Buckshot | January 2019

MR. RELIABLE Whether he’s adjusting to Division I hockey or dealing with his cut from the U.S. team, Eau Claire native Emberson stays poised

MORE INSIDE: Durand’s triple threat has Panthers looking like contenders A change of scenery — and sport — have been just what Badgers rower and Stanley-Boyd graduate Jenna Hoffstatter needed

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BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE/JANUARY 2019

TABLE OF

CONTENTS ON THE COVER Eau Claire native Ty Emberson stays even-keeled throughout the highs and lows of life as a high-level Division I hockey player with the Wisconsin Badgers. PAGE 3 TRIPLE THREAT Durand’s trio of Emily Annis, Emma Hansen and Hannah Prissel is catching fire in the Dunn-St. Croix Conference — as usual. PAGE 5 POSTERIZED Menomonie boys hockey player Cole Mensing. PAGE 8 FRESH START A change of scenery — and sport — were exactly what Wisconsin rower and Stanley-Boyd graduate Jenna Hoffstatter needed. PAGE 10

Durand’s Emily Annis, left, is one of three Panthers in the top five in scoring in the Dunn-St. Croix Conference.

BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE/JANUARY 2019

MR. RELIABLE

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Whether he’s adjusting to Division I hockey or dealing with his cut from the U.S. team, Eau Claire native Emberson stays poised STORY BY NICK ERICKSON

M

ADISON — All was quiet in the basement of the LaBahn Arena on a chilly Thursday afternoon in

Ty Emberson skates in a game against the University of Minnesota this season.

That’s been Emberson’s MO his entire hockey career, whether it’d be the two years he spent on Team USA’s national development program or Eau Claire Memorial High School.

Now, he’s doing just that for UW. While his point totals don’t jump off the board — two goals and four assists in 20 games — he has 38 blocked shots, a plus-2 rating and a defensive stalwart for the Badgers.

“He just does everything right,” Granato said.

Emberson was one of the first highly-touted recruits Granato landed when he committed in summer 2016.

Wisconsin has long awaited his arrival

and considers him a piece who can help lift the program back to the national stage.

In turn, Emberson — the Arizona Coyotes’ third round pick in June’s NHL Draft — saw Madison as a place he could continue to get ready for the next level.

It’s been a perfect marriage so far.

“It’s been unbelievable. It’s been a seamless step into college life for me with the help of Tony Granato (and defense coach) Mark Osiecki,” Emberson said. “A lot of great teammates, a great roommate for me, school has been good. The area is unbelievable, and the fans have been awesome.

It’s been really good so far.”

MORE EMBERSON PAGE 4

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN ATHLETICS

206145 9-12-18

Madison.

Students weren’t back from break yet.

There wasn’t a full coaching staff. And there were only 50 minutes of ice time for the Wisconsin Badgers’ men’s hockey team considering it had a game two days later against Team USA’s 18-and-under squad.

Into the tunnel stepped third-year coach Tony Granato, a former NHL sniper who has coached at the professional and Division I levels. Needless to say, a person who knows his hockey.

Which is what made his ensuing statement that afternoon describing the team’s 18-year-old defenseman, Eau Claire native Ty Emberson, all the more telling.

“To come in here as a freshman ... coming in and playing such a significant role and really being as consistent as a player that I’ve seen, maybe even in college hockey,” Granato said, “is a great compliment to his work ethic, his preparation, his mental toughness, his character. He’s done everything we’ve asked out of him.”

Soon after that ringing endorsement from his head coach, Emberson came off the ice and into the same tunnel. He was one of two final Badgers off the ice. The other was his longtime defense partner K’Andre Miller. The two roommates stuck around after practice to fire off some extra shots at the blue line.

Consistency isn’t an accident. It’s the sum of little moments — like staying past the final whistle of a quiet practice — adding up to the greater part. It’s not always flashy or noticed. But it always shows up when it matters most.

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BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE/JANUARY 2019

> EMBERSON FROM PAGE 3

It sure helps playing with a guy he’s gotten to know like a brother the past three seasons.

Miller, a first-round draft pick of the New York Rangers and offensive-minded defenseman, pairs perfectly with the stayat-home role Emberson has carved out for himself.

