The Cranbrook hockey team notched another victory on the road last Saturday versus Brother Rice which upped their record to a very respectable 12-6-0-0 overall and 4-5-0-0 record in the MIHL.

Just as important was the fact that it was Andy Weidenbach’ s  500th victory as Cranbrook Head Coach.  “It was a great win for the team against a very good Brother Rice squad.  We played well at both ends of the rink and our goaltender Blasky gave us strong goaltending.  As for the 500th win for me at Cranbrook, I am proud for all the players through the years that helped the team achieve that with me as coach.”

The 2007 National High School Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year's first state title was in 1997 and the last was in 2015. The Cranes won back-to-back titles in 2009-10.

"It's been fun. It's a great environment to work in. I had good assistants and good people to work with, so I stayed another year and, 26 years later, I'm still here. I really enjoyed coaching here and every year that went by I just thought this was probably the right place for me.

"Every team has their own identity and they're all special," said Weidenbach, who was in the construction business before becoming a full-time head coach. "We've had some really, really good players and you would think those would be your best years — and they were.

"But some of the other teams I've had, like that first team which won only eight games, had some players I will never forget. I have a special fondness for every team I've ever coached. 

"It's been very rewarding. There's no doubt about it," he added. "And the rewards are far greater having somebody come back and telling you they had a great experience and (you) changed their lives or impacted their lives. Again, winning a state championship is great, but the influence you have on young people is far more rewarding."