Senior Ellis Noerenberg is not that well known around the school but on the ice, he is one of Orono’s players to watch.

“I started playing when I was about five years old,” Noerenberg said, “My sister played and mom did too so I was always surrounded by hockey.”

Noerenberg’s hockey career started with the Delano program but once he moved, he came to the Orono program. “Once I moved from Rockford to Plymouth, I wanted to play for Orono then. I was already enrolled at Orono so it made sense.”

This year Noerenberg is the boys varsity hockey assistant captain with senior captains Jake Flemmer and Sam Challgren.

“It is an honor to be a captain for the boys this year,” Noerenberg said.

This is Noerenberg’s third year on the varsity team and earned his leadership position. “Ellis is a great teammate and a great leader on and off the ice,” senior Cam Knutsen said. “He always has a positive attitude and at the same time can keep the locker room loose.”

Noerenberg is not superstitious but he “always has to listen to music before,” Noerenberg said, “It’s more a routine than a superstition.”

Noerenberg’s routine is getting warmed up with the team, then he goes and gets half dressed, and then, if needed, retapes his stick and then sits back. “Once I tie my skates, I like to just walk around the locker room and relax,” Noerenberg said.

To succeed at one’s, Norenberg advises people to “Work hard, eat right, and just have fun. Don’t do [a sport] to please your parents, don’t play to be popular, do it for the love of the game.”