The two partnered up on the USA U-17 and U-18 teams prior to coming to Madison together.

Miller, Wisconsin’s leading scorer, said Emberson had all the tools when he first began playing with him in 2016. He’s just seen him hone them over the past three years.

“He’s been an elite athlete and elite hockey player, but I think just rounding out his game,” Miller said of where he’s seen Emberson grow the most as a player.

“He was really good at a lot of things three years ago, and not a lot has changed. He has just gotten better at those things. He’s a great player to play with. I trust him a lot when I’m on the blue line.”

They know one another’s tendencies and have created a dynamic friendship that has led to extreme cohesiveness on the ice.

Even if that means, off the ice, Emberson occasionally makes it tough for his buddy to rest.

“Once in a while he just snores,” Miller said with a chuckle. “It’s pretty loud sometimes. But sometimes after a long weekend or long road trip where he just gets back and passes out, I can’t even sleep.”

Playing for the national team the last two seasons helped prep Emberson and Miller to play college hockey at such a young age. And play it well.

While wearing the stars and stripes the past two years, Emberson played against guys who were four or five years older in the USHL. Same thing in college as he goes up against players who might be as old as 25.

Every day, gameday or not, is a battle.

“Being able to play guys who are bigger, faster and stronger than me helps me elevate my game to the next level each weekend, and even during the week,” Emberson said. “Practices are tiring, they are a battle every day just like the program was.

Just the practices with older guys every day, it makes you better.”

He’s showed he has more than embraced that challenge. Despite the physical

STAFF FILE PHOTO

Ty Emberson was the Big Rivers Conference Player of the Year and WIAA Defenseman of the Year while playing with Memorial in 2016. game he plays, Emberson has just four penalty minutes on the season. His discipline is something many players never develop, let alone at his age.

“He’s crunched some guys,” Granato said. “That’s the underrated part of his game that a lot of people don’t recognize is how physically intimidating and tough he can be at the right moment. He doesn’t run around trying to finish checks for no reason, but when there’s time for a big hit, he brings it.”

Granato also raved about Emberson’s pain tolerance and willingness to get in the way of a shot. In fact, he had six blocks against Penn State on Nov. 30, which sparked a Badgers’ win over a Big Ten opponent.

His mental toughness rounds out his game to what it is, which is why he took getting cut from the World Juniors U-20

team last month in complete stride.

Emberson simply saw it as an opportunity to better himself as a player. He’ll have another chance to make the roster next winter.

“It (the tryout) was a really good experience for me,” Emberson said. “A lot of knowledge was gained from that week out west. Obviously it was a really good team and tough team to make, but you saw how many good players were out there. You saw them on the biggest stage, so I think that’s just motivation for me next year.”

Emberson has handled everything that’s been thrown at him and then some both this winter and throughout his hockey career.

He adjusted his role once he stacked himself up against the world’s best at his age group. He got right back to work after missing out on the World Juniors team.

The former Old Abe has achieved consistency through his mental fortitude, team-first attitude and willingness to do whatever it takes.

But his next great test? Securing all the tickets for Eau Claire area friends and family to come watch him play at Minnesota — where his brother Andrew and sister Mia go to school and also where his grandfather, Denny Zacho, played hockey and baseball — on Jan. 25 and 26th.

“I can’t even count (how many people have asked for tickets),” Emberson said with his patented smile. “ We are going to see who the real family members are that weekend and who shows up in red.”

If history is a precursor, he’ll figure out a way to get everybody into Mariucci Arena.

And probably wearing cardinal and white.

BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE/JANUARY 2019

TRIPLE THREAT

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PHOTO BY BRANDEN NALL

Durand’ trio Emma hansen (left), Emily Annis (middle) and Hannah Prissel (right) are all among the Dunn-St. Croix Conference’s leading scorers this season.

Durand’s Hansen, Annis, Prissel putting up numbers with Dunn-St. Croix’s best

BY SPENCER FLATEN LEADER-TELEGRAM STAFF DURAND – There isn’t much the Durand girls basketball program hasn’t accomplished over the last few years.

Conference championships. Regional and sectional titles. 20-plus win seasons. The Panthers have just about done it all.

