By David La Vaque
Minneapolis going from 2 to 1 boys' hockey teams
It starts with the 2010-11 school year.
April 19, 2010 at 6:54PM
Minneapolis East boys' hockey coach Bill Ross enjoyed the past four seasons' worth of intense games against rival Minneapolis West. Next season, the two programs will be combined into one.
The Minnesota State High School League approved a co-op involving all seven school Minneapolis public schools beginning in the 2010-11 school year. John Washington, the Minneapolis school district's citywide director of athletics, said projected numbers of players do not support two teams.
"Our teams graduated a lot of seniors and our youth program is not producing the numbers to fill in," Washington said. "We do not have enough players to field a JV and varsity team at both programs."
Said Ross: "The worst thing about having one team is that it's too close to zero. The best thing is that everyone coming out will be dedicated to earning that jersey and playing time. There is a lot of enthusiasm around this and now it's time to get down to the business of being a good program."
The young defenseman prefers wearing glasses, but when he takes them off, he's a rising star in the NHL.
