While everyone gets excited about 'March Madness' - I include myself in that group - there is a sadness I also go through at this time.

Why March Sadness? The high school basketball season is over.

I openly admit basketball is my favorite high school sport - boys and girls - just two different games. Besides never getting a chance to watch some of the seniors play again, it will be seven months until I get a chance to work with the coaches again.

My season lasted a little longer since the Brookfield Central girls qualified for state after a terrific sectional championship victory over Muskego won by a last second shot by senior Joana Bielefeld. Central has everyone returning but Bielefeld, but Jo will leave a huge hole in that line-up, especially when it comes to closing out a game.

Erin Lueder gave an gutsy performance in the sectional final, playing with a hairline fracture in her left foot, she shut out Kate Ellerson, first-time all state performer for three periods, and then was one of the few Lady Lancers to show up for the only state tournament game and scored a team-high 10 points.

Tosa East had a fun sectional, playing well in getting some fraction of revenge by beating an excellent Marquette team, which took the Red Raiders' GMC title away from them, and then taking Milwaukee Washington into overtime before falling short when a 3-point shot by Eric Neal bounced off the rim.

I will miss working with this group of Raiders, as coach Tim Arndorfer turns out good kids as well as good basketball players.

@@@

Question! MUHS won the Greater Metro and beat the Red Raider twice but then lost in the sectional. I would still sooner be the Hilltoppers because they won a title. If the Red Raiders would have gone on to the state tournament, then I might have reversed by pick.

@@@

As I look outside right now the weather is beautiful, but one of the reasons I like the spring season the least is the weather. So many cancellations because of the inconsistent elements we have to deal with in Wisconsin.

@@@

But the good thing about spring is, of course, March Madness, brackets, and baseball is right around the corner. It doesn't get better than that.

@@@

Until next time, be a hit and have a ball.

There is a good possibility that Wauwatosa East (17-4) might be playing its final basketball games this weekend with Marquette (18-2) and probably Milwaukee Washington (20-1) standing in the way of a second-straight state trip.

The Red Raiders have seven seniors on this year's team - Eric Williams, Keondre Gholston, Fraizier Reiland, Michael Cupertino, Eric Neal, Vinnie Ingrilli and Isaiah Ward. This could be their final time wearing the Red Raiders' garb.

I just want to take a few minutes to share my memories of them.

Williams is one of the most talented players in the Greater Metro Conference. Coming off the bench last year, he made big baskets down the stretch in both sectional wins.  In the title game in Madison, he had the biggest shot of the tournament when he hit a HUGE 3-pointer in the final seconds to eventually led to the win. When I asked him afterwards if he was nervous, he smiled and said "Heck, I like to shoot."

Gholston beat Menomonee Falls last season went he went to the free throw line with the score tied - missed the first shot - and made the second - with no time on the clock. I asked him afterwards what he was thinking going to the line. He said "Game over!"  Then I asked him what he was thinking about after he missed the first one. He smiled and said 'Game over!'  After winning the title I walked up to him and said 'Game over!' and got a big smile out of him.

Fraizier Reiland is a unique player. Not too many teams have a weapon like him. At 6-foot-7-inches he is one of the taller players around, but he is a good 3-point shooter. Cupertino was a good point guard, who came up with the big 3 now and then and Ingrilli gave the team a 3-point threat that wasn't always available when he wasn't in the line-up.

Neal was one of my favorite players. He is one of the quickest players on the team, so watching him steal the ball and take it down the court for an easy basket or pass to a teammate for one was always fun to watch. He started at the beginning of the year, but when the coaches decided to bring him off the bench, he kept his mouth shut and added a spark the Red Raiders needed.

@@@

Congratulations to Zach Sines of Brookfield East and Glen Kendl from Tosa East for being named the Greater Metro Conference and Woodland Conference Wrestlers of the year.

@@@

Kudos to Brookfield Central's Katelyn Malcore for finishing third in the floor and vault at the state gymnastics meet. Freshman Taylor Bucholtz finished 16th in vault, which is not too shabby for a first trip to state.

@@@

Until next time, remember to be a hit and have a ball.

Three Brookfield schools and two Wauwatosa schools are still alive as the post-season heats up  -  the Brookfield Central girls and the boys teams from Brookfield Central, Brookfield East, Wauwatosa East and Wauwatosa West.

