In October of 1977, Darrell Sleeman of Marquette, Michigan, called Rod Herlache and asked him to get a team to play a home and away series with the Marquette Penguins.

    Rod checked with team managers in the local Industrial Hockey League at the De Pere Ice Center and found a group of interested and competent players.  With the help of Steve Harrison, Rod got commitments from 15 guys to pay $25.00 each for practice time.

    The De Pere team played those first games in borrowed jerseys and without an official name.

    The players were enthusiastic and expressed an interest in establishing a team to play enough games to play in the State Senior Tournament.  To meet the 10-game requirement for the tournament, games were scheduled with Fond du Lac, Marquette, and St. Norbert College.  The main goal at this point was to do well enough to enter the Badger State Hockey League for the following season. 

    With all these big plans, the team decided they had better come up with a name.  Looking for a word to go with De Pere, Rod got the old Webster off the shelf and looked under the D's.  He came across the word Deacons and thought that name seemed to fit the "saintly" type hockey players that were on the team.  Now the Deacons need jerseys.  Each player paid $8.00 and they had their first set of official jerseys.  The reasons the Deacon colors are black and gold is because no one in the league had these colors.

    The Deacons played eight games that season and were 8-0 going into the State Tournament in Fond du Lac.  Their first game was to be played against a team from Milwaukee.  That team was made up of players from the Old Milwaukee Admirals team that played in the USHL.  So here they were, the De Pere Deacons - a bunch of rookies - playing hockey against players they had watched play the Green Bay Bobcats.  The Deacons went into the game very loose and with the attitude that they'd give it their "best shot."  When both teams went on the ice for warm-ups, nobody was warming up on the Deacons, they were all standing on the blue line watching the Admirals.  So much for being loose!  But, they must have loosened up because the Deacons beat Milwaukee and you would have thought they won the Stanley Cup.  So much for that nine-game winning streak though, De Pere lost the next game and was out of the tournament. 

    The Deacons were accepted into the Badger State Hockey League.  Rod Herlache managed and coached the team that year.  The Deacons had a successful season finishing 8-8.  Once again, they won their first game and lost the second in the State Tournament.

    There were many experiences those first years.  The first season we got a beer license, we didn't have a refrigerator to keep the beer cold so we had to use ice coolers.  We even charged wives and girlfriends at the gate and then they had to sell the beer!!  Who could forget the time that Chippewa Falls was to play an exhibition series in De Pere.  It was a big night for the Deacons.  There were three TV stations ready to give local coverage and the Chippewa Falls team showed up over an hour late.  The Falls manager gave Rod a check for $100.00 to cover expenses, but when he got home he stopped payment on the check.  Rod retired that season from coaching and gave the job to Rick Toninato. 

    The Deacons were moving ahead slowly but surely.  We got a refrigerator and didn't charge the wives and girlfriends anymore.  Rick Toninato coached for about two months then had to leave the Deacons for a job opportunity.  He gave the coaching status to Carl Magnuson and Steve Stankevitz took over managing the finances.

    With the high cost of ice rentals, many of the available hockey players could not afford $200 plus expenses; so that kept our hockey team to about 10 to 12 die-hard players.  A couple of bright spots were the arrival of Dave Lepp and Pete Bongard.  Bongard led the BSHL in scoring that year.  The Deacons finished with an 11-9 record; good for third place in the BSHL and won their first game and lost their second game in the State Senior Hockey Tournament action in Fond du Lac.

    Our financial situation remained about the same.  The main thing was that we stayed alive.  There were a couple of new faces, but not many.  We lost our other goaltender, Brian Peterson, because of  a job opportunity.  The big problem, was we couldn't find a replacement.  We played the whole season with Dave Lepp in the nets and prayed that he wouldn't get hurt.  We finished 7-8-1, third place again in the BSHL.  We took the consolation bracket in the State Tournament in Eagle River.

    That year Magnuson was told by a few of the players that they couldn't afford to play anymore.  At the same time, Steve Stankevitz said he was retiring from playing and managing.  The good news was that Pete Bongard led the BSHL in scoring and Dave Lepp was the leading goalie.

