Waunakee boys hockey team advances after top-seeded Edgewood drops out due to COVID-19 reasons
Madison Edgewood forward Cody Menzel moves up the ice with the puck on Friday evening in Chippewa Falls.
The WIAA Division 1 boys hockey sectional semifinal between top-seeded and third-ranked Madison Edgewood and fifth-seeded Waunakee scheduled for Tuesday night in Wisconsin Dells has been canceled due to a COVID-19 situation in the Edgewood program, Crusaders athletic director Chris Zwettler announced in an email Tuesday afternoon.
Edgewood will forfeit the game and Waunakee moves on to the sectional final, according to Zwettler.
“It is with a heavy heart for me to announce that the Edgewood/Waunakee Boys Hockey game is canceled/forfeited tonight due to a COVID situation in the Edgewood program,” Zwettler wrote in the email. “Waunakee moves on to the Sectional final. Good Luck to them!!”
Edgewood had advanced to the sectional semifinal when its game against ninth-seeded Sun Prairie last Friday in Baraboo was called off because Sun Prairie withdrew due to COVID-19 reasons, according to Baraboo athletic director Jim Langkamp (last Friday).
Edgewood played outside Dane County this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and health and gathering orders from Public Health Madison & Dane County. The Crusaders had an 11-5-0 record in the regular season, according to wisconsinprephockey.net.
The other sectional final Tuesday night has second-seeded Verona, which won the Division 1 state championship last year, playing at third-seeded Sauk Prairie co-op in Prairie du Sac. The winner of that game will meet Waunakee.
The sectional final currently is scheduled for Friday at the Omni Center in Onalaska.
In the fall, the Edgewood girls volleyball team was a sectional champion but then withdrew from state competition for health reasons. While not specifying COVID-19, Edgewood’s release at the time said: “It is with a heavy heart that due to unforeseen circumstances in these unprecedented times, Edgewood girls volleyball will not be able to attend and participate in the WIAA state tournament. While we are sad for our student-athletes who earned the right to compete for a state championship, we must adhere to public health protocols.”
This article originally ran on madison.com.
