MADISON – Two students have been named finalists for the Jeff Sauer Award, which will be presented annually to recognize good high school hockey players being great people.

They are:

• Ava Jambor, jr, Middleton (Metro Lynx)
• Adam Manske, sr, Kettle Moraine Mukwonago

The annual award hopes to encourage community service among girls and boys high school hockey players in the state of Wisconsin.

Jambor, a forward for the co-op of Madison Metro Lynx, has used hockey to raise awareness for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS). She was inspired by 7-year-old Noah Sanger, who was diagnosed with leukemia in March, 2017 and has undergone chemotherapy and spinal taps as part of his cancer treatment. Jambor organized a hockey event around one of her team’s game and has raised over $50,000 for LLS. On the ice Jambor has scored five goals and four assists for the Lynx who are the top seed in their section before playoffs begin next week.

Manske, a forward for KMMO, is the captain and four-year player. He has contributed to building a home for Habitat for Humanity and served as a volunteer for United Way events and at the Salvation Army meal program. He also volunteered for his parish on a three-day mission that helped feed the homeless and repair low income properties in downtown Milwaukee. On the ice, Manske has nine goals and 14 assists for KMMO which finished third in the Classic Eight Conference.

Shane Ryan, a goalie from Madison Edgewood, was the first recipient of the award and Parker Esswein, a forward from the Brookfield Stars, was last year’s winner. The award is named after the legendary former University of Wisconsin coach and hockey ambassador Jeff Sauer, who passed away in February, 2017.

The Coach Sauer Foundation, which sponsors the award, was very impressed with all the nominated candidates and their stories of student-athletes who deserve notice for reasons that ultimately are more important than mere personal statistics.

The winner will be announced March 6 at a dinner in the midst of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association state hockey tournament.