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Alpena Hockey Grabs 20th Win in Shutout over TC West

ALPENA, MI- A packed Northern Lights Arena, plenty of animosity between two opponents and a chance for one team to win its 20th game.  That is a perfect recipe for an exciting night of hockey.

The 7th ranked Alpena Wildcats gave their fans another performance to be proud of as they shutout Traverse City West 6-0. The win brings Alpena to 20-3 on the season.  The game was scoreless throughout most of the first period. The Wildcats drew first blood as Reid Meinhardt knocked home a loose puck to give Alpena a 1-0 lead. The sophomore would score under a minute later as the Wildcats led 2-0 after the first period.

The second period was a combination of physicality from both teams, as the game got dangerously close to getting out of hand.  As the teams had to be separated on the ice multiple times throughout the  period. The Wildcats scored three goals in the frame, Cam Young fired home a power play goal off a great pass from Anden Marceau. Harrison Kaszubowski would quickly make it 4-0, Marceau would add a fifth as the Wildcats led 5-0 after 34 minutes.

The third period gave Coach Ben Henry a chance to get most players ice time, the top line did not see the ice the final five minutes of the game. Kaszubowski added a goal early in the frame as Alpena skated to a 6-0 win.  The shutout by Aidan Schultz was his seventh of the season.  The Wildcats have won each of their last five home games by shutout. The last time they allowed a goal at home was on December 16, 2022, a 7-1 win over Cadillac. The Wildcats travel to Cadillac on Wednesday before wrapping up the regular season next Friday on senior night against Traverse City Central.

The Wildcats now stand at 8-0 in Big North Conference Play, they need just one win over the final two games to clinch a share off the title. Two wins will give the Wildcats the outright title.

The team is also sporting a new blonde hairstyle, many of the players have dyed their hair blonde. “Everyone is on board. Everyone has an appointment coming up, so we should all be blonde for the Central game” said Kaszubowski.