THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 43rd Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Hockey State Championships and the 12th Girls Hockey State Championships will take place Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 28-March 2, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. Ticket prices for the tourney are $8 per session. Middle school-aged individuals wearing their hockey team apparel will be admitted for $5 each session.
CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE AND PAIRINGS: The single elimination boys tournament features eight teams. The girls tournament features four teams. There were 88 boys teams and 33 girls teams at the beginning of the championship tournament series this year.
BOYS SCHEDULE (* approximate times):
Thursday, Feb. 28
Game-1: Wausau West (17-9-1) vs. Verona (25-2) - Noon
Game-2: Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln (18-8) vs. Notre Dame (24-1-1) - 2:15 p.m.*
Game-3: Eau Claire Memorial (20-6-1) vs. Whitefish Bay Co-op (22-4-1) - 6 p.m.
Game-4: Superior (18-7-1) vs. Fond du Lac (22-3-2) - 8:15 p.m.*
Friday, March 1
Game-5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 - 6 p.m.
Game-6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 - 8:15 p.m.*
Saturday, March 2
Game-7: Championship Game - 2:15 p.m.*
GIRLS SCHEDULE (* approximate times):
Friday, March 1
Game-1: D. C. Everest Co-op (24-1-1) vs. Onalaska Co-op (22-4) - Noon
Game-2: Hayward/Spooner (20-4-1) vs. University School Co-op (20-6-1) - 2:15 p.m.*
Saturday, March 2
Game-3: Championship Game - 12:10 p.m.
ON THE AIR: The finals of the boys and girls State Tournaments will be televised live on WKOW Madison, WAOW Wausau, WXOW La Crosse, WQOW Eau Claire, WYOW Eagle River, WMOW Crandon, WACY Green Bay, KBJR Duluth/Superior and WMLW Milwaukee.
TOURNAMENTS STREAMED LIVE: The entire boys and girls State Hockey Tournaments will be streamed live. The boys quarterfinals and semifinals, as well as the girls semifinals will be streamed live on foxsportswisconsin.com. The finals will be streamed live on the State Network’s websites.
LAST YEAR: Notre Dame won its first boys hockey title by edging defending champion Wausau West in the championship game, 3-2 in two overtimes. In the girls final, the D.C. Everest/Mosinee/Wausau East/West co-op defeated the Onalaska/Aquinas/Holmen/ Melrose-Mindoro/West Salem co-op 6-2 in the championship final.
TEAM TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The first WIAA State boys hockey championship game was held in 1971. Superior won the first championship and has won 11 more since to give the Spartans a membership-leading 12 State titles. Madison Memorial has won eight titles. Hudson won the first two girls titles in 2002 and 2003, and the same River Falls co-op won championships in 2010-11. Another River Falls co-op–with one additional team–skated to the title in 2009. The D.C. Everest and Mosinee co-op program won the State crown in 2008 and 2012.
THE BOYS FIELD: Defending champion Notre Dame is making its fourth consecutive, as well as its fourth overall trip to the State Tournament. Prior to winning the championship last season, the Tritons advanced to the semifinals before being eliminated from title contention in their first two State experiences. They qualify again this season following an 11-0 rout of the Appleton co-op in the sectional final. Last year’s runner-up Wausau West will be appearing in the State Tournament for the fourth consecutive year as well and for the 13th time overall. The Warriors have played in the title game the past three seasons, winning the championship in 2011. The first of their three runner-up finishes came in 2000. They defeated Stevens Point 5-3 in the sectional final to earn a chance to make another run at the title. Superior qualifies for the State Tournament for a membership-leading 35th time, and for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons. The only time the Spartans have failed to qualify during that span was in 2011. They have won 12 State championships, which leads all schools. They won titles in 1971, 1972, 1974, 1981, 1982, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2003 and 2005, and have finished runner-up an additional 11 times. The Spartans defeated Hudson 2-1 in overtime to return to the State quarterfinals. Eau Claire Memorial will appear in the tournament for the 13th time and for the sixth time in the last seven years, only missing the tournament during that span in 2009. The Old Abes won the State championship in 2008. This season, they defeated the Regis co-op 5-2 in the sectional final to earn a return engagement to the State Tournament. Verona remains in contention for its first State title following a 4-2 win over Edgewood in its sectional final. It’s the second consecutive appearance for the Wildcats and their fifth overall. Their furthest advance at State was to the semifinals in 2002 and again last season. Fond du Lac qualifies for the tournament for the 13th time and for the first time since 2009 when the Cardinals finished runner-up. They also finished runner-up on three other occasions–1995, 2001 and 2006. They defeated Homestead 6-4 in the sectional final for their return berth into the tourney field. Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln is making its eighth appearance in the State Tournament and it first since 2010. The Red Raiders made four straight trips to State from 2003-06, and they have advanced to the semifinals five times before being ousted from title contention. The Red Raiders blanked West Salem/Bangor 3-0 in their sectional final match-up to advance to the quarterfinals. The Whitefish Bay/Nicolet/ Shorewood co-op is a first-time qualifier to the State Tournament after defeating the Waukesha North co-op 4-3 in its sectional final.
THE GIRLS FIELD: The D.C. Everest/Mosinee/ Wausau East/Wausau West co-op, formerly identified as the Mosinee co-op with the same schools, returns as the defending champion. The Storm have now qualified for State for the fifth straight year. The co-op also won the State crown in 2008 and finished runner-up in 2011. They defeated Northland Pines 4-1 in the sectional final to earn the opportunity to defend their title. The Onalaska/Aquinas/Holmen/West Salem co-op skated past the Middleton co-op 7-4 in the sectional final to earn its first opportunity to play at State. Relatively the same co-op, minus Melrose-Mindoro, qualified last season and finished runner-up. Onalaska, without the co-op arrangement, appeared in six straight State Tournaments from 2002-07. The Hilltoppers had back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2005-06. The Hayward/Northwestern/Spooner co-op has qualified for the State Tournament for the first time, although the same co-op without Northwestern qualified last year, which resulted in a loss in the semifinals. The co-op earned the trip to Madison with a 3-1 triumph over the River Falls co-op in the sectional final. The University School of Milwaukee/Divine Savior Holy Angels/Homestead/Nicolet/St.Thomas More/Shorewood/Whitefish Bay co-op will make its first appearance at State. The same co-op, with the exception of the addition of St. Thomas More, made a State appearance in 2010 when the Wildcats fell in the semifinals. They defeated the Brookfield Central co-op 1-0 in the sectional final to return to the final field of four.
NEED RESULTS?: The quickest way to get State hockey results will be to access the WIAA website and navigate to the respective hockey homepage and select the Tournament Information option located in the left column.