The Blue Line Club sent off eight seniors from an impressive OHS boys hockey season at Sunday's banquet at the Owatonna Country Club.

One of the loudest ovations occurred when Owatonna boys hockey coach Josh Storm indicated that Owatonna had won the state AA academic championship with a 3.71 GPA. The night also served as a send-off for the seniors, which included a pair of four-year letter winners.

Blue-liners Sam Hylle and Kade Friedrichs joined a fairly small group of players in OHS boys hockey history who have earned four varsity letters. Storm said Hylle developed into a great on-ice leader. Friedrichs became an offensive force from the defensive corps, scoring 11 goals in his senior season. He hopes to play junior hockey.

Noah Scheid earned his third straight All Big Nine honor while surpassing the 100-point career milestone this season. Scheid had 26 goals and 23 assists this season to finish his career with 51 goals and 59 assists for 110 points, sixth-highest in OHS boys hockey history.

Trase Wencl leaves his mark on the program as a player who scored multiple game-winning, overtime goals. The biggest may have been the playoff winner at Mayo in 2014. He earned three varsity letters

Alec Holcomb also won three varsity letters. His big, physical presence on the ice forced opponents to think twice about attacking the puck, according to coach Storm. Holcomb ended his career with 53 points.

Nick Brown gave Owatonna some nice size and an imposing defensive player. Austin Medvec was a good third liner who didn't make mistakes. Joel Jandt was a positive presence on the team and also earned his varsity letter. Cienna Raden was a senior manager for the team.

Owatonna went 15-10-2 on the season, finishing third in the Big Nine Conference. Storm said the team got better as the season progressed. He was very happy with how much the penalty kill improved after a tough outing at Northfield. Owatonna ended the season at 85.9 percent on penalty kill. The Huskies had a strong 28.9 percent power play. Five players had 20 or more points. Goalie Ryan Johnson set the career shut-out record with six during his sophomore season.

Big Nine All Conference

  • Noah Scheid, senior
  • Kade Friedrichs, senior
  • Adam Rehman, junior
  • Ryan Johnson, sophomore
  • Tyler Wencl, sophomore

Big Nine Honorable Mention

  • Sam Hylle, senior
  • Alec Holcomb, senior

Big Nine Scholar Athletes

  • Sam Hylle
  • Alec Holcomb
  • Noah Scheid

Owatonna team awards

  • Hobey Baker character award: Kade Friedrichs
  • Patrick Arnfelt commitment to hockey award: Austin Medvec
  • Dudley Otto most improved award: Adam Rehman
  • Ken Wilcox team above self award: Kade Friedrichs
  • Ken Austin on-ice dedication award: Alec Holcomb
  • Lee Harra most valuable senior: Noah Scheid

Junior varsity coach Chris Goodew was impressed with how the team handled some adversity that included illness and injury. Owatonna closed the season on a winning streak and finished with a winning record. They beat some of the Rochester teams this winter.

 

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