Hopefully the Central girls got a wake-up call last Saturday, when they rallied from a seven-point deficit with six minutes left to defeat a fired-up East team, 48-46, to advance to this weekend's sectional. The Lady Lancers will have their hands full, playing in a sectional whose four teams have a combined 76-10 record. Central (20-1) opens with Franklin (17-5) at 6 p.m. at Greenfield Friday and then with a win meets the winner of the Muskego (20-1) and Racine Case (19-3) at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Central boys (10-11) beat Franklin, 59-48, to advance to Saturday's game at Milwaukee Hamilton (17-3) at 1:30 p.m. Brook East (7-14), working on a four-game winning streak, will play at Racine Park (17-3) at 1 p.m. East coach Andy Farley has his team playing well, as they beat a favored Waterford tea, 53-51, in OT in the first round.

If will be interesting to see how Wauwatosa East responds from it's trashing at the hands of Marquette to lose the GMC title the last time the Red Raiders were on a basketball court on Feb. 26.  The Red Raiders have struggled finding the right combination this year, have been inconsistent from the perimeter and have had trouble sticking with coach Tim Arndorfer's offense this year. If they beat Bay View (10-10) at home on Saturday at 1 p.m., they will face the winner of the Marquette (17-2-1) Tosa West (10-11) game on Friday, March 13, at the Al McGuire Center at 8 p.m.

Yes, Tosa West gets a chance Saturday night at MUHS at 8 p.m. to do something the Red Raiders couldn't do this year. Beat the Hilltoppers.

The Central girls and the Tosa East boys are the only "favorites" among the five teams. But that's what makes this time of the year so much fun.

Keep reading!  Be a a hit and have a ball.

CHECK OUT MY VIDEO PREVIEW OF THE BIG GAMES!

I love this time of the year, although it is a very busy time - especially if you have teams alive in the WIAA post-season ritual. The girls have been underway since Feb. 24, as I saw Tosa West handle Tosa East and Brookfield East beat Racine Park in first round games, advancing to Saturday's regional finals.

The matchups on Saturday weren't real exiting. No. 1 seed Brookfield Central (20-1), who destroyed Brookfield East (9-13) twice by 27 and 22 points, respectively, hosted the Lady Spartans in a 1 p.m. game and Divine Savior Holy Angels (18-3) hosted Tosa West (11-11) that night. I wasn't expecting a lot.

But here is a reason people say everyone starts the post-season with a 0-0 record. Brookfield East came to play and Brookfield Central came to not lose. The Lady Spartans led 39-32 with 7:41 remaining before Central woke up and even then it took a beautiful drive to the basket by sophomore sensation Valerie Rose Agnello to score the winning bucket with 2.4 seconds left to play to give Central the win.

East coach Tara Schmitt had her gang fired up and ready to play, as gritty Kennedy Curtis (14 points), 6-4 Marley Blood (12) and the cat-like Vanessa Brown (12) had the Lady Lancers off balance all game.

But in the end, Agnello, perhaps the top first-year varsity player in the conference, came through once again for the Lady Lancers, as did Joana Bielefeld in her new role as playmaker.

Bielefeld, last year's top player in the conference, has seen all sorts of trick defenses and is not forcing the ball. Instead she is setting up teammates for easy buckets and focuses on winning instead of padding her offensive stats. She is a pleasure to watch as she is an unselfish star player - and usually 'unselfish' and 'star' don't go together now-a-days.

The DSHA game was much uglier than I expected. The Trojans held the talented Dashers to 28 points and shut them out in the final quarter. The problem was Tosa West got blanked in the second and third periods and only scored 3 points in the first period.

Once again the Tosa West offense struggled, getting off only nine shots in the second and third quarters, as the Dasher shut them down for 20:51 seconds.

So DSHA and Brook Central live to face another game. But special kudos to the Lady Spartans, who left it all on the floor in the near-upset of the Lady Lancers.

***

I wanted to vent a little about something I saw, not once, but twice last week. Two of the biggest games in the GMC were played on Feb. 19 (BC girls at DSHA) and Feb. 26 (Tosa East boys at Marquette). These two games were for all the marbles. Winner wins the conference title. You would think people would be smart enough to figure there might be a large crowd in attendance - especially at DSHA, whose gym is a little bigger than my rec room (believe me, my rec room is nice, not huge).

