Get ready for an early start to high school winter sports

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Get ready for the earliest WIAA winter sports season on record.

Winter sports begin next Monday, Nov. 5, when boys and girls hockey and boys basketball are eligible to begin practices.

Girls basketball and wrestling can begin their practices the following week, on Monday, Nov. 12.

The early start to these seasons are impacting many of the local winter teams, with several teams getting their season started before Thanksgiving.

The St. Croix Central boys basketball team will be the first team from the area to kick off its season. The Panthers will play their first game on Tuesday, Nov. 13. The Panthers will get their Dunn-St. Croix Conference season started two nights later, playing at Glenwood City on Thursday, Nov. 15.

New Richmond’s winter sports begin on Friday, Nov. 16, when the Tiger boys basketball team hosts Eau Claire North. The Tigers begin their Middle Border Conference schedule on Tuesday, Nov. 20, at Ellsworth.

Somerset’s winter schedule begins on Tuesday, Nov. 20, when the Spartan hockey team faces Amery at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.

Another change to the winter sports schedule was the recent news that Altoona is dropping its hockey program. To fill those openings, New Richmond added second games with Hudson and Webster. Somerset also had to add two games to replace the Altoona void, adding a Dec. 20 contest against Menomonie and a Jan. 22 game against Barron.

Tags: sports, basketball, hockey, prep, tigers, spartans, panthers