sailor . com Lake Conference Hockey • Thursday , December 12 , 2024 Page 7
Premier program reloads with new personnel
JOHN SHERMAN john . sherman @ apgecm . com
With only five of his top 20 players returning from last season , Minnetonka boys hockey coach Sean Goldsworthy has one of the biggest challenges of his career , yet the challenge might not be as big as some people think .
Skipper assistant coach Tom Stretar explained why : “ Over the last three years , our JV team has a 65-5-5 record . Three of the
losses were to Edina . The other two were to Rogers and Hill-Murray . The kids moving up to varsity this year know how to win .”
Minnetonka has made it to state more often than not during the Goldsworthy era . And the Skippers have twice been the State Class AA champions . They might have won their third state crown last winter , but a hot goalie , Kam Hendrickson of Chanhassen , turned them away 2-1 in the Section 2AA finals in
4 - Junior defenseman Cameron Merrick 6 - Junior defenseman Zachary Markwell 7 - Senior defenseman Tyson Mahady 8 - Junior forward Caden Lindsay 9 - Senior forward Trey Cook 10 - Senior forward Emerson LaRoche 11 - Sophomore forward Liam Schultz 12 - Junior forward Ethan Sturgis 13 - Sophomore defenseman Daniel Browning 16 - Junior forward Jordan Johnson 17 - Senior defenseman Devin Berg 18 - Sophomore defenseman Gavin Karl 20 - Junior forward Cooper Rannow 24 - Senior forward Winston Wheaton 27 - Senior forward Cullen Murray 28 - Senior forward Collin Schneider 30 - Senior goalie Ben Ferguson 31 - Junior goalie Chase Jerdee 33 - Junior defenseman Tate Jabs 38 - Senior forward Brecken Koland
MINNETONKA SKIPPERS BOYS HOCKEY
front of a packed-house at Braemar Arena . It was the only loss of the season for the Skippers , whose final record was 25-1-2 .
Back from the Skippers ’ Lake Conference championship squad are senior captains Devin Berg and Tyson Mahady on defense , senior goaltender Ben Ferguson , senior forward Trey Cook and junior forward Jordan Johnson .
Five senior forwards are rolling with the varsity for the first time - Brecken Koland , Emerson LaRoche , Cullen Murray , Collin Schneider and Winston Wheaton .
Berg and Mahady , the only seniors among the seven varsity defensemen , are excited to lead the team .
“ It is such an honor to be a captain ,” Berg said before a practice at Pagel Activity Center last week . “ I am excited to show the new guys the ropes .”
Mahady , who is also a varsity baseball player , said , “ I have nothing on my mind but hockey right now . We graduated a lot of great players , but there is still a lot of talent .”
The season opener was an eye-opener for the new players . Minnetonka got off to a great start and took a 4-2 lead into the third period against Stillwater . But in the third period the Ponies came alive and scored four goals to win 6-5 .
“ It was a disappointing
( SUN PHOTO BY JOHN SHERMAN )
Defensemen Devin Berg and Tyson Mahady anchor the Minnetonka boys hockey team as senior captains .
loss ,” Mahady said . “ In the time I have been here , we had never given up six goals in a game .”
The plus side to that game was that Minnetonka showed a knack for scoring goals .
“ In our program the expectations never change ,” Berg said . “ We expect to be one of the top teams in the state .”
“ The biggest differences between varsity and JV are the speed of play and the physicality ,” Mahady said .
“ Going back to the first scrimmage this year , we were already connected ,” Berg said .
One of the traditions in the Minnetonka program is defending home ice at Pagel . That ’ s a tradition that Berg and Mahady are determined to carry on .
“ We play in a great facility and this is a great hockey community ,” Mahady observed .
“ There ’ s a certain vibe when we play here ,” Berg said . “ Our crowd brings a lot of energy to the rink .”
Lake Conference games bring out the best in the Skippers . They won the Lake Conference title with an 8-0-2 record last season .
Most of the goals scored by that team are gone . The top six snipers - Javon Moore , Ashton Schultz , Hagen Burrow , Luke Garry , Gavin Garry and Sam Scheetz - racked up 116 goals last season . And the starting goalie , Hunter Bauer , went 21-1-1 with a goals-against average of 0.94 .
It may take some time
to reload , but the Skippers won ’ t lack confidence .
Coach Stretar pointed out how competitive Section 2AA always is . “ In the last four seasons , we have had four different section champions ,” he said . “ Eden Prairie , Prior Lake , Minnetonka and Chanhassen .”
Eden Prairie and Shakopee return the most experienced teams this season , but nobody is discounting Minnetonka or Chanhassen .
“ Coach Goldsworthy has a very competitive nature , and I love it when he gets on us ,” Mahady said .
“ Coach Goldsworthy has helped me develop not only as a player , but also as a person ,” Berg said . “ We value his coaching and whatever happens , we know he loves us .”