Wednesday night it was Rocco Grimaldi who had the game winner in the extra session against Manitoba. This time it was David Gust who came through causing the hometown crowd of 5,360 to erupt in cheers. Gust started the play the led to his goal by laying out on the defensive end in front of Arvid Soderblom to block a shot by the Eagles. Gust then raced to the other end where he took a centering pass from Jakub Galvas and while falling Gust backhanded the puck into the net past Justus Annunen. It was Gust's 25th goal of the season.

The IceHogs' first goal of the night was scored by Zach Jordan in the first period. An even-strength goal for his first goal as an IceHog. Luke Philp kept up his hot scoring pace by adding a power play goal in the second period on a deflection. For Philp it was his 21st goal of the season.

Soderblom delivered 33 saves to earn the win.

For highlights, watch the media player above.

Cassioppi landed in the consolation round Saturday afternoon after losing Friday night in the semifinals to #1 seed Mason Parris of Michigan by a 16-1 technical fall. Saturday, Cassioppi opened with a 4-0 decision over Zach Elam of Missouri. Then he lost in the third-place match to #2 seed Wyatt Hendrickson of Air Force by a fall in 4:16.

Cassioppi finishes the season with a record of 25-5. He is the 25th four-time All-American in Iowa wrestling history. He'll get a chance to become a five-time All-American next year. He has already told us that he intends to use an extra fifth year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to COVID-19.

NFL Network reports Lowry has agreed to a two-year deal worth $8.5 million. The defensive lineman switching sides in the Packers-Vikings rivalry. Lowry has spent all seven of his NFL seasons with the Packers. He was a fourth-round pick in 2016. Since then, he's started in 80 games with 15.5 career sacks.

Lowry helps fill a need on the defensive line for new Vikings coordinator Brian Flores.

Devo Davis had 16 points for the eighth-seeded Razorbacks, who used relentless defense and rebounding to build big leads but couldn't get comfortable until the final minute. Arkansas (21-13) faces top-seeded Kansas on Saturday in the second round of the West Region.

Terrence Shannon Jr., held scoreless the first 16 minutes, finished with 20 points to lead the Illini (20-13). It was the first time in five tournament appearances since 2011 that Illinois didn't make it out of the first round.

The Razorbacks were up by double digits in the middle of the first half, but no lead has been safe this season. In seven games they blew leads with scoring droughts of five minutes or longer.

That didn't happen this time, though it looked like it could when Arkansas failed to land what could have been the knockout punch with 2 1/2 minutes to play. Anthony Black intercepted Coleman Hawkins' cross-court pass and Council missed the fast-break dunk when he would have been better served to lay it in. The blown play left Arkansas coach Eric Musselman flailing his arms and screaming.

“We were in this position many times before,” Council said. “We would be up 10, up 12 at halftime, and it starts dwindling down and the other team takes the lead. So just keep that mindset we got to win the game. We all wanted to win, and just keeping our foot on the gas and not giving up. Coach gave us positive energy and we gave positive energy to each other, so we just didn’t let up. We ended up extending the lead.”

Council atoned for his missed dunk with a layup to end a 4-minute, 13-second scoring drought, and his two free throws with 1:18 left put the Razorbacks up 68-57.

“We were able to survive their run in the second half, and obviously 22 for 29 from the foul line, shooting 76% in a win-or-go-home game. John Daly will be happy,” Musselman said, referring to the pro golfer and big Razorback fan. “He gives me texts after every game about our free-throw shooting. So I’m sure he will give me a positive text tonight.”

Arkansas, which has reached the Elite Eight the past two years, led by as many as 14 points in the first half and went to the locker room ahead 36-26 following a scrambling play under the basket where Kamani Johnson battled three Illinois players for a loose ball.

The play defined the hardscrabble contest. Jackson got the ball and muscled it into the basket. Nick Smith Jr. was there to celebrate as Johnson turned to go upcourt, playfully pushing his teammate in the chest. Johnson slipped and fell and exchanged smiles with Smith when he got up. A timeout followed, and the Arkansas faithful began a raucous “calling of the hogs,” putting some extra oomph into their “Wooooo. Pig. Souie!”

