11-18-2023 11:10am

Hockey anyone? It's quite an Ice showing for the Indians during Wednesday night scrimmage

Beloit Memorial High School Boys Hockey for Telfer Park in Beloit, Wisconsin

I had the chance to take in the Milton vs. Beloit Memorial High School hockey scrimmage at Telfer Park in Beloit, WI on Wednesday night November 15, 2023. You might think, well that’s odd to be writing about a Wisconsin high school hockey game. However, the Beloit Memorial Hockey program currently has five players who are students at Hononegah High School.

The players are:

Junior Goaltender Gentry Grant
Sophomore Forward Ayden Thompson
*Junior Forward Brayden Lane
Sophomore Gavin Brady
Junior Preston Mayberry

*Brayden Lane is currently recuperating from a football injury and hopes to take part in the opener on November 21, 2023.

Last April, I wrote of the opportunity that was given to the Hononegah kids to play high school hockey in Beloit.

Although it's only the preseason, my old eyes see some Indians getting some ice time for BMHS this season. In Wednesday’s scrimmage, junior Gentry Grant got the call between the pipes for the Purple Knights. He didn’t allow a goal past him all night long (2-0 win by my count - they weren’t keeping score on the scoreboard).

After the scrimmage, head coach James Hoey spoke with me about the scrimmage and having the Hononegah kids on the team.

Coach Hoey and the program have wanted to give these kids an opportunity to take part in high school hockey for some time now. Many of the players in the Beloit youth program come from Illinois and never get the chance to continue to play hockey after the youth levels (Illinois high school hockey is a bit of a crap shoot currently).

Right now is a great time for Beloit Memorial to infuse some more talent into the program. Last season, the Beloit Memorial Purple Knights finished 8-15 and lost five seniors to graduation. So, getting five new players into the program can only help on the outlook for this season.

The Rock County Fury also has a group of Hononegah female students playing for them this season.

The players are:

Sophomore Forward Jayden Lake
Freshman Defenseman Piper Aaker
Senior Forward Makayla Mackiewicz

Thanks goes out to Coach James Hoey for his time and information for the story, the hockey parents and Hononegah School District for the effort to get this opportunity for the kids and the entire BMHS athletic department as I have been bothering them about Hononegah hockey since school ended last year.

A self-described sports evangelist, Harold Bone is the Roscoe News sports editor who is committed to finding stories behind the box scores and discovering engaging sports content. Harold has a background in many forms of media - everything from radio to TV. He has spent the last 25-plus years attending, following, and cheering for teams and athletes from the pros and colleges to local high schools and youth recreational leagues. Harold is passionate about creating engaging stories for athletes and sports fans in the Rockton/Roscoe/South Beloit, Illinois communities. Got a story idea? Contact Harold via email at harold@roscoenews.com and follow him on Twitter at @SPRTSEDRRNews. Sign up for the daily Roscoe News newsletter here.