Friday, March 1, 2013
The WNS Storm co-op hockey team lost 2-1 to Eau Claire Memorial in a quarterfinal game Thursday night.
After qualifying for the state tournament for the first time in WNS hockey history, the Whitefish Bay-Nicolet-Shorewood co-op hockey team's season finally came to an end after a bittersweet loss in the first round of the state tournament Thursday night. The Storm (22-5-1) lost 2-1 to Eau Claire Memorial (21-6-1) in a quarterfinal game at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. Eau Claire's Charlie Graaskamp scored the first goal 4:06 into the second quarter. Thomas Aiken evened it up 8:30 in the second quarter. Eau Claire's Jacob Bresser scored the winning goal 1:16 into the third quarter. In the locker room after the game, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that Balkovec told his team that he loved them and was proud of their historic …
Thursday, February 28, 2013
The head coach of the WNS Storm hockey team received top state honors the day before the team's first state tournament game.
After coaching the WNS Storm co-op hockey team to its first-ever state tournament, Maco Balkovec was named coach of the year by the Wisconsin Hockey Coaches Association. Balkovec received the Bob Johnson Memorial Coach of the Year award at a state tournament banquet in Madison Wednesday night. On Thursday, the WNS Storm — a co-op hockey team made up of athletes from Whitefish Bay, Nicolet and Shorewood high schools — plays its first state tournament game against Eau Claire Memorial. Balkovec has coached WNS Storm and taught at Whitefish Bay High School for four years. In an email earlier this week, Balkovec said the team's key to success has been unity and teamwork, or as they call it, "The Brotherhood." "The key was to get enough young …
Monday, February 25, 2013
The co-op hockey team upset two higher-ranked teams to qualify for their first-ever state tournament in Madison this weekend.
The WNS Storm hockey team's hard work and determination paid off Saturday night, when a victory over the Waukesha Wings sent the team to its first state tournament in program history. The fourth-seeded Storm upset the second-seeded Waukesha co-op team 4-3 at the Nagawaukee Ice Center in Delafield Saturday night, improving the team's record to 22-4-1. The Storm qualified for the sectional finals game after a 3-2 victory over first-seeded Kettle Moraine Tuesday night. With the win, the North Shore co-op team advances to a quarterfinal game against Eau Claire Memorial (20-6-1) at 6 p.m. Thursday in Madison. The winner of that game will advance to the state semifinals Friday to play either Superior (18-7-1) or Fond du Lac (22-3-2). After four …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
WNS Storm are ranked fourth in their sectional and are undefeated in the conference.
It’s often said that you can forget about win-loss records when it comes to rivalry games. That held true when the WNS (Whitefish Bay-Nicolet-Shorewood) Storm battled with conference rival Homestead Highlanders on Saturday night’s finale of the North Shore Conference tournament. The Highlanders, who have endured an up-and-down season, would give life to the notion of an upset when they scored early on a shot that deflected off a body and found its way past Storm goalie Sean Leahy. But the lead would quickly evaporate as WNS capitalized on the first of its five power play goals on a give-and-go from Drew Kneisel to Djordje Torbica. The Storm would take a 2-1 lead just minutes later when Torbica connected with Andy Krugler behind the …
Friday, February 1, 2013
The Storm's first conference title comes after a big win over Cedarburg Tuesday and a 6-0 win over Germantown Thursday night.
With a 6-0 win over Germantown, the WNS Storm hockey team won its first-ever North Shore Conference crown. Storm Coach Maco Balkovec said the team came out of the gates strong with a perfectly executed faceoff play, with senior Djordje Torbica scoring on a breakout pass from senior Thomas Aiken and senior Andy Keith. Torbica went on to score three more goals, and senior Drew Kneisel scored another two. "Drew Kneisel has really elevated his game this week to a place that shows what he's capable of," Balkovec said. Balcovec also said junior goaltender Sean Leahy, who tallied 24 saves last night, continues to play strong for the Storm. "Sean Leahy is really on and playing like we know he can," Balkovec said. "When he's focused he's really …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
With a shutout win against Cedarburg Tuesday night, WNS Storm now has a commanding two-game lead in the North Shore Conference standings.
Sean Leahy and Tyler Jansen put on a goaltending clinic at the Ozaukee Ice Center Tuesday night, but it would be Leahy's WNS Storm who would skate off with a 2-0 shutout victory over the Cedarburg Bulldogs. Andy Keith's power play goal just 4-1/2 minutes into the first period would turn out to be the winner for WNS Storm, which now enjoys a commanding two-game lead in the North Shore Conference standings. The WNS Storm is a co-op hockey team made up of athletes from Whitefish Bay, Nicolet and Shorewood high schools. The Bulldogs appeared to gain momentum late in the first period and peppered Leahy with a salvo of shots from close range over a two-minute span - all spurned by the Storm netminder. The second period turned more physical and …
Monday, November 19, 2012
The Whitefish Bay/Shorewood/Nicolet co-op hockey team defeated Grafton/Port Washington 11-1 on Saturday night.
The Whitefish Bay/Shorewood/Nicolet co-op hockey team — known as the WNS Storm — had no problems handling the Grafton/Port Washington co-op on Saturday. While the 11 goals in the 11-1 victory didn't actually happen in 43 seconds, we've got them condensed into a highlight package here, thanks to the WNS video crew. The Storm is a veteran team with nine seniors, and has at least four representatives from each of its three member high schools.
