Huskies rely on five seniors for leadership on Owatonna

Owatonna seniors Isaac White, left, and CC Caldwell are two of the Huskies’ leaders on the floor. They will be needed more than ever this weekend when top-seeded OHS plays for a state title at Bloomington Jefferson High School.
Ian Stauffer/OPP

OWATONNA — Senior leadership is important for every team, and it means even more when the roster is filled with 10 seventh, eighth and ninth graders.

That’s why Owatonna adapted floor hockey coach Lynn Broberg is thankful for the five seniors that have led the Huskies to an 11-1 record this season and a top seed at this weekend’s state tournament.

“The senior group we have right now is talented, but they’re also a fun group,” said Broberg, who is in her second season at the helm. “Putting the fun back into playing and not worrying about whether we win or lose is how we win our games.”

The Huskies, who play Burnsville/Farmington/Lakeville at

8 p.m. Friday in the state quarterfinals at Bloomington Jefferson High School, have been having plenty of fun this season. They started out with 10 consecutive wins before a 7-1 loss to rival Dakota United on March 1. OHS bounced right back with an 11-5 victory over Winona the next day to clinch the top seed in the South Division.

OHS is playing at state for the eighth straight season. The Huskies won a state title in 2004 and were runners up in 2003, 2005 and 2006. Since then, Owatonna has come back to Earth a little bit. The Huskies were consolation champs in 2007 and 2008 and went 0-2 at state last year.

Improving on those results this year will depend heavily on seniors Tyler Carlson, Lance Buck, Josh Froelich, CC Caldwell and Isaac White. Of the five, only Caldwell is not a starter, though he is a key forward off the bench and serves as the Huskies’ spark plug.

“CC keeps it interesting,” Broberg said. “He has so much heart. Isaac is kind of the same way. They’re going to be missed in that way. They get everybody motivated.”

All five seniors agreed they want a better finish than Owatonna has had in recent years.

“I’m expecting to win,” said Carlson, who has scored seven goals while playing defense. “I’m hoping for first or second place at least. That would be a lot better than last year.”

Owatonna faces a familiar opponent in the first round. The Huskies beat Burnsville 11-4 and 6-5 earlier this season.

“They’ve got a very good rover,” Carlson said. “If we can just stay on him and stop him from scoring, I think we can win the game.”

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