When the puck drops on the upcoming high school hockey season, northern Michigan will have a new team.
The Lakeshore Badgers are an eight-school co-op, comprised of players from Manistee, Manistee Catholic Central, Ludington, Mason County Central, Bear Lake, Shelby, Hart and Mason County Eastern.
The co-op formally played as the Manistee Chippewas, but the co-op’s board elected to change the team’s name to encompass all participating schools.
“They came up with four or five names and they sent it out to the parents and the parents voted and whittled it down to two or three. Then they had another vote and the players got involved and helped picked the name,” Lakeshore coach Bill Shriver said. “We had a professional graphic designer do the logo for us, which he did a great job. He incorporated the badger and the steamship and the animal and so forth and hockey. Here we are now, the Lakeshore Badgers.”
Lakeshore is still members of the Northern Michigan Hockey League, along with Petoskey, Cheboygan and the Bay Reps.
The Badgers are tentatively slated to begin their season at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills on Wednesday, Jan. 6.
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