The boys hockey team is heading to state for the first time since 2014 after a big win against the Neenah/Hortonville/Menasha Rockets this past Friday.

The boys started off strong, scoring the first goal of the game. The Rockets came back with three goals right off the bat in the second period making the score 4-1.

However, the NDA boys didn’t give up and ended up scoring three more goals in the second period to tie the game 4-4. Then the team came out in the third period and sealed the deal on their road to state by defeating the Rockets 6-4.

Sophomore goalie Bo Buckley captured 32 saves out of 36 shots on net.

“We had a very resilient team against Neenah. We found a way to come out with a victory no matter the amount of adversity we faced. We intend on carrying that over to state,” said senior captain Mike Gregoire.

“I just had a feeling the whole night, once the score became 4-1, as a team, we just dug deeper and started to get our momentum back. It was an awesome feeling to come out on top and finally get this program back to state,” added Bryce Poshak, senior assistant captain.

Senior assistant captain Jon Fry also added, “It was nice to see our hard work start to pay off. Winning our section was a big step in the right direction for the team, but we still have a lot of work to do down in Madison.”

Now that the boys are going to state, they say that they are going to prepare well but not change much.

“Not many out of the ordinary changes, we are just going to keep working hard in practice and prepare well,” said Gregoire.

“We are going to be ready for anything that comes our way. We are going to work really hard and make sure to keep our team chemistry alive throughout the end of our season,” added Poshak.

The last time the NDA boys hockey team won a sectional final game to head to state was back in 2014.

The hockey team will play the Verona Wildcats at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison on Thursday, March 1, at 12:15 p.m. in the state quarterfinal.