We continue our highlight of local hockey with another team that has to wait another week to compete for a trophy.
The Manitowoc Youth Hockey’s Peewee B team is coached by Jason Suchomel, but we spoke with assistant coach Domingo Flores, who said the coaching staff has been focusing on the fundamentals this year “…and also integrated an off-ice program that we utilize. Monday nights they come in and do off-ice work with one of the coaches to build endurance and those types of things.”
In their “playdown game” to advance to the state tournament, Flores said they faced off against Marinette.
“Marinette is who I would consider our arch-nemesis in the region,” Flores explained. “Last year, they knocked out…in playdowns. This year we came back and defeated them, and really controlled the game from beginning to end.”
J.J. Sweeney is a young man who improved his skills over the past year and was able to join the B team after playing on the C squad last season. While he may be one of the shorter players on the ice, he said that he is able to use his speed to be effective.
“I guess to me, I have always been one of the faster kids, but knowing that it just gets more physical and more difficult to figure out because they are getting taller and I am staying at my height,” he said. “But I’m still one of the faster kids and can just beat everyone.”
Goalie Collin Gamble told us he has learned the importance of being vocal on the ice and letting his teammates know what is going on around them.
“A lot of times you have to talk to them, make sure they are in the right spot,” he explained. “Then, hope they can stop it before it gets to you, but if not, you make a save.”
Coach Flores says that his team has been working very hard all year to improve, and that is why he believes they were able to secure their spot in the state tournament. They will compete next weekend in Altoona, which is located on the western side of the state.
