Ontonagon Peewees Advance to U.P. District Finals

IRON RIVER, MI - Sunday, January 23, 2011 - Following success in the District 8 play downs in Iron River, MI the Ontonagon Peewee Hockey Team, sponsored by Norm Pestka Construction, will advance to the District 8 Finals to be held Feb 18-20 in Iron Mountain, MI.

The team comprised of players from Hurley, Wakefield, Ontonagon, Ewen and Twin Lakes has a wining record of 13-7-1 to date.

Head coach Frank Wardinski along with assistant coaches Jeff Rule and Brett Gustafson have risen to the challenge of taking a far flung group of young players, most who have never played check hockey before, to a point where they can compete and win against older and physically larger teams.

Special recognition must go to the four squirt age players who had the courage to move up to the peewee level to assure Ontonagon would have a peewee team. They are Hank Bailey, Ed Polakowski, Neil Bradley and Mason Gustafson. All have performed above expectations in the rough and tumble world of peewee hockey. Many squirt age players who can skate up and down the ice scoring at will at the squirt level fall short or just fade away at the peewee level. Not these boys.

A great group of committed parents is also a main ingredient to the success of this young hockey team. Having their 70-pounder bounced around by a 130 pound gorilla with a stick is not easy to watch and makes most parents opt for a less demanding sport for their little one. Not these parents.

Courage and commitment are alive and well in this Ontonagon based team and the future looks to be filled with success. Support your local hockey team. There is no better sport to build youth into responsible adults who consistently give back.