Germantown Co-op hockey team coach Al Haga has done something that every magician would be envious of.
He's managed to pull a rabbit out of six different hats (schools) and even gotten kids at Germantown High School to return their tickets for the popular Turnabout Dance on Saturday night just so they can go to the WIAA sectional final the Ice Bears will be involved in at The Ponds of Brookfield at 8 p.m. that night against University School.
Germantown earned the berth with a stunning 2-0 sectional semifinal win over top-seeded Hartland Arrowhead on Tuesday night. In doing so, the Ice Bears and their vigorous supporters almost turned Arrowhead's celebrated Mullett Ice Center into a home away from home.
"We had a great turnout," said Haga, who's from Sussex. "The place was pretty close to full and I think we had it about 50/50. Arrowhead had a basketball game that night so the pep band was there. It was noisy, loud and fun. Almost like a college atmosphere."
If successful Saturday, the Ice Bears, who include players from Germantown, Menomonee Falls, Sussex Hamilton, West Bend East and West and Slinger would earn their first WIAA State Tournament berth ever and would also make believers out of all those who ranked the underclassmen-dominated unit 51st in the state when the winter began.
"No, this is way beyond my wildest dreams," said Haga. "We had lost to Arrowhead 3-0 (earlier this winter) but we just continued to believe."
The Ice Bears (16-6-1) are the lowest seeded team left in the WIAA tournament. They entered the sectional as the fifth seed and almost every other sectional final in the state is filled with first or second seeds.
"I think we're up to 31st (in the state power rankings)," Haga said, "but that's amazing considering we have 12 freshmen or sophomores logging serious minutes."
The team is based out of Germantown and key Warhawk players like center Garrett Bassler, goalie Johnny Peret and forward Dillon Driscoll have been both instrumental in the team's success as well as their popularity.
"Those kids I know have been encouraging people to buy tickets for the games," Haga said.
Warhawk Athletic Director Jack Klebesadel agrees.
"We've had a good following from the school," he said. "I mean this is six different schools coming together for one team, but they've put in an amazing effort and created an amazing following."
From Menomonee Falls, forward Carter Ypma and defenseman Chad Solomon are also regular contributors.
"It's not as heavily publicized here," Indian Athletic Director Dave Petroff said, "but there is a bit of a buzz."
Which was probably carved out of an effort last summer by Haga and his staff to bond the unit.
"We had a five-day camp at MSOE," he said. "We'd spend an hour-and-a-half each day on the ice and an equal amount of time in the classroom. Part of each classroom session was a team-building exercise and we mixed the kids up into various groups. It didn't matter if you'd been with the team one, two, three or four years. Everyone was with someone new. We forced the issue that you're part of this organization now. Everything we talked about had a big component of 'team' involved."
And that's what has helped make the Ice Bears so cohesive down the stretch, a run that has included 10 wins in their last 11 games. They won the regional final against Waupun on a goal with just eight seconds left before pulling off the Arrowhead upset. Haga thinks big early games against the likes of North Shore champion Cedarburg have also helped the team coalesce and get used to pressure.
"That Cedarburg game we had something like 500 people there (to see a close loss)," he said, "and we had a lot of kids who were saying their knees were knocking. Now they have a little more experience with something like that."
But now, it's time for the coach to feel a little pressure as staring across the ice at him will be his former employer as he was an assistant and junior varsity coach for USM headman Cal Roadhouse last season.
"And he's a good friend of mine too," Haga said."That just adds another twist to the final."
A final that's skating its way to a very happy ending.
