The Aquinas co-op boys hockey team may not have finished the regular season the way it wanted, but there are some things that coach Charlie Marshall can emphasize as the WIAA postseason begins on Tuesday.
The Avalanche, which also includes players from Holmen, Luther, G-E-T and C-FC, beat two teams with winning records down the stretch to complete an 11-12-1 regular season that gave them a ninth seed in the bracket.
Marshall said his team could expect the same kind of leadership it received during those 24 games moving forward.
“You don’t want to change things (heading to the playoffs),” Marshall said after his team beat West Salem/Bangor 3-2 in overtime last week. “If you change stuff and do what the kids aren’t used to, you are just setting them up for failure.
“We want to keep everyone in the same systems and try to build on some of the momentum we’ve had.”
The Avalanche finished the regular season with a 5-3 loss at Oregon and won two of their final four games. They beat Winona 6-2 on Feb. 4, and the Winhawks have a 13-10 record. They also beat Tomah/Sparta, which is 13-9-2, 1-0 on Jan. 25.
The co-op starts the Division 1 postseason by playing at eighth-seeded Sauk Prairie (11-13), and it’s an opponent the Avalanche played earlier this season. Sauk Prairie won that game 4-1 on Jan. 17.
The Avalanche will try to change the outcome this time behind the play of sophomore Brody Slusser of Holmen, junior Jack Barth of Holmen and sophomore Mikah Vail of G-E-T.
Vail scored the winning goal against the Panthers last week, and Slusser leads the team with 26 points on 11 goals and a team-high 15 assists.
Barth and Vail are tied for the team lead in goals with 14. Barth has added six assists and Vail five.
Casey Keane, a senior from Holmen, also has six goals and nine assists. Ayden Dirks, a junior from Holmen, has six goals and six assists.
“We have a lot of talent,” Marshall said. “And we hope we’re peaking at the right time.
“We played hard against a very hard-working team (West Salem/Bangor) and won, and if that sticks with the players, it can go a long way (in the postseason).
WIAA REGIONAL TOURNAMENT
BOYS
Tuesday’s semifinals
DIVISION 1
(9) Avalanche (11-12-1) at (8) Sauk Prairie co-op (11-13)
(10) Onalaska/La Crosse (12-12) at (7) Madison Memorial (9-14)
(10 Tomah/Sparta (13-9-2) at (7) Superior (7-16-1)
DIVISION 2
Thursday’s semifinals
(8) West Salem/Bangor (4-15) at (1) Somerset/Saint Croix Falls (16-7-1)
(5) Black River Falls co-op (14-9) at (4) Baldwin-Woodville/Saint Croix Central (16-7-1)
(7) Viroqua co-op (9-11) at (2) River Falls (12-12)
GIRLS
Thursday’s semifinals
(7) Coulee Region (4-16-1) at (2) Somerset co-op (12-11-1)
(5) Black River Falls co-op (12-10-2) at (4) Chippewa Falls co-op (12-11)
(7) Viroqua co-op (3-19-1) at (2) Sun Prairie West co-op (12-12)
