A Season to Remember

          The Wausau East Lumberjacks came within minutes of trip to the state tournament in their most successful season in nearly three decades.  It was the first winning season at East since 1993.  Their fourteen wins were the highest in 27 years and only the fifth team in school history to win 14 or more games.  After an 8-5 playoff win over Tomahawk and 6-1 defeat of Mosinee, the Jacks found themselves in the sectional final against the state’s second ranked Stevens Point Panthers and their 21-1 record.  Trailing 3-1 in the third period, the Lumberjacks rallied to tie the game with just over five minutes to play.  The Panthers ended the East hockey dream minutes later and their empty net goal sealed a 5-3 win.  East was the only team all season to out-shoot the Panthers, finishing the sectional final game with a 38-33 advantage.

Academic State Champions

          The four-year resurrection of the East program now appears complete.  The post-season recognition would confirm that the Lumberjacks have made a name for themselves in Wisconsin hockey.  At the Wisconsin Hockey Coaches Association (WHCA) annual spring meeting in Madison the Lumberjacks were crowned as the 2006 Academic State Champions for their cumulative 3.74 team GPA. 

          “This is a great accomplishment for our team,” said head coach Dan Bauer.  “The work ethic of this team does not stop when they leave the rink.  They have been committed to excellence from day one.  This award says a lot about their character.”

All-State  & All-Conference Honors

          Several players have been acknowledged for their on ice achievement.  Senior forwards Jordie Slagowski & Jack Hoppe led the way by being named to the WHCA All-State Team.  Slagowski who led the team with 51 points and Hoppe with 24 goals were both honorable mention selections.  The two Lumberjack captains were also named to the Wisconsin Valley All-Conference team.  Slagowski was a first team selection and Hoppe a 2nd team choice.  In addition, three players were named Honorable Mention; goalie Alex Nowak, defenseman Evan Thomas and forward Taylor Atchison. 

          “I have always told the players & parents that with team achievement comes individual recognition,” Bauer said.  “But the team achievement must come first and this team did a tremendous job of putting the team first.”               

Five to Senior Tournament

          Following the state tournament, five Lumberjacks were chosen to represent section-three in the 24th annual Senior Tournament in Waupun.  Slagowski, Hoppe, Atchison, Josh Spiegel and Mike Dellenbach all participated in the event.  The section-three team won two games and lost one as they claimed the Consolation championship of the tournament that features the state’s best seniors.  The East players accounted for nine of the teams 19 goals in the tournament with Spiegel leading the way with three.

Bauer selected as Bob Johnson Coach of the Year

          Bauer, in his fourth year as East head coach, received an honor of his own, when he was selected by his coaching peers as the Bob Johnson Memorial Coach of the Year.  Bauer was also nominated for the award in 1999 after leading the Rails to a sectional final.  In the four years prior to Bauer’s arrival at East the program had gone 11-71-4.  Bauer has led the Lumberjacks to 29 victories over the past three seasons. 

          “It was great honor for me,” said Bauer.  “Bob Johnson has always been a role model for me & I was very fortunate to have been able to meet him several times.  There are a lot of great coaches each year who deserve this award; it is special to be picked by your coaching peers.  The award is a reflection of our entire program and all the people it takes to make it successful.”

          In addition to the Bob Johnson honor, Bauer was elected to his unprecedented third straight term as president of the Wisconsin Hockey Coaches Association.  Overall it will be his fourth term as president, having also served in 2000 when he was head coach at Spooner High School.

Moving on to the Next Level

          Lumberjack seniors Jack Hoppe and Josh Spiegel will continue their hockey careers next season at the collegiate level.  Hoppe, the Lumberjacks leading goal scorer last season, will play for the Golden Eagles of the University of Minnesota-Crookston.  Denny Overland Award winner Josh Spiegel will continue to be a Lumberjack as he attends Northland College in Ashland.  Both players will compete in the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association (MCHA) and play against each other four times a year.

A  New  Season  Begins         

With the glow of our just completed season still in view, it is time to turn our thoughts and efforts toward next season.  As much as we may want to hang on to last year, it is time to forge ahead.  Hopefully for most you have used the spring to get a break from the rink and pursued other sports or activities.  As May moves on and June arrives, it will be time to turn our efforts to improving ourselves individually and as a team.  Once again we have a busy June and July filled with opportunities for you to make yourself into a better hockey player.

          Our priorities for the 2006-07 off-season include improving our team depth both in numbers and skill.  We need to add players if we are going to keep our junior varsity program alive.  Our underclassmen especially our current sophomores & juniors need to bring their game to the next level so they will be ready for the opportunity to contribute to the varsity next year.  We have to improve and prepare our goaltenders for the big step up they must take next year.  Finally we must continue to build this program.  We have made some incredible progress over the past four years & it is now the responsibility of every player coming to play at East to uphold the winning tradition we established this year.  You must get yourself ready to play!

          While it is certainly true that our senior class played a big part in the success of this past season and the resurrection of this program they could not have done it without the vital contributions of the underclassmen.  It was a tremendous team effort that could not have been accomplished without the commitment we all made to be a team.  There were many great examples of teamwork and accepting roles this past season.  I hope it was an example to everyone about what can be accomplished when a group of players pulls together as a team.  That same opportunity presents itself to every team, every year, only the successful ones take advantage of it.

          We may not have as a big a senior class this coming year, but we do have eight quality seniors who I believe are ready to lead this team to another winning season.  The confidence we developed as a team this season must be carried forward.  We have to build on top of the progress we have made the past four years and continue to improve.  When you step back on the ice in November for our first practice, you absolutely have to be a better player than when you left the ice last February.  That is the challenge that the off-season presents. 

          Will you be a better player?  Only you can answer that question.                      

                                                                   —Coach Bauer

Upcoming Schedule 

Spring Meeting
Wednesday, May 31st
East High School
Player & Parent Meeting

Summer Ice
6-11—7-820pm
6-13  HbB Begins
6-17&18  Antigo Tourney
6-19—7-820pm
6-23,24,25  Camp Earl
6-25—7-820 vs Rhine’der
7-9—7-820pm
7-10—7-820pm
7-16—7-820pm
7-17—7-820 vs Mosinee
7-19—9-11pm vs Mosinee
7-22&23 Greenheck Tourney
7-23—7-820pm
7-30—7-820 vs Rhine’der

Parent Committee
Meeting
Wednesday, June 14th
East High School—7:30pm

Camp Earl
June 23-25th
Spooner, WI

Eastside Summer Shoot Out
July 22-23
@ Greenheck Fieldhouse
East, Waupun, Mosinee, Rhinelander, Waupaca