Arkansas' defense was on point from the outset, holding the Illini to 28% shooting in the first half and 38.5% for the game. The Hogs scored 19 points off Illinois' 17 turnovers.

“I thought their defense early was the difference,” Illini coach Brad Underwood said. “We had a hard time getting into offense, and then every time we made a run we missed a layup, we turned it over, or missed free throws.”

BIG PICTURE

Illinois: The Illini dropped to 1-8 all-time against Southeastern Conference teams in the NCAA Tournament. Matthew Mayer, who won a national championship with Baylor in 2021 and was the Illini’s second-leading scorer this season, missed all six of his shots and was held to two points.

Arkansas: The Razorbacks are now 6-1 against the Big Ten in the tournament since 1983 and set up for another deep run if they can knock off the Jayhawks.

Guilford senior Mekh Doby was named the conference's MVP. The Coach of the Year is Chris Dixon, the head coach of NIC-10 champion Guilford.

Following is a complete list of the all-conference picks as selected by the head coaches of the NIC-10 schools.

ALL-NIC-10 FIRST TEAM
Adrian Agee-Auburn senior
Aedan Campos-Boylan senior
Mekhi Doby-Guilford senior
Carl Harris-East senior
Matthew Hoarde-East senior
Brennan Horton Lee-Auburn senior
Isaiah Houi-Hononegah junior
Malachi Johnson-Guilford junior
Dedric Macon-Freeport junior
Deandre Young-Harlem senior

SPECIAL MENTION
Adam Brown-Belvidere North junior
Rakim Chaney-Auburn junior
Dane Dailing-Harlem senior
Randy Johnson-Jefferson-junior
Antonio Lewis-East senior

Winters was the NIC-10's defensive player of the year last season. He was also named Honorable Mention All-State.

He helped the Blue Thunder post a 7-2 record, which tied for second in the conference.

UW-La Crosse is a successful NCAA DIII program. Nick's older brother, Aaron, already plays there.

"They always come in ranked top 25 in DIII," said Winters. "A very good program. They always go to the playoffs every year, and a very solid coaching staff, so they work hard over there.

The IceHogs closed out this contest in overtime with a 4-3 win.

Luke Philp carded two goals. His first came in the first period to tie the game at one. The next came in the second period to put the Hogs up by a score. He now has 20 goals on the season.

Bobby Lynch got in on the action with a goal in the second, his 11th of the season. He carded two points in this contest (1G, 1A).

But it was the newcomer, Rocco Grimaldi to win it for the Hogs in OT. He picked the perfect time to score his first as an IceHog. He leads the AHL in scoring with 28 goals.

Here are the Central Division standings:
1. Texas Stars - 72 points
2. Milwaukee Admirals - 71 points
3. Manitoba Moose - 70 points
4. Iowa Wild - 65 points
5. Rockford IceHogs - 65 points
6. Chicago Wolves - 55 points
7. Grand Rapids Griffins - 55 points

The IceHogs are home again Friday night hosting the Colorado Eagles. Game time is 7 p.m.

For highlights of Wednesday night’s game watch the media player above.

The annual Rising Stars' All-Star Classic will return next month. Top senior players from around the area will square off in a doubleheader. A team of NIC-10 girls stars will play a team of area stars in the first game. That will be followed by the NIC-10 boys stars playing a team of area stars from surrounding schools.

Both games will once again be played at Rock Valley College on Saturday, April 15. The girls' game will begin at 5 p.m. and the boys' game will begin at 7 p.m.

Tuesday morning a panel of media members met to select this year's teams. Following is a list of those teams. There are ten players on each team. Players and coaches are subject to change based on their availability.

