Photo courtesy of Wisconsin-Superior Athletics.
The old saying “see you next year” always seems to have a bittersweet tone to it, given the fact that so many sports fans, players, coaches and pundits alike use it to capitalize on a less-than-successful season. The same could be summed up for the Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets men’s hockey team last year. Despite winning the WIAC regular season title with a conference record of 11-2-2, the Yellowjackets fell victim to their own success in the WIAC postseason tournament. While putting together a stellar overall record of 19-5-3, the 2024-25 campaign can’t be described as anything other than a true disappointment for the UW-Superior hockey program.
However, hope springs eternal and as the saying says, wait until next year. Well, next year is now here and no doubt the UW-Superior Yellowjackets will be looking for a healthy dose of redemption as the 2025-26 season kicks off in the next couple of weeks. For DIII hockey fans in general and those who follow the WIAC in particular, it should come as no surprise that the UW-Superior men’s program will certainly finish in the top of the conference this season and should make another postseason push come next spring. How far the Yellowjackets will go, however, is fully dependent on getting over last year’s WIAC tournament disappointment and realizing that this season brings new hopes and new opportunities.
UW-Superior keeps top-notch coaching talent around year after year.
If someone would ask you to say something or someone about the UW-Superior hockey program, the first words coming out of most peoples’ mouths would be superlatives like Lake Superior, cold, Wisconsin and Rich McKenna. For all intents and purposes, Rich Mckenna is the Yellowjacket men’s hockey program. As the sixth all-time UW-Superior men’s head coach since hockey was reinstated, Rich McKenna heads into his tenth year behind the bench for the Yellowjackets and last season certainly was his best at the helm of this stalwart WIAC program. With a 19-5-3 overall record including the postseason, UW-Superior wrapped up the WIAC regular season title, only to falter in the conference tournament. With an improvement of eight wins from the previous season, the Yellowjackets are certainly contenders to win the regular season conference title and a likely heading once again to the WIAC postseason tournament.
UW-Superior makes sure to keep top-shelf talent around and this season is no different.
The UW-Superior Yellowjackets seem to be able to comb near and wide for top DIII hockey talent and this season won’t be any different on the Wisconsin side of southern Lake Superior. One of the most compelling player story lines from last season was newcomer forward Ikki Kogawa who made the trek all the way from Chiba, Japan to become a Yellowjacket. Named the Kwik Trip Newcomer of the Year, Kogawa played in 21 games last season and garnered seven goals and 12 assists for 19 total points and his presence will be even more of a factor heading into the new season here in a few short weeks.
Joining Ikki Kogawa on the offensive attack will be junior Justin Dauphinais. Dauphinais had a career season last year for the Yellowjackets and fired in 12 goals and ten assists for 22 points in 27 games. Dauphinais also posted six game-winning goals as well. The Val Caron, ON native will certainly be a big factor in the Yellowjackets offensive zone and combined with Kogawa, these two snipers should help keep the opposing goal lamps well-light this upcoming season.
Defensively speaking, UW-Superior has senior Tyler Ryder to help bolster the blue line again this season. The senior defenseman and Byron Center, MI native received an All-WIAC selection last season for his work as Ryder scored two goals and three assists to bolster his 30 blocked shots. Joining Ryder behind the blue line will be returning junior goaltender Jack Boschert. Boschert is a Florissant, MO native and had two All-WIAC selections in a row the previous season for UW-Superior. With an 8-2-0 overall record, Boschert also registered a solid .933 save percentage last year and is fully expected to make a big impact protecting the pipes again in the 2025-26 campaign
Final thoughts for the upcoming season.
With a solid coaching staff and a steady player roster this upcoming season, UW-Superior should be considered as one of the favorites to win the WIAC conference championship again this year. However, regular season titles mean little when a team can’t advance further in the postseason and the Yellowjackets need to make another jump in the right direction as this new season arrives. With the addition of Beloit College as the replacement for the now-defunct Northland program (and school as well), the WIAC remains as a relevant DIII hockey conference in terms of postseason tournament bids and UW-Superior needs to move forward by securing a conference bid and aiming for a Frozen Four appearance this as the 2025-26 season unfolds.
