The now 17year-old defenseman signed up to attend the Futures Camp held by the Ducks and he has been a great presence on the blue line ever since. Local fans and players are clearly not the only ones to notice him as he was recently named as a Premier League’s Midwest-West Division 2022-23 All Star.
A native of Vista, CA, Kopfstein showed up at the Prospects Camp seemingly out of the blue after selecting the Ducks as a team that could be a good fit for him. At the time he was playing youth and varsity hockey on the left coast.
His impression with the Ducks was immediate but hidden somewhat on a team that struggled defensively. However, he stood out at the other end of the pond as well, slamming home three goals and a dozen assists in the season’s first 29 games before a collar bone injury at the Chicago Showcase just before the Christmas Break effectively pulled the plug on his season.
Dells Ducks
But the defensemen didn’t shut himself down completely, returning for the final few games of the season and spend much of the off season in Illinois and Wisconsin, working out and attending some tournaments with incoming Head Coach Anthony Rohde.
Kopfstein returned for the 2022-23 season and missed just one of 44 contests, scoring 14 goals and adding 17 assists for 31 points which was more than double his previous season’s total. Overall, the 46 points collected by Kopfstein ranks 27th best in team history and he is fifth among defensemen behind local legends Jake Stima; Bradley Hefner, Sean Teske and Beckett Patten.
As an ‘05, Kopfstein has three years of junior eligibility remaining and he has a good shot at catching on with a team at a higher level (NAHL or NCDC).
Kopfstein’s big shot and ability to move the puck might overshadow his primary job which is of course stopping the opposition from scoring. He was a primary piece on a defensive unit that cut 116 goals off its goals against total (333 to 217) this past season but he and the coaches both know that job is not finished yet.
Being recognized as one of the division’s top defenders is no easy task, especially this season which might have been one of the best since the division was formed in terms of defensive standouts.
Kopfstein joins Jacob Jakusz and Evan Izenstark from the Hudson Havoc; Kyle Cupolo from the Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings and Logan Lake from the Minnesota Moose as the Division’s All-Star Defenders.
It is nice but not overly surprising to see Kopfstein listed as one of the best in the division. He has been a huge part of the team’s successful move up the standings this past season.
Coach (Shaun) Falzone and then Coach Rohde have been happy to have a player like Kopfstein patrolling the Ducks’ blue line.
“Jack through the past two seasons has been one of the most reliable defensemen in the division,” said Coach Rohde. “Not only does he play against the other team’s top players, but also puts up points consistently.
“His progression from a young player learning how to play juniors to being the ‘D’ that leads a team has been a lot of fun to watch.”
All Star Forwards is equally as impressive including: Jack Pojar; Blake Bakey and Daniel Ellingson from the Minnesota Squatch; Tyler Schmitt and Easton Parnell from the Isanti Outlaws; William Tricarico and Tobias Falkeid from the Riverkings; Teodor Benno-Vaage and Ryan Mulrenin from the Moose; Noah LaFleur from the Steele County Blades and Harout Torosian from the Havoc.
Nate Gulsvig of the Squatch/Havoc and Levi Preugschas from the Blades were named as the Division’s All-Star Goaltenders.
The Dells Ducks and Saukhockey.info would like to Congratulate Jack on being named to the All-Division team and wish him luck as he looks to catch on with a Tier 2 squad over the summer months.
The Dells Ducks made a quick exit from the USPHL postseason but a look back on the season shows a team moving in the proper direction.
Dells Ducks
Here’s a quick review of the team’s accomplishments this season and a first look at what is in store for the team when they return in the fall.
The team’s overall record, 12-29-2-1, doesn’t look great at first glance, but here are a few reasons why it’s more than promising.
First, compare it to the previous couple seasons — The Ducks finished at 3-38-2 in 2020-21 with a young squad but managed one more win the following season, finishing at 4-39-1. The nine points collected was also one more than the previous season.
Statistically, the team showed some progress, scoring 94 goals as opposed to 65 the previous year. On average, the improvement went from 1.51 goals per game to 2.13. Defensively, the team struggled in the COVID season, allowing 356 goals in 43 regular season games for an average of 8.28 pefore r game and improved slightly with 333 goals against the following season for an average of 7.57.
