Spartans Boys Hockey Preparing for 38th State Tournament Appearance in Program History

The state semifinal between Lakeland and Superior is set for Thursday at the Spooner Civic Center with puck drop set for 7:00 p.m. 

SUPERIOR, Wis. – In 2005, the Superior boys hockey team got a dramatic comeback win in overtime to win the state championship. Fast forward 16 years later to Friday night, the Spartans did it again, this time to officially punch their ticket to the state tournament.

“Definitely one of the top three [moments], I’ll remember that forever,” senior defenseman Gavin Tetzlaff said.

Wins like Friday night make the Spartans feel confident going into Thursday’s state semifinal.

“The whole third period, I mean even the whole game we believed in them and they knew that they felt like they had enough,” head coach Jason Kalin said.

“You just have got to keep on going, never give up until the final buzzer and that’s the perfect example of that on Friday night,” Tetzlaff added.

The Spartans had a later start to the season and didn’t play a full schedule, but feel like they’re peaking at the right time.

“We’re in midseason form and to be able to beat a good team like Rice Lake who had a full schedule. Super happy that the kids kind of took it upon themselves to make sure that they elevated their game at the right time,” Kalin said.

“I think that’s probably the best thing we’re doing right now is giving 100 percent effort,” senior forward Drew Scharte added.

Now the Spartans are the No. 2 seed and will battle No. 3 seed Lakeland.

“We’re just going to try to stick to our system. I think we’re a little bit deeper than them, we’ve been running four lines all year long, five to six D,” Kalin said.

“They’re fast, they’re not that physical but they can move the puck so we just have to capitalize on our size,” Tetzlaff added.

As they prepare for their 38th state appearance and first since 2015, these Spartans feel like they’ve taken another step forward as a program and are ready to make one last mark.

“It’s what we dreamed of our whole life is going to state and winning it,” Scharte said.

“Hopefully we can do something this year, that’d be pretty sweet if me and my brother both won it,” Tetzlaff added.

The state semifinal between Lakeland and Superior is set for Thursday at the Spooner Civic Center with puck drop set for 7:00 p.m.