There are two Ramblers getting rowdy while playing hockey for the Winhawks; sophomore, Ilya Dovhalion0k and junior, Austin King-Henke.

The Winhawk’s struggled to a 2-23 record last year. This year they are hoping to even those numbers out.  The varsity is currently 0-4 but are thirsty for a win.

The boys play under coaches Fran McDevitt, Lucas Manor, and Jim Martin. They are also led by team captains Alex Buerck and Evan Carney, both seniors at the WSHS.

Austin King-Henke has been skating for as long as he can remember.  His current position is the second line right wing.

“My favorite part about being on the team is that everyone pushes you and keeps you accountable in efforts to make you better.” King-Henke said.

Ilya is new to the Winona community this year, he is an international student form Minsk, Belarus, and is a hockey enthusiast, so it was no surprise that he looked to join the team soon after enrolling at Cotter. He has been playing since he was 8 years old. He has always been played defense as his primary position.

Dovhalion0k has played hockey in three countries. The first was in Belarus, where his hockey career started; learning how to skate and the basics of the sport. The second place he played was in Vienna, Austria, where he played two seasons and gained a lot of his skills there.

Later on he found himself playing for a team in Des Moines, Iowa, where he played two seasons there before moving north a bit to Winona.

“This year I moved to Winona for the school and the hockey.”

“I really like the hockey program in Winona due to the fact that it’s organized, it is around for some period of time and the coaches have a lot of experience in hockey.” Illya said.

The boys are looking forward to an upcoming game against Mankato, they believe it should be a close game and are hard at work because they are looking for their first win.

Make sure to CHECK out one of the boys hockey games this season!