By: Aaron Morse 5/24/2022
Former West Salem hockey standout and 2018 Wisconsin Mr. Hockey, Jack Gorniak, has decided to return to the ice for a fifth season.
Gorniak graduated this past semester with a major in Economics, but he will go back to Madison to start the Sports Leadership Master’s Program. This will allow Jack to play another season for the Badgers.
While playing for the Badgers, Jack has recorded 17 goals and 33 assists. Two of those goals have been game-winners. This past season, he scored five goals and assisted on another 10 in a down season for men’s hockey at Wisconsin (10-24-3 record). The year before, Jack recorded six goals and seven assists as the Badgers won the regular season conference title and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
During his high school playing days, Gorniak was a two-time all-state performer and was also named to the all-state honorable mention team during his Sophomore year. In his Senior season, Gorniak led West Salem/Bangor with 31 goals and 61 points and they made a State Tournament appearance.
After his Senior year of high school, he was drafted in the 4th round of the NHL Draft (123rd overall) to the Montreal Canadiens. NHL rules state that a team has the rights to a player up until 30 days after they leave college. So, we will have to wait at least another season until we find out what is in store for Gorniak’s post-college playing plans.