With the 2020-21 season still months out, it’s time to take a look at teams from all over the State of Hockey and examine what happened this past season and what’s ahead. The next team we’re breaking down is New Ulm.
How last season went
New Ulm has had some moments of success on the ice in recent years. But it appeared like this year may be it based on how the end of the regular season went.
The Eagles went out of the regular season with a bang as they won six consecutive games. When all was set and done, New Ulm had an 18-6-1 record and was the champion of the Big South Conference with a 15-1 conference record.
When the Section 3A tournament began, the Eagles found themselves as the No. 3 seed. New Ulm rolled by Windom easily in the quarterfinals with a 9-2 win. Then, it was a date with Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato in the semifinals. The Eagles could not keep the high scoring pace as they fell 7-4.
Who’s back and who’s gone
Glavine Senugel and Teagan Kamm were two senior leaders on this squad who will surely be missed next season. Senugel was the catalyst with a team-best 20 goals and 31 assists. Kamm was also important with his 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists).
On the flip side, there’s plenty of youth on the New Ulm roster set to return. That includes the likes of Braxten Hoffmann and AJ Arneson. They combined for 29 goals and 48 assists last season.
As for the goaltending situation, there’s plenty of youth to be had. Joey Gag and Kyle Esser split time last season while both posted save percentages above .900.
What to expect next season
This group had a lot of success and will return plenty of players who experienced that. It seems plausible that the success could turn to improved postseason results. Basically, watch out for the Eagles next season.