YOUTH SPORTS: Team Wisconsin is here to stay

Just like that, it was over.

Team Wisconsin’s fabulous foray to Philadelphia didn’t end with a championship, but the team did do something very important.

They put Wisconsin on the high school hockey map.

The team from the Badger State put on an awesome display of hockey during their first three games in Philadelphia, outscoring their opponents 28-4 while easily winning the trio of opening round contests.

On Saturday however, an opportunistic New Jersey Devils Youth team beat Team Wisconsin 4-2 to knock the midwestern squad out of the hunt for the coveted national championship.

Team Wisconsin out-shot New Jersey by a huge margin of 52-14, but was unable to defeat the team from the East Coast.

"(I’ve) never been in a game where my team dominated the opponent so badly and we still end up losing," said an incredulous Matt Carey, Team Wisconsin’s general manager.

"Credit totally goes to their tender," said M. J. Laggis, Team Wisconsin co-coach. "He was outstanding."

Saturday’s match-up had Team Wisconsin (3-0-0 in the preliminary round) playing the New Jersey Devils Youth (1-2-0). On paper, it looked like a no-brainer, but in the single elimination round, anything can happen.

And it did.

Nick Sirota scored three and one-half minutes into the game to give Team Wisconsin an early lead. Ten minutes later, New Jersey tied the game on a goal by Alexander Beatrice, and the game was tied at one going into the first intermission. Team Wisconsin dominated the first period, out-shooting their opponents by a tally of 17-4, but only had the tie to show for it.

The Devils Youth team scored twice in the second period on goals by John Fedele and Tyler Reinhardt to give them a 3-1 lead entering the final stanza.

Andrew Brandt cut the lead to 3-2 midway through the third, but Scott Eberenz gave New Jersey a two-goal lead with a little more than three minutes left to play, and that was enough for them to advance to the semi-final round.

Team Wisconsin out-shot New Jersey by an astounding margin of 24-3 in the final period, but was unable to beat goalie Geordan Murphy, who played an incredible game.

"I was impressed with (Murphy)," said Laggis. "He made some saves he had no business making."

Carey stated, "Heck, (Murphy) even stopped (Joe) Pavelski on a penalty shot late in the third period. Unfortunately (for us), the New Jersey goalie played the game of his life and we lost."

In preliminary round action, Team Wisconsin beat the defending champs, Eastern Massachusetts Senators, 9-3 on Wednesday behind two goals each by John Egge and Doug Johnson. Goalie Bob Berg made 28 saves and held the high-scoring Senators two goals below their season average to procure the victory.

Thursday’s game was more of the same for the newcomers from the Midwest. The trip to Nationals was the first in their two-year history, and they made the most of it. A decisive 9-1 win over the Washington Little Capitals went a long way in showing that the previous day’s victory was no fluke. Jason Lettau led the way with two goals and two assists, and Berg and freshman Brandon Adamovich teamed up to make 27 saves to lead Team Wisconsin to their second consecutive win.

Landon Holsen’s goal just 46 seconds into the game on Friday sparked a 10-0 win over Warwick, Rhode Island. Holsen’s hat trick and assist led the team, along with Fond du Lac teammate Lettau’s goal and three assists. Berg made 20 saves for his first shutout of the tournament. Incidentally, only three shutouts were posted in the 25 game tournament, so that made Berg’s gem special.

"I just tried to stay focused and ready at all times, and not give up on rebounds and the difficult shots," said Berg, an all-state performer from Antigo.

Then came the fateful loss on Saturday.

"Regardless, our performance in the tourney was the talk (of) the rink," said Carey.

"Every Junior "A" scout I ran into told me that Team Wisconsin and Shattuck (the eventual champion from Faribault, Minnesota) were the two best teams and wanted to see us play in the championship game."

Laggis saw the tournament the same way, and was excited and happy just to make it to Philadelphia.

"We proved our players can (compete) with kids from anywhere in the nation and win. I’m proud to be a part of this team."

Many of the players felt the same way. "I believe this tourney did a lot for Wisconsin hockey," said Evan Salmela. "We not only dominated all the games that we played in, but people at the tournament liked our (clean, high tempo) style of hockey."

Nick Toneys was impressed by the enormity of it all.

"It was a big-time event that many people came to," said Toneys. "I think the exposure that our team got was just phenomenal. Now…people look at Wisconsin as a serious hockey state."

Holsen played on the same line with his Fond du Lac high school teammates Lettau and Joe Searl, and was able to stay loose because of the familiarity of his mates.

"We took one shift at a time and enjoyed ourselves," said Holsen. "We were laughing on the bench and staying relaxed. After the third game, I heard some rumors…that some of the teams didn’t want to play us because they thought we would crush them."

Egge hated to lose, but still had a great time.

"Anytime you go out and give it your all and fall short of a win…it hurts. (But) playing for a national title was a dream come true. Playing with (Team Wisconsin) was a lot of fun and each game was a great experience."

Carey thinks Team Wisconsin’s performance will open some eyes to Wisconsin high school hockey.

"We made a statement, and our performance proved that Team Wisconsin is one of the elite programs in the nation."

Coach Laggis made a similar comment, and took it one step further. "These kids on our team have won respect and are helping to turn (Wisconsin) into a real hockey state. The next step is to hunt down a national title."

Perhaps goalie Berg put it best.

"Even though we lost, I had a blast!"