Junior Oilers aim for goals and Buckeye Cup appearance
The Wooster Junior Oilers hockey team is skating through the middle of their season in hopes of qualifying for the Buckeye Cup State Championship.
Comprised of not only WHS students, but students from all around Northeast Ohio, the Wooster Junior Oilers play in the North Coast High School Hockey League with eight other teams in Northeast Ohio.
“Since it’s a club team, players don’t have to go to Wooster High School,” Patrick Saline (12), a player for the Junior Oilers, said.
The team’s current league record is 7-5, with six more games to play. In addition to the six remaining league games, the Junior Oilers are playing in two tournaments.
“We’re going to win them both,” Saline said.
Although the Junior Oilers have more wins than losses, Ben Kubiak (12), captain of the Junior Oilers, expressed how the season only gets harder.
“I think we have the tougher part of the schedule coming up, but we will definitely go above .500,” Kubiak said.
Earlier in the season, the Junior Oilers won the Chiller Thanksgiving Classic for the third year in a row; however, their overall goal is to qualify for the Buckeye Cup, the state championship tournament.
“Our goals this season are: do well, play as a team and mainly toward the end, go to the Buckeye Cup,” Bradley Huffman (12), a player for the Junior Oilers, said.
The Junior Oilers prepare for games with practices two days a week and training at Healthpoint, according to Saline.
Conditioning is an important part of the team’s training.
“Teams that are in shape win more games and do better than teams that are not,” Saline said.
The Junior Oilers are coached by Jim Murphy, and next two games are at home against Fairview on Saturday and Medina on Sunday at the Alice Noble Ice Arena.