And right in the middle of all of it has been a trio serving as the model of consistency the program has followed since they arrived.

Emily Annis, Emma Hansen and Hannah Prissel are

all among the top five scorers in the Dunn-St. Croix Conference this season. And all three seniors wear Panther purple.

“It’s a pretty good thing,” Durand coach Darrin Loewenhagen said. “They’ve all been through winning for the last three-plus years now, so it’s been a real pleasure to work with the group. “ Hansen has led the way so far among the senior trio – she is second in the conference in scoring at 13.2 points per game, according to the latest numbers received by the Leader-Telegram. Annis and Prissel are not far behind, averaging 13.1 and 10.8 points per game, respectively.

Both Annis and Hansen are four-year varsity

players, while Prissel has been on the varsity squad for three of her four years at the school. All three saw significant playing time when the Panthers went to the Division 4 state tournament in 2017, and their roles have only grown more prominent.

But their connection goes farther back than their high school days. The trio has been playing together since eighth grade.

“We have a really family-like mentality,” Annis said.

“We try to keep it in the back of our minds that this is about more than just basketball, so we all get along really well on and off the court.”

MORE TRIPLE THREAT PAGE 6

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BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE/JANUARY 2019

> TRIPLE THREAT FROM PAGE 5

The three have skill sets that complement each other, which has Durand challenging for another Dunn-St. Croix championship this winter. Each slots into her role with a level of comfort fitting of a senior with the resume they have.

Prissel is the type of versatile player who can contribute on either side of the court on any given night. Defensively she can apply the pressure, and as the stats have shown this year, she’s got a knack for scoring too.

“Hannah’s got all the athleticism you want in a basketball player,” Annis said.

“On the defensive end, she’s always ready to get the steals whenever she can. Offensively, she’s really been growing every year and become more and more of an offensive threat as we’ve gone along.”

Hansen is the nose-to-the-grindstone player that coaches love. Noted by her teammates for her work ethic, she’s been a consistent scorer for the

Panthers for years.

“Emma gets after it. She works really, really hard,” Annis said. “She’s more aggressive and works harder than anybody out there on the court, and you can tell.”

“Emma is definitely a very ferocious basketball player. She puts her heart into every game she plays,” Prissel added.

Annis has the basketball IQ to help lead the team in any situation, whether on offense or defense. She has been consistency personified for several years at Durand, earning second team All-Northwest honors as a junior and fifth team All-Northwest recognition as a sophomore.

“Emily is one of those players who is smart with the basketball and just knows how to handle pressure,” Prissel said. “She can handle everything that comes along with the sport of basketball.”

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BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE/JANUARY 2019 “Emily can kind of do it all. She’s a very smart player,” Hansen added.

The Panthers’ triple threat helped the team get out to a 9-0 start to the season. Durand is currently locked in a battle with Colfax and Elk Mound for the conference crown.

Durand defeated Elk Mound in the first meeting between the two this season, but fell to Colfax in a tightly-contested matchup between ranked teams. The Panthers and Vikings are scheduled to meet again on February 8 in what is expected to be a pivotal game in the conference race.

“My freshman year, (big games) were a little bit nerve-wracking,” Hansen

said. “But now it doesn’t even faze me.

You’ve just got to go out there with your head in the game.”

The Panthers have the luxury of not being over-reliant on any one player to do the heavy lifting for them. If one of the girls has an off night, there’s more than enough around to pick up the slack.

“It’s really nice to know that, because obviously you can’t have a good game every game,” Annis said. “So if one of us isn’t having a good game, we’ve got the other two – and not even just the other two, we’ve got four, five, six players on the bench who can come out and score double digits any night.”

Durand’s Hannah Prissel passes the ball during a girls basketball game at Altoona on February 12, 2018.

STAFF FILE PHOTOS

Durand’s Emma Hansen tries to get around Altoona’s Emma Mickelson during a girls basketball game at Altoona on February 12, 2018.

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BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE/JANUARY 2019

STROKE OF LUCK

Jenna Hoffstatter, once a star volleyball player, finds new home on the water

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN ATHLETICS

Wisconsin’s Jenna Hoffstatter and the novice eight finished fifth in the Big Ten Tournament last season.