NIC-10 GIRLS STARS
Maggie Schmidt-Boylan
Reniyah Shirley-Freeport
Avery Green-Guilford
Lindsey Knuth-Guilford
Sydney Donaldson-Guilford
Grace Vyborny-Harlem
Nikki Harrison-Harlem
Emma Clark-Hononegah
Breacia Carter-Hononegah
TaMya Sago-Jefferson
COACH: Michael Jamerson-Guilford

AREA GIRLS STARS
Ella Grundstrom-Byron
Ava Kultgen-Byron
Harvest Day-Dixon
Ella Govig-Dixon
Tianna Esser-Lena-Winslow
Sydney Carlson-Lutheran
Sydney Driscoll-River Ridge/Scales Mound
Avery Demo-Rockford Christian
Evyn Carrier-Sycamore
Campbell Schrank-Winnebago
COACH: Eric Yerly-Byron

NIC-10 BOYS STARS
Adrian Agee-Auburn
Brennan Horton Lee-Auburn
Ethan Andre-Belvidere North
Aedan Campos-Boylan
Antonio Lewis-East
Matthew Hoarde-East
Carl Harris-East
Elijah Richmond-Freeport
Mekhi Doby-Guilford
Dane Dailing-Harlem
COACH: Chris Dixon-Guilford

AREA BOYS STARS
Owen Greenfield-Forreston
Josh Bunting-Genoa-Kingston
Blake Broege-Lutheran
Walt Hill Jr.-Lutheran
Korbin Gann-Pecatonica
Kevion Cummings-Rockford Christian
Jacob Duerr-Scales Mound
Leorence Kostka-South Beloit
Alex Rahn-Stillman Valley
Ray Maruchie-Winnebago
COACH: Matt Stucky-South Beloit

Pads and a helmet weren't necessary for this event. This was all about Vandenburgh showing off his speed, his quickness, and his lateral movement, all with NFL scouts watching inside Northwestern's mammoth Ryan Fieldhouse.

"It's not necessarily stressful just because you look forward to this your whole life you know, but it's definitely training for the Underwear Olympics,” said Vandenburgh. “It's not like training for a football player."

Vandenburgh did his weightlifting and his jumping drills at Illinois State's Pro Day last week where he played for the Redbirds. He wanted to do his running and movement drills at Northwestern because of its indoor facility and turf.

"I thought it went well. It was good to get in front of all 32 teams, and I thought I put together a good day. It's just all in God's hands at this point."

Vandenburgh had an eye-popping final season playing linebacker for Illinois State last fall. He won the Buck Buchanan Award as the best defensive player in the nation in the Football Championship Subdivision for Division One. His 14 sacks led the FCS, and his 21 tackles-for-loss were the second most in the nation. He provided NFL scouts with a lot of great film, but Vandenburgh knows that they still want to see what he can do in these Pro Day situations.

"You just hope that you check all the boxes in this process, so that they can look at your film and say the numbers validate the film and judge you based on your film, because even if you have a great year you can have some red flags in your testing in terms of you're not very athletic. Then you can just be a great college player and your game won't translate. It's really nice to have film to validate me as a player, that they can always base my draft stock off of that."

What type of player could Vandenburgh be at the NFL level?

"I think I put a great effort. Explosive off the ball. I play physical football, and I think I've got a great knack for where the ball is going to be and a great football IQ where I can decipher offenses and know what's coming before it comes."

"I've always had this dream, and I've always believed in myself. I have a lot of people around me that believe in me.”

Vandenburgh was taken in the recent USFL Draft by the Birmingham Stallions, but he says the USFL is only a fallback plan at the moment.

Vandenburgh has a lot on his plate right now. He's getting married this Saturday.

Vyborny has shined in both sports at Harlem. In the recently completed basketball season she was named First Team All-NIC-10. She averaged 12.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She also holds some school records including the best field goal percentage in a season (53.7%), and the most ofensive rebounds in a game (14).

She has started on varsity three years at Harlem scoring 970 points and grabbing 740 rebounds.

Vyborny is looking forward to further developing her basketball and volleyball skills at the next level. "It makes me super excited knowing that I can develop my skills on and off the court, and I actually, I love the game so much, so it's an honor just to be able to play in my hometown too, so I get to have all my fans come and watch."

Boylan graduate Peyton Kennedy will compete for the St. Louis Billikens, and Hononegah graduate Jordan King will compete for the Marquette Golden Eagles.

