March 8, 2021 at 7:55 a.m.
Kate Vizanko named Northern Edge MVP
Kate Vizanko named Northern Edge MVP
Lakeland senior Kate Vizanko took home MVP honors Thursday night as the Rhinelander/Antigo/Lakeland co-op put a bow on its season with a banquet held in the Rhinelander High School commons.
Vizanko was one of five players honored with a team award during the banquet. Her linemate, Izzy Boyer, took home the team's playmaker award. Caitlyn Fesnick won the Blue Line Award as the team's top defender, Maddi Roeser won the most improved player award and Mackenzie Wissbroecker earned the team's Ms. Hustle Award.
Vizanko, who also earned the team's high scorer award, finished with a team-high 19 points this season on 10 goals and nine assists. She finished just ahead of Boyer and Callie Johnson, her linemates and fellow Lakeland seniors who each had 18 points.
"When she hits the net, she's got a heck of a shot," Northern Edge coach Tom Roeser told the small crowd of players and parents during Thursday's banquet. "When she doesn't hit the net, it's still a hard shot, but when it does hit the net, she usually puts it home. We're going to miss her speed, attitude, the way she attacks the puck, the way she puts pucks in the net."
Boyer was tied for the team lead with 12 assists this season, to go along with six goals. That objective criteria was used to give Boyer the playmaker award.
"A lot of it is about what she does when she doesn't have the puck. She's great at setting other people up and always knows where to be," coach Roeser said. "She's very loud, very vocal and always has something to say about our task at hand. If you're going to have a coach that can play on the ice, she's the one. She's always working as hard as she can, scoring, creating opportunities. A lot of her goals are in the blue area down by the goal, because that's where she's digging. She's so fierce down there. We're going to miss her."
Fesnick, a sophomore from Lakeland, had only one goal and two assists this season, but she anchored the Northern Edge's young core of defenders.
"We've got a bunch of girls in the sophomore class that are very versatile," coach Roeser said. "I struggle playing her at defense because I want her on offense so bad. It's a good problem to have. She's always helping the team up and down the ice, skates hard both ways. She's a two-way player, which is a big deal."
Coach Roeser said several players were under consideration for the most improved player award, and it took an email from another member of the coaching staff to convince him to present the award to his daughter, Maddi, a sophomore from Rhinelander.
Maddi Roeser tied for fourth on the team with six points (3 goals, 3 assists) this season and was Rhinelander's captain within the co-op.
"Maddi worked hard all season," Tom Roeser said. "I know it's hard being the coach's kid. It's not fun. This year she was also a sophomore captain. We're very lean on juniors, we had none, so in Rhinelander, we had to go to a sophomore captain. She did a great job with positive leadership. She's got two more years that she needs to continue that."
Wissbroecker, a freshman from Antigo, earned the Ms. Hustle award. She finished with two goals and two assists on the season.
"This year is probably one of the hardest years to figure out who should get it," coach Roeser said. "We have a lot of girls that really work hard every time they're on the ice. But, from what she does, from up one end to down the other, I think Mackenzie really works hard every shift."
The Northern Edge went 4-13-0 this season, with three of those victories coming against Medford. The team was young and inexperienced at goaltender this year, with three underclassmen - Ellie Stank, Kristina Kunelius and Hannah Mueller - seeing action at points during the season.
Coach Roeser said it will be imperative for everyone on the team to up their game during the offseason, and attempt to bring some more skaters to the game.
"Goalie is super important. Leadership is also important," he said. "We had three captains here tonight and, honestly, we could have had more. Next year, we're going to need some girls to step up. That means (working) through the summer, weightlifting, shooting pucks.
"It's a big year for losing talent. We're losing seven seniors this year and there will be no seniors next year. The year after that, we're going to be losing seven more, unless we pick up more girls. Talk to people, get them to play. It's a big deal for our program, sustaining numbers. Get girls to play hockey. We're really struggling with numbers."
Roeser also commended his team for its efforts wearing masks and staying healthy as the team played through the COVID-19 pandemic. The team had to pause activities in late December for two weeks, following a positive COVID case on the team. Roeser stated during the banquet that he was the positive case.
"That day I got sick, I was standing over all of you on that bench and none of you got sick," he said, referencing a game at Hayward Dec. 19 right before the team was forced to pause. "It shows that you are using your head and wearing your masks. I'm proud of you making it through the season and I'm sorry about taking two weeks of it away from you."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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