Evansville team excited to compete in USA Hockey High School Nationals this week
EVANSVILLE — Swonder Ice Arena buzzed with excitement as nighttime fell.
Hockey players from the Evansville Thunder Purple were giddy as they stepped onto one of the rinks to start practice. They know a special week is here. After an impressive postseason, the Thunder is excited to show off its talent in front of a national stage.
They are one of the two teams from Indiana competing in this year's USA Hockey-Chipotle High School National Championships, which take place from Wednesday to Sunday at the Ice Line Arena in West Chester, Pennsylvania. There are 52 teams competing across four divisions: Division I, Division II, Prep and Girls.
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The Thunder, which is in Division II, will play three matches in 52 hours throughout the tournament — the first is Wednesday at 8 a.m. against the Gillette Grizzlies from Wyoming. They look forward to the 11-hour drive to the Philadelphia area with their families. They're going to enjoy as much downtime as they can.
"It's been a lot of fun. I think we have a great team this year," Harrison senior and captain Nolan Doan said. "We made it far in the state tournament but came up just a little bit short. But we kept working, and we're ready to go this weekend."
The Thunder knows it can compete with anyone. It proved that recently by defeating top-ranked Culver Academy, which also is going to West Chester, and No. 2 Carroll to advance to the Division 4A state championship. Although the Thunder fell to Zionsville 1-0 in the championship, the players still felt proud of their accomplishments.
Owensboro Catholic junior Tanner McFadden stepped up even more after Reitz senior and leading scorer Sam Bass injured his shoulder and missed a month and a half. Goalies Max Hambrick and Brycen Parker have also been hot when it mattered most.
"Our goalies, they're both really good," McFadden said. "Max played most of the games in the season (and) got us in our rankings where we needed to be. Brycen stepped up and played the best hockey he's ever played. They really respect each other (and) have good morale."
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Most importantly, all the players and coaches enjoy being with each other. The Thunder is home to players across the Tri-State, from Vincennes to Henderson and Owensboro. Most of the players are multi-sport athletes, but there are a few who specialize in hockey.
Everyone has enjoyed reaching their goals together this season.
"To see them all come together for a hockey season is great," Thunder coach Nathan Moon said. "As soon as we come to that dressing room, we're one big family, and we take that on the ice."
"We just never panic," Doan added. "We've been down in a lot of close games, but we always find a way and come through. A lot of us have been playing together our whole lives. We just trust each other and kind of go from there."
Moon's biggest message for his team before it competes in nationals is to have fun and live in the moment. He knows these moments don't happen often. When started coaching the Thunder three years ago, most of these players were freshmen and sophomores.
But even back then, the Thunder planned to improve and compete for state. It's accomplishing that plan this year and more.
"What they've accomplished this year is unbelievable," Moon said. "I'm so proud of them for how they stuck up for each other, what they came through and the adversity they faced this year. Other guys just kept stepping up."
Courier & Press sports reporter Treasure Washington can be reached via her email, treasure.washington@courierpress.com, and on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Twashington490.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville Thunder Purple to play in USA Hockey High School Nationals