Kennedy and St. Louis got into the tournament by winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament a week ago. The Billikens will open up NCAA Tournament action this Friday by playing the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. St. Louis is the #13 seed. The game will be played Saturday at noon CT.

Kennedy is a junior who averages 9.8 points and 4.7 rebounds a game for St. Louis. In her senior year at Boylan in 2019-2020, Kennedy was the NIC-10 MVP. She led the NIC-10 in scoring (24.2ppg), rebounding (12.8rpg), and blocked shots (1.7 per game). She is one of only two players in NIC-10 history to finish her high school career with more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

King and Marquette go into the NCAA Tournament as a #9 seed. Marquette will play #8 seed South Florida in the opening round Friday in Columbia, South Carolina.

King is a senior, who is Marquette's leading scorer at 15.9 points per game. She also averages 4.2 points and 4 assists per game. She was named First Team All-Big East this season. Marquette won 21 games during the regular season including wins over #3 Texas and #4 Connecticut.

King is the all-time leading scorer in NIC-10 history with 2,505 points. She led the NIC-10 in scoring three seasons. Her senior season in 2018-19 she was named First Team All-State in Class 4A after averaging 21 points per game and leading Hononegah to 33 wins and a third-place finish in the state.

Rolston, 21, appeared in 27 games with the University of Notre Dame during the 2022-23 campaign, posting 20 points (7G, 13A). His seven goals and 20 points each ranked third on the team, while his 13 assists shared third best among all Fighting Irish skaters.

A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Rolston dressed in 93 collegiate games with Notre Dame from 2020-23, totaling 53 points (18G, 35A). During his sophomore season in 2021-22, Rolston tallied career highs in goals (10), assists (17) and points (27).

Prior to his collegiate career, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound forward skated in 42 games with the Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL), registering 33 points (16G, 17A). He also competed in 106 games with the U.S. National Team Development Program from 2017-19, totaling 70 points (46G, 24A).

He’s the son of former NHLer and Stanley Cup Champion, Brian Rolston.

IBCA BOYS ALL-STATE PICKS (2022-23)

CLASS 1A
Thomas Hereau-Scales Mound Junior-First Team
Baylen Damhoff-Fulton Junior-First Team
Ross Robertson-South Beloit Sophomore-Second Team
Korbin Gann-Pecatonica Senior-Third Team
Charlie Weigel-Scales Mound Senior-Third Team
Ethan Price-Fulton Senior-Third Team
Cooper Hoffman-Pecatonica Sophomore-Special Mention

CLASS 2A
Walt Hill Jr.-Rockford Lutheran Senior-First Team
Ray Maurchie-Winnebago Senior-Second Team
Christian Cummings-Rockford Christian Sophomore-Second team
Vontez Dent-Rockford Lutheran Junior-Third Team

CLASS 3A
No local players selected.

CLASS 4A
Adrian Agee-Auburn Senior-Special Mention
Mekhi Doby-Guilford Senior-Special Mention

The men are back in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.

They are headed to Des Moines, Iowa as the No. 9 seed set to face No. 8 Arkansas in the first round. That game is Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

The Razorbacks are coming off a quarterfinal loss to Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament. The Illini finished the regular season at 20-12, they are also coming off a loss. That came to Penn State in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.

For the first time in 20 years, and in her first year as head coach, Shauna Green has led the Illinois women back to the big dance.

It's a bit of a shock where they are going though...as the Illini will to have to play in the First Four on Wednesday in South Bend, Ind.

Illinois (22-9), an 11 seed, will take on Mississippi State (20-10) for a chance to face off with No. 6 Creighton.

Moberly advances to the national tournament with the 66-52 win and Highland's season ends.

For highlights watch the media player above.

They hosted the number one seed Morton College Panthers at The Nest. Morton ran away with it in the second half. Morton won 96-68.

Rock Valley was playing with only five players. The other seven were ejected in the semifinal game against Kankakee Community College after a scuffle broke out and the players left the bench. They had to sit out of this game.

RVC's fab five consisted of sophomore Emily Rich, and four freshmen in Elli Teubert, Maya Mitchell, Sam Tourtillott and McKenna Williams.