But no, both nights people were walking around, looking for seats five minutes BEFORE tip-off, with eyes glazed over like, 'Wow, is this place crowded.' Folks, get with it. Expect a crowd at the game of the year in the conference for both the girls and boys. It's that time of the year. Get a clue.

There, got that off my chest. :)

Be a hit and have a ball until next time.

The fun begins this week as the girls playoffs start. The Wauwatosa East girls travel to Tosa West tonight for a WIAA Regional first-round game. Both teams have struggled offensively, so I figure the first team to 30 wins.

It could be the last time to see Hannah Weinberg-Kinsey and Margaret Panter of the Red Raiders team, two of my favorite players. While West has six seniors, led by Jesse Zeisse and Andrea Kwak. And I always enjoy watching little point guard Jackie Glaser play.

Brookfield East hosts Racine Park in the other girls game in my region. East has six seniors, led by Kennedy Curtis, Vanessa Brown and Kristina Dolney.

****

The biggest game of the week on the boys side has Tosa East traveling to crosstown rival Marquette with the winner walking off with the Greater Metro Conference Championship. The Hilltoppers' win in the first meeting has pushed them ahead of the Red Raiders in the rankings and the sectional seeding.

Garrett Maloney destroyed the Red Raiders in the first game and the MUHS zone limited Eric Williams to two points. If the results are going to be different, those numbers have to change.

****

The Red Raiders received a third-seed in the WIAA Sectional #8 rankings. The Red Raiders have a bye and then host Bay View or Pius XI at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 7. Tosa West received a Seven seed and hosts Oak Creek on Tuesday, March 3. The winner of that game plays MUHS on March 7.

****

Brookfield Central - a seventh seed - hosts No. 10 Franklin on Tuesday, March 3, at 7 p.m. and Brookfield East, which has been playing outstanding defense the past two weeks - takes its No. 11 seed to No. 6 Waterford that first night.

***

Zack Sines and Joey Woppert of Brook East, Dryden Holmes of Brookfield Central and big Glen Kendl of Wauwatosa head off to state Thursday to Saturday for the WIAA State Wrestling Championships at the Kohl Center.

Brookfield Central will take on some red-clad followers this week.  The Lancers travel to Marquette to meet the Hilltoppers Tuesday night and then return home to face them on Friday.  The unusual scheduling was because of the Jan. 16 postponed game because of cold weather closing schools was rescheduled to be played Feb. 17.  Thus Central and Marquette play twice within four days.

So why is this important to Tosa East fans? Pretty simple. The Red Raiders, whose only GMC loss came to Marquette, and the Hilltoppers are technically tied for first - Tosa East (11-1) and Marquette (10-1). The Red Raiders are 15-3 overall and MUHS is 14-2-1. The seeding meetings for the boys sectional are set for the weekend. If Marquette wins both games, they will probably have a higher seed than Tosa East because of the Hilltoppers win in their only meeting.  Milwaukee Washington will get the top seed, MUHS the second and the Red Raiders the third in the experts' opinions.

"I guess we will be Brookfield Central fans this week," TE coach Tim Arndorfer said. "We will have to see what coach (Mark) Adams (of BCHS) can come up with."

If Adams helps the Red Raiders by beating Marquette that will only be a by-product for the veteran coach, who is trying to get his team back in the winning column down the stretch - that's what's first on his mind going into these two games.

***

Brookfield Central (13-0, 18-1) travels to DSHA (12-1, 17-2) Thursday night for the season finale for both teams. The defending champion Lady Lancers won at the tiny DSHA gym last year, snapping a four-game losing streak there. The Dashers will be fired up to get a share of the title. Central, of course, has no interest in sharing it.  Central won the first game, 36-33, a rugged defensive game, which combined with some nervousness, made both offenses a little shakey.

First team to 40 (if the score goes that high) should win this game. It's always fun to watch Central's Dan Wandrey and DSHA's Scott Witt work the sidelines, their teams and the officials in this game.

***

Congrats to all the swimmers from the co-op teams from Brookfield and Tosa for qualifying for state. The news in Tosa was particularly big, because the boys have not been there since 2005.

Special shoutout to the Tosa co-op wrestlers and the Brookfield East and Central wrestlers who advanced to sectionals on Saturday.

