It was 2012 and Tomahawk native son Dewey Reilly enrolled his son Rex into the local hockey program. For Rex and five other beginning skaters, it was two hours of ice time every Saturday and Sunday morning.  Reilly knew that two hours was too long, and six skaters was too few. Following one of the early practices, Dewey Reilly heard the words no hockey parent wants to hear, “Dad, I don’t want to keep doing this anymore.” Deep down Dewey knew that what his son was experiencing wasn’t the type of fun that creates a love of the game.

“All I could think of was you haven’t even started, this is the best game ever,” said Reilly. “I knew what we were doing in the youth program, we could do better.” And from that point forward, the Tomahawk Youth Hockey Program underwent some significant changes. A target was set and a decade later the smallest hockey school in Wisconsin hit that target and hoisted the WIAA Boys D2 Championship trophy in Madison.

Dreams do not always come true, but for this group of home-grown hockey players the hard work, the lopsided losses and their unwavering belief brought them to the pinnacle. And while their championship blueprint may not be fool proof, and a difficult journey not all may have the patience to navigate, it is well worth examining.

 

Chasing a Championship

Athletics has long been a staple of the Reilly family. Dewey Reilly was a three-sport athlete at Tomahawk and played college football at Mankato State. But his true love was hockey. “If I could have had my choice, I would have played hockey in college,” Reilly declared.

While Dewey and his older brother Mike both excelled in hockey, it was football that led them to college playing careers. Middle sister Beth played softball and basketball and is now an elementary school teacher in Wausau. Their dad was their defensive coordinator in high school. Growing up in a sports minded family builds a foundation of character through osmosis.

“My dad and my older brother were the biggest influences on me when it comes to sports, coaching and life,” Reilly said. “The mentality, expectations, and overall culture of the teams that I'm involved with definitely have a tone of the lessons I learned from them. The ideas of being resilient and relentless have their fingerprints on them.”

For Dewey the athletic accolades were many, including All-State in hockey as a junior and senior. Football brought even more as he earned USA Today Honorable Mention All-American and was named captain at the high school Shrine Bowl. Those honors landed him a full-ride at Mankato where he started as a true freshman. He was All-Conference three years, team captain and MVP as a senior and is still fourth all-time in tackles. But through it all, there was something missing.

 “I would have traded them all for a team championship,” lamented Reilly.

Reilly unexpectedly got his start in coaching at Mankato. After his four years, he discovered he was short on cultural diversity credits needed to obtain his Biology/Chemistry degree. He had already been accepted to dental school, but wanted to complete his degree. His head coach Dan Runkle offered him to stay on as a grad-assistant as a linebacker coach. Reilly accepted the offer, completed his credits and got his first taste of coaching. He worked closely with defensive coordinator Greg Clough and offensive coordinator Jerry Olszewski. “I learned from those two,” Reilly offered, “and they are guys I’ve looked up to the rest of my life.”

Following that season Reilly returned to Tomahawk and eventually took over the family dentistry with his brother Mike as his partner. Reilly learned from his baptism into coaching that it was something he wanted to continue. Since that time it has grown into a passion and perhaps a calling for him. It is clear when you listen to him talk and listen to others talk about him that coaching is more than a part-time job for him. At one point during our interview, he looked at me said, “I love coaching.” I completely understood. 

It may sound cliché, but behind, every successful coach is a spouse who allows that coach to chase that championship dream. Reilly is no exception. He met his wife Karina at Mankato State and they have been married now for twenty-one years. “Blessed to have an amazing wife,” said Reilly. “The wife of a coach is often thankless and not easy on multiple fronts.” The current coaching landscape, with more parental involvement, and criticism and the never-ending playing time issues, steals away more and more time from coaches just being able to coach. Your coaching day is never done when you leave the rink and that has a direct impact on coach’s families. In addition to Rex and Jett, Reilly has an eleven-year-old daughter, Emery, who participates in volleyball, basketball and dance.

“My wife is amazing and I couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to do this without her,” said a grateful Reilly. “She is a great mom, with a great career of her own, and is the glue of my family. I am a very lucky guy.”