BY JACK GOODS LEADER-TELEGRAM STAFF

J

enna Hoffstatter had accomplished her dream.

After a stellar volleyball career at Stanley-Boyd, the Orioles’ setter was able to continue her career collegiately at the Division I level at UW-Green Bay 2016. She got a chance to play, too, suiting up for 88 sets as a freshman while averaging 1.26 digs per set for the Phoenix.

Still, something didn’t feel right. Green Bay just wasn’t the place Hoffstatter wanted to be.

“It didn’t really fit me personally,” said the three-time All-Cloverbelt selection.

So, she went back to another dream of hers – com-

peting at the University of Wisconsin. Volleyball seemed unrealistic, considering the level of recruits the Badgers often go for and that she already had burned a year of eligibility. Then she remembered the pamphlets she used to get in high school.

“Everyone got those flyers in the mail,” Hoffstatter said. “’Come row at Madison.’ If you’re a student athlete, everyone gets those.”

She decided to give it a shot and emailed the Wisconsin coaching staff. After a few emails, Hoffstatter went on an official visit and accepted a perferred walkon position on the team.

Despite no prior rowing experience and minimal knowledge of the sport, she transferred to become a member of an NCAA crew team.

“I didn’t even know what each side of the boat

was called,” Hoffstatter said.

It seems crazy, but Badgers assistant coach Jim Mitchell said it isn’t unusual, especially at Wisconsin.

“I’d say probably close to 80 percent of our team started on our team with no rowing experience,” Mitchell said. “We’re getting more and more recruits with high school experience and even some international students, but still, most of our students start as athletes from other sports. We call it our talent transfer program.”

Mitchell said coaches look for a handful of traits, including overall athletic ability and drive. A strong core is a major plus. Hoffstatter is far from the biggest athlete on the team, but she makes up for it with her work ethic.

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BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE/JANUARY 2019

“In a 2,000-meter race, what we do in the spring, it takes about 240 strokes,” Mitchell said. “We can see her pulling all out for all 240 strokes.

That’s pretty tough to not take a stroke off.”

She started in the novice boat with the rest of the newbies, finding a home in a racing shell that holds eight rowers and a coxwain to steer and motivate.

The first time she went on the water they connected two boats together for increased stability, but that didn’t settle the nerves.

“That was even scary,” Hoffstatter said. “All of us were just kind of freaking out.”

The sea legs developed eventually.

She sat in the seventh seat, toward the back end of the boat, when the group finished in fifth at the Big Ten Tournament.

Despite the stark change in sports, she found some of her previous athletic training came in handy.

“Rowing is very technical,” Hoffstatter said. “Obviously I was a setter, a defensive specialist. I was honing those skills for 12 years, practicing non-stop. I picked it up quick but I always wanted to get better. … We’re just trying to improve, and I guess I

always liked that mindset.”

Now in her second year on the team, she’s jumped to the varsity level. Madison has become a second home, she’s in the best shape of her life and has made close bonds with teammates built through gruelling practices and 5 a.m. wakeup calls.

Hoffstatter said her goal is to get into one of the team’s top three boats in the spring, the main season for collegiate rowing. Since that first practice, her technique has improved and so has the mental side.

“I just really think the sport is built to make mentally strong individuals,” Hoffstatter said. “It sounds cliche, but it kind of changed how I view myself, how I deal with difficult situations.”

Her passion for volleyball hasn’t left. She still loves watching and often goes up to Green Bay to see her friends and former teammates play.

There’s a new sport taking up her time now, though.

“If anyone is thinking about doing it, I’d say just go for it,” Hoffstatter said of persuing crew. “I met some of my best friends … some of my bridesmaids. It’s grueling, but all of these girls have your back. It’s the camaraderie that you do it for. I think that’s what everyone is kind of after.”

STAFF FILE PHOTO

Jenna Hoffstatter (left) while with Stanley-Boyd volleyball in 2015.

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Chippewa Falls’ Jack Schimmel (bottom), Isaac Frenette (left) and Isaac Lindstrom (top) have formed a formidable top line for the Cardinals.

