Northland played the final game of its men’s hockey season Saturday night. And like 25 other times this year, the Lumberjacks lost.
They fell 4-0 to UW-Eau Claire in the second and final game of an opening round WIAC tournament series.
But this loss feels different. It has a colder and harsher reality to it as there will be no hockey for Northland moving forward. There wont be any sports at the school for that matter once it closes its doors at the end of this academic year.
It’s an unfortunate thing for any school to endure, but it’s something that has become more common in recent years in this ever-changing college landscape at the small school level.
Northland isn’t the first school to announce its closing its doors. And, sadly, it won’t be the last.
Schools are struggling to stay open because the cost of operation is just too high. And as hard as those schools try to fight against it, to find ways to keep the doors open and the lights on, it often takes a miracle bigger than the one on ice in 1980 to pull it off.
You feel the worst for the athletes because now they have to find a new place to play or give up their sport all together.
On Northland’s roster, there are 27 underclassmen. Fourteen of them are freshmen. That means all but two either have to hope they can land on their skates at a new school or bid farewell to playing the sport they have poured their hearts and souls into for most of their lives.
And for the coaches, Shane Buckley and Scott Gregor, they now have to find new place to coach if they want to stay in the profession. The news of Northland’s closing has to be especially tough for Buckley as he’s an alum of the school and once played hockey for the Lumberjacks.
The WIAC will also now have one less school in its conference when it comes to hockey, leaving the league to fill in scheduling gaps.
Northland hasn’t won many games lately. The Lumberjacks were 1-26 this year, their lone win coming against Saint Mary’s on the road on Jan. 17. They have dropped 11 straight since then.
It’s their second consecutive one-win season.
They haven’t had a non-losing season since the 2018-19 campaign when they finished 12-12-3.
Win or lose, though, the Lumberjacks always competed. Effort was never in question.
Loghan Gallagher led the team in scoring this season, tallying seven goals to go along with two assists. Joe Weber finished with three goals and four assists. Ben Stewart added a goal and five assists. Brock Hart tallied a goal and four assists. Mac Reed also finished with four assists.
You hope all those guys find a new place to play and continue to grow their games. You hope their teammates do the same.
Perhaps the future of hockey at Northland would have been bright. That this program was due for better days ahead.
But now we’ll never know as the Lumberjacks have suffered the biggest loss of all, a loss that doesn’t show up on a scoreboard but one that will forever sting.
