I can’t skate but I love junior hockey

My girlfriend, Amy Bell, and I drove a total of 115 miles on Saturday on a hockey-themed trip. First, we drove 30 miles rom my house in Stratford to Biolife in Rib Mountain so I could earn extra money donating plasma to fund our hockey excursion.

After I finished donating plasma, I drove to 19 miles from Rib Mountain to Merrill to use some of the money I earned donating plasma to purchase an almost new Wisconsin Badgers hockey jersey I found a woman was selling on Facebook Marketplace. Finally, I drove 66 miles from Merrill to the South Wood County Recreation Center in Wisconsin Rapids to watch the Wisconsin Riverkings hockey team play against the Hudson Havoc.

Initially, I thought about attending the Wausau Cyclones hockey game at Marathon Park. After all, Stratford native Brandon Aschenbrenner was the hockey game announcer on Saturday night for the Cyclone’s win against the St. Louis Jr. Blues.

I remembered from chatting with my former boss, Stratford native and Mosinee area resident Janet (Greenberg) Milhausen last winter that the Wisconsin Riverkings and Hudson Havoc play in the United States Premier Hockey League, which is one tier of the competition level above the Wausau Cyclones in the North American 2 Hockey League.

Janet is in charge of overseeing the calf feeding at Greenberg Farms in Stratford, where I fed calves in the mornings for four months last year to earn extra money before working my full-time job at the newspaper office in Abbotsford. Her son, Logan Millhausen, played hockey for Mosinee High School and he’s now a forward on the Hudson Havoc.

I certainly can’t ice skate myself, yet I find enjoyment in watching hockey games. Hockey is different than the other popular sports because following high school, hockey players skate for junior league teams in different tiers like the Wausau Cyclones and Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings.

If the hockey players play well on these junior teams, then college hockey program will take notice and offer them scholarships. This is very different than other popular sports, in which players go straight from graduating high school to playing for a college team.

I decided to see the Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings game, instead of seeing the Wausau Cyclones play, so I could finally see Logan play hockey for the Hudson Havoc. Now I need to see the Wausau Cyclones play. I can’t wait to watch more hockey!

View from cheap seats