March 15, 2019 at 4:00 p.m.
Flory, Wisner win Hodag hockey's Al Baker Award
Flory, Wisner win Hodag hockey's Al Baker Award
Five seniors were honored with team awards, but the highest honor was left for team captains Bridger Flory and Freddy Wisner, who shared the Alfred O. Baker Award as the team's most outstanding seniors.
The two were honored during the team's year-end banquet at Holiday Acres Resort.
It marked only the fourth time in 30 years that two players shared the award established in the memory of Baker, who was the Hodags' head coach from 1949-1961. The last tie was in 2016 when Kurt Zuiker and Brett Estabrook shared the award.
Coach M.J. Laggis said Flory and Wisner led a senior class that helped transform the Hodag hockey team following some lean years earlier this decade.
"This group with the seniors, and I'm including all these guys, they're a part of having a really nice winning record their junior and senior year and I'm really proud of what they brought to our team and to the locker," he said of a group that won 31 games between their junior and senior seasons.
Individually, Flory recorded eight goals and six assists on the season, while Wisner finished with seven goals and eight assists.
"I've been so lucky I've been able to coach him in cross country and coach him in hockey," Laggis said of Flory, who was a state qualifier in cross country. "If you can find a guy with that body type who's that ferocious, where? He brings it every single day. He loves the game of hockey and we all love him. In the locker room, he's been a guy that's just a mentor. He's been a great example."
Regarding Wisner, Laggis said, "He is without a doubt one of the funnest kids I've had in the locker room. He always has something to say and just a great twist on stuff. He's really grown as a leader the last couple of years. This year, the thing that jumped out me about Freddy is when he got vocal and when he offered things that we needed to do and then went out and played his best hockey."
Not to be outdone, two other Hodag seniors walked away with a different Baker Award. Sam Tjugum and Hunter Hicks both received the Hobey Baker Character Award, which is given out to exemplary senior boys' and girls' hockey players statewide.
"It's probably one of the coolest awards in high school hockey," Laggis said. "You can take all the player of the year and goal-scoring stuff and the great goalie, all those awards - and they're really cool - but the Hobey Baker really go to guys who deserve it. It's a character award."
Hicks also received the team's hustle award while senior Brandon Kolasa received the Blue Line Award as the team's best defenseman. All the team awards were voted on by the coaching staff.
Hicks tallied eight goals on the season - including five during a three-game stretch in the middle of January as the Hodags knocked off Antigo, Medford and East/Merrill in succession.
"This is a guy who told me at the beginning of the year he was committed to having the best season that he could and he worked his butt off day in and day off," Laggis said.
Kolasa, a forward for most of his high school career, made the switch to defense easier in the season and finished with two goals and three assists.
"The thing about Brandon is his unselfish(ness) and willingness to go back there and battle. There were games he played phenomenal. There were games he made mistakes, no doubt about it," Laggis said. "But, giving it to a senior who stood up at the beginning of the season when we were hurtin' for certain at D and looking for someone who would step up and do it. Him jumping into that role was unbelievable and we were proud of him for doing that."
Conor Pequet was voted the team's most valuable player, Harlan Wojtusik received the Hodag Award, Max Spaulding was voted the team's most improved player and Abe Laggis won the team's playmaker award.
Pequet scored a team-high 18 goals this season and the team was 9-2-0 when he scored a goal.
"When he was going, we were going," Laggis said. "He scored a lot of big goals. When you're in the right spot all the time and have the puck on your stick, that's not an accident. That's him being a goal scorer and being in the right spot."
Wojtusik scored 10 goals and had 16 assists on the season and came through in the clutch, coach Laggis said.
"The way he back checked at big moments, and the way he played in big situations late in games really won us over," he said.
Spaulding finished the year with five goals - three of which came during the Hodags' final three games. Abe Laggis earned the playmaker award as the team's leader in assists, with 23 on the season.
Rhinelander went 15-9-0 on the season and tied for third in the Great Northern Conference before falling to Stevens Point in the WIAA regional finals.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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