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Special to WSN from Rick Dedrick & Jason McGillivray of Wisconsinhighschoollax

Traditional high school foes come together as part of the Greater Metro Conference. Brookfield, Hamilton, Wauwatosa, and Marquette are reunited to make up the conference. When you consider all the co-ops that make up these programs, every school in the Greater Metro Conference is represented. Battle tested Marquette will be considered the favorite to become conference champions, but the rest of the schools do have the ability to surprise some teams. It will be fun to watch as the rivalries take shape.

Marquette
Last Year: 12-7
Results: 3rd round loss to Kettle Moraine 
Head Coach: Emmett O’Malley

With a 6th place finish in the Classic 8 Red last season, one would think that Marquette struggled. This couldn’t be farther from reality. They ended their season with a 12-7 overall record and outside of conference opponents only Middleton was the only in-State to beat them. They bring back a deep senior class with a majority of last season’s scoring. Led by a powerful attackline of Thomas Schmidt, Justin Siclovan, and Carter Karoly this season shouldn’t be a problem scoring goals. Defensively, they are deep as well. John Warren, John Martin, and Landon Loberg will provide a defensive front that combined for 85 forced turnovers last year. The move to the Greater Metro should be favorable for Marquette and they look to be the preseason front runner.

Brookfield Central/East
Last Year: 11-10
Results: 2nd round loss to Homestead
Head Coach: Hayden Hollend

The prior season saw Brookfield competing with the top teams of the Classic 8 White. They ended up 2nd in conference with big wins over Oconomowoc and Elkhorn. While stout in conference play, they did struggle in the non-conference play. The close games to Kimberly and West Bend ultimately went the other way.  Brookfield will have the opportunity to change the outcome this year as both are back on the schedule. A large senior class is gone, but returning are Charlie Burghardt and Owen Miller.  Both have the potential to take over the game offensively. Standout defenseman Tommy Verheyen will be expected to lead the defense. Two huge gaps will need to be addressed, Travis Marquardt in goal is gone as well as everyone that took a faceoff last season. If Brookfield can develop replacements this could be a surprising season.

Sussex Hamilton Co-op
Last Year: 5-14
Results: 1st round loss to Brookfield
Head Coach: Kiefer Baumbach

A 5-14 season and a bounce from the playoffs from Brookfield, this young Hamilton team is looking to repeat the success from the 2022 season that had them winning 13 games. The top 3 scorers are back, led by Brady Westfahl. The junior found success with his shooting, but he’ll need support from some of the others. Eric Schleicher had an amazing 66 forced turnovers, a returning All-Conference defenseman. Their schedule looks favorable and if the scoring can become more balanced, they could double the win total from last season.

Wauwatosa West Co-op
Last Year: 8-12
Results: 2nd round loss to Mukwonago
Head Coach: Tom Calhoun

Only one senior from last year’s team is gone, but that is a huge hole to fill. Co-POY Carson Pagel scored 58 goals for Wauwatosa but is now at Lake Forest College in his freshman year. This year the Blazers look to Thomas Bernal and Parker Gugala to lead the team. The defense is returning all key players, Fischer Groom can be one of the better players in the conference. With all specialists returning as well, the only unknown is if the Blazers can pick up the scoring that Pagel left behind. This year’s non-conference schedule includes familiar foes in Homestead, University School, and WNS. It will be a test for the Blazers as they look to improve on the 8 wins from last year.