The fourth season of Oxford Wildcat hockey has come to a merciful close – after a dreadful season in which the Cats went 6-14-2, the team lost to the Lapeer West Panthers in the Regional quarterfinals to end their season.
The Cats did, however, manage to pick up their first and only league win of the season last week against Lapeer East before dropping their last game of the regular season to the L’anse Creuse Lancers on Senior Night.
On Feb. 25, the Wildcats picked up their first league victory of the year, defeating the Lapeer East Eagles by a score of 4-2, getting retribution after losing to the team 3-1 early in January
All the scoring took place in the second period, as Oxford got contributions from JT Anderson (2), Sean Degler, and Cody Gould to propel them. Gould’s goal was his first of the season and of his high school career, after registering six assists earlier in the season. Oxford’s netminder Kyle Geiger stopped 27 of 29 shots for the victory, leaving each of Oxford’s three goalies with two wins to finish the season.
Feb. 28 was Oxford’s Senior Night, and a special ceremony was held prior to the game to honor Oxford’s five seniors. The game, however, didn’t go as well as the Cats would have planned for their farewell sendoff, losing to L’anse Creuse by a final score of 8-3.
Oxford was shutout by the Lancers in the first two periods, until their starting goaltender went down with an injury late in the second after stopping Oxford’s Mike Szabo on a breakaway attempt. In the third period, the Wildcats came to life, scoring three times to make the board respectable. Oxford’s Degler extended his goal-scoring streak to a career long eight games, while Szabo and Anderson recorded the other two goals for Oxford.
All three of Oxford’s netminders played a period in the loss, with Beaupied in the first, Geiger in the second and Stechschulte finishing up in the third.
The afternoon of March 1, the team played in its first Regional playoff game, but came away with a disappointing 7-3 loss to West. The Panthers and Wildcats skated to a scoreless first period, but West came alive in the second and third, scoring seven unanswered goals. The Wildcats responded with under three minutes to play in the third, tallying three goals off the sticks of Degler (2), and Josh DeBruyne, but it was too little too late as the Cats were sent home packing.
The 2003-04 season’s conclusion marks the end to five skaters’ playing days at Oxford High School. Seniors JT Anderson, Josh DeBruyne, Zac Clark, Jordan Grabenstien, and captain Paul Weis all skated in their final game for the Blue and Gold.
Anderson and Weis became the first Oxford players to complete four years of service to the team, as both of them made the team as freshmen in the team’s first year of existence. Forwards Josh DeBruyne and Zac Clark, who made huge improvements this season in scoring, each completed their 3rd seasons. Both of them, along with Grabenstien, Anderson and Weis, were an integral part of Oxford’s core players, and all five of them will be missed.
Next year’s seniors will include goaltenders Mike Stechschulte and Brian Beaupied, along with Rob Cerato, Sean Degler, Kyle Ignagni, Jake Crowell and Matt Heffelmire.
The last event to look forward to as the 2003-04 season comes to a close is the traditional “Oxford Oldies” game, featuring various staff members from Oxford schools along with parents and coaches pitted against the Varsity team. The game will take place on Sat., March 20, at the Polar Palace.
Mike Stechschulte is a junior at Oxford High School who plans to major in the field of journalism.