Those are dismal stats but looking there shows how dramatic the team’s improvement was in 2022-23.
Ducks scored 116 goals this past season, an average of 2.64 per game and flirted with allowing less than 200, before finishing with 217 against, a still high, but much improved average of 4.93 per game.
Despite a drop of more than 100 goals against, there were still some big losses that inflated the overall number. The Ducks allowed eight or more goals in six games and teams put up a double-digit total on the locals twice and the Havoc did it once more in the post season.
Offensively, the team saved its best for last, scoring 10 in its final regular season game, the fifth time the local crew put up a total of five or higher. Ironically two of those games were losses.
The team appears headed in the right direction but it will be interesting to see if they can take another big step forward as many of the team’s top players from this season will be moving on to college next year, having aged out at the end of the 22-23 season. The team’s top.
Head Coach/GM Anthony Rohde and his assistant, Mario Lachica deserve much of the credit as they were tireless in first getting the players, then getting them on the same page.
The 27 points collected in standings this season was just shy of three times better than the nine collected the previous season. What makes that number standout more is the fact the team lost its first 14 games and had just one overtime point to show for it.
But a 2-1 win against the visiting Minnesota Blue Ox on Nov. 5 served as a turning point for the Ducks who clearly enjoyed winning, taking W’s in two of its next three as well.
From that point on, the team put together a record of 9-16-1-1, under .500 but certainly moving in the right direction.
Last season the Ducks collected no wins after returning from the Christmas Break, dropping all 12 in the crucial homestretch. This time the team went 4-9 to protect the final playoff spot. That stretch, when Showcase excursions are done and you’re facing a division rival in every match is perhaps the most crucial part of the season.
Local youth players and parents are familiar with Rohde’s style as he has worked with many of the local players. What is evident are his unique drills that improve the speed, footwork and stickhandling of almost everyone that works with him, but what many are not aware of is the time Rohde and Lachica put in watching film of their own games and their opponents’ games. They are always aware of what specifically needs to be improved and its not uncommon for the tinkering to begin during an intermission of the same game.
The coaches have already moved on to the 2023-24 campaign even while the top teams are still finishing this season.
Aging out forwards like the team’s leading scorer, Ethan Matthews, Adam Brown and captain Bryce Jacobsen were given a chance to play at a higher level down the stretch with trades to upper echelon teams. Jacobsen (Minnesota Moose) and Matthews (Richmond Generals) will both get a chance to finish their season in style at the League’s National Championship tournament in Utica, N.Y. next week.
But without those players, the team should have seen a noticeable sag in performance. Instead, the rest of the guys stepped up, putting up a team high 10 goals in its regular season finale. Rohde said those final games were effectively auditions for players looking to return to the Ducks next season.
“They took advantage of that opportunity to step up,” said Rohde adding the players are looking to impress every time on the ice.
“Every shift is a tryout for the next one,” summed up the coach in a telephone interview.
Rohde said players from Wisconsin/Illinois along with some others staying in the Midwest through the off season will get a chance to take part in some five-on-five skates, starting soon at the Lake Delton Ice Arena and continuing over the summer months in the Milwaukee and Chicago areas.
The coach estimated half of the non-aging out players could be hoping to return next season and he has been looking for players that could come in and make the team better since before the regular season ended.
The team has shown a marked improvement in nearly every area but the bar will be set higher for the 2023-24 season. Rohde and Lachica wouldn’t have it any other way.
Back in town for the first time since before Christmas, there is certainly catching up to do.
Over the next day or so, five articles — one for each varsity hockey team and one for the junior Dells Ducks will catch up several games missed while I was away.
Interspersed will be some other reports as close to game day as all five teams are now into the regular season home stretch and push to the post season.
Hopes are to get to the Youth Hockey playdown schedules up and take a look at how locals are doing in college hockey as well in the next week or two.