    The summer of 1981 was very busy for Magnuson and his wife Diane who took over handling the books and all the paperwork for the Deacons.  They decided they had to come up with some financial help or the Deacons wouldn't make it.  In late July, Magnuson had a financial backer from a local tavern who was going to pay all expenses.  The word got out that the Deacons had money and players started coming out of the woodwork.  Things were going well until the financial backer backed out.  Magnuson had his foot in his mouth and didn't know how to get it out.  At the team organizational meeting, the group was told that the financial backer still existed for fear of losing the new players and some of the veterans.  Carl decided that he was going to have to raise money or take out a personal loan to keep things going.  He raised over $1,500.00 on his own; and the Deacons were moving forward!  It was the first year the Deacons paid all expenses for the players.  The season was the best ever!  We won the BSHL with a 12-3-1 record - one-half point ahead of Mosinee.  State Tournament was the "same old story" - we won the first game lost the second game.  Pete Bongard and Dave Lepp took BSHL honors in scoring and goaltending.  Bongard had 17 goals and 24 assists.

    Second-place honors went to De Pere's Dan Stankevitz with 16 goals and 20 assists.  The Deacons made a profit of $7.44 - it was better than losing.  

    This year, three new teams entered the league.  The were - Waupun, Janesville and Chippewa Falls.  To make travel less costly, the BSHL went to two divisions - Northern and Southern.  The Northern Division, comprised of four teams (Eagle River, Fond du Lac, Mosinee, and Chippewa Falls), and the Southern Division, comprised of four teams (De Pere, Kenosha, Waupun, and Janesville), are to play four-game series with each other in their division and then one four-game series with a team from the other division.  De Pere's Northern Division opponent was Eagle River.

    De Pere started the season in Eagle River and won both games.  It was the first time in Deacon history that De Pere swept Eagle River in Eagle River.  The Deacon talent was better than ever.  Our league record was 16-0 and we were named Southern Division Champions of the BSHL.  De Pere met Mosinee, Northern Division Champions, in a two-game total goal series in Fond du Lac.  Mosinee won the first game 7-3.  In the second game, De Pere defeated Mosinee 5-3, but fell short in total goals.  The Deacons won their first game in the State Tournament and lost their second.  It was the first year the Deacons fulfilled their long-time goal of playing the Bobcat Old-Timers.  Again Pete Bongard and Dave Lepp took BSHL honors as leading scorer and top goaltender.  It also was the first year that the BSHL Best Defense Award was shared by Deacons Scott Hendricks and Greg Nuthals.

    The fall of 1983 was another big stop for the Deacons.  It was the start of the Deacon program book.  In the planning stage we received guidance and moral support from Paul Coppo and Ron Pulak.  To make the project a success, we had to have help from all the veteran and rookie players.  All the players that were trying out for the team were asked to sell ads.  It was a headache for about two solid months.  If it wasn't for Diane Magnuson we never would have made it.  The program was a great addition to the Deacon organization.

    The Deacons were coming off a 16-0 league season.  They opened play in Waupun and got beat 7-1.  Coach Magnuson said that the team was over-confident from the previous season and learned a quick lesson in humility.  The Deacons finished the regular season with a 14-2 record and again were named Southern Division Champs.  It was a good season as a team.  The team pulled together to cover our most productive goal scorer, Pete Bongard.  On February 4, we lost our four-time leading scorer of the BSHL for the rest of the season to a knee injury.  We managed to accumulate a few other injured players going into the big end-of-the-year games, also.  

    The Year of the Deacons!  BSHL Champs and finally State Champs!

    The Deacons had no Best Defenseman Award - no Top Goaltender Award - and no Top Scorer Award - but they won as a TEAM!

