The Freeburg-Waterloo Raging Bulldogs will be counting on young players to continue a tradition of competitive hockey play this winter.

Raging Bulldogs head coach Logan Crowl said 12 of his team’s 23 skaters are playing varsity hockey for the first time this winter – including eight freshmen.

“We are a very young team this season,” he said.

Still, Freeburg-Waterloo has seen some success on the ice in the early going – including a 4-2 victory recently over a tough O’Fallon squad.  

Returning players for the Raging Bulldogs include captain Braden Neff, alternate captains Ryder Neff, Zachary Bonenberger and Kole Schilling, and goalie  Logan Sherman. 

While Sherman will see most of the minutes in net, freshman goalie Cash Thompson will get starts as well. 

Some underclassmen who have played key minutes so far this season include sophomore Bella Riesing and freshmen Austin Donovan, Brexton Poetker, Nolan Roedl and Chase Richey.

As for an overall season outlook, Crowl said he has turned his focus to the long haul.

“I have not put forth any high expectations of winning a championship or finishing in a certain place in the standings,” he said. “This is a varsity season where my goal is to balance out playing time so these new varsity players can get some valuable game experience. That way, even if we don’t end up contending for a championship this season, we are setting ourselves up well for the next couple years with this young core.”