Wisconsin privates

[Hilltopper99]

Just because there's always so much talk / argument about private v. public in Minnesota, I just thought it was interesting to note that private schools in Wisconsin, specifically in the Milwaukee area, are having to co-op to even field teams. They just can't get hockey players to attend their schools in any suitable numbers. Two teams (14-9, 15-7 last season) are joining forces this year. What do you say? Hill co-ops with Cretin and HA with STA?

[HShockeywatcher]

I don't know much about out of state hockey (some might say in state hockey too ) but from what I've learned most states aside from MN don't have the draw to have hockey in the high schools, instead they have other teams like prep schools and AAA. WI is a little different as they are right up here with us and hockey is popular, they just happen to not be as good at playing it as us.

That being said, there are plenty of private schools that either don't have teams, have teams that are up and coming or do have to co-op now to have a team.
-Concordia Academy-Roseville/St Agnes/St Bernard's/St Croix Lutheran make up the St Paul Saints.
-St John's Prep is part of a co-op.
-Prov. Academy/Heritage Christian Academy/West Lutheran make up the Providence Academy team.
-Fairbault has Bethlehem Academy and MN State Acac. for the Deaf co-oped with them.
-New Ulm has Minnesota Valley Lutheran and New Ulm Cathedral co-oped with them.
-Rochester Lourdes co-ops with Chatfield and Stewartville.
-St Paul Acedemy co-ops with Summit School and Mounds Park Academy.
-Winona co-ops with Hope Lutheran, Saint Charles and Winona Cotter.

These are taken right from minnhock.com; it would be silly to have two city private schools co-op simply to do it. It makes less kids able to play. One of the main reasons to co-op is to make it so a school who otherwise would not have a team is able to field one. It might surprise some to know that there are more schools in MN who graduate less than 100 students each year than there are who graduate more than 100 students. Knowing this, any small school with any draw to a new sport may require a co-op. This happens in many other sports as well.

[karl(east)]

HShockeywatcher has it mostly right. Sure, there are some co-ops of privates in Wisconsin, but some Wisconsin privates have been able to hold their own against Minnesota teams for years, such as Madison Edgewood and Marquette University High School in Milwaukee. There's a wide range, just as there is in Minnesota.

[HShockeywatcher]

Semi-good point; Madison Edgewood played Duluth Marshall last year and won 4-3 in OT. After the game people on here commented that Madison Edgewood is one of Wisconsin's top hockey teams. Their top 3 team played evenly with a top 20 team of ours...I guess I'll rephrase; our schools of similar ability relative to our state are better than theirs.

[Zamman]

Just because there's always so much talk / argument about private v. public in Minnesota, I just thought it was interesting to note that private schools in Wisconsin, specifically in the Milwaukee area, are having to co-op to even field teams. They just can't get hockey players to attend their schools in any suitable numbers. Two teams (14-9, 15-7 last season) are joining forces this year. What do you say? Hill co-ops with Cretin and HA with STA?

I think that the private schools mentioned here won't need to coop. They are too strong of an organization. Besides if my team from AHA does anything with STA it would be allow the Hoppers from STA to pull the cars up and load their bags.

[HShockeywatcher]

Funny Zamman. December 29th first ever (at least in recent years) meeting between the two teams should be a good one. I know I'll be there.

[Goldy Gopher]

HShockeywatcher has it mostly right.

Has this ever happened before? And when I say ever, I mean EVER.

[Hilltopper99]

Obviously I was joking about the co-oping of the privates mentioned. I posted this because the two schools co-oping in Wisconsin are relatively large schools and have very successful athletic programs in other sports. It would be very much like Hill co-oping with Cretin to form a track team. Point is that hockey in Wisconsin, although very good in some areas (I think Eau Claire Memorial last year was as good as most top 10 teams in MN save the top few) still lags way way behind MN. Also, I moved to Wisconsin a few years ago for work and I'm desperate for good HS hockey. Thank God for FSN. (University School in Milwaukee is another exception. They usually play Blake pretty closely).