We are in the latter half of winter, which means winter sports are winding down here at UW-Superior.
As for the Yellowjackets men’s hockey team, they are in the midst of a fantastic season. Right in the center of all of their success is freshman phenom Ikki Kogawa. Kogawa moved from Japan to Canada when he was 12 and has played at numerous stops along his hockey career.
He has played in Toronto for the majority of his youth career, and he has also made a stop in Boston for a year. He was recruited to come to UWS in May while playing for the Janesville Jets of the North American Hockey League.
Ikki Kogawa Leads Men’s Hockey In Points This Season
Photo by Andrew Mathews | The Promethean
When asked why he decided to come play for the Yellowjackets, Kogawa said, “I knew that this program produced a lot of pro players…The hockey program is good. I knew the conference was very hard compared to other conferences. So I was like, ‘Okay this is a good spot for me to develop as a student in hockey.” Kogawa also mentioned his sister also went to a Universities of Wisconsin school, so he knew how the UW system was structured.
As for his play on the ice, Kogawa leads the Yellowjackets in scoring with 7 goals and 13 assists for 20 points in 20 games so far this season.
The Yellowjackets as a whole are first in the conference, posting a 16-3-2 record overall and 11-1-1 in the conference.
As for why they are playing so well, Kogawa said, “Everyone’s like best friends; I don’t think there’s any guys I’d say anything bad about; that’s probably the reason why we’ve been winning… I don’t care if I score or not, obviously if we win.”
With only a few games left in the regular season, Kogawa and the Yellowjackets hope to continue their run into the postseason and win the conference.