 

The Superior Effect

Dewey’s older brother Mike played on the only Tomahawk hockey team to make it to state back in 1991. Dave Kukowski coached that team and later became the head coach at Superior. Watching Superior play a heavy Minnesota schedule year after year, then head to Madison with a .500 record and sweep through the state tournament taught Reilly an important lesson. “We asked ourselves, why are they (Superior) always so good? And we figured out it’s teams that run tough schedules, so we literally decided to rip a page out of the Superior playbook,” he said.

The Tomahawk Youth Program had been relegated to WAHA Division Four, but the schedule Reilly constructed for this group reached up much higher. Having made friendships with many coaches he convinced teams above their pay grade to play Tomahawk, and implored those coaches to not take their foot off the gas. As Reilly describes it, “We knew we had to punch above our weight class, and we also knew it wasn’t always going to be awesome.”

Seeking out better competition was one part of the plan. The other was eliminating every excuse people had for not allowing their kids to play hockey. They recruited hard to find the best athletes, modified the schedule so hockey was not a part of every weekend all winter long and made intro to hockey absolutely free.

Two of the key additions from the push to make hockey accessible to everyone were Austin and Brayden Lamer. “When Austin was in 4K, he brought home a try hockey for free flyer,” recounted mom Sheri Lamer.  “We signed him up, and he was hooked. Brayden followed right behind, lacing up skates at age four. It all started there — just giving it a try — and hockey quickly became a big part of our lives.”  Austin, a senior on the championship team, will move on to play Junior Hockey next season, but brother Brayden returns. And in the wings are younger brothers Carson and Dylan. It was a four for one homerun for Tomahawk hockey.

On the ice the Tomahawk youth program set its laser focus on fun and development. Reilly talked with other coaches, watched practices and diligently tried to learn everything he could about developing skills and players. At one point they even tracked puck touches during practice to ensure they were hitting the benchmarks of development. It was a goalie pulled, all-out effort to improve the footprint of the youth program.

For a couple of years Reilly created AAA spring teams to get his players across the border to Minnesota to experience more of the strong competition they wanted to face. It also allowed them to keep ice on in Tomahawk through April instead of pulling it in early March. Reilly believed it was important for the players to see “that you are good for Tomahawk,” but there is a level of competition out there that they had not experienced.

Not everyone bought into the transformation, but as Reilly put it, ““If you are going to make an omelet, you have to crack a few eggs.” Teaching young players to keep battling even when the score is lopsided, or the season won-loss record looks bad is challenging. Players most often follow the lead of their coaches and there was no panic or rage when things looked bleak. “We knew it would be a difficult road, but you either get better or you move the goalpost,” Reilly offered.

And for this group, the goalpost was a WIAA state championship, and nothing less.

One of the major influences on Reilly was his high school coach Sam Eddy. Eddy coached six seasons for the Hatchets including 16, 15 and 12 win seasons. “Was probably the most fun coach I ever played for with hockey, and I think that is why we had a relatively successful run in those years,” recalled Reilly. “He didn't try to change us, he let guys play their style and matched up lines accordingly.  He let some of us that played higher level hockey have input on practices, games, etc.  He was great to play for and a big reason I like having my leaders have significant input on the team.”

According to Tomahawk Youth Hockey President Tim Albert, Reilly’s influence has been immeasurable. “Dewey's influence on the youth program has been huge,” he said. The age groups that Reilly has worked directly with have accumulated nine WAHA State Championships. Success at the youth level and now the high school championship has had a direct effect on the youth association. “The numbers in the association continue to grow,” said Albert, who has a freshman son, Jake on the team. “We were maxed out in our Learn to Skate registrations this year. I think the tradition that is being built will only help increase those numbers.” 

 

Extreme Makeover: Part II

As Reilly focused his attention on the youth program in 2012, the high school Hatchets were coming off a successful 18-9 season under the leadership of Jake Flohr. The next six seasons would produce only single digit victory totals and two new coaches in Ricky Myre and Chris Bembinster. The 21-22 season marked the Hatchets 50th season of WIAA hockey. Other than a trip to the state tournament in 1991, with Dave Kukowski coaching, who would go on to win three consecutive state championships at Superior, the Hatchets history was modest. The program had only twelve winning seasons, played in just three sectional finals and had twenty-six first round losses in the playoffs. In 1999 the team was disqualified from the WIAA tournament.