***

The girls basketball seedings came out last weekend and Tosa fans should be happy, because they are guaranteed to have a team in the second round. Tosa East will travel to Tosa West on Feb. 24 for a 7 p.m. game to open postseason action. The Trojans nipped the Red Raiders, 33-31, in their non-conference meeting back on Dec. 2.

***

The most surprising box score from Friday night came from Brookfield East, where the Spartans crushed Hamilton, 55-34. Way to go Andy Farley and the gang. The most impressive stat was the Spartans' defense, led by Demetri Tongas, held Kameron Cerroni and Brett Meinecke to six points each. They normally average 38 points between them.

The Spartans have lost several close games this year and deserve a win like this.

***

Be a hit and have a ball until next time.

It is hard to believe that for some of the local swimmers and wrestlers, their season will come to an end on Saturday at the sectionals and regionals, respectively. Where did the season go to?

The Brookfield schools and the Wauwatosa co-op wrestling teams are taking part in the Waukesha North Regional on Saturday, while the Brookfield Barracudas and Tosa Hurricanes co-op swim teams take part in the Waukesha South Sectional, with diving on Friday and swimming on Saturday.

***

On the basketball front, the Brookfield Central girls (12-0, 17-1) travel to Tosa East (2-10, 4-12) this Friday and then travel to the band box at Divine Savior Holy Angels (11-1, 15-2) to determine who will win or share the GMC championship. Tosa West (7-4, 9-6) is battling Ike (8-2) and Pewaukee (8-4) for the Woodland title.

On the boys side, Tosa East (10-1, 14-3) has three tough matches at Brookfield Central (6-4, 9-6), Hamilton (7-4, 9-7) and at Marquette (9-1, 13-2) with the GMC title on the line. You can bet after this Friday, Tosa East fans will be cheering for the Lancers, who play the Hilltoppers on Feb. 17 and Feb. 20. Coach David Cooks has done a great job with his Marquette squad this season.

Tosa West coach Mike Landisch has his team playing exciting (7-4, 7-8) basketball, but the Trojans are going to have to close out more games if they want to catch Ike (9-1), Pewaukee (9-2) and Brown Deer (8-4). Without a doubt, watching Ray Sterling, Bendell Lee, Sam Krenzien, Andy Minkley and Barry Ballinger has given me plenty of thrills this season - more wins would be nice also.

***

SPECIAL HEADSUP --- Andy Minkley has come up big for the Trojans the past couple of weeks. The veteran senior guard is not afraid to take the big shot and his defense has been outstanding the last couple of games I have covered. Brookfield Central sophomore Valerie Rose Agnello, a 5-10 sophomore forward, has now started putting the ball in the hoop for the Lady Lancers. Agnello, an excellent defender and rebounder, gives Central another threat - which is like giving an octopus another tentacle. Watch out for seniors Zach Sines of Brookfield East and Glen Kendl as they set their sights on the state wrestling meet.

***

Be a hit and have a ball

The Wauwatosa East boys went 1-1 in the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook Tournament and it is easier to figure out a Rubik's Cube than the Red Raiders rotation.

"Yeah, it a perfect world that would be great," he said after the win over Pius XI on Saturday. "But we are still trying to find out who to start, who to play together. We have a lot of talent but no one is really stepping up."

@@@

Most of the Brookfield and Wauwatosa High School basketball teams will be playing their final conference games of the year this week before taking some time off for Christmas and then returning for some holiday tournaments or some individual non-conference games.

Here's some early thoughts on the teams I cover.

WAUWATOSA

Boys

Wauwatosa East has been writing a similiar script like last season, but when a team goes 26-1, it's the bottom line that counts. Larry Bradley, Jr. may be in uniform by next Friday's game against Pius XI once the legal guardian paperwork is done and with that addition, I really don't see anyone in the Greater Metro Conference giving the Red Raiders a run for their money. They were possibly more talented than last year's team without the 6-3 Bradley.

Wauwatosa West should be fun to watch this year this season with coach Mike Landisch's penetrate and kickback offense. This suits Ray Sterling, Jr. Bendell Lee and Sam Krenzien well, while Andy Minkley, more of a setup shooter, will get the hang of it. Barry Ballinger's play underneath will also be a key to the Trojans' success. It will also be interesting to see how the four suspended players fit in when they return soon.

