Boys hockey: New head coaches will have to answer plenty of questions this season with the Panthers
| Boys hockey: New head coaches will have to answer plenty of questions this season with the Panthers |
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Sports Editor Rick Fleming and Brad Mastenbrook knew the Oregon boys hockey team was going to be young this season when they signed on to become the Panthers co-head coaches. With a lot of JV players and guys without varsity experience needing to step up and take on bigger roles this season, there will definitely be a learning curve for players and coaches. “We knew that coming in,” Mastenbrook said. “There is definitely going to be a transition. We are starting a whole new culture here. “We’re going to be competitive and work hard, and we’re going to hate to lose.” With the graduation of center Austin Janssen (31 points, 19G, 12A) and senior forward Ben Scherschel (14G, 14 A) skating off to rival Verona, senior defenseman Alec Vanko will undoubtedly carry more of the offensive burden for the Panthers this season. The team’s leading scorer from a year ago, Vanko returns to the ice looking to improve upon his team-leading 45 points (23G, 22A) from last season. Senior center Alex Neuenschwander is the only other Panther returning with more than 20 points last season. Neuenschwander has excellent hands and knows how to score, putting up 16 goals and nine assists in 26 games. Forward Blake Watzke (8G, 4A), a senior, will also be counted on more this season. Senior forward Nick Ayers (1G, 9A) should bring speed up top for the Panthers, while fellow senior Mike Ayers expects to take on more of a grinder role once he returns from injury. Fellow returning letterwinners Nick Strycharske, Charlie Groenier, Ian Newton and Zach Eyers saw varying degrees of varsity action last season, but will be counted on heavily this year. Oregon lost a pair of all-conference defensemen selections in Andy Behrend (10G, 15A) and Paul Byrne (3G, 24A). The Panthers figure to be OK along the blue line this season, however, as junior Ethan Karls (2G, 1A) figures to keep the tradition of quality defensemen alive and well. Senior defenseman Ryan Horton (1G, 1A) will also be invaluable. “Ryan is a defensive defenseman, and we’ll expect him to do the little things like block shots and take guys into the wall,” Mastenbrook said. While putting the puck into the net this season could be a problem, stopping it could be cause for concern as well. Tyler Stensaas played 1,167 minutes last season, taking to the net in all 23 games for the Panthers. Both Blake Nikolai and Joe Pechauer return but only have 15 games and 34 varsity minutes between them. Sophomore Kyle Carignan could be the answer, joining the team from the Madison Capitals, though Mastenbrook said, “we will make the determination on who starts based on practice week to week.” Oregon (14-6-3 overall) finished second-to-last in conference last season with a 3-4-1 record, while Madison Edgewood (6-1-1) held off Monona Grove (6-2-0) by a point to take home the title. Players and coaches alike will undoubtedly be looking ahead to Dec. 20, when the Panthers welcome conference rival Stoughton, where Mastenbrook and Fleming coached the past 16 seasons. Oregon travels to Stoughton at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7. Other games of note this season include a Jan. 10 showdown at home against Scherschel and sixth-ranked Verona, as well as Dec. 13 and Dec. 23 against defending conference champion Madison Edgewood. |
![Returning letterwinners for the Oregon boys hockey team (front, from left) are: Zach Eyers, Mike Ayers, Ethan Karls, Charlie Groenier and Nick Strycharske; (back) Blake Watzke, Blake Nikolai, Ryan Horton, Alec Vanko, Nick Ayers and Ian Newton. [Photo by Jeremy Jones]](http://www.oregonobserver.com/SiteImages/Article/3348a.jpg)
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