As sons Rex and now Jett approached the high school level, Reilly knew that the same “rip off the band aid” approach would be needed for the Hatchets. The team was coming off back-to-back losing seasons, of 0-20 and 2-20, and they had been outscored 425-56 over the two seasons.

“There was a culture thing going in Tomahawk where we just keep lowering the bar,” Reilly recalled. “I’m from Tomahawk and I have a lot of pride, and I didn’t want to see that continue. We weren’t holding kids accountable, and we weren’t raising expectations.” 

Head Coach Chris Bembinster was entering his eighth season behind the bench as the 2021 season began.  Austin Lamer, who would be a key cog in the championship, burst onto the scene as a freshman scoring 29 goals and adding 26 assists. The Hatchets put together a 9-15 season but were quickly dismissed in the first round of the playoffs by Rhinelander, 5-4. The following season the Hatchets went 18-5, tying the school record for wins, but again lost in the first playoff game, 4-3 to Northland Pines. Lamer had another fantastic season (25G / 31A) and was joined by freshmen Jonah Dickens (39G / 25A), Rex Reilly (13 pts) and Beau Stromberg (24 pts).

Reilly’s formula on playing strong competition was on display as the Hatchets played the third weakest schedule in Division Two both seasons. They piled up the regular season wins but weren’t prepared for the playoffs. Dewey Reilly watched from the stands. “I wanted to play in the same sandbox with them,” said Reilly, “but for various reasons I was not allowed or asked to help with the high school teams.”

Enter Tomahawk Athletic Director Ryan Flynn, one of the key people Reilly credits for the Hatchets championship run. Flynn, like Reilly, was a Tomahawk native who returned after college to become a trainer in the school district and was also on the Hatchets hockey coaching staff. Flynn was appointed Athletic Director in April of 2023 and had been an admirer of Dewey Reilly, having watched him play in high school and college and his work as a youth coach.

“I remember turning on the radio in the morning and listening to WJJQ and hearing how many tackles he was making at Mankato State.” Flynn said. “He was a local athlete you looked up to.” Flynn also noted the time and effort Reilly put into his coaching. “He is always asking questions, always trying to figure out what the best way is to get things done. He was so involved, driven and very successful.” And perhaps most importantly Reilly, like Flynn was determined that the high school program needed to make some changes.

“I did disagree with what we were doing with our high school team schedule wise,” Reilly said. “We would get knocked out in the first round because we just weren’t prepared.” Flynn was in agreement, “I felt like we just couldn’t keep doing the same thing.”

In June, head football coach Sam Hernandez, resigned and after a search and interview process, Reilly was hired as the new head football coach. The team went 6-6, losing to Southern Door in the Level One Playoffs. Rex Reilly led the team in passing and rushing yards and Jonah Dickens led in receiving yards. Flynn, who had tremendous respect for both Reilly and Bembinster wanted to find a way to get both coaches to play in that same sandbox. While their philosophies differed, Flynn believed the collaboration could work.

With the start of the 2023-24 season bearing down, Bembinster suddenly made the decision, due to personal reasons, to step down from the head coaching position. Flynn conducted an expedited search that quickly led him back to Reilly. Five days before the new hockey season was set to start, Flynn contacted Reilly and asked him, “Will you do it and do you have a plan?” After approving Reilly’s plan, he asked him if he could present it that evening at the parents meeting. Reilly said yes, and with that he was named the 12th coach in the program’s history. 

“It was a stressful and emotional situation for all involved,” recalled Flynn, who had been an assistant coach under Bembinster. Flynn credited Bembinster for his work, especially during the two twenty-loss seasons. The program came under fire during that time and there was some talk of ending the hockey program at the high school due to dwindling participation numbers and defections to neighboring programs.

“Chris kept the program afloat,” said Flynn. “Our numbers were very low and he went out and pulled some kids back into the program that had quit through youth hockey and recruited players from the high school hallways to play. What he did was invaluable to keep the program alive.”

