Dodge County's Funke has gone from pupil to teacher

Dec. 26—KASSON — Gryffon Funke has "been around the block," as his coach puts it.

The junior captain of the Dodge County boys hockey team is in his third season on the Wildcats' varsity team.

Funke was there, on the ice and on the bench, when the Brody Lamb-led Wildcats won the program's first Section 1 championship and advanced all the way to the state championship game two years ago.

He was there last year, coming into his own as a scorer and a leader on a Dodge County team that won 16 games, but ran into eventual Section 1AA champ Lakeville South in the section quarterfinals.

And Funke is there this year, now as a captain of a program he grew up watching.

"With high school hockey, especially varsity high school hockey, the more reps you can get, the better you're going to be," first-year Dodge County co-head coach Bryce Wilcox said. "Funke's growth, even from a size and strength perspective ... as a freshman, he could shoot the puck from the blue line and hit a corner of the net. Now, with two or three years, he's basically seen it all."

Funke's junior season hasn't started quite the way he hoped it would, but despite missing all or parts of three games due to injuries or illnesses, he is still the team's third-leading scorer. Funke has seven goals and 10 points for the Wildcats, who bring a 4-4-0 record into this week's Kiwanis Holiday Festival at the Graham Arena complex in Rochester.

Dodge County opens play in the six-team Blue Division at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday against Windom.

"It definitely feels great to be back on the ice," Funke said after Dodge County's home game against Roseville on Dec. 17. "It was (tough) just watching all your friends and teammates having so much fun on the ice. It's still trying to be a leader, though, on the bench, in the locker room, seeing everyone else having fun and it's something I had to miss out on."

The adversity began for Funke in late fall, when he suffered a fractured wrist in captain's practices.

He made it back in time for the Wildcats' season-opening games at the Simley Spartans Turkey Tourney on Nov. 25 and 26, recording four goals and six total points in those games. But after the Turkey Tourney, Funke was diagnosed with pneumonia, which zapped his strength and energy, sidelining him again.

As if that all wasn't enough, the hits kept coming.

"I got back and was finally able to recover my lungs and feel good again," Funke said, "then halfway through the (third game of the season) at New Prague, I strained a ligament in my wrist and had to sit out the next three games.

"It's just nice to finally be back."

Funke led the team in goals (20), assists (21) and total points (41) a year ago, playing alongside veteran leaders such as Gavin Giesler and Matt Donovan. And while he continues to be among the team's best goal-scorers — Brett Ludvigsen leads the team with nine goals and 16 points and Dylan Klomps has 11 through eight games — Funke has added leadership for the Wildcats in other ways this season.

"He's pretty vital to the team in the locker room," Wilcox said. "Because he's been with the program for three years now — as a freshman, then as a sophomore last year — everybody knows he's been around the block. They look up to what he says and they take his advice. Really, it's great to have a kid like him, on and off the ice."

Funke, who has 31 career goals and 60 career points, has every intention of playing junior hockey and eventually college hockey. In order to do that, though, he said he knows he has to keep growing and improving as a player, and lean on past experiences — whether it's playing in a state tournament or sitting in the stands watching because of an injury — to help drive him to reach his goals.

"With just being able to experience (a state tournament) and looking back, knowing that it was two years ago, and look where I am today," he said, "leading the way for the team and letting everyone know what it's like and what it takes to get there."

------KIWANIS FESTIVAL

GOLD DIVISION

Wednesday, Dec. 28

New Richmond (Wis.) vs. Mayo, 3 p.m.

East Ridge vs. John Marshall, 5:30 p.m.

Fargo (N.D.) South vs. Century, 7:45 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 29

Century vs. East Ridge, 3 p.m.

Mayo vs. Fargo South, 5:30 p.m.

John Marshall vs. New Richmond, 7:45 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 30

Fargo South vs. John Marshall, 2 p.m.

New Richmond vs. Century, 4:15 p.m.

East Ridge vs. Mayo, 6:30 p.m.

BLUE DIVISION

Wednesday, Dec. 28

Windom vs. Dodge County, 2:45 p.m.

Bloomington Kennedy vs. Albert Lea, 5:15 p.m.

Luverne vs. Lourdes, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 29

Windom vs. Albert Lea, 2:45 p.m.

Luverne vs. Dodge County, 5:15 p.m.

Bloomington Kennedy vs. Lourdes, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 30

Lourdes vs. Windom, 1:15 p.m.

Albert Lea vs. Luverne, 3:30 p.m.

Dodge County vs. Bloomington Kennedy, 5:45 p.m.