Girls

Someone keep Tosa East coach Rob Hamill away from high places and sharp knifes. His girls have lost three games by a total of five points and have played better than their record indicates. Hannah Weinberg-Kinsey has recently been lighting up the net and that is something the Red Raiders need, a second scorer to go along with Margaret Panter.

The surprise team of the city might be Tosa West. Coach Mike Pietrowiak recently got scrappy Molly Boyle back and Jesse Zeisse will be back soon. The inside play of Ashley Ballinger will also be a key for the Trojans this season. Jackie Glaser, who was under the weather in a recent game, and Andrea Kwak have played well in the early going, among others.

BROOKFIELD

Boys

Mike Gosz, Hamilton Athletic Director, won't be getting a Christmas card from Brookfield East coach Andy Farley this year. The Spartans have opened up with Brookfield Central, Wauwatosa East and Marquette, all on the road. Daniel Patton is leading the way for the Spartans, is one of the top outside shooters I have seen this season. C.J. Gregg is a talented big man and Devonte Harper has done a good job of running the offense.

It's early yet, but coach Mark Adams has to be pleased with the Lancers quick start. Seven players are scoring between 5.0 and 7.0 points per game as Central has shown early season balance. Kevin Hynes, filling big shoes at point guard, and John Winius has hit some huge shots so far this season. Adams not only has a freshman on his team for the first time, but 6-4 Seth Mortag is STARTING on top of it.

Girls

My story in this week's paper goes into more detail on the defending champion Lady Lancers talented team this year. Joana Bielefeld and Erin Lueder do a great job of leading this team, but their suporting cast has improved. 6-1 Jesse Thomas, 5-10 sophomore Valarie Agnello, 5-9 Maggie Mattiacci and 5-8 Kate Sandstrom have all had key roles in Central's fast start. And coach Dan Wandrey has put in a devasting 1-3-1 zone defense this season.

If coach Tara Schmitt can get all her best players healthy or eligible, the Lady Spartans could be a force again. Marley Blood has been out with a high angle sprain and a few other players have had some athletic code and grade problems, but others have stepped up. One of the most aggressive players I have seen so far is Kennedy Curtis, who has helped East's inside game in Blood's absence.

Hope to see some of you at the Holiday Tournaments the next two weeks.

Be a Hit and Have a Ball.

The WIAA heard Wauwatosa East's appeal on sophomore transfer student Larry Bradley today and will make the announcement of their decision sometime next week.

To quickly summarize, Bradley, whose parents still live in Milwaukee, moved in with his uncle Marshall Williams, who lives in Wauwatosa. Bradley, a 6-3 guard, started for Milwaukee Vincent last season and averaged 7.3 points per game. He is considered one of the top sophomores in Wisconsin.

The WIAA denied a transferred waiver application in November. Tosa East appealed and pincipal Nick Hughes and athletic director Linda Vitrano traveled to Stevens Point for the hearing Friday. 

I was told the decision has been made, but the announcement is not until next week. Hello?  Takes that long to write a press release?

I have no inside information, of course, but I don't have a good feeling on this one.

@@@

Seth Mortag, a 6-4 freshman forward, is not only the first freshman to make the varsity for veteran coach Mark Adams, but he is also starting for the Lancers. Mortag played on a summer AAU team coach by former Milwaukee Bucks guard Mo Williams. He scored 10 points in his first varsity game, a double OT win over South Milwaukee.

@@@

Daniel Patton has stepped up for the Spartans, as the Brookfield East guard scored 25 points in the first two games, including 16 in the opener. He is a good outside shooter for coach Andy Farley's gang.

@@@

Brookfield East and West Allis Central, usually the teams to beat in the Greater Metro Conference wrestling race, hooked up in the first dual of the conference season. The Spartans won 36-27 behind pins by Andy Wanta, Zach Sines and Joe Wahhab. East coach Bud Sines must be smiling.

@@@

The school rivalries busted out early this season. Tosa West girls slipped by Tosa East, 33-31, in a thriller Tuesday night at West. The Tosa East boys travel to Tosa West Saturday night and then the Brookfield East boys and girls travel to Central for a twinbill on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. (girls) and 7:30 p.m. (guys).

@@@

That's it for now. Look for more blogs coming at you more often now that the winter season is underway.

Be a Hit and Have a Ball!

