Springfield enjoying season back in top high school division

The Steinbach Regional Sabres have some Eastman company in the top division of the Winnipeg High School Hockey League this season, as for only the second time the Springfield Sabres are playing in the Platinum Promotions Division.

Springfield hasn’t been overmatched this season, sitting in the middle of the standings while boasting two of the leagues top five scorers in Cam Sylvester and Hayden Kochen.

Both players were named Manitoba High School Athletic Association Athletes of the week earlier this year, with huge single-game scoring outputs against JH Bruns. Kochen is tied for the league lead in goals and notched seven points in the game, while Sylvester set two team records with six goals and nine points in the 10-2 victory Jan. 8.

Both 2007-born players joined the Sabres after spending their previous years suiting up for the Eastman Selects.

Severyn Wojcik has coached the team for 18 years. He said more and more high-level players are choosing to join high school teams over academies or AAA minor programs.

“I think the big appeal is (players) want to play with their friends, they want to play for their school, they’re passionate about playing for the Sabres,” Wojcik said.

“Our program has developed some good players that have gone on to be really successful in junior. If guys want to continue on their career they see you can play high school and still play in the MJHL or in the (Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League).”

A restriction on playing AAA hockey and for their high school doesn’t mean Sylvester and Kochen can’t play up a level, as both played games with Transcona in the MMJHL this year as well.

The Oakbank is certainly punching above their weight in the high school league this season. The school only has 600 students, but is still picking up wins and staying competitive over the usual high school hockey powerhouses in Manitoba.

“We’ve been really happy with this season, it’s been a good year,” Wojcik said.

“We’ve beaten some of the top teams, we’ve lost to some of the bottom teams, so I think the parity’s really good… I feel like we can beat anyone on any given night. It’s been fun so far.”

Wojcik wasn’t thrilled following a tough loss to West Kildonan Jan. 31 in Oakbank. The loss was bad enough, but the two teams nearly erupted into a full-blown brawl after the final whistle, with referees doing everything they could to keep the teams separated at centre-ice, throwing their bodies in-between would-be combatants. Wojcik said he hadn’t seen a game spiral out of control like that in a long time.

Despite the shenanigans Jan. 31, Wojcik said it’s been great to coach in the Platinum Promotions division after years in the Winnipeg Free Press division.

“I’ve enjoyed going up against different teams and coaching staffs, it’s different than usual, that’s been a lot of fun,”

“It’s been a good season, it’s been a success and we hope we can go as far as we can.”

The top division of the Winnipeg High School Hockey league’s regular season ends Feb. 7, one week before the other divisions.