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My hockey life changes after 21 years

By Michael Trzinski - WiPH Staff, 09/23/15, 6:15PM CDT

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After two decades of being a hockey dad, now what?

On February 24, Point-Rapids Red Panther goalie Emily Bubla grabbed her water bottle from the top of her net as the horn sounded on a 5-0 loss to perennial powerhouse Central Wisconsin Storm in the semi-final round of the girls Sectional 2 playoffs.

She skated to the slot area where she met fellow senior Hannah Beilke. Both girls dissolved in tears after the reality of their final high school game hit them with the force of a sledge hammer.

And just like that, I was no longer a 'Hockey Dad.'

My 'career' started in 1994 when my nine-year-old son returned from Germany with his mom and decided he wanted to play hockey.

He played all the way through high school and actually turned out to be a pretty good player, electing to play club hockey instead of playing for his hometown Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln.

Corey's hockey playing ended with a third-place finish at Milwaukee's Wilson Park in the 2003 'High School C' WAHA state tournament action. His eight-point performance in the three-game tournament capped a solid hockey career.

The following winter, Emily began playing, sliding an ill-fitting mouth guard between her pearly whites and pushing an orange cone around the ice surface at the South Wood County Rec Center.

A year later, Bubla decided she wanted to become a netminder, so we bought the equipment and watched her become a solid goalie over the course of the next 11 years. Twice, she earned all-conference accolades and ranked in the top-10 in the state for goalies her junior year.

A month ago, she departed the home nest for a dorm in Mequon, working toward a pharmacology degree at Concordia University Wisconsin.

I will work as announcer/deejay at a few Point-Rapids home games this year in exchange for receiving Emily's high school jerseys.

Beyond that, I will have a bit more free time to cover other high school games around the state. I'll continue to follow high school hockey, but more of it will involve teams that do not include my children.

I'm sad that my kids are done playing, but I am looking forward to seeing more contests around the state.

Let the 2015-16 season begin!