider that the Hurricanes’ trip to Madison this season was their fourth trip to state over the last five years.
Since the inception of the program, the Canes have experienced just one losing season in 11 years. That was the very first year! They have accomplished all of that by finding a way to gel a group of players from six different communities (Hayward, Rice Lake, Shell Lake, Ashland, Northwestern, Spooner) night in and night out. For Doig, who spent several years as a boys’ head coach in Minnesota before coming to Hayward, the level of excellence the program has showcased is nothing short of amazing.
“I think it’s the commitment the girls make,” Doig said. “On road trips, some of the girls aren’t getting back until 1 or 2 in the morning, then they get up the next morning and go to school and come back to practice. That’s quite a commitment for the girls and their parents. We also really do a lot of conditioning, so we are really in good shape. We have a lot of ice time in Hayward; we have two ice sheets. We are a small program so we pretty much get all of the ice team we want. We also do a lot of dry ice conditioning which we do almost every day in the offseason. We make sure we are in really good shape. I think that was huge for us (against USM in the state title game).”
If you think the train is going to stop, don’t; the Hurricanes lose just three players of this year’s state title team and return eight of their top 10 scorers. Among the players returning next season will be Lauren Tremblay (first team all-state), Jenna Curtis (first team all-state) and Amber Heidenreich (second team all-state).
Heidenreich was named the MVP of the state tournament after scoring five goals and adding two assists in Madison. Curtis led the team in scoring during the season with 16 goals and 26 assists. As for Tremblay, the junior goalie finished the season with eye-popping numbers, including a goals-against average of 1.88. Considered to be one of the best goalies in the state, if not the best, Tremblay also posted a save percentage of over 91 percent and added five shutouts.
Oh, and one more thing, the Hayward 14U squad also recently won the state tournament, meaning Doig will be inheriting some of those players as well for next year’s team. The cupboard is not only full for the Hurricanes, it’s overflowing, but that doesn’t mean the Canes are going to rest anytime soon.
“We never get too far ahead of ourselves,” Doig said. “We talk about where we need to get to. We do some goal setting and identify where we want to go as a team. We have been talking about our summer program. We talk about our goals and how we are going to get there.
“We had a tough period earlier this season, about a month in, where we weren’t playing together as a team. We weren’t doing what a championship team needs to do to stay together. There were just too many individuals playing as individuals. We sat the team down and reminded them that the best team, the team with the best players, doesn’t always win the state tournament. The best team at the end of the day is the team that comes together and cares about everyone they are playing with. That’s the team that is successful at the end of the year. You can have all the talent in the world, but if they don’t buy into the team concept, you just have a bunch of individuals.”
It’s a winning formula that goes well beyond the trophy case.
Andrew Vitalis writes columns in LPH geared towards Wisconsin hockey. He can be reached at lphprep@yahoo.com.
