This past winter sports season will go down as one of the most memorable in Copper Country history.

In terms of large events, it would be hard to match this one.

The Dollar Bay boys basketball team and the Chassell girls basketball teams were picked in the preseason polls to have super seasons. And the Blue Bolts and Panthers lived up to their billing.

Dollar Bay, which won the first boys regional crown in school history since 1979, used its blazing speed to go unbeaten and earn a downstate trip.

Sure, the Bolts had two great players in Devin Schmitz and Jaden Janke. But coach Jesse Kentala had several other players on the roster who played key roles.

The same could be said for Chassell, which boasted two All-U.P. players in Milly Allen and Sydney Danison.

But coach Brandi Hainault also could depend on several others to play supporting roles. And it was that kind of balance that enabled the Panthers to advance all the way to the state championship game.

Coaching is always a key when you have talented players on hand. I’ve seen plenty of teams with loads of talent, but more often than not, those teams came up short.

Kentala and Hainault did superb jobs of keeping their teams focused on the prize.

I’d have to rate Schmitz as one of those rare players who is capable of putting the game in his hands and coming through.

The Hancock High hockey team did pretty much the same on the ice, getting great results from such players as Alex Nordstrom, Teddy Randell and goaltender Dawson Kero.

Hancock coach Dan Rouleau, who’s been doing a stellar job for a long time, saw his team come up just shy in the playoffs. But the Bulldogs were ranked No. 1 all season in Division 3 and that wasn’t an accident.

There’s not much more you can say about Michigan Tech’s rise to the NCAA hockey tournament.

Coach Joe Shawhan’s squad won two straight playoff series on the road in Minnesota and then topped U.P. rival Northern Michigan in a one-game winner-take-all event in Marquette last week.

This Tech team reminds me of the 1981 Huskies, who came out of nowhere to make it to the Frozen Four in Duluth.

That was Tech coach John MacInnes’ final appearance in the NCAA tourney.