First I want to thank everyone for being so friendly when I was home briefly. I am now back in Orillia, ON for a few weeks, before dashing to Chicago for the USPHL Showcase tournament in mid-December.
I enjoyed seeing the Lightning and RWD make their varsity debuts and now will try to keep up on them, primarily through the use of boxscores. I have been following the junior Ducks online as well and I want to welcome any of the local youth teams to send boxscores, pics or whatever you have. My email is jimmerdenhollander@gmail.com. I had a different one I used last year but somehow it disappeared. That is my only email now so it will get to me. Sometimes it takes a few days to get through them all, but I will do my best.
I was excited to see Sauk Prairie which has transformed in recent years to one of the best hockey programs in the state has set their sights even higher with some high caliber U14 squads under the Lake City Whitecaps moniker. Congrats on taking another big step and running a great program. I haven’t been able to track down a logo online for that yet so if anyone has one, I could sure use it in my email as well.
Also, any of the varsity coaches that want to send comments or observations from yourself and/or players, I would happily use them as well. Thanks to Jessica Othmer I should have pics of RWD and Lightning varsity and possibly JV games. I would welcome any others from Baraboo/Portage and Sauk Prairie but unfortunately all I can offer as of right now is a photo credit. Maybe that will change for next season.
Thanks again to everyone that has helped and supported. I am getting to work now on all of the weekend action so I can be true to my word. I hope you all have a great holiday season.
Believe it or not, the Dells Ducks will pass the halfway mark on its USPHL Premier Midwest-West Division regular season this weekend.
Part of the reason for that is a busy stretch that has seen the team playing either 3 or 4 games in each of the past four weekends heading into a well-deserved Thanksgiving break, its first since Labor Day Weekend.
Looking at mid-term grades for the team is tricky. Overall, it appears the first semester was just too tough for a team that found it hard to carry what it picked up in class into the weekly tests.
The team enters the Detroit Showcase starting Friday with an overall record of 3-13-2-1. Not exactly championship material, but the team has also posted a mark of 3-3-1-1 in its past eight games.
If the team can carry on with that momentum through this weekend and beyond, the future could be bright indeed.
The team is just different this season. Long periods spent inside of its own blue line resulted in goaltenders facing 50-plus shots on goal routinely last season. The Ducks have managed to skate with their opponents and have held the edge in shots almost as often as it hasn’t this season.
As a result, goals against have dropped drastically. The 99 goals against is still the most in the Midwest-West Division but last season the Ducks allowed 333 goals against which was an improvement on the 356 allowed the previous season. The Ducks are on a pace to allow just over 200 this season but taking into consideration the defense and standout goaltending of late means the second half of the season could see goal allowed dropping further.
Meanwhile goals for has sputtered a bit, in the early games this season, but once again, comparing it to previous seasons tells a slightly different story.
The Ducks have scored 46 goals through their first 19 games which is an average of about 2.5 per game. The Ducks have been shutout three times and have allowed two or less in 10 of 19 games. The team has also scored five goals three times and with the drastic reduction of goals against in recent games, two has been enough to win on a couple of occasions.
Last season the Ducks scored a total of 94 goals and the previous season they potted just 65. The team is on pace to surpass both totals this year.
With the usual handicapping at the Showcase tournaments, the Ducks heads into this weekend facing four winnable contests. In a way, it could be a negative that the team is heading into a break, but the team has left the launchpad and this weekend could be the beginning of a climb from the bottom to midpack in the Midwest-West Division.
Who knows where things could go from there.
Despite overall results that would indicate a failing grade, I am giving the team a ‘C’ at the midterm and hoping that grade will improve with an awesome run down the backstretch and into the final turn.
By Jim den Hollander Editor/Publisher Saukhockey.info Former Dells Ducks goaltender Sandro Aeschlimann has once again put on the jersey of his home country and led the Swiss National team to its third straight win at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships in Finland.
