Athlete Profile: Dynamic Duo Lead Bears on Ice

For the Brewster ice hockey squad, it was an outstanding year. The Bears were able to beat Sleepy Hollow/Irvington 8-1 in the opening round of the Section 1 Division II playoffs before losing hard a fought game to perennial power Pelham in the quarterfinals 4-1.

The Bears finished with a 14-6-2 overall record and a 10-4-2 mark in highly competitive Conference I, good enough for third place behind John Jay and first-place Mahopac.

Two main reasons why the Bears were able to be as successful as they were was the play of freshmen sensations, forwards Joe Wegwerth and Sean Henderson. Henderson registered a team-high 57 points on the strength of 33 goals and 24 assists while Wegwerth was right behind with 55 points by tallying 28 goals and 27 assists.

“We just took it upon ourselves,” Wegwerth said. “This year we really felt like we could go far with the team that we had. We had a bunch of decent skaters and a team that worked hard.”

Wegwerth, an assistant captain, said it was Henderson who carried the team while he was out.

“I missed six games and he really stepped up,” Wegwerth said. “He’s really a good player who was a lot of fun to play with.”

Henderson said that likewise he enjoyed playing with Wegwerth.

“We are good friends, we hang out a lot,” Henderson said. “We talk to each other on the ice. We play with each other outside of varsity so that helps with the chemistry too.”

The chemistry existed not only between Wegwerth and Henderson but the team as a whole and was one big reason why the Bears enjoyed the success that they did.

“We really felt that we could go for it this year,” Wegwerth said. “We were really young but played as a team and that really helped us.”

What also helped the Bears was the fact that the players had a strong work ethic.

“It came down to the end of the year, hard work, taking practice seriously, knowing that we have to work together,” Henderson said. “Our year will come. We just have to never give up and keep working hard.”

Wegwerth feels that things can only get better for Brewster.

“Next year we are going to set the bar even higher,” Wegwerth said. “Last year we lost to Sleepy Hollow in the first round this year we won a playoff game. Pelham was a very good team but we stuck right with them. Next year we will definitely turn some heads and get even better.”

Henderson agreed.

“We are losing some key players this year but we just have to pick it up a notch and keep working hard,” Henderson said. “Hopefully, next year things will work out for the best. We will be prepared. We’ll have a pretty good season if we just stick to what has made us successful and play our game.”