“The team meant everything to me. As a new sophomore, the hockey team took me in right away,” said sophomore Owen Atkinson. 

Atkinson started playing hockey when he was five at Appleton Youth with Andrew Ostermann. 

“I started playing hockey when I was four,” said Ostermann. 

Both Atkinson and Ostermann described winning state as the best moment in their lives this year because no one thought they were going to win. 

“I believe we didn’t have any unsung heroes on the team this year. All of the players and coaches knew their roles and duties. We pushed each other hard and to our limits every single practice,” said the sophomore. 

Ostermann believes that the coaches were their unsung heroes. 

“They were put in a tough position to take on this new year as our old coach left with an undefeated season. These guys worked just as hard to make things happen and get us going at practice as anyone else on this team,” said the freshman. 

From playing hockey this year, Atkinson learned how important it is to work back up when you get knocked down and not give up. 

“One example is when we lost both times to BayPort this year, and the third game (sectional final) we won because we believed we could,” he said. 

“Hockey has taught me you have to work for everything you have,” said Ostermann. 

In the off-season, Atkinson and Ostermann are looking forward to getting the boys back together and welcoming the freshmen and transfer hockey players just like how he was welcomed in. 

“I’m looking forward to working hard with the boys this offseason and watching each other grow until we are a championship team,” added Ostermann. 

“My goal this off-season is to help establish a strong bond within the team like we had this year because that’s what wins state championships,” said Atkinson.