Sandro Aeschlimann
Aeschlimann, 27, is one of three goaltenders for the Swiss National team and each have made the most of an opportunity to patrol the crease for Switzerland so far. Aeschlimann, a native of Zazlwil, Switzerland played for the Ducks in 2014-15, appearing in the most memorable home game to date, a 1-0 win to clinch the Bush Cup Championship (MNJHL). He appeared in 32 regular season games and seven more in the post season, posting a sub 2.00 goals against average and a Save Percentage of .935 in the regular season and .958 in the playoffs. After the Ducks, Aeschlimann played a season of NCAA Division 3 hockey at Elimira College in New York before returning home to Switzerland where he has played professionally for the past six seasons, five with HC Davos in the top Switzerland Pro League. On Tuesday, Aeschlimann made his first appearance at the Worlds, providing the team with two periods of shutout hockey to help them build a 2-0 lead against Kazakhstan. The Kazaks struck for a pair in the third, including one to get within a goal with just over two minutes to play, but Aeschlimann shut the door from there, boosting the team to its third straight win a the tournament behind played in both Tampere and Helsinki, Finland. The team was back on the ice Wednesday and boosted its record to 4-0 with a 5-2 win against Slovakia.
The 16 nations playing at the Worlds are divided into two eight-team pools. The Swiss currently lead Pool A with its 4-0-0 record while Canada is right behind at 3-0-0. Both have all but guaranteed in the tournament’s Quarter-Finals next week. Reto Berra, a veteran goaltender from Bulach, Switzerland with several seasons of both Swiss Pro and AHL experience, played in both the first game against Italy and fourth game, against Slovakia for Switzerland and Leonardo Genoni, another vet, from Semlone, Switzerland appeared in game two, a 6-0 shutout against Denmark. The Swiss has three round-robin matches remaining, taking on Canada Saturday, France on Sunday and arch rival Germany on May 24. If Switzerland sticks with his current goaltending rotation, Aeschlimann will likely hit the blue paint against France. While the Swiss team has some vets in goal, Nico Hischier from the New Jersey Devils, the country’s only ever first overall NHL draft pick is on the roster along with Pius Suter of the Detroit Red Wings, Timo Meier of the San Jose Sharks and Jonas Sigenthaler, also from the Devils.
After a lengthy lapse, Saukhockey.info is heading into the summer season.
First there is some catching up to do. The last story posted on the website was on March 15 and there are a couple things that will certainly be old, but better on the side than forgotten.
Since then, there have been a couple things that have taken me away from the site, but admittedly, a mild form of burnout played a part as well.
I look forward to catching up on the few articles that have yet to make it to the site and then move on to the summer. Last summer I discovered there really is no ‘down time’ for hockey. It is certainly a bit slower in the summer with not as many Sauk County participants, but it never completely goes away. In fact, there ae some big player announcements coming up in the next few months as well as the first scouting summer for Dells Ducks Head Coach Anthony Rohde.
There are several locals who take part in summer events with the Blue Devils, Team Wisconsin and later, the WEHL teams.
I believe this is the upcoming hockey season will be the fourth for Saukhockey.info. If my current plans work out, it will be bigger than ever and I am also hoping to revive midwesthockey.info, a site that I originally came up with close to a decade ago, but due to the focus on local hockey and some crazy internet issues, it has been on the back burner for the past 2-4 years.
I am looking to take advantage of a lot more video and social media type things in the next season but have some catching up to do there as I look to stay somewhat modern. Par for the course for a guy who started out as a sports reporter just as the industry was switching from manual typewriters to floppy disks. It’s gone through tons of changes since then as well.
The plan here is to have all of that organized to roll out when the new season gets underway in September with perhaps a few announcements and additions along the way.
Hopefully 2022-23 will be another amazing season for both saukhockey.info and midwesthockey.info.
The Dells Ducks saw its season come to an end in Coon Rapids recently as the overwhelming underdog bowing with back-to-back defeats against the Minnesota Blue Ox despite 120 of the Ducks best minutes of the season.
Dells Ducks
Its impossible to carry that momentum for five-plus months into Labor Day when the team will head into the 2022-23 season.
A small, but definite improvement over the previous season leaves room for optimism for a Ducks team that has been the youngest in the Midwest-Division if not the entire USPHL Premier League for both of the past two seasons, since Shaun Falzone stepped in as the owner/GM/Head Coach of the team.