    De Pere's season record was 23-3.  The three losses all came on the road - Fond du Lac, Kenosha and Eagle River. (Eagle River was an exhibition game.)  Coach Magnuson had dreamed of going 26-0 - but dreams don't always come true.  It was a year of rebuilding - not one line was the same as before.  On the other hand, there was only one rookie who did not play in the BSHL before.  It was the second year of the Deacon Program Book, which was a great success again.

    It was a year that nobody in the Deacon organization will ever forget - it was the first time that De Pere hosted the State Tournament.  The plans for the tournament seemed to be going along smoothly when two days before the tournament.  Superior called and said they were not coming.  In two nerve-racking days the schedule was rewritten and all teams were notified of the changes.  Once the tournament opened everything went smoothly - many of the games went into overtime periods which showed  how competitive Senior Hockey can be.  Teams and fans throughout the state have commented that it was the best Senior Tournament they had seen in Wisconsin history.

    Coach Magnuson hopes the Deacons can repeat as champions in the 1985-1986 season.

    How sweet it is - two in a row!!  The Deacons repeated as Badger State Hockey League Champions and Wisconsin State Champions.  The Deacons were 14-2 in the league and 23-6 overall.  Coach Magnuson knew that the deacons had to repeat as champions to prove to people around the state that the Deacons are for real!!  Deacon goalie David Lepp won the top goaltender award for the fourth time in seven years.  It was another great year for team effort.  It was the first year Coach Magnuson had played with or coached a team having a power play that could dominate and win games at any time.  It was the first year that the Deacons won a State Tournament on the road.  The tournament was in eagle River and the very competitive championship game matched them with Fond du Lac with the final score:  Deacons 7, Fond du Lac 5.

    It was the first year the Deacons went to the National Tournament.  The Deacons lost their first game in the tournament to Moby Dick's of Minneapolis 3-2. (Moby's went on to win the National Tournament.)  The Deacons knew they had to beat Moby's to get to the championship game.  The loss took the wind out of the Deacons' sails.  They lost their next two games.  All in all, it was a good experience for Coach Magnuson and this team to prepare them for future years.

    It was also another successful year for the program book.  Carl and Diane are hoping for another great season in 1986-1987.

    The Deacons again won their fifth straight Badger State Hockey League title with a record of 13-2-1 and an overall record of 16-3-1.  David Lepp was named top goaltender of the BSHL for the fifth time.

    Although they had few losses on the scoreboard, the loss of players and injuries to their bodies were traumatic.  The early loss was to the defense when Magnuson lost three of his top defensemen from the previous season.  Dave Selissen and Kelly Sperl moved out of town for job opportunities and Mike Hess pursued college in Stevens Point.  Just as the team was pulling together to regroup and fill the "void" for the missing players, the injuries started.  Mike Solway and Glenn Patrick had bruised thighs that never really healed; Chuck Lower, Paul Goymerac, Kevin Richardson and Ken Harpell suffered knee injuries; and Nick Poole broke his collarbone.  Considering these injuries, the team should be commended for pulling together, regrouping and producing a pretty good season.

    Going into the State Tournament, Coach Magnuson had more than just hockey on his mind.  The Magnusons were expecting their first baby in May but because of complications with toxemia, their baby girl was born 2 ¹/₂ months early - weighing only 2 pounds, 11 ounces and struggling for life.  To add to those problems, his wife Diane had gotten very sick from the toxemia and her condition was being monitored very carefully.  The Magnusons would like to thank all their friends and fans for all the love and prayers that helped them through the birth of Tiffany Rose Magnuson and Diane's recovery.

    The Deacons won their game in the first round, but lost in the second round to end their two-reign as Wisconsin State Champs.

    Coach Magnuson is waiting for the 1987 - 1988 season to begin so he and the Deacons can get back to the top!  He says it will be a lot easier with the "boss" of the Deacons (Diane Magnuson) back healthy.

It Was a Year of Almosts...

