WIAA Girls Hockey State Tournament Preview
Wednesday, February 28th, 2018 -- 11:20 AM
Here's a preview of the 17th Girls Hockey State Tournament that will take place this Friday and Saturday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.Friday, March 2
Game-1:Eau Claire North Co-op (24-3) vs. D.C. Everest Co-op (19-8) - 10 a.m.
Game-2:Sun Prairie Co-op (20-6-1) vs. Fond du Lac Co-op (19-8) - 12:15 p.m.*
Saturday, March 3
Game-3: Championship Game - 12:10 p.m.
ON THE AIR: The finals of the boys and girls State Tournaments will be televised live on WKOW Madison, WAOW Wausau, WXOW La Crosse, WQOW Eau Claire, WYOW Eagle River, WMOW Crandon, WCWF in Green Bay/Fox Valley, KBJR Superior/Duluth and WMLW Milwaukee. The finals will also be streamed live on the State Television Network’s websites.
LAST YEAR: In the girls final, D.C. Everest/Mosinee/Wausau East/West/Co-op won its third championship by edging the Green Bay East/West/ Southwest/Preble/Ashwaubenon/Bay Port/De Pere/ Notre Dame/Pulaski/Seymour/West De Pere Co-op 2-1 in overtime.
TOURNAMENT TEAM HISTORY: The first girls tournament was held in 2002. The D.C. Everest and Mosinee co-op program has won three State crowns. Those came in 2008, 2012 and 2017. Hudson won the first two girls titles in 2002 and 2003, and one version of River Falls co-op won championships in 2010 and 2011. Another River Falls configuration of the co-op, with one additional school, skated to the title in 2009. One version of the Hayward co-op won the title in 2013 and another version, adding three additional schools, won in 2016.
THE GIRLS FIELD: The D.C. Everest/Marathon/ Merrill/Mosinee/Wausau East/Wausau West Co-op makes its first State appearance with this configuration of schools. The co-op, without Marathon and Merrill included, won the title last year. The Storm made 10 State appearances with two other State titles. The first came in 2008 followed by another in 2012. They also advanced to the championship game in 2011 and finished runner-up. The Storm defeated the Marshfield co-op 6-3 in the sectional final held at D.C. Everest to advance to the semifinals. The Sun Prairie/DeForest/Madison East/ Madison La Follette/Waunakee Co-op will make its second straight State appearance and its third overall. The Cougars lost in the semifinal in 2011 and again last year. This season, they skated to a 3-2 win over the Beloit Memorial co-op in the Middleton Sectional final held in Sun Prairie to earn its return to the tournament field. The Fond du Lac/Beaver Dam/Campbellsport/Dodgeland/ Kewaskum/Kohler/Oshkosh North/Oshkosh West/St. Mary's Springs/ Waupun/Wayland Academy Co-op will embark on its first State experience with this configuration of schools. Various other forms of the Fond du Lac co-op have advanced to State a number of times, which have produced two State titles and three runner-up finishes. The Warbirds appearance this season comes virtue of a 5-2 victory over University School in the Fond du Lac Sectional final. The Eau Claire North/Altoona/Fall Creek/Eau Claire Memorial Co-op will participate in the State tournament for the first time in program history. The Stars skated past Hudson 6-1 in the sectional final played in Hudson to begin celebrating its first State appearance.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.