But big changes that took effect within hours of the end of the 2021-22 season hold promise of a big improvement starting this fall.
While the changes are recent, they are far from sudden. Falzone has talked about a second phase for this team since the day he came to town and former Assistant Coach Anthony Rohde plays a big part in next generation.
Rohde was forced to step aside this season for personal reasons but his presence has been felt in at the Lake Delton Ice Arena frequently over the past season. Falzone officially passed the Head Coaching reins to his former player and good friend within days of the season’s end. The job has been Rohde’s to take for two seasons and seriously since around Christmas.
Mario Lachica will also return as the Assistant Coach and the chemistry is big and immediate between these to who have played and coached together. Like Falzone, Lachica’s style of coachng is similar to Rohde’s. One thing that any player suiting up for the Ducks can be guaranteed is icetime and individual attention. Both Rohde and Lachica are tireless and love calling the arena home during the season. The Ducks practiced twice a day through most of this past season but if there was empty ice available, Lachica was willng to work with anything any player wanted.
Rohde usually has skates on his feet for 8-10 hours or more a day when he is at the rink.
He delayed accepting the position until just recently, but he comes in with a solid gameplan and a list of possibly players he has already been in contact with. Don’t take that to mean the team is set though. As any good coach would, Rohde is searching high and low over the off season for prospects that will make the team better.
While home in the Chicagoland area, Rohde coached a bantam level team over the season and he has taken advantage of league play to look for talent. He was also on hand at the Monk’s Cheeseburger Classic. Rohde and Lachica both checked out the WIAA Seniors Tournament this past weekend and their calendars are filling up for what promises to be a busy summer, spent mostly sipping coffee and taking notes in ice rinks across North America.
Falzone will be no less busy but steps a bit into the background as team owner, looking after paperwork, sponsor hunting and promoting the team.
Ducks fans have remained mostly loyal through the past five tough seasons for the Ducks which has seen mostly 16-17 year old players.
During that tenure, the Ducks have developed many players for upper echelon Tier 3 and some Tier 2 teams and many have gone on to play at Division 3 or ACHA Club hockey teams at th college level. That will continue but watch for the Ducks to begin its move north n league standings as well.
Fans will enjoy the rise and local youth players will also be thrilled to have Rohde and Lachica ready to help them improve as well.
Dells Ducks Head Coach Shaun Falzone introduced the team’s sixth (Including Falzone twice) Head Coach, Anthony Rohde who takes over immediately as the team’s Head Coach.
A few years ago, I was talking with a coach who said he wished there was an all-area team based on an all-City varsity team put together by a Madison newspaper.
I have wanted to do that but have been shy as it is completely opinion based and opens the door for criticism. This season in particular, the talent level is sky high on all four Sauk County varsity teams making it difficult to decide.
I have decided to put my selections out there and I invite others to put their own list together. Points, leadership, and consistency were the prime consideration in putting this together but there are no formulas because, well, I hate math.
I have four full lines of players and four goaltenders on the first three lines. I am picking a player of the year and future stars as well.
Let the debate begin
Jimmy D’s All-Saukhockey.info teams.
First Line
Forwards
Nick Mast (Sauk Prairie Eagles) – Mast’s inclusion on here is a slam dunk. He put up 43 goals and 68 points this season to wrap up a massive four season (regular season only) total of 101 goals and 194 points. He is the first player to put up a three-digit goal total and his 194 points leaves him second behind only the amazing 240 point run of Riley Jelinek.
I attended a few pre-season Captain’s practices and Mast was a leader on the ice during those sessions as well as others and he is generous, working with youth players in town as well.
CJ Pfaff (RWD Cheavers) — Pfaff has always made his presence felt with RWD, but this season he led by example from start to finish. The line of Pfaff/Slaght/Caden Brandt was one of the most potent trios in the RWD team’s history and might have been overshadowed slightly in a season that saw some amazng top lines in Sauk (Mast/Mast/Peterson), Oregon and Madison Edgewood.
