Fire on ice

The West Bend Ice Bears won their first North Shore Conference hockey title in program history this season, and postseason honors followed.

Among the three first-team all-conference selections was Grafton High School senior Andy Ribecky.
Ribecky, a defenseman, scored on all of his five shots and had 12 assists in the regular season. In two playoff games, he scored on his only shot and had an assist.

“Andy definitely grew a lot this season on and off the ice. His attitude improved greatly along with his work ethic and willingness to do what it took to compete at the highest level,” coach Michael Driscoll said.

“He was our strongest defenseman this year and was on both power play and penalty kill. On the ice, he was a go-to guy in all situations. The coaching staff got to a point early in the season that we knew we could count on him. In the past, there may have been hesitation due to some of the penalties he had taken.”

Off the ice, Ribecky became a leader.

“He led by example, had a great attitude toward players and coaches and really wanted to do something special with his senior season. He definitely had a positive impact on the team as a whole,” he said.

The Ice Bears are comprised of players from West Bend East and West, Germantown, Slinger, Hartford and Grafton high schools.

The Ice Bears went 14-5 in the NSC and 1-1 in the playoffs. Beyond the three first-team selections, two Ice Bears made the NSC second team.