After a long wait, in what now felt like a blink of an eye, the Dewey Reilly era of Tomahawk Hatchets hockey began. Assistant coaches Andrew Flynn and Kole Woodall, both Hatchet alumni, stayed on the staff to help provide some continuity during the transition. “They are good guys who love the kids and love the program,” cited Reilly. “It was fun to watch them as they embraced bigger coaching roles with having a varsity and a junior varsity team. Very happy for them that they got to be a part of this season.”

Reilly calls assistant Jason Stromberg, “my righthand man.” Stromberg joined forces with Reilly very early when their kids were both in youth hockey. Stromberg was on board from day one and together the two coaches often covered three teams during the youth season. “It gave the program the continuity that was needed,” said Reilly. “The kids got the same practice structures, the same messages, the same competitive scheduling. This wouldn't have been possible without Jason.”  

 

The Three Puck Drill

Every coach has a few favorite practice drills that get at the heart of what they want to develop within their team. For the Hatchets it is the three-puck drill. A blue collar, one-on-one, who wants it more battle to retrieve a loose puck. The player that can win two of the three consecutive pucks is the winner. But it isn’t just about winning the battle for the puck, it is also about who is willing to challenge who, repeating the theme of who wants to fight above their weight class.

“The three-puck drill was a straight grind like a corner battle and that drill easily can show what type of player you are just by seeing the compete level,” Dickens explained.

“We do challenge drills every day in practice,” Reilly said. “If you weren’t actively jumping and challenging the kids above you, and you are going against somebody you know you are going to beat, that saying something to me.”

While Coach Reilly was challenging his players in practice every day, he was also challenging himself to be a better coach. He was constantly looking for new and better ways to train and practice. One of his finds was connecting with Rob and Jenny Potter who were working as coaches for the Green Bay Gamblers AAA program. It led to his youngest son, Jett playing a season with the Gamblers. “It was as much for me as it was for him,” said Reilly. “I wanted to be a better coach, so I went and watched those guys and what they did skating wise. And I brought it back to Tomahawk.” When you watch this group play, the speed their top players possess is noticeable and Reilly credits what he learned from the Potters with helping make that happen.

As the expectations for the program increased so did the pushback from those not willing to embrace the changes.

“You are going to lose some players,” said Reilly. “Some parents got angry, but if you try to cater to everyone, then everyone is unhappy.” Sheri Lamer saw the positive side of Reilly’s philosophy, “Coach Reilly stressed the importance of everyone’s role on the team and every player was a key part of our success. He is competitive and he brings that fire to every practice and every game. He expects effort, focus, and intensity — and he holds the players to that.”

Junior Jonah Dickens praised his teammates for their willingness to do what is best for the team. “Everyone has their own role and it doesn’t always have to be the person that gets the most goals or most points. “With the kids we have it was easy for everyone to find their role and have a positive impact on the team.” Austin Lamer agreed, “Early in the season, it was clear to everyone that although you might not play much, you still have a role on this team.”

If there was a single player that epitomized Reilly’s need for players to accept and excel at their role it might be Caiden Reichelt. Early in the season the junior forward found himself just outside that top ten on the depth chart.

It wasn’t Caiden’s offensive abilities that caught the eye of the coaching staff, he scored his first high school goal in February against Rhinelander, but his tenacity and fearlessness in the three-puck drill. Day after day he demonstrated the mettle to take on the teams top players. His perseverance eventually elevated him into the top ten where he became the ultimate disrupter on the ice.

“When we do our three-puck battle drill, Caiden comes out with the puck ninety-nine times out of one hundred,” said Reilly. “He is a phenomenal person and for his size he competes as hard as anybody.”

On a team deep with elite goal scorers Reichelt found his role through his effort and ability to create havoc on opponents. When he moved into the line-up, Reilly had a simple message for him, “I don’t need you to score a goal ever, I need you to create chaos on the forecheck, and I don’t care where the puck goes, you follow it.” At the end of the day, Reilly looks hard at his most telling stat, a player’s plus-minus.

Part of the culture change was getting players to prepare outside the season. “There are things you have to do to give yourself a chance to be successful,” Said Reilly, you can’t just show up in November and pick up your stick.” Reilly encouraged and helped players find pre-post season opportunities to play. He wanted them to experience first-hand that there was a level of players out there better than they were. “These kids were out making teams off-season teams, but still coming back to Tomahawk and now they get to raise the bar for everybody.”

