On Feb 23rd 2025, the Waterloo Warriors, a Midwest east division hockey team would win against Quad cities and watch the Des Monies Oak Leaves fall to the Omaha Junior Lancers. Placing the Warriors second in the overall pick for the Midwest bracket. This would soon send The Warriors to Irvine, California to participate in the 2025 Chipotle-USA Hockey High School 1A National Championship.
Brian Cook, the head coach of the Warriors said that this victory is “just a culmination of hard work the whole year and never giving up and fighting adversity and coming out a champion.”
The Warriors would spend weeks leading up to nationals fundraising and practicing for their final hockey weekend of the season. Senior Jack Rikkers says “It felt surreal to be in that game, it didn’t feel like it was my last game ever, I didn’t feel sad or mad that it was my last game just happy I got to play in this game, and win it.”
West High sophomores Cale and Carter Buchan would score nine goals within their weekend in California helping lead the Warriors to a final Victory. For the first time in Waterloo history the golden plaque would be placed in the showcase at the Young Area. A reminder that the Waterloo Warriors have not only made Cedar Valley history but history for Midwest High School Hockey.
On Wed, March 26. the Warriors would face the Morgantown Mohawks falling 4 points behind with a final score of 6-2. Coming back with skates full of redemption the Warriors would win their next game against Bishop Gorman 4-2, placing them back in the heat for the national title. Idaho Falls would fall next to the Warriors with a 5-0 blowout and the Steinbrenner Warriors would be one goal away from a possible overtime win, 6-5. The Warriors would play Wheeling Park, 5-1 and finally come out on top battling against their fellow mid-west rival the Lincoln Jr Stars in a final score of 5-2.
“We started off slow, we had some injuries, but we just kept building and believing the rest of the year,” Cook said. “This tournament started off with a loss, but we came back with five victories, and we believed in ourselves and took home the hardware.”
