WALKER – There’s only one way to learn how to be competitive in one of the best hockey conferences in the state.

Get out there and face some very good teams and learn every step of the way, even if that sometimes means taking a hard loss.

The Kenowa Hills hockey team was reminded of that on Wednesday night in a tough 11-3 loss to a very strong Grandville squad at the Walker Ice and Fitness Center.

The Knights fell to 1-3 on the season.

That outcome is not too surprising when you consider that the Knights have a 20-man roster, and 11 of those players are either freshmen or sophomores. There are only three seniors and six juniors on the team.

“Our biggest issue with having so many rookies is not having experience,” said Kenowa Hills Coach Matt Wiedenhoeft, whose team competes in the O-K Conference Rue Division. “They come into games nervous, especially with the conference we are in. We play some big-name teams, like Grandville and (Grand Rapids) Catholic.”

The Knights fell behind early in this game. At the 1:27 mark of the first period, Grandville sophomore Josh Kulhanek opened the scoring, and the Bulldogs added three more goals before the first intermission.

Kenowa Hills got on the scoreboard with under a minute left in the first period when a solid forecheck by Richard Wiggins led to a takeaway in the offensive zone. Wiggins got the puck to teammate Trevin Laming, who blasted a slap shot into the top corner of the net.

Grandville scored the first two goals of the second period before Jack Jeffreys scored for Kenowa Hills, pulling the Knights within four. Brock Hearth assisted on the tally.

The Bulldogs answered with two more goals, before Kenowa Hills freshman Alex Menzel scored his first varsity goal with assists from Hearth and Vincent Pollock.

Grandville scored the last three goals of the contest.

As tough as the loss was, Wiedenhoeft is hoping that in one way the game can be a microcosm of the rest of his team’s season – get better as you go, despite a slow start.

“Our second time through the conference games, I think we will be better off,” the coach said. “The young guys are learning our system and we are building an identity. We will keep coming, even if the score is 9-0, we are going to keep coming.”

One interesting aspect of the Knights’ roster is that four different schools in the area are represented. Students from Fruitport, Kent City and Greenville also play for Kenowa Hills.

“It doesn’t matter what school you are from, you are a Knight when you get here,” Weidenhoeft said. “We don’t say Kenowa Hills here, we say Knights. It helps put to bed any rivalries that we might have.”

“We do a lot of off-ice bonding,” added sophomore defenseman Zachary Gufstafson.. “We do team dinners every Thursday and spend a lot of time talking to each other off the ice.”

Grandville outshot the Knights 32-14. Kenowa Hills goalies Braden Schroder and Cody Palmer combined to make 21 saves.