The Lamer brothers took full advantage of playing outside Tomahawk in the off-season. In doing so they encountered opportunities to leave and play elsewhere, but according to Sheri, leaving was never seriously considered. “Austin and Brayden grew up playing with a strong group of teammates,” she said. “So, we believed their team had potential. We knew the early high school years would be tough, but they wanted to be part of building something in Tomahawk.”

Reilly’s message resonated with the players and the sense of the greater good was strong. The loyalty and camaraderie of a small town played a big role. “Austin was one of those guys that could have easily left and didn’t, he bought into what I was selling,” said Reilly. “We had a goal set since youth hockey and the same group of kids stayed together through everything and we were able to get it done,” said a proud Dickens.

When I asked players to describe Coach Reilly in one word, they followed that word with many more. The impact Reilly had on this program is undeniable and monumental. “Generational,” said Dickens. “Not often do you get a coach that knows everything about every sport so well. I’ve never had a coach other than him that cares about not only the sport itself, but kids health too. He is the reason I’m the athlete I am today.”

Austin Lamer said, “Tactical. Coach Reilly creates practice plans that will help us develop the most and build the most team chemistry. He also has strategies for different scenarios in games or how we go about practice in the beginning of the season versus the end of the season.”

“Relentless,” said Senior Travis Seliskar, “He never lets us settle.”

 

More Than Just Hockey Players

This group of athletes certainly proved their excellence on the hockey rink, but it goes deeper than that. Everyone I talked to was sure to mention what an impact these young men had on their high school and the entire community. The spotlight in a small town like Tomahawk can be bright and focused. The Hatchets success spread through the community and with each step the support increased.

“It's pretty cool to see all the youth players that attend the home games,” said Albert.  “They really look up to the high schoolers and I think they are role models as well.” The support was a two-way street as the high school heroes returned the favor. “There will be a lot of youth weekends where a group of the high school players will go watch and support the kids.”

Ryan Flynn observes the players daily at the high school and their penchant to spend so much time together. They don’t allow their athletic prowess to narrowly define them. “Yeah our kids are pretty good at hockey,” said Flynn stating the obvious, “but one thing that gets overlooked is every single one of them is a three-sport athlete. They’re not just hockey players in our community. They are president of FBLA, on the student counsel, and class officers. When you have those high character kids sticking around it just makes for a better culture at your school.” 

Reilly explained. “If your best players are your best leaders, you are in pretty good shape.”

The individual accolades poured in for the Hatchets, with Jonah Dickens, the Lamer brothers, Jett Reilly and Trevor Seliskar all receiving All-State recognition. In addition, Dickens and Austin Lamer were named as the best D2 forward and defenseman in the state. Reilly preached that individual awards get forgotten, but “when you win the whole thing, people remember.”

For Coach Reilly getting his leaders to pull the team along was a priority from his own playing days. “I wanted to cultivate kids to not only continue to get better, but to bring each other along,” said Reilly. “If I could go back and do it all over again, I would have brought more guys with me, and that was my biggest regret.”

The team came up short of the D2 championship in 2024, but did bring home a championship trophy. The teams commitment to academic excellence was rewarded when their 3.87 cumulative GPA was top in the state and they were named WHCA Academic State Champions. It was the second highest GPA ever awarded. Further proof that Reilly’s plan went above and beyond the x’s and o’s of coaching.

“Coach Reilly has always been about seeing the bigger picture about what sports are all about and the lessons learned,” noted Flynn. Sheri Lamer shared a similar compliment, “What stood out was how focused he (Reilly) was on skill development and making well-rounded players.”

 

Won’t Leave Home Without Him

One of the best stories of the Hatchets championship run is veteran bus driver Don Arneson. Unofficially, Arneson is the hockey Hatchets personal team driver, and the team made it clear to Coach Reilly on day one that they would rather ride in yellow school bus with Don than take a comfortable coach bus. If you haven’t been on a yellow bus in a few decades, despite many modern advances in vehicle travel, I can assure you they are still just a step above a covered wagon.

