Grant Huneke Was Key Player On Edwardsville's MVCHA Class 2A Championship Team, Heads To Mizzou To Play Hockey

EDWARDSVILLE - Grant Huneke, a senior forward for the Edwardsville club hockey team, was an important player in the Tigers' run to their 16th Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association Class 2A championship, which was won by the Tigers over O'Fallon 4-0 in February 2025 at the RP Lumber Center in Edwardsville, sweeping the final series in two straight, after having come from behind to defeat the Panthers 6-5 in game one on Feb. 25 at the East Alton Ice Arena, Edwardsville winning a shootout 1-0 to take game one.

For the season in league games, Huneke scored seven goals, and had seven assists for 14 points, while taking 14 minutes in penalties. He was a part of one of four potent forward lines which helped guide Edwardsville to the title.

Grant is a Spencer Homes Male Athlete of the Month for the Tigers.

In a postgame interview after Edwardsville won its championship, Huneke felt very happy and proud of his team's championship.

""I think our team worked really hard, we had a really good goalie (Brody Patton) in the back of our net, stopping everything for us, giving us momentum for us to go in and fight hard," he said.

The Tigers had much momentum coming back from a three-goal deficit to tie game one and win the shootout, and it helped in game two.

"We had so much momentum," Huneke said, "and we're such a strong team, we work so well together, that we just never quit. We keep on fighting."

Huneke felt that he had a good season, chipping in his share, but also credited his teammates for their contributions to the team in 2024-25.

"I think, not just me, personally, but I think everybody chipped in," Huneke said. "We have so many leaders on this team, that it just helped so much with coming back and staying focused in the game."

It's become a tradition for the Tigers to win MVCHA championships, and he doesn't see that ending anytime soon.

"Obviously, I won't be here, but my brother's (Blake) on the team," Huneke said, "so we'd like to keep the tradition going, keep winning."

Huneke, who's a grandson of former SIU-Edwardsville men's soccer head coach Ed Huneke, enjoyed his time playing for the Tigers, and will try to continue on in hockey, playing for the club team at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

"I feel great," Huneke said. "I've had a good time playing, I'm going to try to continue my career in college. It's been fun, it's been real."

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