The Waupon Warriors beat the Cedarburg Bulldogs 5-4 in double overtime on Saturday, Jan. 23, before the sectional seeding meetings. In that meeting the teams were assigned the 4th (Cedarburg) and 5th (Waupun) seeds in division two section four, setting up a rematch.

Unfortunately the rematch won't happen as the Warriors have had a Covid case on the team, and the team has been forced to isolate. Their isolation won't end in time to take part in the WIAA hockey tournament. 

"It is unfortunate that this game isn’t going to happen" said Cedarburg coach Kyle Peterson. "I know our team was looking forward to a third game against Waupun this season."

"We had two good regular season battles with them with us winning the first game and Waupun winning the last one in a dramatic double OT fashion after their goalie saw 71 shots," Peterson added. "It would have been a fun matchup to see a third time and for our programs to have had the opportunity to be a part of."

It was a tough season for the Warriors, who went 3-11 in 14 games. It was not without bright spots however.

"The team battled and competed hard all season even when we were lacking the depth to win at the varsity level in most games," said Warrior coach Matt Babish. "It is really disheartening to work hard all season and not have a chance to compete in the regional tournament even if we knew it could be an early exit."

"Our 3 main seniors worked hard all season, playing every other shift due to having  low numbers in the program.  Casper Dahlke was our leading scorer and his offensive skills will be missed next season," said Babish. "Brady Gerritson was right behind him in points and was asked to do a lot this year playing both defense and offense depending on the game and who was available to play."

"Sawyer Williamson was our other senior to play consistently this season and he did a great job again being part of our top line as well as being asked to be first up to kill penalties and first up to go on the power play.  That really goes for all three of the seniors," Babish said.

"It has been a battle all year keeping enough kids on the ice to field a varsity team to compete night in and night out," he added.

Goaltender Tyler Fromolz played all 732 minutes in net for the Warriors this season and notched an impressive .923 save percentage while facing 715 shots.

If you're doing the math at home, 715 shots in 732 minutes is a lot. That is 51 shots a game. Fromolz saw 50 or more shots in 8 of the Warriors 14 games. Putting up a 3.83 goals against average facing that kind of pressure is no small feat.

"Tyler Fromholz was the backbone of our team," said Babish. "He faced around 650 shots in only 14 games and posted over a 90% save percentage.  He should be considered among the top goaltenders in the state."

In addition to the win over Cedarburg (6-14), the Warriors beat Badgerland conference opponents Appleton United (7-15-1), and Oshkosh (6-9).