Posted: Nov. 14, 2009

The Brookfield Stars will be looking to replace some firepower as they hope to improve on their 8-13-2 record from last year.

"We will be young and inexperienced, but our confidence, attitude, and talent will enable us to compete at a high level," Brookfield coach Matt Shapiro said. "Our team will have many new faces, and it will be exciting to see which young players are ready to consistently play at a higher level."

The Stars have nine returning letter winners, led by senior captains Harrison Aghjian (Brookfield Central) and Warren Madsen (Brookfield East).

"Warren and Harrison are prepared to provide excellent leadership this year," Shapiro said. "I'm confident that our captains are prepared to set the positive tone needed to be successful at this level."

Garrett Johnson and Doug Gorand, both from East, are the other two returning seniors. Other returnees are juniors Ryan Hicks (East), Sam Myrold (East) and Patrick Haumschild (Central), and sophomores Matt Fosdick (Central) and Brandt Rogers.

Sophomore P.J. Corbett (East) is one of the top newcomers on this year's team. Corbett is a transfer from Marquette, who played AAA hockey last season for the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals.

Sophomores Patrick O'Brien (East) and Tommy Hastings (Central) are the other new faces.

Some of the Stars to keep an eye on include Fosdick, Aghjian, Madsen, Johnson and Corbett.

"We lost the majority of last year's scoring to graduation," Shapiro said. "We won't have the depth we've had in the past. Offensively we will be relying on Madsen, Johnson, Hicks, Myrold, Hastings and O'Brien to help lead the team."

Shapiro feels Brookfield could be tough on the defensive side.

"We may have one of the most skilled and toughest defensive groups in the area," he said. "Aghjian, Fosdick, Corbett and Rogers all possess the potential to have big seasons.

"We return both goalies from last season as Gorand and Haumschild will compete with freshman Alex Cagle for the starting spot."

Shapiro pointed out there was a smaller turnout this season.

"With lower-than-usual program numbers, our guys will really need to buy in to our team mentality quickly," he said. "Despite our numbers, we have some pretty talented high school players. We are really committing ourselves to a better work ethic during practices this year.

"Our guys really understand the importance of working hard on a daily basis in order to achieve goals."

The Stars will take part in a scrimmage at University School on Saturday. They will then host the Turcott Cup on Nov. 27 and 28.