The Plainfield Predators have united all four Plainfield schools in order to put on a historical start to the season since their regular season opener Sept. 15.
The team has consistently been winning against teams that they haven’t been able to beat in the history of the program such as Glenbard, Providence, and Neuqua Valley. This season is the first time the team has been ranked inside the top 35 in Illinois. They are currently ranked #8 in the state according to myhockeyrankings.com.
The Preds are coached by Myke Bangs, who also coaches Division I hockey at the collegiate level for Northern Illinois University. Bangs was selected as coach for the 2021-22 season and has since changed the culture surrounding the team including the recruiting process.
“The biggest thing we focused on first was recruiting,” said Bangs, “we were able to bring in some very high profile players, Plainfield is very fortunate to have a lot of good hockey players, but in the past none of them would play high school.”
A big change that Bangs introduced was double roster players. This refers to players who play for both a high school and a club team.
The culture shift has affected the way the players approach hockey overall.
“Our new thing this season is that we show up every game trying to play exactly the same way no matter who we’re playing,” said Alex Mauch, defenseman.
The way Plainfield plays on the ice this year comes down to discipline. The team sees this as a key aspect to not only staying consistent, but implementing strategy into games.
“The biggest thing is defensively we’re a shut down team,” said Bangs, “what makes our team go is we’re a very explosive offense.”
The team prides itself on their ability to move the puck at high speeds around the rink.
Another important aspect to the success of the 2024-25 season has been the chemistry between teammates. Having players from four different schools is a non-factor when it comes to practices and games.
“If someone were to walk in our locker room, no one would know that there was four different schools, in that one team everyone is just together, there’s no sense of division,” said Josh Kundert, senior goalie.
The goals for January have already been set high after the blazing start to the regular season by Plainfield Hockey.
“Our goal is that we want to become a championship program,” said Bangs, “we started this journey and in 3-5 years we want to bring a championship from our league and hopefully a state championship to the city.”
