High School Hockey Focus: Dodge County boys 'Stick It To Cancer'

Dec. 23—KASSON — For more than a decade, the Dodge County boys hockey program, parents of players and other volunteers from the Byron, Kasson and Mantorville communities have made the season about more than just hockey.

That was evident again last Saturday, Dec. 17, when the Wildcats held their annual Stick It To Cancer Day, to raise funds for the Eagles Cancer Telethon. The 69th annual telethon will be held on Jan. 14-15, 2023, at the Mayo Civic Center, with all proceeds going toward cancer research. According to its website, throughout its history, the telethon has generated more than $17 million for cancer research.

The Dodge County boys hockey team has been a part of that for the past 11 years, often raising $4,000 or more to donate. The team's online pledge drive this winter has accumulated 34 donations for close to $2,100.

The Wildcats' biggest fundraiser occurred last Saturday, when the team faced Roseville at the Dodge County Ice Arena in Kasson. The Stick It To Cancer Day included a silent auction, an oversized hockey stick in which fans in attendance could drop free-will cash donations, and a sale of luminaria bags for $5 each.

Between the junior varsity and varsity games, the players from both teams all held luminara candles and formed the shape of a cancer ribbon on the ice.

"That's what it comes back to for us," first-year Dodge County co-head coach Bryce Wilcox said. "It comes back to community and building a program from the community. Having something like Cancer Night and having Youth Hockey Night, Teacher Appreciation Night, those things are really important because we want and need the support from the community, and we want to be able to help out the community."

Wilcox and his brother Andrew took over as head coaches after last season, when Nick Worden stepped down. Bryce Wilcox, who served as an assistant coach with the team prior to becoming a co-head coach, said the transition has been mostly smooth.

"We've been around the game a long time, so it's ... the work behind the scenes is more overwhelming than the actual coaching piece," he said. "Honestly we both just love working with the kids and trying to teach them things that we've picked up through the years when we played in juniors or college. Seeing the guys build on that is really exciting to see."

The top performances by southeastern Minnesota players over the past two weeks:

BOYS

3. Jonah Ottman, Sr. D, Century: Ottman averages a point per game from the blue line so far this season for the 5-2-0 Panthers. He collected more than half those points — a goal and three assists — in Century's dominant 9-2 win at fellow Big Nine Conference title hopeful Albert Lea on Dec. 8. Tuesday, Ottman had two assists as Century beat rival John Marshall 7-2.

2. Wyatt Farrell, Jr. F, La Crescent-Hokah: The state's leading goal-scorer is a big reason why the Lancers are off to a 7-3-0 start. Farrell has scored 24 goals and is averaging a whopping 3.2 points per game this season.

1. Nick Weick, Sr. G, Mayo: Since Mayo surrendered 15 goals to a pair of top-10 ranked teams to open the season, Weick's numbers have been superb. He is 3-0-1 with a .934 save percentage and a 1.97 goals-against average. It's no coincidence Mayo is unbeaten in its past five games.

Honorable Mention: Teis Larsen, Sr. F, Winona; Brett Ludvigsen, So. F, Dodge County; Colton Rich, So. C, Lourdes; Cohen Ruskell, Sr. F, Mayo; Cody Vlasaty, Sr. G, John Marshall.

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3. Sarah Wangen, F/D, Austin: The Packers' senior has been outstanding this season, scoring 12 of Austin's 18 goals and leading the team with 15 points. She recorded her second hat trick of the season — and had an assist — in the Packers first win of the year, a 5-4 victory against Mankato West, on Dec. 17.

2. Grace Kober, G, Mayo: Kober's save percentage — an excellent .933 — tells the story of her season more than her won-loss record (2-4-0). She made 48 saves and was the best player on the ice in a 2-1 OT loss to Century/JM on Dec. 13, then made 44 saves a week later in a loss to Coulee Region.

1. Nora Carstensen, F, Dodge County: Consistent. Dynamic. Skilled. Pick a superlative and you can't go wrong when describing Carstensen's play this season for the No. 6-ranked Wildcats (10-2-0 overall). Just a sophomore, she has produced at least one point in every game this season and leads the team with 14 goals (including six power-play goals). Carstensen had her first hat trick of the season, and an assist, in a 9-1 win at Northern Tier on Dec. 16.