On back-to-back nights last week, I saw something that really disappointed me. And it had nothing to do with what happened on the basketball court.

Before I say anything, I want to say on the record that I think the Brookfield Central and Wauwatosa East basketball fans are among the best fans that I have had the chance to watch the past six years. Their outfits are creative and their enthusiasm is contagious. Maybe that's why I was disappointed, because the Lancer and Red Raider fans have set high standards in my eyes.

First of all, last Wednesday, the Tosa East boys team hosted Menomonee Falls in a game which was moved from Tuesday because of the cold weather. I couldn't believe what I saw. Not only was it one of the smallest crowds that I have ever been a apart of at a Tosa East boys basketball game, but one of the quietest. I actually counted 61 students in the student section.

It couldn't have been the competition, because Menomonee Falls has the ability to beat anyone in the Greater Metro Conference. In fact, the Indians led the Red Raiders at half-time the first time they played. It took a curious foul call in the final seconds to give Tosa East a chance to win the game in regulation this time around.

I know it wasn't just me, because a high-profile Tosa East official made the comment to me afterwards, "Maybe we're not the place to be any more." 

The next night, I attended the Brookfield East-Brookfield Central girls-boys doubleheader at Central. The stands were not even half full for the girls game, an important GMC battle between the unbeaten Lady Lancers and the desperate Lady Spartans, who needed and got, a huge 39-35 victory.

With two minutes - TWO minutes - left in the game, like clockwork, the color-coded blue and white Central students paraded into the gym as a group. Hello?  Where were you people for the first game? A game which was much more entertaining and more meaningful in the GMC race than the nightcap would be.

With all the cold weather and the re-scheduling of games last week, I'm going to give the students the benefit of the doubt based on their past history.

Or maybe, just maybe, they were home studying.

Agree or disagree with me, but feel free to leave a comment.

And always remember to be a hit and have a ball.

With most athletes off until later this week because of exam week, let's take a look at some highlights from the past week in Brookfield and Wauwatosa prep sports.

Wauwatosa East's 160-pounder Nick Morin became the all-time winningest wrestler in Tosa history by winning four matches last week (103-34). He surpassed Jake Benedict's 102 victories from 2001-05.

DSHA basketball coach Scott Witt felt as if his team lost the Greater Metro Conference title last Friday when the young Brookfield Central Lady Lancers beat the pre-season favorite Dashers, 45-38. "They (BC) have to lose two games and I don't think that's going to happen," Witt said. "I think it's between us and Brookfield East for second place."

The young Lancers only have two seniors in the top seven of their rotation and junior Joana Bielefeld (11.5 PPG) and sophomore Erin Lueder (12.5) are two of the GMC's top players. But that won't stop Dan Wandrey from worrying, because Central's head coach is the GMC's version of Lou Holtz.

Tosa West's Jesse Zeisse was inserted into the starting lineup for Andrea Kwak last week, when Kwak missed a practice. The results worked out great for both girls. Zeisse scored nine points in a win over Greenfield and then Kwak scored 10 in a double overtime win over Whitnall including four in the second overtime.

Brookfield Central handed Wauwatosa East a 53-51 loss on Jan. 15 and pulled into a first-place tie with the state-ranked Red Raiders. A couple things came out of this game. The key to the game was Central's discipline in their half-court offense, as the Lancers didn't fall apart after East rallied from a 10-point deficit. Central ran time off the clock in the final minutes, looking for a lay-up. Unsung hero Mitch Aprahamian was at the top of the key when he whipped a pass to Luke Duckett driving to the basket for a lay-up and the win.

The Central scoreboard had a short circuit (or something), because it went out a few minutes before the start of the second half, in the third quarter and then with two minutes left to play. When East's Tony Walls grabbed a loose ball and called time-out while flying out of bounds there was then a few seconds of controversy over whether the clock expired.

Tosa East's Hannah Weinberg-Kinsey has averaged 11.3 PPG, scoring 16, 8 and 10 points since breaking the middle finger on her shooting hand. She improved her scoring over three points per game. There is no truth to the rumor coach Rob Hamill is thinking of having the rest of his squad wear similiar splints.

After starting the season with 13 straight losses the co-op team of Wauwatosa East/West/New Berlin Eisenhower/West/Whitnall (now that's a mouthful) won their first hockey game, 6-2, over Oconomowc on Saturday.