In my high school days at Lake Central High School (St. John, Ind.), our hockey team was golden. It won two state championships in 2003 and 2005, but the amount of recognition the team and players earned, though, was incredibly low, especially for a two-time state champion. The day after the team won, it’d be a small blurb in the paper.

This weekend on Saturday and Sunday is the Indiana State High School Hockey Association championships, and I strongly encourage people to go check out the Central Indiana teams: Carmel Gold, Hamilton Southeastern "A", Noblesville, and Cathedral-Chatard. Even though hockey doesn’t get as much pub as it should, live hockey games are a treat, high school and professional alike. And these games are still incredibly important to those high schools involved (check out Dave McConnell’s article about the local hockey scene from the January issue, starting on p. 46).

It’s impossible to deny that hockey has been stumbling for the past decade or so. The Hartford Whalers were essentially pawned off like a 1987 RCA TV, and the NHL is still trying to crawl out of its toilet bowl after the players’ strike during the 2004-2005 season. But there are some signs of life. The Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby is the refreshing face of the league (and I’m more than three months older than him…what a weird thought), and fans are starting to routinely go back to the icy arenas.

This weekend, let the Pepsi Coliseum be your icy arena. Carmel, HSE, Noblesville and Cathedral-Chatard are trying to put a trophy in their schools’ trophy cases. It’s a big deal, and the schools that win will definitely be buzzing in class come Monday. Check out a full schedule for the state finals by clicking here.

Heck, it’s snowing out right now anyway, so hockey fits the weekend perfectly.