Don is an eighty-one year old semi-retired driver who has driven school buses for Tomahawk Bus Service since 1970. He became the “unofficial” hockey driver about seven years ago. “I thought it would be something I would really enjoy in my later years,” said Arneson. Part of the Hatchets bravado is riding the yellow school bus to every game. It is like watching the SPASH girls’ softball team warm-up, it is intimidating. “It’s like we are the Bad New Bears when we show up in the yellow school bus,” joked Reilly.

A year ago, the team arrived at the state tournament as usual in a school bus with Don at the wheel. When the decision was made to take a coach bus this year, meaning Don wouldn’t be driving, the team told Coach Reilly, “he is part of the team,” and wanted their bus driver on board. Reilly recalls the silence on the other end of the phone when he called Arneson to tell him the team was taking a coach bus to state. Arrangements were made and Arneson accompanied the team to the state tournament. “He was our goalie coach for the weekend,” explained Reilly.  

“They consider me part of the team and I am thrilled about it,” said a grateful Arneson. “You gotta love hometown pride and loyalty,” added Reilly.

Arneson recounted the winless 2020-21 season when the team presented him with a signed miniature stick for his dedication to the team. “I about had tears in my eyes for them to think of me that way,” recalled Arneson. “I give that team a lot of credit for hanging in there,” he added. This past season Arneson had his son make him a stick and he had the championship Hatchets all sign it.

For Arneson, who has been through the best and worst Hatchets seasons, seeing the team progress and win a state championship was without a doubt the highlight of his hockey driving career.

“Hockey is an amazing sport and I feel proud to be part of it,” said Arneson.

Reaching the Goal Post

Championship windows don’t stay open forever and with Austin Lamer looking at his senior season and the Hatchets riding the motivation that coming close provides, it appeared the stars had aligned as the Hatchets opened the 2024-25 season. The goal post had not moved and neither had the Hatchets focus.

“Senior year came along, and before the season started, everyone on the team and in the community knew we had to win a state championship, and there were no alternatives,” said Lamer.  

Tomahawk was coming off their first and only trip to the state tournament in over thirty years. An 8-4 semi-final loss to New Richmond was in the rearview mirror but not forgotten. They used what they learned on that trip and the motivation that coming close provides as fuel to earn that second chance. Reilly admitted that the excitement of getting to Madison was an unavoidable distraction. “I was so excited to make it to state, to get us down there, that sometimes you take your foot off the gas.” With a new season ahead, the message was clear. “This isn’t a field trip, were not going down just to say we were a state qualifier.”

”Getting to state last year and coming up short had a big impact on this season,” said Dickens. “It showed us what it takes to win.”

Two years of developing a more competitive schedule had Tomahawk playing eight D1 opponents and the 7th toughest slate of games in Division Two. “Sheri Lamer, deserves a ton of credit for actively and persistently getting us teams that wouldn’t normally schedule us, from youth hockey on up,” said Reilly. In addition Reilly was grateful for  coaches around the state and their willingness to put Tomahawk on their schedule. The results they had produced coming up through youth hockey and the friendships Reilly had made were enough to convince D1 programs to give the Hatchets an opportunity.

Ironically, Tomahawk would open the season with the same team they would finish the season with in Madison, the Amery Warriors. The Hatchets sprinted to a 5-1 lead on their way to a 6-3 win on the road. They reeled off seven straight wins to start the season including a four-game stretch of outscoring their opponents 42-1. Their first loss would come at the hands of the D1 West Bend Bears, 4-2, at Sara Park in Tomahawk. The Bears scored three powerplay goals and a shorthanded goal, despite being outshot by Tomahawk 37-29. It was the first of five straight games against Division One opponents.

Next up was the Red Rocket Tournament in Appleton. Neenah head coach Jeff Lindemann opened the door for Tomahawk a year ago, and after a strong showing, despite losing all three games, invited them back. “Coach Lindemann stuck his neck out for us,” Reilly admitted. “We didn’t win a game in the tournament, but I think we earned a bunch of people’s respect.  We solidified that we are D2 team, but on any given night we can give anybody a pretty good game.”

The Hatchets did indeed prove they belonged beating Eau Claire North 5-1 and Bay Port 6-5 to advance to the championship game against #1 ranked and undefeated SPASH. Tomahawk’s short bench and third game in three days couldn’t match the depth of the Panthers in an 8-2 loss. “The loss to SPASH was awesome, not just for the kids, but for me,” said Reilly. “We identified what our strengths were and how to camouflage our weaknesses.”