Mitchell led the team with 23 points, Williams came up right behind her with 18.

RVC finishes the year as the 9th ranked team with a 25-7 record.

For highlights watch the media player above.

Coming off his game-winning shootout goal against the Laval Rocket on Mar. 4, IceHogs forward Morgan Adams-Moisan dropped the gloves with Griffins defenseman Wyatt Newpower at 2:17 to ignite the Friday night action.

Nearing the end of what appeared to be a scoreless first period, defenseman Louis Crevier was charged with a two-minute interference penalty, and Grand Rapids went on the power play with 1:29 left in the initial frame. After Griffins forward Matt Luff fired a shot from the right circle, forward Joel L’Esperance cleaned up the rebound and chipped a shot past Rockford goaltender Arvid Soderblom at 18:45 to take a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Forward Bobby Lynch tied the contest 1-1 on the Hogs’ third man advantage in the final frame with a highlight reel-worthy between-the-legs goal at 9:15. When forward Rocco Grimaldi’s shot missed high over the crossbar, Lynch was ready on the edge of the crease and knocked the loose puck between his legs and past Griffins netminder Alex Nedeljkovic. Grimaldi recorded his first point as an IceHog with the assist.

The Griffins stunned the IceHogs only 17 seconds into the overtime period when Grand Rapids defenseman Jared McIsaac caught a centering pass and angled the puck into the net to earn the 2-1 win. Soderblom marked 31 saves on 33 Grand Rapids shots but was tagged with the overtime loss, and Nedeljkovic turned away 29 of 30 Rockford shots for the victory.

The next home game for Rockford is Wednesday, March 15 against the Manitoba Moose at 7 p.m.

In exchange, Chicago receives star wide receiver D.J. Moore and four draft picks.

The picks the Bears will reportedly receive are in the first round (No. 9) and second rounds (No. 61) this year. They will also get a 2024 first-round and 2025 second-round choice.

Moore would join the Bear after spending his first five NFL seasons in Carolina. He was the 24th overall pick in the first round of the 2018 draft out of Maryland. Last year he had 63 receptions for 888 yards and 7 touchdowns (career high). The 25-year-old is under contract through the next two years. He already has three, 1000-yard seasons under his belt.

The trade is not yet official. It won't be confirmed until the start of the new league year at 3 p.m. (CT) Wednesday.

Here's a list of the Bears current picks in this year's draft (April 27-29). Five of the nine have been acquired in trades:

Round 1 - No. 9 (from Panthers)
Round 2 - No. 53 (from Ravens)
Round 2 - No. 61 (from Panthers)
Round 3 - No. 64
Round 4 - No. 103
Round 4 - No. 133 (from Eagles)
Round 5 - No. 136
Round 5 - No. 148 (From Ravens)
Round 7 - No. 218
Round 7 - No. 258 (supplemental selection)

Vanvleet received a technical foul from referee Ben Taylor in the third quarter against the Clippers and was visibly upset when speaking to reporters after the game.

“I thought Ben Taylor was f***ing terrible tonight. I think that on most nights, you know out of the three, there’s one or two that just f*** the game up. It’s been like that a couple of games in a row,” VanVleet said.

“There’s a fine line, obviously, I understand that,” VanVleet said. “But I think the jurisdiction and the power trip that we’ve been on this year with some of our officials in this league is getting out of hand. And I’ll take my fine for speaking on it, but … this is f*** ridiculous.”

According to ESPN, on Thursday, VanVleet reiterated his frustration, saying, "Speaking for a lot of guys, obviously, I was frustrated, emotional. But there are a lot of people that feel that way. Hopefully going forward we see some change for the better, the betterment of the game. It was a little emotional, a tough loss, things not going our way, got caught up in the moment a little bit.

"You live and you learn and you move on. It came out authentic, it came out in real time. I wouldn't have done that if I felt like I had another option or outlet. I felt like I've exhausted my options this season, many different occasions. It is just one of those things, I am human."

Camren Wynter scored 18 points and Seth Lundy had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the 10th-seeded Nittany Lions (20-12), who will take on second-seeded Northwestern in Friday's quarterfinals.

