Closing out our week-long focus on the Manitowoc Youth Hockey Association, we hear from a team that will be trying to earn a state title on their home ice.
The Bantam squad, coached by Jamie Dickrell is the oldest team in the MYHA. This level consists of players 13 and 14-years-old, and is the final level before players begin their high school careers.
Coach Dickrell’s squad automatically qualified for the state tournament on the merit of it being held in Manitowoc, but he says his team is good enough to have made it without the home ice advantage.
They may also have a chance to play their rival, which much like the Peewee B team, hails from Marinette.
“We have split against Marinette this year. We have had four very competitive games against them this year,” the Coach explained. “We will both be here at state together…which is great for both programs. We are both growing programs. Hopefully we do get a chance to face off with them at the State Tournament and we will see what that split is.”
Defenseman Peter Ciegler is in his final year at the youth level, and he said that it’s “pretty cool” to be playing at a state tournament in his final year in the program. He has been playing with the same group for the past six years, and has grown into a solid player. Coach Dickrell called him “Sneaky Pete” due to his ability to set up goals, and rack up assists. We asked teammate Benson Dickrell if he thinks they will do better than their 3rd place finish in Ashland last year.
“We are winning a bunch more games than last year. We are really improving,” Benson said. “Using out bodies being physical out there and scoring a lot of goals.”
Benson also said his offensive production has gone up since last season.
“Higher goals per game, higher assists per game this year,” he said. “We are producing as a team, and getting it done out there.”
In fact, Benson recently surpassed a season milestone, and was able to score 50 goals in less than 39 games. He told us that was his goal, because he wanted to achieve the feat faster than Wayne Gretzky did in the 1981-82 NHL season. Coach Dickrell also commented on the fact that all five eligible teams in the organization are competing at state this year, and the growth the sport of hockey has seen over the past decade.
“To go from when we started in the program with Benson as a Mite, I think we had maybe 60 kids in the program. Now we are at least double that, if not 130 some kids in the program,” Dickrell explained. “It’s been a growth path back to the scale we were before.”
If you want to watch the best Bantam hockey teams in Wisconsin compete, you can go to the Manitowoc County Expo Ice Center starting tomorrow, with the Championship game taking place on Sunday.
There is no entry fee, so there is no reason you can’t show some support for these young men who have worked so hard to show the state why Manitowoc is the next hockey powerhouse.
