Badger Lightning gets hot at right time

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Badger Lightning varsity hockey team has turned in some solid efforts this season but frequently come away without a win.

That changed on Saturday, for sure the best day of the season so far for the Lightning who put together a pair of impressive wins against the visiting Medford Raiders and Northern Edge out of Rhinelander.

Most impressive was the 7-1 win against Northern Edge, the same team that turned away the Lightning on a Northern road trip 3-2 on December 12.

The Lightning started out the day with an early morning 5-1 decision against the Raiders and in between, the Raiders fell 10-2 to Northern Edge in a round-robin event.

Medford Raiders 1 @ Badger Lightning 5

In the first game, the Lightning built a 2-0 first period margin with goals from junior Signe Begalske and sophomore Mallory Ruhland, the first one unassisted and the other with set ups from sophomores Kayla Capener and Bella Bowden.

Teams played through a scoreless middle segment and Capener padded the lead with a third goal on a feed from junior Carson Blosenski.

Sophomore netminder Kaitlin Elder was beaten just once on 13 shots and that came 4:02 into the final period to get the Raiders within a pair.

Bowden restored the three-goal cushion from Capener and Ruhland less than three minutes later, then added another, from Capener 3:43 from the final buzzer.

The Lightning enjoyed its best offensive outing of the season, peppering the Raiders goaltender with 56 shots.

Northern Edge 1 @ Badger Lightning 7

The wrap up game to decide the unofficial round robin winner turned out to be no contest.

Begalske opened the scoring again with the lone opening period goal, from Capener on a Lightning powerplay.

Bowden’s third of the day was the game winner, 56 seconds into the second period from Begalske and Capener and Ruhland also notched a middle period goal with help from Capener.

Bowden’s second came 3:14 into the third period, from Capener, a couple minutes before the lone Northern Edge shot to beat freshman goaltender Alyssa Gada.

Blosenski, Capener and Begalske rounded out the scoring with assists for Capener and Ruhland.

The Lightning held a 31-26 edge in shots in the contest.

The wins boosted the Lightning’s overall record on the season to 4-10 with one game remaining tonight (Feb. 2) in Black River Falls against the 3-5 Tigers.

Capener has 20 assists on the season so far – fourth best total in the state and her 31 points is sixth best. Bowden’s 15 goals ties here for seventh best total in state and she has 20 points.

JV Cheavers down Hilltoppers 4-1

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

RWD Cheavers junior varsity hockey team finished its 2020-21 campaign on a winning note Saturday (January 30), collecting a 4-1 win at the Omni in Onalaska against the host the Onalaska JV Hilltoppers.

Prior to that, the Cheavers saw a 2-1 edge turned into a narrow 3-2 defeat I Janesville on Thursday night.

In the earlier game, the Cheavers trailed 1-0 after a period but second period goals by Caleb Eastman and Yevgeny Dedun pushed the visitors into the lead. John Scott collected assists on both goals with other help from Carter Scully and Mark Othmer.

The hosts rallied to tie the game near the halfway mark of the third period and snatched the win away with a goal 75 seconds from the final buzzer.

Brendan Karas stopped 21 shots in goal for the Cheavers.

At Onalaska the Cheavers grabbed a 2-0 first period lead with Eastman and Dedun again providing the goals. Mitchell Henke and Dylan Conroy collected assists.

That lead stayed in tact until the host Hilltoppers cut the lead in half 13 seconds into the final period.

Conner Putz restored the two-goal cushion at the 6:45 mark from Eastman and Izak Elder finished it off with an unassisted powerplay goal about two minutes later.

Gary Wiles and Karas shared the win, splitting the work in goal and turning aside 20 of 21 shots while the Cheavers fired 33 at the Hilltoppers’ goal.

Eagles brush aside Spartans, Red Hawks

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

If losing a two-time state scoring champion and one of the top goaltenders among nine graduating seniors was supposed to have a detrimental effect on the Sauk Prairie Eagles varsity hockey team, someone must have forgot to tell this season’s team.

Two more lopsided wins wrapped up a near perfect season for the Eagles who enter the post season with at least as much promise as a year ago.

The final week included an 8-3 win against the McFarland Spartans and a 6-0 shutout against the Milton Red Hawks, both on home ice at the Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC).

McFarland Spartans 3 @ Sauk Prairie Eagles 8

In the past, Eagles have jumped on teams quick, often grabbing control of games with opening shift goals.

Last Monday (January 25), the Eagles showed it can comeback if needed. A hot goaltender played a big part in the Eagles looking up at a 2-0 deficit on home ice despite outshooting its guest by a 17-3 margin.

The Eagles though, found a higher gear in the middle period, scoring three unanswered goals on 23 more shots, then blasted off with a 5-1 edge and another 25 shots down the stretch.