TOP LINE FLIES HIGH Cardinals’ Frenette, Lindstrom and Schimmel form potent trio

BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE/JANUARY 2019

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BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE/JANUARY 2019

STORY BY JACK GOODS LEADER-TELEGRAM STAFF

C

HIPPEWA FALLS —The ingredients were always there.

The members of Chippewa Falls boys hockey’s top line, sophomore Isaac Frenette, junior Isaac Lindstrom and senior Jack Schimmel, have been on the same team for years, even with the three all in different grades. But getting them on the same line took serious time.

“We’ve been on the same team since we were little,” Lindstrom said.

“Those two were on the same line a lot. I was always the odd man out.”

Lindstrom’s finally cracked the club, and with tremendous results.

“Now we’re just jelling together,” Frenette said.

Frenette, Lindstrom and Schimmel are all in the top 10 in the Big Rivers in scoring near the halfway point of conference play and lead the Cardinals in points by a large margin. The three are the only players on the entire roster with more than nine.

Their proximity to one another one the scoresheet is a different story. Frenette leads the team with 22 points, just one more than Lindstrom. Schimmel is a bit further back in the point total, boasting 17, but is tied with Lindstrom for the team lead with 11 assists. All of them have a four-point game under their belt.

That’s unusual for a Chippewa Falls team that got used to Jordan Steinmetz finishing way ahead of its second-placed scorer.

“They are all pretty close together, which is kind of odd, really,” Chippewa Falls assistant coach Scott Sikkink said. “Usually there’s one guy that separates himself pretty significantly. We haven’t had that. It’s kind of a unique situation.”

And it’s a situation Jack and the pair of Isaacs are perfectly fine with, especially considering a goal from any of them was probably set up by another member of the line.

“No one’s selfish,” Schimmel said.

“It’s just fun when we click. We all know each other pretty well, playing together for so long. We know where each other is going to be and we’ve got each other’s backs.

It’s just fun.”

But that doesn’t mean they aren’t keeping an eye on the statistical leader board. That adds extra motivation to finish chances.

“The point total is so similar, it keeps it really competitive and keeps us trying to one-up the other,” Lindstrom said.

After all, some serious bragging rights are on the line.

“It keeps it competitive, but an assist is a point, too, so no one is afraid to give up the puck,” Schimmel said.

“Those guys have been offensive leaders for us,” Sikkink said. “They have a lot of really good small habits. When they play together as a three-way group, they are awfully hard to compete against. It doesn’t matter if the other team has good D or a good defensive forward matchup. They do a great job when they’re working hard together to overcome those obstacles.”

First through fourth in the conference standings is separated by just two points. While North made a statement earlier this month with a 5-1 win against Memorial, Chippewa Falls later defeated the Huskies to show they mean business.

Chi-Hi sees an opportunity, and its stars make it realistic.

“We’re not in a rebuilding stage anymore,” Schimmel said. “We’re in a winning mindset. We have it all now. We just need to put it out.”

STAFF FILE PHOTO

Chippewa Falls’ Jack Schimmel takes the puck down ice during a boys sectional hockey game at Hobbs Ice Arena against Eau Claire North on February 20, 2018.

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BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE/JANUARY 2019

NEW HEIGHTS

NORTH’S URDAHL BLOSSOMS INTO AREA’S TOP GOAL-SCORER

BY JACK GOODS LEADER-TELEGRAM STAFF

N

orth hockey’s Zach Urdahl has become the Huskies’ old reliable.

It hasn’t really been a question whether he’d get on the board or not in a game this season.

“It’s just how many,” coach Ryan Parker said with a chuckle.

The 6-foot junior is tied for third in the state with 30 goals, trailing the leader by just three. He notched four hat tricks in his first ten games, something he said is unprecedented at any level of his career, let alone against a tough varsity schedule. The hat tricks have come in high pressure situations as well, with all four occurring in Big Rivers competition.

He notched two or more points in eight of the first ten games.

“That’s pretty cool considering last year I was in the high teens in goals,” Urdahl said. “It’s nice to know the offseason work is showing and I’m getting rewarded for it.”