Jalen Pickett, who came in averaging 18 points per game and scored a combined 61 points in two regular-season wins over the seventh-seeded Fighting Illini, had 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 19 points, Coleman Hawkins 17 and Dain Dainja 13 for Illinois (20-12).

Trailing by one with eight minutes remaining, Penn State went on a 14-3 run with six points each from Funk and Pickett to lead by 12 with just under two minutes left. The Lions went 7 of 10 at the line from there to hold off the Illini, who made a 3-pointer as time ran out.

Lundy and Wynter combined for 21 points as Penn State built a 27-17 lead with eight minutes left in the first half. But the Nittany Lions finished the half with four turnovers and shooting 2 of 11. Hawkins scored six points in a 13-4 half-ending run to narrow the gap to 31-30.

Penn State has won six of its last seven games.

Philp, 27, has appeared in two NHL games with the Blackhawks this season, posting one assist. The forward made his NHL debut on Jan. 24 at Vancouver and posted his first career NHL point on Jan. 26 at Calgary (1A). He has also skated in 45 AHL games with the IceHogs this year, recording 38 points (18G, 20A). His 18 goals are tied for third on the team, while his 38 points rank fourth among all Rockford skaters.  

A native of Canmore, Alberta, Philp has dressed in 193 career regular-season AHL games split between the Stockton Heat (2019-22) and Rockford IceHogs (2022-23), compiling 130 points (66G, 64A). Philp competed with Stockton during the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs, registering five points (1G, 4A) in ten postseason games.

Prior to his professional career, the 5-foot-10, 185-pound forward appeared in 264 career WHL games with the Kootenay Ice (2012-16) and Red Deer Rebels (2015-16), notching 251 points (103G, 148A). He then played in 78 games with the University of Alberta (USports), securing 103 points (42G, 61A) in three seasons from 2016-19. During his junior season in 2018-19, Philp served as an alternate captain and earned USports Men’s Player of the Year honors after recording 45 points (21G, 24A) in 24 contests.

Sunday afternoon family members and friends gathered on campus outside the PE Center to welcome the bowlers back from New York where the national competitions were held.

The women won for the second straight year. The men claimed the program's third national championship. Individually Sammantha Meyers, a Winnebago graduate, won the All-Events Championship for the women. Hononegah graduate Connor Mooney was second in the men's All-Events field.

"It feels great to be an all-events champion as well as a team champion," said Meyers. "We are a team, so I'm glad for the team as well as myself."

"As a freshman coming in and getting second in all events, I really wasn't thinking about it throughout the team event," said Mooney. I was really hoping to get a national title as a team."

"I knew they would come through and get the job done," said Tony Hall, the head coach of both RVC teams. "We practiced really hard. We prepared all year for this. It was a matter of just going there and performing."

There is more to come for both teams. Next weekend they'll compete in the USBC Sectionals in Addison hoping to qualify for the Intercollegiate Team Championships next month in Las Vegas.

Saturday night at RVC in the district semifinals the Golden Eagles were dominating Kankakee Community College midway through the fourth quarter. The final outcome wasn't in doubt. RVC was well on its way to a win. They were leading by 39 points.

But a brief scuffle broke out under RVC's basket. There was some pushing and shoving. No one was injured. The problem for RVC is, all seven players who were on the bench at the time for the Golden Eagles left the bench area and went onto the court to apparently play peacemakers and prevent the situation from escalating.

Leaving the bench in basketball is a big no-no. All seven players were ejected leaving RVC to finish the game with the five players who had been on the court at the time.

RVC won the game 105-61 to advance to the District Championship game next Saturday against Morton College. However, the seven RVC players who were ejected will most likely have to sit out that game.

For highlights watch the media player above.

Mater Dei's 6-5 sophomore center Alyssa Koerkenmeier towered about the Tigers. She scored 16 points in the first half helping Mater Dei grab a six-point lead. Koerkenmeier finished the game with 23 points. She also had 14 rebounds and a whopping ten blocked shots.

Mater Dei freshman Amelia Beer added 13 points.

