Zachary Schade, senior, recorded two goals and Alex Kalmes, senior, stopped sixteen of eighteen shots to lead the Mustangs to their first Wickenheiser Cup Championship in a 4-2 win over Howell Central at the Scottrade Center onf Feb. 26.

Erich Junge, junior, captained the Mustangs over the course of the season. Junge said that he was proud of the way that the team worked leading up to the game.

“We had a really good week of practice” Junge said, “We all knew that we wanted to come out and win this last one for all of us together as a team. So we focused and came out ready to go.”

The win makes the Mustangs the first ever number one seed to win the Wickenheiser Cup, a feat not seen since the inception of the tournament in 2000.

Junge said that the pressure of being the number one seed motivated the team throughout the playoffs.

“We knew that we were a potentially more talented team than some of the others but we also knew that nothing was going to be given to us,” Junge said, “We just had to come out and prove that we were worthy of the number one seed.”

Ben Chase, freshman, had a goal and an assist in the game.

“We knew that we were expected to win because we were the top seed,” Chase said, “But on the other hand we knew that it would be a great accomplishment to win. So we just treated every game like a normal one and tried to play our best hockey.”

Chase said that the team embraced a defensive mindset that allowed them to be successful in protecting their lead throughout the game.

“Our coach has always said that we don’t need another goal to win if we’re in the lead,” Chase said, “We just knew that when we scored that second goal that we had to drop back and help our goalie win the game.”

Taylor Paul, Varsity head coach said that the team’s work ethic allowed them to be successful all season long.

“It takes every person on the team to win any game like that.” Paul said, “It wasn’t just that game, it was the entire playoffs. It took each person working hard for us to succeed.”

Paul said that the win is very important to the future of the Marquette Hockey program.

“It just shows that of all the years that this program has been really good, this is the first year that we’ve been able to show that.” Paul said, “It’s just a good starting place to let future teams to know that Marquette is a good candidate to get to the top.”