Boys hockey wins conference title
With the win over Cedarburg, the Highlanders clinched the conference title, a goal they set for this season.
Swept series with conference rival, undefeated in conference play, and crowned conference champions: this is what came of the boys hockey team’s 5-1 win over long-time rival Cedarburg on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
This is the first time since 2007 that the Highlanders have gone undefeated in conference. “It is an awesome accomplishment by the players. I am happy that they have that achievement under their belt. It is more pride for me that they have been able to meet one of their goals they set for this season,” Head Coach Tony Navarre said.
The game started in a different way than Homestead would have hoped; within the opening 45 seconds Cedarburg already had one goal on the board, but the Highlanders did not let that discourage them.
“Although we gave up an early goal, we really stuck to our game plan. Even when we weren’t executing at our best, we continued to work hard and finish our chances in front of the net,” Coach Navarre said.
With four minutes left in the first period, Brooks Ralph, senior, found the back of the net for Homestead’s first goal of the night. The goal was assisted by Sean Driscoll, senior captain, and Andy Buchanan, junior. The end of the first period brought a tied score of 1-1, but the Highlanders now had the momentum that they needed.
Jake Elchert, senior captain, had one of his best games of the season with two goals and one assist to add to his impressive list of accomplishments thus far in the season. His first goal of the night came in the second period off of an assistant from Cole Destefanis, junior, and Joey Hobbs, senior. Elchert slapped the puck in from the faceoff dot to the left of the goal.
“I got a really good pass from Destefanis, so I know I had an opportunity to take a shot. I turned around and ripped it in at the perfect moment. It’s a great feeling to put your team up against a conference rival,” Elchert said.
Soon after, Hank McKeegan, sophomore, had his second assist of the season on a goal scored by Buchanan. This brought the score to 3-1 going into the third period, with Homestead in total control of the puck.
The third period brought desperation from the Bulldogs as they tried to even the score, but they could not deliver due to a good defensive performance from the Highlanders. Hobbs was able to capitalize on an assist from Elchert at the start of the third.
Cedarburg pulled their goalie to give their offense an extra player to try to score, but they were not able to capitalize. Homestead on the other hand, took advantage of that when Elchert had his second goal of the night with about two minutes left to play. The game ended with a score of 5-1 Homestead.
“It’s a great experience to go undefeated in conference as a senior. Last night we played well and were able to score when we had the chances, and we played good defense throughout the whole game,” Hobbs said.
With the win, the Highlanders were crowned conference champions, a goal they set for themselves at the beginning of the season. Their next game will be one of the biggest of the season as they take on the USM Wildcats at the Ozaukee Ice Center on Wednesday, Feb. 3.
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