Byron was outrebounded 43-32. The Lady Tigers shot only 26.7% from the field (16-60) due largely to Koerkenmier's defensive pressence in the paint.

Freshman guard Macy Groharing led Byron in scoring with 14 points. Senior All-State forward Ava Kultgen sored 12 points and Karsyn Bielskis added ten.

Byron ends its season with a record of 34-3.

For highlights and postgame reaction, watch the media player above.

King ranked seventh in the conference in scoring during the regular season at 16.3 points per game. She ranked fifth in assists at 3.9 per game.

King scored in double figures in 24 of Marquette's 29 games. She scored a career high 31 points against Providence.

King also leads Marquette's team in steals and in field goal percentage.

Marquette has one season of eligibility left due to the COVID year. She recently told us she plans to use it and return to Marquette.

The Lady Tigers led 22-13 at halftime after taking command in the second quarter by outscoring Butler 12-2. Byron opened up a 17 point lead in the third quarter before Butler made a run, but the Lady Tigers stayed poised and closed the deal.

For Byron head coach Eric Yerly, it's always been about more than wins or losses. It's about the journey, and that journey has led them to the state championship game.

"We had some tough times and we had some adversity and we learned from our mistakes, and that's typically what we do is teach growth and peak at the end of the season and you're seeing it now."

Senior Ava Kultgen again led Byron in scoring with 17 points, but she had a lot of help. Freshmen Macy Groharing and Malia Morton each scored 10 points. Senior Ella Grundstrom added 14 rebounds and seven assists.

"When I know I'm not scoring a lot, like I'm missing my shots, I have other roles to play and that turned into rebounding in the second half and that's what really led us to the bigger lead," said Grundstrum. "I find roles that aren't being taken care of and fill them instead of scoring the most points."

"We told them we felt like we were getting good shots," said Yerly. "I just slow down a little bit because we were rushing them because of the speed of the gam,e and once we got a couple to fall, I think we got more confidence. I'm just happy for the kids and really pleased at our community, I think we broke over into the other section and filled ours up. Outstanding representation for the Byron community.

"I couldn't ask for a better way to go out," said the senior Grundstrom. "You know losing last year in the sectional final against Winnebago, I mean they were a great team, but to be here my senior year along with my best friends is the way to go out."

The Byron girls came into this season arguably as one of the underdogs, but it's pretty amazing what a little chip on the shoulder can do. Now just one game stands between them and another 2A state title. They will play for the championship on Saturday at 12:45 against Breese Mater Dei. Mater Dei knocked off defending 2A state champion Quincy Notre Dame in the other semifinal game 61-54.

Grimaldi, 30, leads the Gulls in scoring with 56 points (27G, 29A) this season. Prior to the current campaign, the winger spent four seasons with the Nashville Predators organization. Over the course of his nine-year professional career, Grimaldi has posted 67 points (30G, 37A) in 203 NHL contests with the Florida Panthers (2014-16), Colorado Avalanche (2016-18), and Predators (2018-22). The Anaheim, California native has produced 280 points (133G, 147A) in 354 AHL games since turning pro out of the University of North Dakota.

Nijhoff, 21, has appeared in 16 games with San Diego this season. The forward has posted 10 points (6G, 4A) in 25 contests with the ECHL's Tulsa Oilers during the current circuit.

Golod, 22, has skated in one American Hockey League game with the San Diego Gulls during the 2022-23 campaign. He’s also played in 42 ECHL games with the Tulsa Oilers, leading the club with 31 assists and 43 points (12G, 31A).

Sikura, 27, served as an alternate captain for the Rockford IceHogs (AHL) during the 2022-23 season, posting 32 points (14G, 18A) in 52 games. He played in 47 career games with the Blackhawks from 2017-20, compiling 14 points (1G, 13A). 

The show dates are from Tuesday February 28th till Friday March 3rd. All shows during this time period are at 6 p.m. with admission being $7 per ticket. Thursday March 2nd's show is already sold out.

There is also a mini show on Saturday March 4th. The show times are 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 5 p.m. The admission for the 10 a.m. show is $5 per ticket while the 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. shows are $7 per ticket.