WAUPUN — The last time the Waupun prep boys hockey team won a conference title, none of the players on this year’s squad had even been born yet.

So when the Warriors’ ended a 22-year drought by clinching the Badgerland Conference title with a 5-0 win over Fox Cities co-op last Tuesday, it was reason for pause and reflection.

“It’s pretty crazy,” senior Carter Flegner said. “The kids on our team like Malachi Buchholz, the last time we won conference was when their dads were in high school. That’s a long time.”

Last season, Waupun finished in the middle of the pack with a 5-4-1 conference record — enough of a successful campaign that with losing only second-leading goal scorer Cody Kast to graduation and a bevy of stars ready to come back for more in 2017-18, there was heightened confidence and expectations for this year.

The Warriors have lived up to the hype, posting a 15-4-1 overall record this season and 6-0-1 mark in conference play. Their victory Tuesday coupled with Fond du Lac St. Mary’s Springs’ 3-2 win over the Neenah co-op the same night gave Waupun the outright Badgerland championship, its first league crown since winning the last of three titles in four years in 1996.