When wanting to get away from the recent cold weather, most people would rather watch a basketball game in a hot gym than watch a hockey game at a cold ice rink.  However, the cold doesn’t appear to bother some  supporting the Bay Port-Pulaski Hockey team, which is in its second WIAA season.
    The Pirates, which play with Pulaski as a co-op team and play their home games at the Cornerstone Community Ice Center in De Pere, started the season by winning its first two games against Sheboygan and Green Bay United, but lost their next five games against Notre Dame, Neenah, Appleton United, Ashwaubenon and Fond du Lac.  
    Many players, like Senior Landon Farber and Freshman Travis Falk, state that the loss to Notre Dame, which ended in overtime, was their toughest game so far because of the penalties against them and that they "had the momentum going."            
    The Pirates ended their losing streak with a win against Beaver Dam on December 20.  They lost their next two games  against Green Bay United and Waupun before winning two of their next three games against De Pere and Oshkosh United.
         As of January 22nd, according to the Pirates Hockey page on the school website, Bay Port-Pulaski are 5-8 overall with a 4-7 record against division teams and are in third place in the North Division of the Badgerland Hockey Conference Standings. Despite the team’s losing record, the team feels pretty good about the season, but says there are things that need to be worked on.  
    "We have to take care of reducing penalties and capitalize on scoring opportunities," Head Coach Craig Compton said.   
    Besides the unfortunate start to the season, the team is also bothered by the lack of attendance at their games.  According to many players, crowds haven’t been as big as they used to be when hockey was first introduced to the school a  year ago and that attendance has been up and down. 
    One major factor affecting the size of the crowds at the hockey games is that other sports going on at the same time that people are more interested in watching, like basketball.  Senior Cole Nenahlo, a player on the junior varsity hockey team, states that the better they get, the better the fan support.
    Nevertheless, the players feel confident they can turn their season around as it comes to a close.  There are currently six games remaining in their schedule: four games in the Wishigan Tournament on January 30 and 31, an annual tournament that brings high school hockey teams from across Michigan and Wisconsin to play against each other; at home against the Fox Cities Stars on February 6; and at St. Mary’s Springs on February 14.  
    "We have the potential to do well, pull away and be better than a .500 team," Junior Tyler Waskosky said.  "We can beat the rest of the teams if we play good." 
    If the hockey team can achieve success the rest of the season, they will not only have the opportunity to go deep in the playoffs, but also have more fans come and watch their games.