    The Deacons finished fourth in the Badger State Hockey League - their worst finish since 1980.  De Pere's record was 11-7-0.  Six of the seven losses were by one goal - two in overtime.  It was a frustrating season from start to finish.  State tournament was in De Pere and we made it to the championship game and lost by one goal to Fond du Lac 3-2.  The somewhat bright spot was our performance at the National Tournament in Fond du Lac - our record was 1-2.  In fact, that was the Deacon's first victory in a national tournament.  David Edward Lepp was once again named top goaltender of the BSHL - This was his sixth award!  The Deacons discovered that getting to the top is not as hard as staying on top.

    The Deacons had finished the season but there was still one more loss ahead of them - the hardest loss...

    The loss of a teammate and friend...

    Defenseman, Lance Stevenson died Sunday, August 21, 1988, in a motorcycle accident.  The Deacons and fans will miss him dearly ... we will never forget you, Lance "Romance" Stevenson...

    The Deacons are back on TOP!!!  The Deacons finished the season with a 24-4 overall record.  The took back their Badger State Hockey League Crown with a 16-2 record and won back the WAHA State Senior Championship title.  The Deacons finished with a 1-2 record in the National Tournament at Waupun.  The bright spot was when the Deacons beat the St. Paul Parkers which was the team that won the National Tournament.

    One of the "driving forces" for the entire team to win was the memory of their teammate, Lance "Romance" Stevenson.  Everyone dedicated themselves to "Winning for Lance."  The team wore armbands in his memory all season.  His jersey and #11 were retired from the Deacon roster.  

    Dave Lepp was named Top Goaltender in the BSHL for the seventh year and Dan Gerarden was Top Scorer.  Tim Cole and Brett Anderson tied for second place in BSHL scoring.  

    For the first time in many years, the Badger State Hockey League had an All Star Game.  The Fond du Lac Bears were State Champs the previous year and therefore hosted the game and played the All-Stars.  Coach Magnuson guided the All Stars to a 5-4 victory over Fond du Lac.  The Deacons were represented by Dave Lepp, Dave Selissen, Dan Gerarden, Brett Anderson and Tim Cole.  Proceeds from the All Star Game gate benefit the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame.

    Another exciting addition was our big screen TV and closed circuit viewing of the game in progress in the upstairs lounge.  The taped games were also aired weekly on Cable Television CPN - Community Programming Network.

    The Deacons are glad to be back on top and hope to stay there!!

    What a season!!  Tryout Camp opened with a lot of talent, but no dedication.  It was the worst training camp in Deacon History.

    We lost our first game to Eagle River (5-4) in Eagle River.  We struggled through the next 2 ¹/₂ months and realized by early February that we were out of the race for the top in the Badger State Hockey League.  The Deacons placed second in the BSHL.

    Finally by mid-February, the team began to "gel."  Coach Magnuson had only one month left to get his team ready for the State Tournament...

    The Deacons worked very hard.  By March 23, 1990, they were a well-oiled "Deacon Machine."  The team had one goal - to beat Fond du Lac in Fond du Lac on Sunday afternoon in the championship game!  And they did!!  The final score was 7-3.  That was there fourth State Title for the Deacons in the past six years!!

    The Deacons also participated in the National Tournament; they finished in fourth place with a 2-2 record. 

    Brett Anderson was leading scorer and Dave Lepp was named Top Goaltender in the BSHL.

    Way to go Deacons!!

    Training camp looked similar to those early days - only 13 players were at the first practice.  Seven players from the 1989-1990 State Championship Team had either retired or relocated.  By the time the first game puck dropped, a few more players had joined the team but the roster never stabilized - players were moving in and out of town all season.

    In fact, the roster got so short that Coach Magnuson had to strap on the blades for three games.  On February 10, 1991, Carl scored five goals and four assists in Spooner.  Brett Anderson and Keith Ehlers were quoted as saying they were glad the coach didn't play all year or he may have beaten them in scoring!! (Brett was No. 2 Scorer in the BSHL and Keith was No. 3 Scorer in the BSHL.)

    The Deacons finished 16-2 in the Badger State Hockey League.  Fond du Lac ended the season with a 16-2 league record also.  However, Fondy was named league champion because they had won two of the three games with the Deacons.  

