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The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
The Student News Site of Millard West High School

The Catalyst
Emotionally, junior Reece Wilson hugs his senior teammates Seamus Bygrave and Bryce Kriha following their playoff elimination. With seven total seniors on the roster, the Cats will look to rebuild through the off-season. “This team meant so much to me,” Wilson said. “I don’t have words for these seniors, all these guys from Joey to Bryce to Seamus, all of them gave it everything they had. It does sting knowing we lost but I couldn’t have been more proud because we gave it everything that last game.” Photo courtesy of Pete Wilson

Storm thrash Cats

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
March 8, 2024
Near the point, Wildcat senior defenseman Eddie Patchen readies to fire a shot. Patchen’s two goals in the game propelled the Cats to a 5-2 win, completing the season series sweep over the Millard South Patriots. “It’s always nice to be able to sweep a team in a season, no matter who they are,” Patchen said. “Communicating, passing, and practicing led to results on the powerplay. It just helps us stay motivated and boosts our momentum.” Photo courtesy of Whittaker Media

Cats claim Q

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
February 22, 2024
Millard West junior forward and captain Reece Wilson skates the puck up ice into the zone against a Prep defender. As the leader on the ice, Wilson evaluates not only himself but the team as a whole. “Our problem right now is just being able to create offense,” Wilson said. “We are a great team when we play good offense because we have a great defense to back us up. Emotion-wise the morale for the team honestly wasn’t too bad, we know this was a loss but we’re going to learn from it.” Photo by Whittaker Media

Jr. Jays soar past Cats

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
February 2, 2024
Senior Wildcat defenseman Eddie Patchen observes as the puck prepares to drop on a faceoff. Although without a point in this game, Patchen and the Cats held strong defensively en route to a 2-1 win over Papio. “It’s mainly to just keep doing what I’m doing because clearly in those situations it was working,” Patchen said. “So long as I’m not overthinking the plays I make then I should be able to keep up the defensive work. I think as long as we focus on playing as a team and not worrying about who our opponent is then I believe we can keep this trend going.” Photo courtesy of Whittaker Media

Cats keep climbing

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
January 17, 2024
Senior forward Kerek Heithier lines up near the faceoff against a Metro forward. Heithier picked up the lone goal for Millard West which was his first goal of the season. “I expect the rest of the season to be very fun,” Heithier said. “If we keep up the fight we could get more wins this season.” Photo courtesy of Whittaker Media

Cats clash champs

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
December 19, 2023
Near the point, senior defenseman Eddie Patchen readies to fire his one-timer shot. Patchen picked up his third goal of the season en route to Millard West’s 5-2 overpowering of Fremont. “We need to take our practices seriously while also just staying loose and not putting too much pressure on ourselves,” Patchen said. “Our next game is against Prep, so we just need to prepare ourselves for that game.” Photo by Whittaker Media

A jungle battle

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
December 4, 2023
Denying a shot in warmups, senior netminder Seamus Bygrave prepares for the game against Elkhorn. Bygrave picked up his second shutout of the season where he was only tested with six shots. “We have to carry our momentum over,” Bygrave said. The first three games have gone very well, and continuing a good forecheck, and producing are our keys to success. I have to be sure I’m prepared to face a lot of shots at any time because you never really know when you may get bombarded with shots during a game.” Photo courtesy of Whittaker Media

Cats clobber Elkhorn

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
November 13, 2023
Senior defenseman Eddie Patchen works around a Creighton Prep defender. Although he didn’t tally any points, Patchen was a key contributor in limiting the large number of chances the Jr. Jays had. “We can use this game as a good reference to why we need to take our time,” Patchen said. “We started to rush things even when no one was pressuring them which led to odd-man rushes on Seamus. If we kept a tight d-zone, didn’t chase the puck, and created space for more time on offense, I believe this game could have ended differently.” (Photo courtesy of Whittaker Media)

Preseason problems

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
October 30, 2023
Senior goaltender Seamus Bygrave denies a shot with his left pad. The senior netminder had 24 saves en route to the Wildcat's dismantling of Elkhorn in a 6-1 victory. “I’m excited for the new season,” Bygrave said. “It’s my 11th year playing, so I definitely want to make the best of it. I’m definitely optimistic about this year.”

Working off the rust

Sam Whittaker, Staff Reporter
October 3, 2023
Sophomore Burke Newton in one of his games with the puck, getting ready to score. While the season ends in March, Newton is already thinking about his future. “When the season ends, I’ll want to come back and play for the team, I like it here,” Newton said. “Great school, it’s definitely different and the size is much bigger, football games are awesome.”

2,000 miles for hockey

Jacob Hargens, Staff Reporter
September 30, 2022
The Wildcats have had a difficult season so far but have grown as a team overall and believe they will finish out strong. They hope to gain more experience through their games and work to improve themselves throughout the remainder of the season. “We expect some wins in future games, but it is more important for us to develop as a team,” Kriha said. “If we communicate better and give 110 percent every time we step on the ice, we will start to see improvement.”

The Wildcats take a hit

Garrett Wilcoxen, Staff Reporter
December 17, 2020
Evan Christensen scores three goals in the 8-4 victory over the Westside Warriors Sunday. Calvin Halverson adds two goals himself in the win.

Wildcats extend their winning streak to 15 straight

Hayden Cole, Staff Reporter
February 6, 2020
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