Junior Luke Mast paced the squad with a three-goal game, juniors Erik Peterson and Landon Clary adding two each and the other the first career varsity goal for freshman Samson Begalske.

Junior Hakon Peterson enjoyed a huge playmaking game, collecting five assists with juniors Nick Mast and Erik Peterson along with sophomore Ethan Tranel setting up two each. Senior Caeben Schomber also picked up a helper.

Kaden Stracke picked up the win in goal and his opposition keeper, Ray Wheaton faced 65 shots on the night.

Milton Red Hawks 0 @ Sauk Prairie Eagles 6

The finale was billed as ‘Senior Night’ and the four graduating players played their part – Brodie Trollop scored the game winning goal and set up another while Caeben Schomber, Spencer LaCour and Sam Severson each collected an assist in the contest.

Junior Nick Mast enjoyed a two-goal, four-point night to wrap up the season with 30 points in 13 games, Luke Mast adding an assist for a team high 33 points on the season.

Hakon Peterson also scored twice with the other added by Clary. Junior Micah Hanson, Luke Mast and Erik Peterson also picked up assists.

Sophomore keepers Stracke and Brooks McInerney, split the work on a shared shutout bid and the Eagles outshot the Redbirds 43-12.

Overall 12-1

The Eagles lost just one contest this season, a brief 3-2 stumble against Beaver Dam the lone blemish on an otherwise perfect campaign. It can be called a stumble because in a previous meeting, the Eagles bounced the same Golden Beavers by a 6-1 score.

The Eagles were seeded third in the 13-team Section 3 pool and along with top two seeds – Madison Edgewood Crusaders and Verona Wildcats, the Eagles drew a bye through the opening round of the post season.

RWD Cheavers and Middleton Cardinals are playing tonight (February 2) for the right to challenge Sauk Prairie on Thursday night in the Sectional Quarterfinals.

Spirited rally in finale could build momentum for Thunderbirds

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds begin the 2020-21 WIAA varsity hockey tournament tonight (Feb. 2, 2021) with a chance to erase a tough memory from last season.

Thunderbirds wrapped up its regular season with a spirited albeit unsuccessful come from behind effort against Marshfield that showed what the team is capable of.

Down 4-0 early in the second period at Pierce Park Pavilion to the visiting Marshfield Tigers, the Thunderbirds began a long uphill slog back into the contest before ultimately falling 7-6 in overtime.

Earlier games saw the Thunderbirds capture a 5-2 win against the Janesville Bluebirds at Pierce Park Pavilion Jan. 21 before dropping a 7-3 decision two nights later to the Onalaska Hilltoppers, also on home ice.

Janesville Bluebirds 2 @ Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds 5

Teams played through two periods without a goal, but made up for that in a wild seven-goal third period.

Bluebirds hit the scoreboard first 4:13 into the final period but Campbell Koseor evened the score 40 seconds later from Oliver Scanlan and Gabe Fitzwilliams.

Luke Schweda gave the Thunderbirds its first lead from Alex Rietmann and Kyle Poole with 10:01 to play and goals by Fitzwilliams and Peyton Sloan 25-seconds apart clinched it near the halfway mark of the period. Assist on those went to Scanlan, Koseor, Schweda and Carson Zick.

Fitzwilliams fired a secod with 87 seconds to play, from Scanlan and Rietmann and after opening the scoring, the Bluebirds finished it off with 31 seconds to go.

Andrew Schaetzl collected a 28-save win in goal for the T-Birds who outshot the Bluebirds 33-30.

Onalaska Hilltoppers 7 @ Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds 3

The Thunderbirds stayed with the Hilltoppers through the opening 17 minutes and led 1-0 after a late opening period goal scored by Schweda from Koseor and Luna Larson.

After an early second period goal for the Hilltoppers, Koseor had the Thunderbirds up again, from Scanlan and Larson.

The rest of the middle period belonged to the Hilltoppers who fired 22 shots at Schaetzl and grabbed a 4-2 lead by the start of the third.

A 3-1 margin down the stretch carried the Hilltoppers to the win, Larson collecting his third point of the night with an unassisted goal to break up a stretch of six Hilltoppers goals.

Schaetzl faced 46 Onalaska shots while the Thunderbirds tested the visiting goaltender with 27.

Marshfield Tigers 7 @ Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds 6 (ot)

Ultimately it was another seven goals against and another loss to end the regular season, but the Thunderbirds showed the kind of heart and resiliency that could carry it to a positive start to the post season. Short version – This team doesn’t quit.

A crazy game saw teams combine for more than 100 shots on goal including 16 in a wild overtime period that ended with 2:36 to spare.

Tigers held a 16-10 edge on the shot clock through a period but more importantly built a 3-0 margin on the scoreboard. Things were just getting started though.

Tigers added another and when Fitzwilliams finally found an opening six minutes into the period, from Koseor and Scanlan, the Tigers quickly responded, restoring its four-goal cushion 45 seconds later.