A constant scoring threat, Pfaff increased his value by being so effective in his own end and perhaps the best penalty killer in the conference.
Luke Mast (Sauk Prairie Eagles) — The lone non-senior on the first line, Luke Mast got the nod for me ahead of the other RWD players based on the playoff head-to-head meeting.
Luke outpointed his brother this season by a point and was among the state leaders in assists with 47. Of course, it helps having a guy like his older brother pulling the trigger on a lot of those passes. Luke will be the obvious leader for the Eagles next season.
Defense
Hakon Peterson (Sauk Prairie Eagles) – The Eagles showed in its playoff game in Reedsburg this season, it can hold on to a narrow lead through a period or more. Peterson was the defensive leader for this team and a key part of the offense, in particular on powerplays with 10 goals and 36 points.
Grant Marsich (RWD Cheavers) — Like Peterson, Marsich was effective at both ends of the ice. A physical defender he played with a chip on his shoulder and enjoyed getting under the skin of opponents. He was on the ice in every situation for the Cheavers this season.
This would be a nice defensive combo with Peterson and Marsich both bringing a hard-hitting physical presence and comfortable in any game situation. Perhaps, we will get a chance to see this combo later this month at the Senior’s tournament.
Goaltender
Cooper Oakes (RWD Cheavers) – A starting goaltender for the Cheavers since his first game as a first year, Oakes won 18 this season, giving him a total of 52 victories, more than double any player that has gone to the crease since RWD was formed.
Able to put up a big game any time, Oakes’ biggest improvement this season was consistency. A critic would be hard pressed to produce a bad game for Oakes in goal in 2021-22.
Second Line
Forwards
Erik Peterson (Sauk Prairie Eagles) — A lanky, aggressive forward who can put the puck in the net , Peterson was the perfect fit with the Mast brothers. Coming off a 12-week run with Team Wisconsin that wrapped up on the eve of the WIAA regular season, Peterson was in mid-season form out of the gate and he contributed 16 goals and 38 points for the Eagles.
Caden Brandt (RWD Cheavers) — Like Luke Mast in Sauk, Caden Brandt will inherit the reins of the RWD Cheavers in 2022-23 and he has been a key player on the squad since his sophomore season. He was among the scoring leaders as a sophomore and added 15 points to his totals with 26 goals and 46 points this past season. He has already put up 91 points in 67 varsity contests and he will be among the team’s best by the time he finishes his senior season.
Kayla Capener (Badger Lightning) — A look at playoff results shows a Badger Lightning team making a first-round exit again. However, the team took a mighty step forward, closing in on the .500 mark with nine wins, matching its best season since 2015-16. Capener, named to the all-state squads as a sophomore, played a big part of that for the Lightning, collecting 16 goals and 38 points and becoming just the second player on the team to cross the 100-point plateau with her senior season yet to come. Her consistency was the most impressive part of her game. She collected points in 17 of the team’s 21 games, including a six-point game and two five-pointers.
Defense
Carsen Brandt (RWD Cheavers) — For a guy that wasn’t even supposed to play this season, Carsen Brandt, Caden’s twin brother couldn’t have made a bigger impression this season. Many were nervous about the RWD blue line heading into this season, but the emergence of Marsich combined with the stability and great 200-foot game of Brandt and the amazing play of Cooper Oakes in goal played a big part in the second in conference finish of the Cheavers in the opening season of Badger West action. He will be as important as his brother in 2022-23 and both will for sure be wearing letters on their jerseys.
Carson Blosenski (Badger Lightning) — Small but growing numbers for the Badger Lightning put Blosenski in a unique and tough position of being a leader on this team as both a junior and senior. Despite a marked improvement in the offensive play, thanks in part to a player infusion that took the team from two to three lines this past season, the d-corps and goalie were kept busier than normal this season and Blosenski was up to the task.