It’s true, Urdahl has made enormous

improvements statistically. He’s already surpassed his sophomore year goal total by four despite playing less than half the games. While he’s not quite on pace to match his assist totals from last year (24 in 2017-18, 13 this year), it’s likely he’ll still pass he’s previous career best in points by at least 10.

“He’s been growing every year that we’ve had him,” Parker said. “He definitely has a niche to score goals and the great thing about it is he loves to do it.

When he gets an opportunity to get to that point, he’s all in. He sells out.”

Urdahl credits a strong offseason program for the jump. Unlike many of his teammates, he doesn’t play other sports, instead investing his time away from the Huskies into additional time on the ice.

“Every kind of decision I make is kind of hockey based,” Urdahl said. “I always try to focus on that.”

STAFF FILE PHOTO

North’s Zach Urdahl takes a shot during the hockey game against Rice Lake at Hobbs Ice Arena in Eau Claire on February 16, 2018.

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BUCKSHOT THE MAGAZINE/JANUARY 2019 He’s gotten bigger, stronger and perhaps most notably, faster.

“I think my speed for sure has gotten faster,” Urdahl said.”Being able to skate around guys, not really making too many stickhandling moves, but just small ones have kind of helped me get ahead of a player and around him.”

With that added boost and a knack for finding the open space, Urdahl has become North’s go-to goal scorer. He has nine more goals than Sam Stange and more than four times as many as the Huskies’ third-leading scorer, Joey Koller.

“He’s got that, how do you say it, swagger about it,” Parker said.

“That’s what he does. That’s what he loves to do.”

He isn’t just being rewarded on the score sheet. He was already getting Division I looks, having visited Wisconsin in the fall. The step forward in production at North, in addition to his work with Team Wisconsin, only increased interest.

In December, he committed to the Badgers, adding to the growing list of Chippewa Valley players making their way to Madison. Stange and Altoona native Daniel Laatsch are expected to join the Badgers in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Former Memorial skater Ty Emberson is a freshman with Wisconsin this season.

Having two future Division I talents at the same time at North seemed unbelievable a few years ago. The Huskies haven’t produced a Division I player since Derrick LaPoint went to North Dakota in 2007, but suddenly, there’s

a spotlight on the program.

“Hopefully that translates into the rest of our guys,” Parker said. “We’ve got other guys that have been wanting to get to that next level. ... We’ll tell them all the time, we understand, ‘Yeah they may be here watching so-and-so, but you get so many more opportunities to be in front of these guys.’”

There’s a tough reality for high school hockey coaches when it comes to your players’ success. With Urdahl already proving his worth on the high school circuit and with Team Wisconsin, there’s a good chance the Badgers would like to prepare him for the collegiate game with a junior season in the United States Hockey League. His USHL rights are owned by the Lincoln Stars after the team selected him in the 2018 draft.

For Parker, this is familiar territory.

He just finished going through the whole process with Stange, who, thankfully for the Huskies, opted to stay at North for his senior season.

Urdahl is trying to put the USHL decision out of his mind during the year.

“Usually you don’t think about it,” Urdahl said. “You just kind of focus on where you’re at and what you’re doing right now.”

As for the now, the Huskies are in contention for a Big Rivers title.

“I think it prepares us for down the road, later in the season,” Urdahl said of the pre-Big Rivers schedule.

“Our record doesn’t show amazing right now, but I think we played a lot of hard teams.”

STAFF PHOTO BY STEVE KINDERMAN

Zach Urdahl skates versus Eau Claire Memorial in intracity boys hockey play on Thursday, Jan. 3 at Hobbs Ice Center.

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LARGE UP TO 2-TOPPING $ PIZZA + SINGLE ORIGINAL TOPPERSTIX

14

.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER. TAX AND DELIVERY CHARGES APPLY.

ORDER ONLINE

TOPPERS.COM EAU CLAIRE - WEST SIDE 1616 N. CLAIREMONT 715-552-1111

EAU CLAIRE - EAST SIDE/ALTOONA 2159 EASTRIDGE CTR. 715-833-1111

MENOMONIE 715-309-2800

CHIPPEWA FALLS 715-720-2800

DELIVERY & CARRYOUT OPEN DAILY AT 11 AM

SINGLE ORDER OF ORIGINAL TOPPERSTIXâ„¢

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