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Boys Division 1 State Preview

By Bill Berg, WiPH Staff, 03/02/20, 6:45PM CST

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Notre Dame Academy is going to be tough to beat

Top ranked and number one seeded Notre Dame Academy Tritons (24-1-1) beat Sheboygan 10-0, Bay Port 6-1, and Beaver Dam 2-0 to get to the State Tournament. They out-shot their opponents 155-60 while outscoring them 18-1.

The University School of Milwaukee Wildcats played closer games in beating Waukesha 5-2, KMMO 3-0, and Arrowhead 5-2 to get here. The Wildcats out-shot their opponents 104-75 and outscored them 13-4.

Notre Dame Academy has the dual distinction of having played the hardest schedule and coming out with the best record in the state, currently at 24-1-1. While they don’t have an individual among the top scorers in the state, they have a well-balanced offensive attack. They do feature a defenseman up for the Davis Drewiske award – Jacob Conrad – and a goaltender up for the Kirk Daubenspeck award – Bo Buckley.

The University School of Milwaukee is likewise without a top individual scorer, and also has a defenseman – Alex Thundercloud – nominated for the Drewiske award. USM played the fourth strongest schedule in the state.

Perhaps the strong schedules and lack of cupcakes did more to keep the individual scoring down than any lack of talent.

The teams met back in late January and NDA came away with a 4-1 victory. Common opponents include Verona, with NDA splitting two games, and USM winning their only matchup 2-1. Each team also faced Wausau West, an NDA win and a USM loss, and they each beat Division 2 top seed St. Mary’s Springs.

NDA has a slightly better offense with 4.78 goals per game compared to USM’s 4.25. The difference is in the defense. USM gives up 2.21 goals per game, while the Tritons average just 1.13.

Common Opponents

University School is going to have to be flawless on defense and aggressive on offense, not to mention staying out of the penalty box. Did I mention that NDA is batting .500 on the power play?


The Chippewa Falls Cardinals escaped the “Section of Death,” which featured four out of last season’s eight State Tournament teams by getting hot at the right time. They beat Eau Claire North 3-1,  second-seeded Wausau West 8-1, and top seed Hudson 2-1. The Cardinals were out-shot by their opponents 86-78, but outscored them 13-3. Can you say Bridger Fixmer? Sure you can.

The Verona Area Wildcats were the top seed in their section and beat Madison Memorial 7-0, Sauk Prairie 6-3, and Madison Edgewood 5-2 to punch their ticket to State. The Wildcats out-shot their opponents 139-98 while outscoring them 18-5.

Chi Hi has played the 14th strongest schedule this season – the Big Rivers Conference is always strong. The Wildcats have faced the 17th toughest schedule, thanks mainly to their strong non-conference opponents.

The Cardinals have the state’s 27th leading scorer Isaac Frenette, who racked up 28 goals and 25 assists during the regular season. They also have a Daubenspeck award nominee in the aforementioned Fixmer, who put up a 1.59 goals against average to go along with a .944 save percentage and 9 shutouts.

The Wildcats don’t have any individuals at the top of the scoring race, but they do have a Drewiske finalist in Nathan Jurrens, and a Daubenspeck finalist in Kaden Grant.

The Cardinals have not met any of the other tournament teams in head-to-head action this season. They do have common opponents with Verona in Eau Claire Memorial and Wausau West.  Chi Hi split their two conference games with ECM and lost to Wausau West 4-1 back in January. The Cardinals erased that memory with an 8-1 spanking of the Warriors in the Sectional Semi-final.

Verona beat ECM 3-2 back in December and split a pair of games against Wausau West. So what does that tell us? Not much of anything really. It seems that the teams are fairly evenly matched, which is what you would expect from the numbers 2 and 3 seeds.

The Cardinals scored an average of 5.21 goals per game during the regular season and allowed just 1.67 per game. Their power play was a respectable 28.6%, while they killed penalties at an 88.5% clip.

Common Opponents

The Wildcats averaged an even 6.00 goals per game while allowing but 1.21.Their power play was slightly more efficient at 30.8%, as was their penalty killing at 90.5%.

Verona has been a top tier team all season, vaulting into the Top Six after winning the Showdown in Titletown, with wins over Eau Claire Memorial, Wausau West, and Notre Dame. Their only losses have been against other top tier teams.

Chippewa Falls started drawing attention in late December. They hit a tough patch in mid-January, losing three in a row to Eau Claire North (1-0), Hudson (3-0), and Wausau West (4-1). The common thread in those three games is the lack of scoring, just one goal in total. Since then they have done nothing but win. Twelve in a row now.

Can the Isaacs (Frenette and Lndstrom) and Nick Carlson find the magic they used to take down Wausau West? Or will Cale Rufenacht, Walker Haessig and Leo Renlund get it going for the Wildcats?

Can anybody get a puck behind Grant or Fixmer? Inquiring minds want to know.


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