One of New Ulm’s favorite sports seasons is underway! The Boys hockey team is preparing to take on the new season with the tough teams in their section.  We interviewed a few of the players on the varsity team and when we asked them what their goal for the season was, it was to return to the state tournament once again.  Senior Jack Fairbairn said, “It feels good being a leader on the team and hopefully getting us to the state tournament this year and making the fans proud.” Everyone we interviewed mentioned going to the state tournament, which may be a realistic goal for the team this year.

Although the team is looking fairly decent this early in the season, there will always be things the team needs to work on. “Playing as a team and coming to the rink ready to go,” was senior Nick Banal’s response. Senior Sam Berg stated that the team really needs to work on quick puck movement – “That’s what brings the whole team together during a game.”

The team’s daily two hour practices may help the team be successful, but the fans benefit the team too. Jack Fairbairn said that “we are especially thankful to our fans for cheering us on; it really gets us pumped up and it shows that they really care about what we do.” Nick Banal added, “It pushes the team to do better when they are at our games.”

As the Eagles prepare for the rest of their season, the boys are mostly looking forward to the home game against Luverne on January 4th. In the past, the Luverne game has brought a huge crowd that packs the stands. All three seniors that we interviewed mentioned the rivalry between the New Ulm Eagles and the Luverne Cardinals. Nick Banal said, “They’re an aggressive hockey team, but they can sometimes get too aggressive.” The team will be looking forward to seeing all the fans support throughout the rest of the season.