Teams around the state had to take notice of what the smallest hockey school in the state was doing to schools five times their size. More importantly it sent a strong message to the Hatchets, “It showed the kids, we belonged there, and we can play with these guys,” said Reilly.

The Hatchets did more than just belong. A few days later they traveled to New Richmond and fell behind 5-2 after the Tigers scored three second period goals. Their third period rally fell short in a 5-4 loss. They wouldn’t lose another game. One week later the team would hit a turning point on the road in Mosinee. Trailing 1-0 after one period, the Hatchets would lose a key player in Rex Reilly to an ongoing injury. After suffering from a broken shoulder socket in football, the junior defenseman could no longer keep playing and was ruled out for the rest of the season.

Adversity had struck and Coach Reilly could sense a change needed to be made. “Our vibe wasn’t good, I felt we needed a spark,” Reilly recalled. The decision was made to move Brayden Lamer back to defense and move Jonah

Dickens up to play with Jett Reilly and Sawyer Hanna. The adjustment led to a 4-1 win over the Indians as Lamer and Dickens each scored twice. The Fab Five would combine to score 79 of the Hatchets final 87 goals from that point on. The teams second unit then consisted of Landyn Seymour, Beau Stromberg, and Caiden Reichelt with Carson Childers and Jake Albert at defense.

It was a formula Reilly had seen before. He was thirteen years old when Tomahawk made their first trip to state in 1991 with Dave Kukowski behind the bench. “He had nine skaters, three goalies (two had to skate out), and the spectrum of skill level,” said Reilly. “He found a way to put the pieces of the puzzle together and got the guys to buy into outworking' everyone.  If they could do it, what was stopping any of us?”

“We aren’t overly complicated to figure out,” quipped Reilly, “If I can go best on best, I’m confident that my guys can compete with anyone. It was just a matter of finding those next five to seven guys with that same compete level and getting them to accept their role.” 

Running two lines is a strategy that most often is unsuccessful, but in the new world of WIAA-D2 hockey it was possible. Small town teams generally have less depth than large schools and trying to get by with two lines is something that can be tried. ”We didn’t necessarily have to be three lines deep to be successful,” Reilly concluded.

The winning formula for Tomahawk became a basic ten player rotation and when push came to shove late in the third period, a heavy dose of the team’s top five to close out games. It required a great deal of sacrifice from some members of the team and wasn’t met with high approval from everyone. Tough coaching decisions seldom are.

“Was everybody happy about that parent wise,” said the Great Northern’s Coach of the Year, “Probably not. Did the kids understand, yah.” Every coach must deal with the allocation of ice time and those players that come up short will always be disappointed—and for many their parents are angry. “The hardest part was those third line kids, who (some games) did not touch the ice, they were probably the most unhappy, and I feel bad for them, but it worked. Sometimes when you fail, it’s one of the best things that could happen. You learn from it, you get better.”

Every championship team must discover the unique formula that allows them to be the best they can be. Never will that formula be exactly what every player or parent wants it to be. Never, ever. Sacrifices must be made by many for a team to be championship caliber and coaches must make difficult personnel and strategy decisions to reach the pinnacle. The team must come first and those fighting for their individual goals subversively sabotage the team.

Flynn stands firmly behind his head coach and his style that can best be described as old school. “Coach Reilly does ask a lot out of his players,” offered Flynn. “And not in a bad way, he can see what they are capable of and uses that to define their role.” Flynn believes if you talk to most players the majority of them want to be coached the old school way. “Kids like knowing exactly where they stand,” according to Flynn.

With so much emphasis on the Hatchets line rotation and the gaudy offensive numbers the team was accumulating , goaltender Trevor Seliskar became the teams unsung hero defending the Hatchets net. The senior was coming off 17 and 15 win seasons as a sophomore and junior. Seliskar split time in net as a freshman with Andrew Samundson, then took over as the number one goalie the next season.

