Ducks overcome horrific start, but fall just short to Mullets

By JIm den Hollander
Editor/Publisher
Saukhockey.info
The Dells Ducks kicked off a second straight weekend trying to rally back from a horrific period of play at Augsburg University Friday (Sept. 29) night.

The Ducks made the trip to Augsburg in the Twin Cities to take on the Minnesota Mullets, a team it dominated last season, winning all four regular season meetings, but the team didn’t realize the game was underway until the end of the opening peirod . Despite a frantic third period rally, an empty netter carried the Mullets to an 8-6 win.
The Mullets took full advantage of a lackadaisical start to the contest for the Ducks, scoring its first goal 5:15 into the contest and piling on another four by the end of the opening period despite a slim 16-10 edge on the shot clock.

A more inspired Ducks team showed up for the team period but it was the Mullets adding another before Braydan Kirchmann (’04/Waterloo, IA) finally got the visitors on the with 6:53 to play in the middle period.
Alic Schuster (’04/Menomonie Falls, WI) notched a second a little over four minutes later and the Ducks, who outshot their host 18-11 in the period carried some momentum into the final 20 minutes.
Again, it was the home team on the board first in the final period, making it a 7-2 game in the second minute.
But the Ducks never surrendered, beginning the long road back with a goal from Damien Calzada (’06/Plainfield, IL ) 5:32 into the frame.
Jack Kopfstein (’05/Vista, CA) scored what seemed a meaningless goal with 7:10 to play but then the Plumert twins — first defenseman Austin (’05/Hudsonville, MI) with 5:56 to go and another from forward Owen with 2:10 to go had the Ducks within a shot of tying the score.
The Ducks had an extra attacker on the ice and goaltender Anthony Falzone (’03/St. Charles, IL) on the bench looking to complete the amazing comeback, but Caden Sutter (’03/Eau Claire, WI) slid his second of the game into an empty Ducks’ goal with less than a minute to play, ending the threat.
The slow start was shocking, but the Ducks’ rally was inspiring and its hoped the team can follow it up with a win for a split in the weekend series, as it did the previous weekend in Blaine, MN against the Minnesota Moose, battling back from a 7-1 loss in the opener with a 4-2 win the following night.

The Ducks held a 42-35 edge on the shot clock and outscored its host 6-3 through the final 40 minutes.

Falzone came into the game to mop up with the Ducks trailing 4-0 in the first period, Michael Carden (’05/Colorado Springs, CO) getting his second straight start.

Game time at Augsburg University Ice Arena will be 7 p.m. tonight (Saturday, Sept. 30).

RWD opponents will face a Yeti this season

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

When Reedsburg/Wisconsin Dells/Mauston youth hockey teams out of the South Central Cyclones organization a few seasons ago, they adopted the RWD logo used by the varsity Co-operative effort used by high schools from the same region.

This season the youth organization will have a meaner look having adapted ‘Yeti’ as the local logo and mascot.

Team colors will remain the same (two shades of blue and white) but the enraged cold weather cousin of Bigfoot/Sasquatch will be featured on the front of the jersey, snarling at RWD opposition teams.

The local hockey organization has found some local sponsors to help outfit the two Squirt teams along with the Peewee and Bantam teams. The mites are scheduled to make the change in time for the 2024-25 season.

Local teams have been on the ice regularly since the ice went in at the Lake Delton Ice Arena and the tryouts splitting the Squirts into ‘A’ and ‘B’ clubs was expected to wrap up this weekend (Sept. 29-30). A couple fundraising tournaments in October will lead into the start of WAHA league play in late October.

Next up for Ducks, another road test against Mullets

By Jim den Hollander
Editor/Publisher
Saukhockey.info
After finally finding some success in Blaine, MN., the Dells Ducks will head back to the State of Hockey this weekend to take on the Minnesota Mullets.

Last season the Ducks and Mullets tangled four times with the Ducks taking ‘W’s in all four. It was the first time in several seasons the Ducks posted a winning record against a division rival and it went a long way toward securing a playoff spot for the Dells crew.
In an interview at the Lake Delton Ice Arena Wednesday, Ducks players and coaches played down the performances of last season. They felt the same way the previous weekend heading to Blaine against a team the locals had never defeated and the flip side is to not look past anyone based on last season’s results.
Both teams have a different look this season so most of the players involved are not aware of any trends heading into the contests.