Goaltender
Kaden Stracke (Sauk Prairie Eagles) — The fourth junior on the line, Stracke turned in another awesome season in goal for the Eagles. Stracke turned in 11 regular season wins and two more in the post season for the Eagles. Stracke edged out Brooks McInerney again this season, but McInerney was right there with five wins and both goaltenders picked up shutouts. As seniors, Stracke and McInerney will be relied on to backstop an Eagles that will be looking to replace a lot of goals from graduating players.
Third Line
Forwards
Trevor Slaght (RWD Cheavers) — This might be an unpopular spot for Slaght, and it says here he deserves to be on one of the upper lines as well. The two factors that pushed him down a bit – both completely out of his control – are a late start due to acl injury and just a stellar cast this season on all four teams.
While the injury prevented him from scoring a higher spot on this team it is also part of what made Slaght’s season so amazing. First, he returned weeks earlier than expected from the injury, a tribute to his hard work off ice and in 14 regular season games played, he put up 12 goals and 12 assists, turned, put the team’s top line on a new level and played a part in helping a 5-5 team to an 18-6 final regular season record.
Oliver Scanlan (Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds) — Scanlan’s role might have been a little obscured on a team that not only featured a small number of seniors but saw some of them sidelined due to injury or illness for much of the campaign.
Scanlan and senior linemate, Gabe Fitzwilliams scored 23 goals between them which doesn’t sound like much until you consider that’s nearly half of the Thunderbirds’ 49-goal total. Scanlan shared the team scoring lead, adding seven assists to his total. Playing on a young team subjected to the adversity this team faced couldn’t have been easy, but Scanlan showed up and gave his best all season.
Signe Begalske (Badger Lightning) — Another player on the Badger Lightning who served two seasons as a ‘senior’ team member (the team had no seniors in 2020-21), Begalske enjoyed a big spike in scoring playing as a linemate with Kayla Capener. Begalske totaled 13 goals and 30 points, nearly doubling her 17 points from the previous campaign. Begalske showed a willingness to dig the puck out of corners for Capener or be the trigger-player herself with a rugged but clean game – Begalske sat just four minor penalties this season, one more than the previous year.
Defense
Ty Thompson (RWD Cheavers) — Thompson deserves a spot on this list as recognition of a solid role as a defensive defender for the Cheavers. He seldom hit the game sheet as an old school defensive defenseman, there are no stats that highlight the role he plays. Often partnered with a defender that likes to jump into the offensive play, Thompson looks after the house and often, rides a charging forward off the puck or at least gives them a low percentage outside opportunity.
Carson Zick (Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds) — Zick was another bright spot on a team that struggled due in part to injuries and illness and other adversity this past season, especially in the second half of the season when he became a game sheet regular.
Zick, a sophomore, collected nine goals and 19 points to share the team lead and he will no doubt be a leader even as a junior for the Thunderbirds in 2022-23.
Goaltender(s)
Andrew Schaetzl (Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds)/Alyssa Gada (Badger Thunder) — It’s impossible to separate Schaetzl and Gada who both played huge roles on teams that seldom held the margin on the shot clock.
Schaetzl was another of the key seniors on a young Thunderbirds team. He faced an average of 37 shots per game and a 4.77 Goals Against Average and a .867 Save Percentage don’t tell the whole story of a player that was the last line of defense on a team that found it difficult to stop the attack.
The team’s two biggest games were wins against the Monroe Cheesemakers to clinch fifth spot in the Badger West Conference. In those games, Schaetzl handled 61 of 66 shots to help lift his team to two of its four regular season victories.
Gada, a sophomore was in a similar situation with the Badger Lightning. While the team showed a marked improvement this season, Gada was still accustomed to facing more shots that the opposing keeper.
She appeared in 19.13 games for the Lightning and faced an average of about 30 shots per game. She notched seven of the team’s nine wins including a pair of goose eggs, tying her for second overall for the team with Gabby Christensen and Kelcie McElhenie. She might not approach the 11 clean sheets that Jamie Dutton put up as a Lightning tender, but Gada still has two more seasons to make her mark in the blue paint.