    State Tournament was held in De Pere.  The Deacons lost to Milwaukee (5-3) on Friday night.  The Deacons then beat Spooner and Wausau to take Consolation.

    David Edward Lepp was named Top Goaltender of the Badger State Hockey League for the ninth year.

    We finished fourth in the Badger State Hockey League with a 14-6 record.  It was an up and down season.  We lost Steve Huff and Jeff Behringer in January.  "Huffer" went to school in Las Vegas and Jeff went to Kalamazoo to play Junior Hockey.  Mike Solway agreed to come out of retirement to help our defense.  We also had our share of injuries which meant we never had all of our players available for the "big games."  We were "hammered" twice by Fondy and Eagle River.  We also lost to Milwaukee in Milwaukee and to Spooner in overtime  at Spooner.  It was the year for Goalie Grant Gialdini.  David Edward Lepp moved aside and Grant took two-thirds of the starts and played well.

    The highlight of the season was State Tournament in Eagle River.  We finally had the whole team, except Jeff Vandermoss, together for our "mission" in Eagle River.  We went into the tournament realizing we were underdogs based on fourth place league finish.

    On Friday night the Deacons played Spooner.  De Pere won 7-6 in double overtime.  The only people at that game who thought the Deacons would win were the Deacons!!  On Saturday night in the semi-finals, Eagle River's rink was full of fans to watch Fondy (BSHL Champs) beat the Deacons. (NOT!!)  Between Coach Magnuson's hunch to start David Edward Lepp; solid defense from Mike Solway and Greg Nuthals; and outstanding offense, the Deacons beat Fondy 6-5 in a game that both teams played their hearts out.  For the Deacons the game against Fondy was the championship.  The "burned out" Deacons played Eagle River in the championship game and were defeated 2-0.

    The season was a struggle...

    Many times it seemed the bad was far out-weighing the good...

    First David Edward Lepp was no longer in the nets - he was officially retired.  Next a new Hockey Team, Green Bay Ice, had come to town and we lost three of our players - Steve Huff, Joe Gerarden, and Brett Anderson to their roster.  In January 1993, The Deacons had still not tasted the sweetness of victory and had a record of 0-7.  Attendance at the games was also dropping.  By mid January, Brett, Joe and Steve returned to the Deacons.  Things appeared to be improving ... then another blow ... on January 16, the Deacons were in Eagle River and winning when the official called a penalty against Brett (who was having a great game) which resulted in Brett telling the referee his thought nose-to-nose which eventually led to a one-year suspension for Brett.

    In late January the Green Bay Ice melted ... with the folding of the team brought Goaltender Kipp Karakas and Defenseman Lars Johanson to the Deacons.  The team also acquired the services of Dan Gerarden and the Deacons were finally back in the winner's circle!!!  From that point, the Deacons went 10-2 and finished the year 10-9.  The Deacons boycotted the State Tournament in Fondy; the reason was because W.A.H.A. had chosen to ignore the bids from De Pere to host the State Tournament.  We cannot find a W.A.H.A. member that has an answer for us.  Anyone out there with an answer????

    The Deacons finished in second place in the Badger State Hockey League with a 14-6 record.  Eagle River finished first - only one game ahead of us.  The league has become very competitive!!  Our roughest game for injuries was the trip to Houghton, Mich.  Neil Michaelson broke his cheek bone and Dan Gerarden got a 2 ¹/₂" cut on his left cheek.  Those injuries as well as a sprained ankle for Scott Petitjean haunted us for several games.

    By the time "March Madness" rolled around, the Deacons were ready the State Tournament in Eagle River.  the tournament was laced with controversy and attempts to "roadblock" the Deacons from being successful but once again.  "Good overcomes Evil."  The Deacons were successful!!!

    In their first game Saturday morning, the Deacons beat Iron Mountain 4-3.  Actually, The Deacons dominated the game offensively, but Iron Mountain's goalie was hot!!  In that game, Kipp Karakas, our goalie, got a game misconduct for "drawing blood."  He had to sit out the next game.