Game time at the Augsburg University Ice Arena will be 7 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. Following this series, the Ducks will begin preparing for their first two games at home as they host the Isanti Outlaws Oct. 7-8 (Saturday/Sunday).
Once again, the games will be available on FloHockey.

Meet The Ducks — Defense never rests

Carden kicks out 52 leading Ducks to historic victory

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

After dropping its opener by a 7-1 score just 24 hours earlier, the Dells Ducks bounced back with an impressive 4-2 edge against the Minnesota Moose Saturday night at Fogerty Ice Arena in Blaine, MN.

The crash heard seconds after the final buzzer sounded with a Moose-sized monkey being thrown off the backs of the Ducks who ended an 0-19 record dating back six years, defeating the Moose for the first time in team history.

That leaves just the Minnesota Squatch as the only team the Ducks have not defeated as the Squatch entered play as an expansion team a season ago and won all five meetings with the Ducks.

Dells Ducks

Rookie goaltender Michael Carden (‘05/Dayton, OH) grabbed the win in his first start as a junior, kicking out 52 O shots, including all 38 chances through the opening 40 minutes.

Carden gave a bit of a preview the previous night, coming on in relief and stopping eight of 10 in the final 20 minutes.

After seeing a close game get away in a disastrous middle period turn a close game into a lopsided win for the homeside in the season opener, the Ducks turned the tables, firing three unanswered second period markers and carrying a 3-0 lead into the final frame despite a 38-15 edge in shots for the Moose.

Owen Plumert (‘05/Hudsonville, MI) opened the scoring for the Ducks, slamming home a feed from twin brother Austin 2:56 into the second period.

John Scott (‘05/Wisconsin Dells, WI) added another just over four minutes later, from defenseman Jack Kopfstein (‘05/Vista, CA) and Reece Atkins (‘03/Amery, WI). Alic Schulster (‘04/Menominee Falls, WI) notched an unassisted tally before the halfway mark of the period and the Ducks cary pasried a 3-0 lead into the final period.

The Moose finally found a way past Carden early in the final period and a second goal with 3:55 to go had them with a shot of tying it up.

Ducks stayed as calm as possible when the Moose pulled the goaltender in favor of an extra attacker with 91 seconds to go and Austin Plumert clinched the win, hammering a 190-foot shot from the top of his own crease straight into the Moose goal with 56 seconds remaining.

Last season, the Ducks didn’t collect its first win of the regular season until its 15^th game, on Nov. 5 so they are clearly well ahead of that pace as they planned to be.

Ducks will hit the road again this coming weekend playing at Augsburg University Ice Arena in the twin cities, MN against the host Minnesota Mullets at 7 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday. Games will be available on Flo Hockey.

Following that, the Ducks will look forward to its home opening series against the Isanti Outlaws at the Lake Delton Ice Arena. The first game will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7 with the getaway game starting at 3:30 p.m. the following afternoon.

Four goal second period flurry spoils opening night for Ducks

By JIm den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

A four goal second period uprising by the host MInnesota Moose threw a wrench into the plans for aid strong start to the USPHL Premier Midwest-West Division season for the Dells Ducks on Friday night.

Dells Ducks

The Ducks faced its first adversity of the season through the week leading up to Friday’s game as a flu bug sent several to the sidelines for weekly practices. But Head Coach Anthony Rohde and his charges refuse to use that as an excuse, promising a better result in 24 hours when they do it all again.

The Ducks first penalty of the season was a major, but the team killed it off in the first period and surrendered just one powerplay marker on six chances for the host Moose. The Ducks failed to score on eight chances with an extra skater including a couple two-man advantages and a Moose major in the final period.

The Moose carried a 1-0 lead out of the first period with a late goal from Easton Harrison and Jaden Aguilera added another 68 seconds into the middle frame.

Damien Calzada (‘06/Plainfield, iL) was the lone team member to collect a point on opening night, his unassisted goal 3:26 into the second getting the Ducks right back into the contest.

Other Moose goals came from Justus Harrison, Hudson Dilworth, Sergey Kolesov and Tyson Clark with a pair.

