THE TOURNAMENTS: The 46th Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Hockey State Tournament and the 15th Girls Hockey State Tournament will take place Thursday-Saturday, March 3-5, at Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. Ticket prices for the tourney are $8 per session. Individuals 13-years old and under 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 89 boys teams and 33 girls teams at the beginning of the championship tournament series this year.
BOYS SCHEDULE: (* approximate times)
Thursday, March 3
Game-1: Eau Claire Memorial (22-3-2) vs. Antigo Co-op (23-3-1) - 11 a.m.
Game-2: Appleton East Co-op (24-2) vs. University School (19-6-2) - 1:15 p.m.*
Game-3: Hudson (23-4) vs. Onalaska (24-3) - 5 p.m.
Game-4: Edgewood (19-5-3) vs. Waukesha North Co-op (22-3-2) - 7:15 p.m.*
Friday, March 4
Game-5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 - 5 p.m.
Game-6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 - 7:15 p.m.*
Saturday, March 5
Game-7: Championship Game - 2:15 p.m.*
GIRLS SCHEDULE:
Friday, March 4
Game-1: Hayward Co-op (19-8) vs. Beloit Memorial Co-op (16-10-1) vs. - 11 a.m.
Game-2: D. C. Everest Co-op (21-4-1) vs. University School Co-op (22-3-2)- 1:15 p.m.*
Saturday, March 5
Game-3: Championship Game - 12:10 p.m.
FUTURE ALL-STATER HOCKEY CLINIC: The fourth annual Future All-Stater Hockey Clinic will be held for junior and middle school-aged individuals at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison on Saturday, March 5. The clinic runs from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. with registration at 8:30 a.m. Cost of the clinic is $25. Vic Levine with serve as the head instructor with featured instructor Jeff Sauer. Register at: http://www.wahahockey.com/scripts/wiaa/clinic_reg.php.
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, WCWF in Green Bay/Fox Valley, KBJR Superior/Duluth 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 via subscription on the WIAA.TV portal of the NFHS Network. The finals will be streamed live on the State Television Network’s websites: WKOW | WAOW | WXOW | WQOW.
LAST YEAR: Superior won its 13th championship by downing Wausau West 6-0 in the championship game. In the girls final, the University School/Divine Savior Holy Angels/Nicolet/Shorewood/Whitefish Bay co-op won its first State girls championship by edging the Hayward/Ashland/Northwestern/Rice Lake/Shell Lake/Spooner co-op 2-1 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 12 more since to give the Spartans a membership-leading 13 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 and 2011. Another River Falls co-op, with one additional school, 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: Eau Claire Memorial qualifies for the State Tournament for the 16th time and for the ninth time in the last 10 years, only missing the tournament during that span in 2009. The Old Abes won their two State championships in 2008 and 2013. This season, they defeated Eau Claire North 5-2 in the sectional final to advance to the State quarterfinals. Hudson qualifies for the tournament for the eighth time and for the first time since 2004 when the Raiders won their second championship. They also claimed the title in 2001. The Raiders defeated New Richmond 4-0 in the sectional final held in New Richmond to earn a berth in the quarterfinals. University School returns to State for the 11th time overall and for the second time in the past three seasons. The Wildcats have won two State titles. The program’s first State championship came in 2006 with a second title added in 2010. They are the champions of the Fond du Lac Sectional after defeating Waupun 6-3 in the final. Appleton East/North West co-op makes its second straight appearance and its third overall. The United advanced to the semifinals before being eliminated from title contention in its first tournament berth in 2008 and fell in the quarterfinals last season. Their advance to the quarterfinals this season comes virtue of a 6-4 win over the Neenah co-op in the sectional final. Onalaska returns to the State Tournament for the second time in the past three seasons and for the fourth time overall. The Hilltopper’s finished runner-up in 2014 and reached the semifinals in their first experience at State in 1995. They return to the State quarterfinals after a 3-2 win over Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln in the Onalaska Sectional final. The Antigo/White Lake/Wittenberg-Birnamwood co-op qualifies for the first time as a co-op program. Prior to the co-op, the Red Robins made three appearances. They won the State title in 1993, finished runner-up in 1997 and lost in the quarterfinals in 2005. They qualify this season following a 3-1 win over Wausau West in the sectional final. Edgewood is making its fifth appearance and its first since 2010. The Crusaders’ most notable experience was runner-up finish in 2008. They advance to the quarterfinals this year through the Sun Prairie Sectional with a 6-1 victory over Middleton in the final. The Waukesha North/Pewaukee/ St. John’s NW Military/Waukesha South/Waukesha West co-op will also be making it’s initial appearance in the State Tournament. The Wing advanced by edging Janesville Craig/Parker 2-1 in the sectional final played in Delafield.
THE GIRLS FIELD: University School/Divine Savior Holy Angels/Nicolet/Shorewood/Whitefish Bay is back in the State Tournament to defend the title won last season in the current co-op’s first appearance. Co-ops in previous arrangements advanced to the semifinals in 2010 and 2013. The Wildcats skated to a 3-2 win over the Green Bay East Co-op in the sectional final held in Appleton to advance to contend for a second consecutive title. 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 ninth straight season, which also accounts for the overall total. 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 host Northland Pines 7-0 in the sectional final. Last year’s runner-up Hayward/Ashland/ Northwestern/ Rice Lake/Shell Lake/Spooner has qualified for the State Tournament for the second straight season and for the second time overall in its present form. In previous configurations, the co-op qualified twice, which resulted in a State title in 2013 and a loss in the semifinals in 2012. The Hurricanes’ return to Madison follows a 4-3 win over the River Falls co-op in the Rice Lake Sectional final. The Beloit Memorial/Black Hawk/Clinton/Janesville Craig/Janesville Parker/Milton/Monroe/Turner co-op is making its first State appearance. The Fury edged the Middleton co-op 3-2 in the sectional final held in Madison to gain its berth in the State semifinal.
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 #wiaahockey. 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.