    The Deacons were also playing without Brett Anderson (Florida Vacation) and Jeff Vanderpross (his wedding reception) ... Now Coach Magnuson knows who "wears the pants" in those families!

    The next game was Saturday night, (semi-final game) against Fond du Lac.  David Edward Lepp was on the Deacon roster, but was ineligible for tournament play because he hadn't played enough league games.  (He retired)  Coach Magnuson gave the starting position in goal to Maurice Pomerleau.  Maurice played his heart out and the rest of the team played "one hell of a game" too.  A memorable moment in the locker room was when Maurice told the team in French to "Just Do It." and "do it" they did!!  Fondy fell.

    By the time Sunday rolled around, the Deacons knew the tournament was theirs.  The Deacons beat Milwaukee 4-2 with Kipp in the nets and Brett and Joe also returned to secure the win.  Jeff Crapp was the referee and he challenged the Deacons with penalties that forced them to play short-handed for two and ¹/₂ periods.  Coach Magnuson summed it up by saying, "Good Hockey Teams will overcome poor refereeing."  It was a nice ride home the bus ... Sweet Success!!!

    The Deacons won their first Badger State Hockey League title of the nineties!!  Their league record was 17-3 and they finished 20-7 overall.

    1995 also marked the realization of a dream for Coach Magnuson and the Deacon Organization.  The dream was to pay at the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena and be successful!!  The first dream came true on Tuesday, January 24, 1995 with the Deacons defeating the Fond du Lac Bears in front of over 1,500 fans with a score of 7-3.  In the second dream, the Deacons fell in overtime (7-6) to Fondy in front of over 2,200 people on Tuesday, February 21, 1995.  Both games were well supported by corporate sponsorship and the fans were terrific!!  Special thanks to Gary Qiegelbauer, Kelly Sperl, David Lepp, Kevin Richardson, Bob Finley and Rob Nicholson for their support in making the "Dream come true!!" 

    Basically, the team stayed pretty healthy most of the season; however, at the State Tournament, the dominoes started to fall ... Dan Gerarden and Mark Jaraczewski were watching from the bench with knee problems.  Greg Nuthals watched with back problems, Tom Schlief was suffering with a heart condition.  Mike Soloway also watched while his broken foot from a few weeks prior, healed.  The remaining teammates pulled together and finished the State "tournament in second place.

    All in all, it was an exciting year ... and we had a lot fun ...

    In July 1995, Deacon Hockey and St. Norbert Hockey were given approval to add dressing rooms to the back of the De Pere Ice Center.  St. Norbert College agreed to finance the materials and supplies for the project and Deacon Hockey agreed to provide the labor for the project.  Coach Carl Magnuson, Kelly Sperl and Greg Nuthals were instrumental in coordinating this rewarding and challenging "off" ice project.

     The key to the success of the project was the hard work and dedication of Deacon Hockey players, Deacon Hockey alumni and many friends.  Also critical to the success of the project were some very special people that were not directly affiliated with Deacon Hockey or St. Norbert.  In particular, Rick Jaeger, Tom Beth, Dan Titler, Bruce Kellerman, Brian Joski, Jim Gwynn, Rich LeBreck and many others can never be thanked enough for their efforts!!  THANKS AGAIN - from all of us!!

    Another exciting addition to Deacon Hockey was the purchase of their own motor coach.

    The start of the "on" ice season was difficult because there was still work to finish on the dressing rooms.  Trying to manage the construction wrap-up and form the team was hard for Coach Magnuson and resulted in a slow "on" ice start.

    There were several disappointments in the commitment of teams in the league.  The first disappointment cam when Wausau folded their team about 2 hours before we were scheduled to play them.  Out next disappointment came when Calumet "no-showed" out game at the Brown County Arena because of snow storm.  The Deacons have never missed a game in 19 seasons, so it is still difficult for us to justify the lack of commitment by other teams.