The Moose rallied for three goals in the final eight minutes of the period to open the gap, then added two more in the third.

Overall, the Moose held a 43-26 edge in shots in the contest including a 20-12 edge in the middle period.

The win for the Moose was the first for Head Coach Nic Leibold who was inserted as a coach just a few weeks ago, when Joe Jonasson who had been with the team since it started six seasons ago, moved on to an assistant coach position with the Janesville Jets.

Game two at the Fogerty Ice Arena in Blaine, MN will be played Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

Other opening night action from the Midwest-West Division saw the Minnesota Squatch kicking off its sophomore season with a 6-1 win at Augsburg University Ice Arena against the Minnesota Mullets and the Isanti Outlaws kicking it off at home with a 4-3 overtime edge against the Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings.

Meet the Ducks — Amery Boys

Intrasquad game shows Ducks ready to roll into USPHL 2023-24 season

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

With the USPHL Premier Midwest-West regular season now less than a week ago, the Dells Ducks held an Intrasquad game Saturday (Sept. 15) at the Lake Delton Ice Arena.

There hasn’t been this kind of pre-season excitement around the team for several seasons and the inclusion of local skater, John Scott may have played a part in a decent sized crowd of about 80, mostly local spectators coming out to get a first glimpse of the team.

Another RWD player, Mauston senior Brady Baldwin. He has come out with the Ducks a few times in the past couple of seasons but this was a one-off for the local three-sport athlete currently focused on his final football season in Mauston.

A few players – goaltender JC Aguilar ad forward Billy Stronello, watched the game as civilians with some minor injuries but barring any mishaps in practice the next few days, the Ducks expect to have a full lineup in place for the season opening series Friday and Saturday.

The team will make the usually dreaded trek to Blaine, MN to face the Minnesota Moose, a team it has never defeated since the Moose joined the USPHL six seasons ago. There is room for optimism and excitement this time around though as the Ducks have addressed most of its weakest areas.

Solid goaltending has been the team’s calling card since current team owner Shaun Falzone was its first coach back in 2011-12 and this season should be no different with fourth-year team member Anthony Falzone leading rookies Aguilar and Michael Carden into the regular season.

This season the team boasts the most skilled and experienced blue line corps it has had let by third year Ducks member Jack Kopfstein with a nice combination of puck movers and stay at home blue liners that give the team its deepest corps in several seasons.

Up front the mix of returners looking to make a bigger splash this season along with some top-notch rookies who enter with the promise of making a big offensive contribution. On Saturday night those players showed they can take advantage of their opportunities with a nice touch around the net. Like the defense, the offense boasts a nice mix of fast, skilled marksmen along with net crashers and corner workers.

Saturday night’s game split the team into a pair of two-line squads that combined on five goals scored by Kopfstein, Bryce Purtill, Damien Calzatta and the twins – Owen and Austin Plumert.

Local fans will get another chance to see the local squad Oct. 7-8 when they entertain the Isanti Outlaws. The regular season starts with four on the road, this coming weekend against the Moose and the following weekend in the Twin Cities against the Minnesota Mullets.

Meet the Ducks — The Plumerts

Boys are Back in Town — Ducks open camp Tuesday

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

After one of the busiest off seasons in the team’s history, Head Anthony Rohde and his charges will kick off the 2023-24 season Tuesday at the Lake Delton Ice Arena.

With a slightly later than usual start to the regular season, the Ducks’ players will get nearly three weeks of training and prep under their belts before playing their first game of the USPHL Premier Midwest-West Division regular season on Sept 22 with the first of two in Blaine, Minnesota against the Minnesota Moose.

As in recent seasons, the Ducks will do double duty during the first week with some high intensity drylad workouts during the day while also helping Lake Ice Arena owner Aaron Kirby with the work of putting the ice in.

Compressors were turned on Friday and the first floods were scheduled to take place on Sunday evening. Ducks players have helped with this process over the past few years.

After an orientation day on Tuesday, the Ducks will begin workouts Wednesday with dryland sessions and some chalk talk as Coach Rohde hopes to get his systems in place before the team hits the ice for the first time, likely in the second week.

In previous seasons, the Ducks have entered the regular season with several home dates but this season the team will play its first four on the road before playing in front of friendly fans Oct. 7-8 against the Isanti Outlaws.