Seliskar, earned Honorable Mention All-State, after starting his season on a rollercoaster. He allowed eleven goals in the first three games, then pitched three straight shutouts, as the Hatchets opened their season 6-0. He then played one of his best games of the season turning a 35 save performance in a 5-1 win over Eau Claire North. The next two games took him down again as he gave up 13 goals and posted a .745 save percentage in a win over Bay Port 6-5 and an 8-2 loss to SPASH.

With the team back home for the final days of Christmas vacation, Seliskar overslept and missed morning practice. Next on the schedule was the defending D2 champion New Richmond Tigers. The senior goaltender owned up to his mistake, but Reilly told him he could come on the trip, but he would not start. Reilly started freshman Hudson Seymour who made thirty-one saves as the Hatchets rally fell short in a 5-4 loss.

The game proved to be literally and figuratively a wake-up call as Sleiskar responded with his best hockey of the season. The senior was locked in putting up an impressive 1.35 GAA and 92.5 save percentage as the Hatchets ran the regular season table. From that point on, “He was outstanding,” said his head coach.

When the playoffs arrived in February, Tomahawk was prepared and experienced. They sailed through their section defeating three Great Northern foes, 9-0 over, Rhinelander, 6-3 over Northland Pines and defeated Mosinee 5-1 on their home ice in the sectional final. It was back to Madison for the second straight season, but this time the team had a clear mission in mind. They weren’t just happy to be there.

In the state semi-finals, McFarland’s goaltender Steve Hoang made 16 first period saves to keep the game scoreless after one period. The Spartans carried a 1-0 lead late into the second period, until Brayden Lamer and Dickens scored in a three-minute span to put the Hatchets up 2-1 as they skated to a 3-2 victory. “These kids don’t panic,” offered Flynn, “they were taught how to compete at a high level from a young age. They have learned from their coach to be cool, calm and collected.”

The McFarland win set up a rematch from the first game of the season as the #1 ranked Hatchets took on the #2 ranked Amery Warriors who defeated Somerset 4-3 in the other semi-final game. Jett Reilly gave the Hatchets a quick 1-0 lead just forty-two seconds into the game. Amery would tally the next two goals, taking a 2-1 lead in the second period. The Hatchets poise was once again tested and as they tied then took a 3-2 lead on goals by Dickens, his 45th and Brayden Lamer, his 18th of the season.

Tomahawk closed out the game with a pair of third period goals from Reilly and Sawyer Hanna to capture that long awaited championship with a 5-3 win. “I think by Coach Reilly pushing us a "punch above our weight class" was a big reason to our success this year. Being able to play some of the best teams in the state throughout the year really helped us prepare for what we had coming in the playoffs and at state,” pondered Austin Lamer.

“It felt surreal,” said Selikar, “We had been talking about this goal since we were kids, so for it to actually happen, it almost didn’t feel real at first.”

This home-grown championship was a long and winding road to that fateful March afternoon at Bob Suter’s Legacy20 Arena in Middleton. It was the exact set of characters that for over a decade planned and persevered to reach the top of the mountain. A group that was prepared as Flynn put it, “Take some losses get beat, to prepare for the long-term goal.” And as Flynn continued, with the right coach at the top, “His ability to connect with these kids and the love he has for his players is special.”

After winning the championship, the Hatchets returned to Tomahawk to full blown celebration complete with fire trucks and police cars leading them through streets lined with cheering fans. “Watching our youth kids interacting with the high school players, their idols, signing their helmets, you hope every town or school district can have that happen at some point. Truly something special, hard to describe,” reflected Flynn.

“State championships don't happen very often for Tomahawk High School, said Albert. “It was amazing to follow their success on the ice. It was not only great for the players, school, etc. but it was great for our community as well.”   

“It was amazing being able to win a WIAA state championship with this group. We won a few WAHA championships in our youth hockey career, but this past one was by far the best,” said Austin Lamer.  “It felt terrific knowing that all our hard work paid off,” concluded his brother Brayden.

For every program in every sport, that believed a state championship was out of their reach, the Tomahawk Hatchets has given them permission to not just dream again, but to know that with a dedicated group of athletes, willing to work hard, persevere through adversity and hold an unwavering belief in their coach and teammates they can make it can happen.

The future of Tomahawk hockey has been transformed, and this championship run will never be forgotten. Because when you win the whole thing, people remember.