THE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 44th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Hockey State Championships and the 13th Girls Hockey State Championships will take place Thursday-Saturday, March 6-8, 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 90 boys teams and 33 girls teams at the beginning of the championship tournament series this year.
BOYS SCHEDULE: (* approximate times)
Thursday, March 6
Game-1: Superior (14-11-1) vs. Verona (23-2-2) - Noon
Game-2: Eau Claire Memorial (22-4-1) vs. Notre Dame (26-1) - 2:15 p.m.*
Game-3: Wausau West (20-6) vs. University School (20-4-3) - 6 p.m.
Game-4: Onalaska (21-3-1) vs. Kettle Moraine Co-op (15-8-4) - 8:15 p.m.*
Friday, March 7
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 8
Game-7: Championship Game - 2:15 p.m.*
GIRLS SCHEDULE:
Friday, March 7
Game-1: D. C. Everest Co-op (22-4-1) vs. Green Bay East Co-op (24-1) - Noon
Game-2: River Falls Co-op (18-8-1) vs. Onalaska Co-op (22-4) - 2:15 p.m.*
Saturday, March 8
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 Television Network’s websites.
LAST YEAR: Eau Claire Memorial won its second boys hockey title by downing Verona 6-1 in the championship game. In the girls final, the Hayward/ Northwestern/Spooner co-op won its first girls championship by defeating the Onalaska/Aquinas/ Holmen/ West Salem co-op 5-2 in the tournament 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, and Madison East has won four. Hudson won the first two girls titles in 2002 and 2003, and one version of 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 Eau Claire Memorial will appear in the tournament for the 14th time and for the seventh time in the last eight years, only missing the tournament during that span in 2009. The Old Abes won its only other State championship in 2008. This season, they defeated Regis/McDonell Central 5-0 in the sectional final to earn an opportunity to defend their title. Last season’s State runner-up Verona returns to the ice at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in pursuit of its first-ever State title following a 2-1 win over Madison West in the Edgewood Sectional final. It’s the third consecutive appearance for the Wildcats and their sixth overall. Superior qualifies for the State Tournament for a membership-leading 36th time, and for the 12th time in the last 13 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 edged New Richmond 3-2 in the Amery Sectional final to return to the State quarterfinals. Wausau West will be appearing in the State Tournament for the fifth consecutive year and for the 14th time overall. The Warriors have played in the title game three consecutive seasons from 2010-12, winning the championship in 2011 and finishing runners-up in 2010 and 2012. The first of their three runner-up finishes came in 2000. They defeated Antigo/White Lake 7-2 in the Northland Pines Sectional final to earn another trip to Madison. University School returns to State for the 10th time overall and for the first time since 2010, when the Wildcats won their second State title. The program’s first State championship came in 2006. They are the champions of the Whitefish Bay Sectional after defeating the Brookfield East co-op 3-0 in the final. Notre Dame is making its fifth overall trip to the State Tournament, all coming consecutively since 2010. Prior to winning the championship in 2012, the Tritons advanced to the semifinals before being eliminated from title contention in their first two State experiences. They advanced to the semifinals before being ousted again last season. The Tritons qualify this season following a 4-0 shutout over the Ashwaubenon co-op in the Neenah Sectional final. Onalaska returns to the State Tournament for the first time since 2009 and for the second time overall. The Hilltopper’s only other experience at State came in 1995, when they reached the semifinals. They return to the State quarterfinals after a 3-1 win over West Salem/Bangor in the Wisconsin Rapids Sectional final. The Kettle Moraine/Oconomowoc/ Mukwonago co-op qualifies for the first time. A co-op featuring Kettle Moraine and Mukwonago made back-to-back appearances in 2006-07, but its the first time with Oconomowoc in the mix. They defeated the Waukesha North co-op 3-1 in the final hosted by Whitefish Bay.
THE GIRLS FIELD: Last season’s runner-up Onalaska/ Aquinas/Holmen/West Salem co-op advances to the State quarterfinals for the second straight season following a 4-3 victory over the Middleton co-op in the final of the Middleton Sectional. Relatively the same co-op, minus Melrose-Mindoro, qualified in 2012 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 D.C. Everest/Mosinee/ Wausau East/Wausau West co-op, formerly identified as the Mosinee co-op with the same schools, returns to State for the seventh time, all coming consecutively since 2008. The Storm have won two State titles, one in 2008 and the other in 2012. They also finished runner-up in 2011. The Storm defeated Northland Pines 2-0 in the sectional final held in Eagle River to earn their repeat engagement in the tournament field. The River Falls/Baldwin-Woodville/ Boyceville/Glenwood City/St. Croix Central co-op will make its first appearance at State. Other combinations of a co-op with River Falls have had State Tournament experience, including a string of three championships. Those came consecutively from 2009-11. The Fusion defeated Superior 5-0 in the New Richmond Sectional final to earn the trip to the Coliseum. The Green Bay East/Preble/Southwest/West/Ashwaubenon/Bay Port/ De Pere/Notre Dame/Pulaski/ Seymour/West De Pere co-op qualifies for the second time. The Ice Bears advanced to the State final and finished runner-up in 2010. They narrowly escaped with the sectional crown, having to go to overtime to defeat the University School co-op 3-2 in the final of the sectional held at University School.
FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Boys and Girls Hockey Tournaments on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaawihky. Also follow daily recaps on Facebook.
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.