Larson collected an unassisted goal just over a minute later and Koseor cut the gap to a pair in the final minute of the period from Fitzwilliams and Zick.

An unassisted Zick goal had the Thunderbirds within a shot and Fitzwilliams’ second of the contest tied the game 5:41 into the final period with help from Kosero.

Larson’s second gave the Tbirds its first and only lead of the contest with 2:35 to play, from Fitzwilliams and Zick but a shorthanded goal just seven seconds from the final buzzer robbed the Thunderbirds of a big celebration.

Tigers held a 21-14 edge in shots in a back and forth third period but Thunderbirds held a 9-7 margin in the extra frame.

Burke Schweda and Schaetzl shared the work in goal, combining to face 58 shots on the night while the Thunderbirds triggered a season high 43 the other way.

Overall – 7-11

Regional Final vs. Sun Prairie Cardinals

The Thunderbirds have had had some drastic highs and lows this season, but if inspired as it clearly was in the second half of the game against Marshfield, the team will not be outworked.

A blue-collar squad, the Thunderbirds are probably best suited for a close physical type contest, but again, the team showed it can go wide open with anyone as well.

The Cardinals sat our most of the regular season – at least as far as WIAA competition goes. There are four games listed on its official 2020-21 schedule, all played in the final week of the season and all losses.

Last season, the Thunderbirds played host to an opening round contest as well and had difficulty finding the mesh in a 3-1 loss to Madison Memorial. That shouldn’t be a problem tonight. The Thunderbirds were shutout twice this season, but both of those were in the first half of December and the Thunderbirds have collected 17 goals in its last four games.

Winner of this contest moves on to play top seeded Madison Edgewood on Thursday, but a nice perk for the Thunderbirds is that game is also scheduled to be played at Pierce Park Pavilion.

Cheavers split final two regular season contests

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Tonight’s the night.

The RWD Cheavers varsity hockey team wrapped up its hockey season this past week and heads into do-or-die action starting tonight in one of three Regional finals for WIAA Division 1 Section 3 .

But first, let’s wrap up the regular season.

The Cheavers had three games scheduled for its final week, but the first, a final home game, against the Janesville Bluebirds was cancelled due to threatening weather. The second half of a scheduled home-and-home set was played in Janesville Thursday (Jan. 28), the Cheavers collecting a 3-1 win. On Saturday, the season ended on a down note at the Omni in Onalaska as the home Hilltoppers handed the Cheavers a 7-2 defeat.

RWD Cheavers 3 @ Janesville Bluebirds 1

Despite a 13-8 edge in shots through the opening 17-minutes, the Cheavers found themselves looking up at a 1-0 deficit after a period in Janesville.

Senior Danny Ely pulled his team even, from senior defender Connor Schyvinck and sophomore Caden Brandt near the halfway mark of the middle period and then added another, unassisted about six minutes later.

Freshman Brady Baldwin added insurance with the lone goal of the third period from juniors Clayton Pfaff and Trevor Slaght.

Junior goaltender Cooper Oakes stopped 25 of 26, including everything he saw in the final two periods to collect the win in goal. The overall shots on goal were 32-26 in favor of the Cheavers but the Bluebirds held an 8-5 margin through the final period.

RWD Cheavers 2 @ Onalaska Hilltoppers 7

This game was settled in the opening period as the host Hilltoppers rolled to a 5-0 lead, outshooting its guests by a 13-4 margin.

To its credit, the Cheavers regrouped and played even the rest of the way.

Cheavers trailed 6-0 before junior Mitchell Henke found the mesh 3:58 from the end of the second period with help from freshman Brady Baldwin.

Caden Brandt notched his 23^rdgoal of the regular season just past the halfway mark of the final period from Schyvinck but Onalaska restored its five-goal cushion just a few minutes later.

Overall, the Hilltoppers held a 36-22 edge in shots.

Overall – 11-7-0

The Cheavers are not exactly limping to the post season but consider the team’s record following the Monk’s Cheeseburger Classic win (7-2) and the second half (4-5) is not so flattering. There have certainly been some peaks and valleys in that stretch, but the bottom line for RWD is the team enters the post season with a 0-0-0 record and a chance to redeem itself from the drop of the puck.

As the number six seed, the Cheavers will host the 11^th seeded Middleton Cardinals tonight (Tuesday, February 2). It’s certainly strange seeing this team ranked this low, but this has been a crazy year and the Cardinals have only five games played on its schedule – the only win coming this past Wednesday when the team shutout Sun Prairie 3-0. Ironically, that game was also placed at Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA) where the Cardinals and Cheavers will lineup tonight.

Winner of tonight’s game will play at Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) on Thursday night. The locals would love a shot at redemption against the Sauk Prairie Eagles who spanked them 7-1 on Jan. 12.

First, they must get by the Cardinals.