    All in all, the season ended with a second place in the League and second place in the State Tournament which De Pere hosted.  The Deacons earned a spot in the National Tournament in Fond du Lac.  The Deacons tied New York and Minnesota and lost to Detroit by a score of 7-4.  Detroit did go on to win the tournament!!

    The 1995-1996 season was a year to remember - The "on" and "off" ice accomplishments will never be forgotten!!!

    It was the 20th season for Deacon Hockey...

    It was a rebuilding year...

    There were a lot of new faces on the Deacons ... and the rookies had to learn quickly because they needed to fill starting positions .. and it was a struggle.

    It was the first season of the G.L.H.L. ...

    The Deacons managed a 4th place league finish in the Great Lakes Hockey League with a record of 11-13. (The last time the Deacons finished below "500" was 1980.)  Brett Anderson was the only Deacon to finish in the "Top 10 Scoring" for the Great Lakes Hockey League.  We participated in the State Tournament and finished with a 1-1 record and in the National Tournament our record was 1-2 for a year ending 13-16 overall record.

    Final thoughts on the season bring to mind of Coach Magnuson's favorite quotes:

"Teams must learn how to LOSE 

Before they can learn how to WIN!!!!"

    Let's hope we LOST enough this season, so we can WIN next season!!!

    What a year!!!

    Training camp started without Brett Anderson because he retired after the 1996-1997 season.  The Deacons were loading their "new" bus for its "maiden voyage."  They were headed to their first game in Mosinee & Brett decided to "ride along."  Coach Magnuson insisted Brett take his hockey bag, and a few goals later, Brett was back on the roster.  In fact, he finished second in the league for scoring!!!

    The Deacons finished the season with a league record of 23-5.  Houghton also finished with a record of 23-5.  Houghton was awarded first place in the league because they had one more goal in the match ups between the two teams.  The Deacon goaltender tandem of Dave Lepp, Jeff Markham and Bill Spencer earned the top Goaltenders Award in the Great Lakes Hockey League.

    In the State Tournament, the Deacons lost in the semi finals to Fond du Lac and Fond du Lac lost to Houghton in the championship game.  In Nationals, the Deacons had their best showing ever with a record of 2-2.  We beat Fond du Lac and Houghton and lost to Minneapolis and Sun Valley, Idaho 6-4.  Overall, a good season, but with more focus, we could have "won it all"..........Bring on the new season!!!

    A tough year...maybe the toughest in Deacon history.

    A major change occurred at the De Pere Ice Center.  The city of De Pere decided to no longer manage the rink.  This was a significant change for the Deacons because many of the traditions in our 20 year history would not stay the same.  From the "business side" of Deacon Hockey, the transition was a struggle.

     On the ice, the team struggled as well.  The team finished with a league record of 11-13.  In the Great Lakes Hockey League Tournament, we lost to Calumet in the semi finals.  Houghton beat Calumet on Sunday in the Championship Game.  Houghton also won the National Hockey Tournament - Excellent Team!

    A bright spot were three new faces, Pete and Matt Baugnet and Jamie Monson.  It was the final year for Matt Johnson, who moved back to Minnesota after college graduation.

    DEACON HOCKEY at its BEST!!!!

    At the start of the season, Coach Magnuson didn't quite know what to expect.  The Deacons were coming off a poor season and sometime players get frustrated and decide that "hanging up the blades" is the answer.  Todd Traeder was frustrated and didn't return.  However, some players got mad and decided to "step it up" a notch.

    The Deacon took a giant "step up" when Don Hearn stepped on the ice!  Don had moved back to Green Bay and decided he wanted to keep playing for "the love of the game" and to have some fun!  He won the Great Lake Hockey League Top Scorer Award.  Don is a coach's dream ... great talent and great attitude!  Don's great attitude helped other players and eventually Todd Trader did return to the team.

     Another coach's dream was seeing David Edward Lepp back in the nets for another year.  With David in the nets, we always have a chance at winning ... and winning we did!  David and his partner Patrick Finley combined to win the Top Goaltender Award in the G.L.H.L.  The Deacons also won the League Title!