Honorable Mention: Aliya Gricius, G, Winona; Maysie Koch, F, Dodge County; Abigail Conners, G, Century/JM.

BOYS

—Mayo vs. Fargo (N.D.) South, 5:30 p.m., Thursday: A rematch of last year's Kiwanis Festival Gold Division championship game will take place on Day 2 of this year's Kiwanis Festival, which has gone to a hybrid round-robin format. Mayo and South split two games at last year's Festival, Mayo winning a back-and-forth, hard-hitting 6-4 game in the tournament final. South is off to a great start this year, bringing a 7-1-0 record to the Festival. Mayo is 4-2-1 and unbeaten in its past five.

—Century vs. East Ridge, 3 p.m., Thursday: Day 2 of the Kiwanis Festival will open with an intriguing matchup. Century is 5-2-0 and has won five consecutive games after opening the season with a pair of one-goal losses. East Ridge is 1-4-0, but it has faced a challenging schedule so far, including matchups against top-10 Class AA teams Cretin-Derham Hall and Stillwater.

—Lourdes vs. Luverne, 7:45 p.m., Wednesday: A rematch of a game that was played on Dec. 17 at Graham Arena, will take place on Day 1 of the Kiwanis Festival. Luverne beat Lourdes 8-0 a week ago in a game in which everything that could go wrong for Lourdes, did. The Eagles lost top-line center Jack Roe, possibly for the season, due to a lower-body injury. Luverne scored five of its eight goals short-handed. Both teams also took a major penalty in the game, and two miscondcuts were called.

GIRLS

—Dodge County vs. Mounds View/Irondale, 6:30 p.m., Monday: The No. 6-ranked Dodge County Wildcats have traditionally played a challenging schedule. This season is no exception, and they'll be put to the test with three games in three days this week at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine. That stretch starts Monday with a game against Mounds View/Irondale.

—Waseca at Century/JM, 7:30 p.m., Wednesday: Century/John Marshall starts a stretch of three games in three days with this matchup, in which it will attempt to snap a two-game losing skid. In a schedule quirk, the Panthers (5-7-0) will play the Blue Jays (4-4-0) twice in three days, as they'll play at Waseca on Friday.

(From Dec. 16-23)

HAT TRICKS/4-PLUS POINT GAMES

—Sarah Wangen, Austin: 3 goals, 1 assist in 5-4 win vs. Mankato West on Dec. 17.

SHUTOUTS/40-SAVE GAMES

—Aliya Gricius, Winona: 54 saves in 7-1 loss to Mankato East on Dec. 16.

—Abigail Conners, Century/JM: 52 saves in 5-2 loss at Hastings on Dec. 20.

—Grace Kober, Mayo: 44 saves in 4-1 loss to Coulee Region on Dec. 20.

—Aliya Gricius, Winona: 43 saves in 4-1 loss to Red Wing on Dec. 17.

—Abigail Conners, Century/JM: 40 saves in 9-1 loss to Hopkins/SLP on Dec. 17.

(From Dec. 16-23)

HAT TRICKS/4-PLUS POINT GAMES

—T.J. Gibson, Century: 2 goals, 3 assists in 7-2 win at John Marshall on Dec. 20.

—Aiden Emerich, Century: 3 goals in 7-2 win at John Marshall on Dec. 20.

—Wyatt Farrell, La Crescent-Hokah: 3 goals in 5-4 loss to Winona on Dec. 20.

SHUTOUTS/40-SAVE GAMES

—Cole Rocholl, Century: 17 saves in 6-0 win vs. Mankato West on Dec. 16.

—Ellis Petersmeyer, Red Wing: 51 saves in 4-4 tie vs. Winona on Dec. 17.

—Michael Dubek, Winona: 48 saves in 4-4 tie vs. Red Wing on Dec. 17.

—Ben Flaaen, Red Wing: 47 saves in 6-1 loss at Lourdes on Dec. 20.

—Xander Carter-Kleven, Lourdes: 41 saves in 8-0 loss to Luverne on Dec. 17.