I don't want this piece to be about me, but rather, every thing around me.

I wanted to tell briefly about some of the wonderful people I met and chatted with, and the great games that I saw. It all started on Wednesday night at the WHCA/American Family Insurance Player of the Year banquet.

I got a chance to meet all the families of all nine players. They were excited to be there and honored by the fact that their sons were being feted as the top senior players in the state.

When Saxton Soley was announced as the winner, the round of applause coming from the Sheraton banquet room was overwhelming and went on for almost 30 seconds. I got goosebumps and I can honestly say that moment was the warmest of any that I experienced at the seven POTY ceremonies that I have been privileged to be included with.

It was nice to meet and chat with all the parents, especially old friends Cindy and Kirk Dahl. I also got a chance to catch up with Todd Soley, proud father of Saxton. It was good to see you again.

Then came "Quarterfinal Thursday," where the hopes and dreams of all the teams lie in the balance, waiting for a winner and loser to be determined.

The tourney opener between Marquette and Notre Dame proved that the Hilltoppers belonged in the elite group of teams, with Marquette taking NDA to double overtime before losing their first one-goal game of the year. Mike and Karen Jeszka--it was nice to see you both again and look forward to seeing Griff play again in Madison in the near future.

Surprising Cedarburg took Middleton right the end before falling 2-1. The Bulldogs played very well at the end of the season and earned their spot with a couple tough victories to get to state. Well done guys, especially to the ones that sat with us at the banquet table the night before. You guys did good!

Reedsburg/Wisconsin Dells--the team known as "R Dub"--earned their reward of playing Eau Claire Memorial by beating Onalaska in the sectional four final. 

A little known trivia fact: the last four years, the sectional four champ matched up with the top team in the state in their first game at state. 

Although RWD played their hearts out, the Old Abes were simply the better team, coasting to a 6-0 victory.

In the final game of the evening, Wausau West proved they were ready to challenge for the state title, shutting out a tough New Richmond team by a 5-0 margin.

The next day, the teams took to the ice for the semifinals, with the girls playing first. The Fusion and the Storm won their games, pretty much as expected, setting up the dream final between the number one and two teams in the state.

That night, my thoughts that Notre Dame had expended too much energy in their previous two games, going three OTs in their sectional final before going to a second overtime against Marquette came true as Middleton skated to an easy 5-1 win to advance to the finals.

In the second semifinal, West and Memorial faced off and gave the crowd its monies worth as the Warriors edged the Old Abes in OT go move to their second straight state title game.

Many said this was the state title game, and it well might have been, but officially that game was played on Saturday.

The girls game was one for the ages as it took four amazing overtimes before Alice Cranston banked a shot off sister Sally for the game-winner.

You think they practiced that one at home?

Then, the Warriors got three power play goals and ran over the dog-tired Cardinals and earned a 5-0 win and the first state title for West Coach Pete Susens. 

I'd like to give some shout-outs to some fabulous people that I had a chance to talk to: Dave Ferwerda, for taking time from his goal-judge duties to chat; Dave Anderson and Tom Shafranski of the WIAA for saying kind words about our humble WiPH website; West superfan Curt Keene, who talked strategy and agonized over every shot on goal and turnover, even though he knew his beloved West would pull out a championship; Shelley Ayres, mom of ECM's Chuck Ayres, for taking time to chat even though she was a "two-fisted photographer"; and finally to the usher on the locker room end of the ice, always taking time out of his busy evenings to give me some good insight on teams and players.

Thanks to FDL Springs coaches Ty Steffes (Coach of the Year!) and assistant Tim Ahern for the enjoyable evening we spent with them in the AmericInn Monona lobby until the wee hours of the morning.

It was a pleasure to chat with Cap City Cougars coach Mike Johnson. Look forward to chatting with you in the future.

Congrats to Middleton coach Steve Libert for getting his first state victory on his birthday! 

And, in closing, special thanks and congrats to Wausau West coach Pete Susens.

You have been a great personal friend and a great freind of WiPH. You deserved a state title after all the hard work and effort you have put into the Warriors program.

Keep up the good work, my friend, and we look forward to celebrating win number 600 with you in 2015.

And, a special thanks to a great broadcast crew. Bill Jr, who traveled eight hours from Bowling Green, OH and his dad Bill, who made the trip from Antigo--once again held the show together.

Eric Borre and MJ Hammett turned the action into words. Mary Berg and Nikki Kloes kept track of plus/minus. Del Scanlon took pictures and did the play-by-play for the girls games. 

Thanks guys and girls--you make it all worthwhile.

See you all at the Senior Class Tournament on March 25-27.