    We hosted the League Tournament at De Pere.  The tournament pairings were somewhat controversial, but beyond the control of the host team.  We opened the tournament against Waupun and won.  On Saturday night we beat Calumet in a very close and physical game.  On Sunday, the Deacons fell to Houghton in the championship game.

    Nationals were disappointing.  We tied Houghton and lost to Minneapolis and Seattle.

    The toughest loss all year was the loss of a teammate and friend.  Forward Pete Baugnet passed away unexpectedly.  The Deacon Family and Fans miss him dearly.  Coach Magnuson will never forget the good times they had, especially the road trips, playing cards on the bus, losing money and drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon.

    Rest in Peace, Peter.

        The year was a struggle, both on the ice and financially.  Generally, when a team struggles on the ice, the attendance drops off, which explains the financial difficulty.  The Deacons finished with a record of 8-12-1 in the Great Lakes Hockey League.  Portage Lake won the league with a record of 17-4.  Don Hearn and Benny Dier both placed on the list of Top 10 Scorers in the G.L.H.L.

    David Lepp and Patrick Finley had a great year in the nets.  Their combined efforts missed taking the Top Goalie Award by a difference of .0006.  Portage Lake received the award with a .8952 percentage and David and Patrick combined for a .8946 percentage.  The record for the Deacon goaltenders boasted almost 300 more shots on net than Portage and about 250 more saves for the year.

    The Deacons also participated in the League Tournament.  Calumet won the tournament by beating Portage Lake.  The National Tournament was a bright spot in the year.  The Deacons played well enough to make it to the final four. 

    On January 27, 2001 the Deacons retired Greg Nuthals and his jersey, #4.  It was a memorable night with the Deacon Alumni in attendance.

     Deacon Hockey celebrated its Silver Anniversary Season!!  "The last 25 years have been a lot of fun," said Coach Carl Magnuson.  On Saturday, January 26, 2002, Carl's #7 jersey was retired during a ceremony at the annual Alumni Night.  It was a great night in Deacon History with a record number of Alumni on hand to show their appreciation for the tradition that is Deacon Hockey!!

    The team had a better league record this year.  We finished in second place, behind Calumet.  In the league tournament, we got beat by Mosinee in the semi-final game in Mosinee on Saturday night by a score of 5-4.  It truly was a good hockey game.  Calumet beat Mosinee on Sunday in the Championship Game.  We did not qualify to play in the National Tournament.  Calumet, inspired by the loss of their Coach Ray Pomroy, also went on to win the National Tournament.  The Great Lakes Hockey League is proud to have a National Championship Team in our league. 

    Patrick Finley and Bruce Baker were awarded the Top Goalie Award in the Great Lakes Hockey League.  Our off - ice hero this year was Simon Hedeen.  Simon took on the role of Deacon Public Relations Director and did a great job of generating more Promo Nights, which helped to fill the stands and generate new enthusiasm for Deacon Hockey!!  Thanx Simon!!

The GLHL League Tournament unfortunately didn’t carry the same momentum as the regular season. The Deacons won their quarter final game Saturday morning against the Stoughton Steel 11-5. However, just 10 hours later, the Deacons came up 2 goals short in a lose to the Appleton Ice Dogs 5-7 in the semifinal match-up. With the USA National Championship Tournament the following week, the Deacons prepared for battle. After 3 hard fought games, the Deacons season came to an end. Green Bay finished the tournament 0-3. “We had a lot of first year talent on this year’s team. Though the year started off with a bang, I felt like that came up a little short on the back half of the season and all too often, its experience that wins championships” says Magnuson.

The Deacons started the season strong, despite losing 7 starting players from the previous year.  The Deacon’s, had a tough month of January & then decided to turn things around.  The team rebounded & finished the last 8 games strong by winning 7of those games.  In fact, the Deacons had to win their last league game against Madison in Madison to get the 3^rd seed in the tournament.  It was a tight game, but the Deacons came through!  The Deacons finished third in the Great Lakes Hockey League, behind Mosinee 1st & Fondy 2nd.