February 18th 2008 - As the 2007-2008 season winds down and league championships on the horizon, the HSE hockey clubs are hard at work preparing. “I believe that any one of the top 6 seeds in the league tourney can win the whole thing, and a few of the lower seeds could challenge these teams for upsets” states Mike Berger, HSE Varsity “A” head coach and director of hockey. “Down the stretch, some teams have made a strong case and we will need to watch and play very hard against them if we are to fulfill our team goals”. The HSE Varsity “A” team solidified the #1 seed in the tourney after winning their second straight regular season title. The HSE Varsity “B” team came in as the #11 seed and will play Noblesville in the opening round. “I’m proud of both teams and the way they played all season” states Berger, “the varsity “B” team played a tougher schedule than quite a few of the higher seeded teams and for that we are hoping it helps them in the league tourney”. “The number #1 seed for the varsity “A” team is huge as we will be home team for the whole tournament and that will give us the last change and we will be able to match lines to our liking”. Berger doesn’t put a whole lot of stock into regular season stats and believes that all teams start with 0 and 0 records going into the tournaments. “Regular season is for the fans and playoffs are for the teams”. “You lose and you’re going home, just another season, and nobody remembers second place”.
As for the Indiana State Hockey Championships, Berger believes that all three HSE varsity teams will be represented. “I believe that the varsity “A” team deserves and will get the #1 seed overall, “we went undefeated in our crossover games and beat some really good teams”. “We declared 5a early as we felt that is definitely where we belong this year”. “Our varsity “B” team should be a lower 3a to a high 2a based on their record in the crossover games and our varsity “C” team should be somewhere in the 1a”. Overall, Berger is extremely proud of the job that varsity “C” did this year with the schedule that was handed to them. “They came up will some solid efforts in late crossover games that showed they could compete in the 1a”. As for the rest of the 5a bracket, Berger feels that there are 6 teams out there that could bring home the title. “Obviously you have to look at the Culver teams, they recruit on the national level and every year have a very strong program that I respect and look forward to playing”. Culver is very well coached and plays a very good midget minor AAA schedule all year. “We had great games aginst Marian from South Bend this year and I believe come tournament time they will be playing their best hockey”. “We didn’t have a chance to play Northside from Ft Wayne this year but by the looks of their record they seem to be the team to beat in that region”. As for the rest of the Hoosier League, one can never count out Carmel, when the game is big they bring their best effort and can beat anyone on any given day. Carmel is known to be gritty and have great goaltending, but above all the team seems to rise to another level under Coach Jack Manard.With the spotlight being on the HSE hockey program the past couple years and with the strength of the program intact for next year Berger feels that it is their time to do something special. “Our teams are built for the following year; last year’s varsity “A” team won the league and lost to a great Culver team in the 5a championship”. “We have a lot of guys that lived through that and hopefully we learned something from our failure”. It's no secret you have to lose to learn how to win and Berger believe's they are ready for this challenge. “Nothing is handed to you; you must earn every step and this team will not take anything for granted”. “We set out every year to win our last game of the season so our seniors can go out winners and hopefully that comes true”.
The future is bright at HSE, but with a senior class that could be as big as 19 players next year, Berger knows that now is the time to get things done. They only graduated 6 players this year, they could be built to challenge this year and be in a rebuilding mode with a strong nucleus of returning players next year. Berger will be looking to the younger players that will have the chance to make the top team in the progra. “Quite a few of these players are paying their dues on our younger teams, getting lots of icetime and learning how to be leaders so when the time comes they are ready to make the jump”. The high school landscape changes in 4 – 5 year periods and Berger sees that other programs will be restocking in the future. “The first thing I found out from Rod Volkman when I came here is that just because you have strong numbers one year doesn’t guarantee you will be strong forever”. Berger knows all the HSE districted players starting all the way down to squirts and he monitors these numbers every year. “We have some strong birth years and we have some struggling birth years; and we will coach and develop at tryouts every year”.
Only time will tell now how these 3 teams will end this year when the last game is played, but one thing for sure the director of hockey is not taking anyone lightly. “I get a little cranky this time of year because I want all of our players to be part of something special and not have any regrets moving forward”. “The path we have chosen for this program is a special path for all of our current players and families, and for the future players and families. "However the cards fall, I am proud to be part of this program and the dedication of the players, coaches, and parents". |
