Monroe Avalanche Bantam A (14 U) Wins State Championship

The Monroe Youth Hockey Bantam A team finished out their impressive season with a State Champion win March 5-7 at the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association (WAHA) Bantam Division 3A State Tournament. As with most everything this past year, the season started with a lot of questions and confusion. Because COVID altered when and how the high school season would be played, five freshman boys opted to stay with youth hockey for one more year; and what a year it has been! Monroe has been lucky enough to play an entire season of games, our rink remaining open, in part because of all the precautions put in place to allow games to be played on our home ice, Stateline Ice and Expo Center (SLICE), in Monroe. While unconventional for sure, our team was able to compete in 55 match-ups this season, with a record of 45-9-1. The team is ranked #18 in the state of Wisconsin in the 14U division, the highest ranked Division 3A Bantam team, and ranked above many Division 1 and 2 teams. The boys have come together as a team and were able to make the most of this unprecedented season.
The weekend started with a Friday night game, Monroe taking on Waupaca; after a slow start and giving up the first goal early in the matchup, Monroe came back and defeated the Waupaca team 4-2. This win placed the Avalanche in the winning bracket for the weekend and would have the team facing Lakeland in game 2. The game 2 matchup was a hard-fought battle, with Monroe coming out on top with a 6-3 win, moving them to the Championship Game on Sunday afternoon. Monroe ended up playing one of their most complete games on Sunday, and controlled the pace of game against Tomah throughout, ending up with the 5-1 victory and the first Bantam A State Championship trophy since 2005.
To top it off, the team got to experience the victory on home ice with the hometown fans cheering them on. While in-person attendance had to be limited, many spectators could watch, thanks to Tim Obert and his willingness to air the games live on YouTube.
Monroe Youth Hockey (MYHA) offers a hockey program for boys and girls in southern WI and northern IL area for kids as young as 4 years old in the Try Hockey/Mite program through age 14 (Bantam level). The kids can go on to play for the Monroe High School Co-op or Fury Hockey teams. This year's Bantam A championship team had two New Glarus students on the team, Patrick Alt and Carter Nemergut.