WHS boys hockey team looking to compete

• Christopherson coaches

Worthingon boys’ hockey coach Pat Christopherson instructs his team during practice. With less than 15 skaters and six new team members, the Trojans are looking to compete this season after winning just one game last year.

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WORTHINGTON — The Worthington boys’ hockey team may not look the best on paper, but it’s still certain it will see improvements from last season.

The Trojans, who won one game last season, are a young team with only 12 skaters and two goalies — head coach Pat Christopherson said most coaches wouldn’t be comfortable having a varsity roster with less than 15 skaters — and six new team members.

But on the plus side, Christopherson feels his team is more talented than last year, and the players think they are more improved now than they were at this time last season.

“The guys are looking real good,” senior captain Ethan Stofferan said. “The experience we got last year was really helpful and we’re really starting to put things together. We’ve really improved from where we were last year at this point to where we are now.”

The biggest improvement from last season, Christopherson said, is speed. Both Stofferan and Levi Leach, the team’s two centers, became quicker over the offseason and newcomer Alex Kremer also brings a lot of speed to the team.

For a team that lacked speed last year, these players improvements are warmly welcomed.

But the biggest strength Worthington has entering the season is that both Stofferan and Jacob Molden are able to play on the team.

Over the off-season, the Iowa High School Athletic Association wasn’t going to allow these Iowa residents to pair up with Worthington to compete. However, after some discussions, it was decided they could join the team for their final years of eligibility.

“We would’ve lost those two kids and we’re really glad to have them both skating with us this year,” Christopherson said. “It was almost to the point where it might have not been even worth having a season this year because we would’ve been down to nine or 10 skaters and those two guys are so important to our success.”

But the biggest concern for the Trojans is their lack of depth. With a small roster, the skaters are going to need a higher endurance level than last year.

The team has dedicated the first part of its practices to purely skating. No pucks. No sticks. Just skating laps to build up everyone’s stamina.

“At some point we’re probably going to have to cut back on the endurance part of practice just because we have to save their legs for the season,” Christopherson said. “Eventually we’re just going to have to hope they’re in good enough shape for a game because it’s going to be a long season.”

The coaches will also have to hope that none of their players run into any academic trouble, illness, work conflicts or plan any vacations because all of that will leave Worthington even more shorthanded than it already is.

For the opening game in Sioux Center today, the Trojans will already be down one skater.

For Saturday’s home opener at 3 p.m. against Mankato East, the Trojans could very well be short two players.

Stofferan said he’s not concerned about the lack of a bench because during his bantam year — of which several other team members were a part of — there were only nine skaters on the team. He said they’re used to seeing a lot of time on the ice and once they get their endurance up to par, they should be fine.

The Trojans will see how they perform today as they open up their season against the only team they beat last year.

However, Christopherson understands his team’s potential and, although he thinks they will be better than they were last year, he knows the program is a work in progress.

“This is probably five years we’re going to have to commit before we start seeing real results from top to bottom in the whole program,” Christopherson said. “Right now our biggest goal is just to be more competitive than we were last year. And I think we are capable of doing that.”

Tags: sports, whs, worthington, prep, hockey, boys