Courtesy Photo The 2018-19 Alpena High hockey team from left to right is: back: Jimmy Bolanowski, Anthony Berg, Alex Cosbitt, Owen Limback, Evan Kraenzlein, Cooper Black, Alec Kent, Brett Ciupka, Mitch Agius, Austin Ritter and Colin Lightfoot; middle: Nick Schultz, Matt Thompson, assistant coach Nick Esch, assistant coach Caleb Montroy, head coach Chris Limback, assistant coach Ian Stevens, Ben Nowak and Ian Shriner; front: Sean Stevens, Blaise Keller, Keegan Matthews, Colby Plowman, Kyle VanDusen and Charlie Halleck.

Excitement has already begun to build and the Alpena High hockey program is not only the talk of the town, but the Wildcats’ impressive 7-0 start has the entire state of Michigan buzzing.

The Wildcats began the 2018-2019 season not allowing a goal in their first 15 periods and winning the first five games via shutout.

“We couldn’t have asked for a much better start to our season, especially getting four road wins. The shutout streak early on was nice, but we knew sooner or later someone was going to score,” Alpena coach Chris Limback said. “I didn’t think we were going to get off to this kind of start, especially with the teams that we were playing. I didn’t think we were really prepared last year so I wanted to make sure that we were ready and made our schedule stronger and play better teams to get our kids out of their comfort zone so that we are ready come playoff time.”

Alpena goaltender Cooper Black has started all seven games for the Wildcats and began the season with five consecutive shutouts and looks primed for a huge senior season.

Alpena has much more than just superb goaltending. The Wildcats return all-state forward Kyle VanDusen who was among the top point-getters in the state a season ago, finishing with 61 points (35 goals and 26 assists).

VanDusen is joined by Colby Plowman and defenseman Owen Limback and the trio makes for a talented first line that has already made an impact early in the season. Limback was a second team all-state a season ago and Plowman earned an all-state honorable mention and finished with 17 goals and 26 assists.

Along with three key returners from last year’s team, the Wildcats have plenty of depth and capable playmakers all over the ice.

Freshman Matt Thompson didn’t waste any time making a name for himself and already has a pair of varsity goals to his credit. Alex Cosbitt, Evan Kraenzlein, Sean Stevens, Charlie Halleck, Keegan Mathews and Brett Ciupka have all shown that they are capable of making things happen for the Green and White on any given night, along with Austin Ritter, Anthony Berg, Ian Shriner, Mitch Agius, Nick Schultz, Ben Nowak and Blaise Keller. As good as Black has been, Alpena is also carrying two other goalies on the team this year in returning junior Jimmy Bolanowski and sophomore Collin Lightfoot.

Top to bottom, the Wildcats are loaded with talent have all the pieces necessary for a special season.

“Things are not going to get easier. I’ve had a lot of these kids for a long time and I know their skills and now it’s just my job and the coaching staff’s job to get them ready to go and make everyone on the team better,” Limback said. “I never thought I’d be coming back, but it just happened that I did and it’s just a nice way to wrap up and finishing with this group of kids that are very talented. It’s just nice to be able to coach them and it’s just a great opportunity to be able to coach this group and see them compete against the top teams in the state because that’s the best part of it all is seeing how they stack up against some of the best competition in the state.”

Limback is back for a second season during his second stint with the Wildcats. He returned last season after a six year absence from the program and led Alpena to a 17-7-3 record.

Limback and this group of Wildcats have a special bond because Limback coached many of these players when they played travel hockey for the Thunder Bay Wrecks. Limback is no stranger to having success with Alpena’s program either. Limback coached the 2006-07 Wildcats to a final four appearance and Alpena was always among one of the more competitive teams in the state. The 2006-07 season was one of Limback best runs as a coach during his first stint.

“I didn’t think I would be back or have a chance to coach this group of kids again. My belief was that I was done once these kids moved on to the high school level and it was fun to come and watch them, while sitting back and being a fan and do my own thing,” Limback said. “When Pete (Doubek) stepped away, it was a chance to work with this group of kids and my son Owen so it was just a win-win for all.”

Over the past half decade, the program has made a resurgence and has once again got back to the being competitive. This year, Alpena has the potential to add another banner to the rafters and take another step toward reclaiming a spot as one of the state’s best teams.

“The bottom line is when you win, winning is everything, but when you lose everybody becomes an expert. Some years you rebuild, but not everyone views it as that and when you lose you’re true fans come out, but when you win everyone basically shuts up. You’re never going to have everyone happy and that’s just life,” Limback said. “Every day we just hope to keep getting better and we want to continue being a great team every time we step on the ice. There is a rich tradition with our program, every day you walk through the hallways and see all of those great pictures and the memories and we just want to carry on with that tradition.”