Westosha’s Hill, Wilmot’s Faber make impact for hockey team

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
[email protected]

When the Kenosha Thunder co-op hockey program entered the season, coach J.R. Litkey said Wilmot junior Cody Faber and senior Chris Hill of Westosha Central bolstered the starting line, which proved instrumental in the turnaround.

The Thunder finished 13-9 overall, a stark contrast compared to the previous year when they compiled an 11-10-2 record.

Chris Hill
Chris Hill

Furthermore, the Thunder advanced to sectional competition for the first time in team history, but lost 5-1 at Waukesha.

Both joined the Thunder after several seasons as teammates on the Kenosha Komets, but citing a change in age guidelines, it left Hill without an opportunity to play.

Adding to the age adjustments were the Komets varsity losses after graduation, leaving the squad with very few on the varsity level, which led to Hill’s inevitable departure.

“They changed the rule this year that all kids who were 17 or 18 were not allowed to play down a level,” Hill said. “When the rule changed, we weren’t allowed to play down.”

When Hill left, Faber followed suit.

“I was pretty much going to go wherever Chris went because we worked well together, and we knew each other,” Faber said.

Faber finished the season tied for the team lead in points with fellow junior Nicholas Elsen, and Hill finished in the top 10 in points as a defenseman.

Faber made an immediate statement in the season opener against Waupun, where he scored his first of two hat tricks en route to a 5-0 victory.

His other hat trick came at Germantown Jan. 29 to help the Thunder to an 8-7 win.

Cody Faber
Cody Faber

The junior forward also contributed assists, with three in the Thunder’s Feb. 5 win against the De Pere Voyagers.

Faber attributed his success to the partnership with two other skaters that he has known for awhile, Max Maegaard and Elsen.

“Max and I have played together for five or six years and we have good chemistry, and I met Nick when I was younger, so I was just holding the line,” Faber said.

The balance goes beyond the offensive end, Faber said, noting Hill and teammate Joey Trifone form an ideal defensemen combination.

“(Chris) has size, so he is intimidating for that,” Faber said. “He is fast, he has a hard shot, and he likes to hit a lot.”

While Hill has hitting power, the senior defenseman from Westosha Central have two different mentalities.

“I am little more position oriented, he is a little more wild, he will take the puck all the way up,” Hill said.

Hill finished with four assists and five goals as a defenseman for the Thunder.

While defenseman do not accrue many points, Hill said it is about the team,

“Sometimes you just have to have humility,” Hill said.

Both are grateful they were able to make a contribution this year.

“It feels really good that we could do something to help the team advance more and give them a shot to make it far into the playoffs,” Faber said.

“Having a little balance on the team really turned things around,” Hill said. “We had a pretty good offensive and defensive attack to the team.”

The Thunder season is Hill’s first, and last, but the senior said there is plenty of promise among a score of underclassmen.

Other Central players that will return are sophomore defenseman Chase Erickson, senior junior forward Matthew Perona and forward Kyle Kuhfuss.

“Chase is here, he will be a really good defenseman next year,” Hill said. “Kyle Kuhfuss stepped up at the end of the year, he had four goals in the last five games of the season, he was playing really good.”

For Wilmot, junior forward Hobey Horak and sophomore forward Christian Stoller could return for another year.

Westosha Central entered into the co-op agreement with Thunder last year while Wilmot has been with the squad for three


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