Fourth Line
Forwards
Tomas Korndorfer (RWD Cheavers) – The Czech Republic exchange student was a huge surprise for the Cheavers, and he might have been the most dangerous player in the County this season inside of the opposition blue line. Almost all his goals were the highlight-reel type as he managed to often put it into the smallest openings. Korndorfer ripped 15 goals and 29 best, third best total on the team. With the arrival of Slaght near Christmas, Korndorfer combined with junior John Scott and sophomore Brady Baldwin to form a second high scoring line for RWD, a rarity in varsity hockey.
Micah Hanson (Sauk Prairie Eagles) — In what will likely be the final season of competitive hockey for the Division 1 Lacrosse recruit (Canisius College), Hanson put up 13 goals and 19 points. A special teams regular, 10 of Hanson’s goals came on powerplays, along with four assists. He also picked up an assist while shorthanded.
John Scott (RWD Cheavers)/Gabe Fitzwilliams (Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds – This decision was just too tough. The role Fitzwilliams played as a senior on Baraboo/Portage can’t be overlooked, but Scott enjoyed a breakthrough season and set himself up as a player that will be relied on heavily next season.
Fitzwilliams partnered with Oliver Scanlan to collect 18 points forming a dangerous combo on offense for a team that struggled to find the net. He came up big in big games, scoring five of his 12 goals in the four Thunderbird wins including the overtime game winner against Tomah/Sparta on the road in the T-Birds’ second game of the season.
Scott was a deadly triggerman, scoring 14 goals and 19 points, most of his goals coming on one timers from the top of the crease. He benefited from having his billet brother (Korndorfer) on his line, scoring five goals at the Monk’s Cheeseburger Classic, shortly after the line was formed. In the first 11 games he scored twice, adding another dozen in the second half. Not shy about getting into the physical play, watch for Scott to be a heart and soul player for the Cheavers in his senior season.
Defense.
Logan DeMars (RWD Cheavers) — DeMars stepped up his play this past season and with the graduation of Marsich and Thompson, there will be big expectations from this lanky, physical defender who scored four goals and set up another half dozen this past season. DeMars, like Brandt, is a good 200-foot player, capable of carrying the puck and dish to potential goal scorers at the other end.
Eryn Benson (Badger Lightning) — Another junior that will be stepping into a leadership role, Benson is blessed with a powerful shot from the blue line, which helped her rack up five goals and 14 points for the Lightning this past season. She has made her presence felt since she was a first year, but this season’s 14 points showed a marked improvement in that area. On a team that spent a lot of time in its own end, Benson teamed with Blosenski to form a solid combo, limiting opposition chances.
Benson will be a key fixture on a Lightning team that will receive some valuable, but young additions in her senior season.
Honorable Mention – Who to Watch
Brady Baldwin (RWD Cheavers) — It’s hard to believe I couldn’t find a spot on these teams for this valuable player. In his first two seasons with RWD, Baldwin has put up 15 goals and another 15 assists and he was always on the ice with the game on the line. An agile and speedy skater he is equally comfortable as a setup man or a finisher.
Other RWD players to watch – Iszak Elder, Yevgeny Dedun and Trey Lariden
Luke Schweda (Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds) — A quick agile and physical player who has played both forward and defense, Schweda will be an anchor and a scoring threat for the Thunderbirds in his senior season).
Other Baraboo/Portage players to watch – Nathan Gneiser, Jordi Beale and Peyton Sloan.
Gunnar Nachreiner (Sauk Prairie Eagles) — Only in the lineup for 15 games this season, First year Nachreiner put up four goals and 12 points to finish sixth in team scoring. He is a good bet to be on one of the top lines in 2022-23 and beyond.
Other Sauk Prairie Eagles players to watch – Karsyn Banta, Ethan Tranel, Thor Peterson.
Bella Bowden/Mallory Ruland (Badger Lightning) — Limited to just a half dozen games and one goal this season, Bowden was one of the conference’s fastest skaters as a sophomore. In a perfect world, Bowden comes back for her senior season with something to prove and wreaks havoc on the Badger Conference.
Ruland also saw her points total dip a bit this past season playing on a different line. A potent sniper she found the net eight times though, which is one more than the previous season. As a senior leader she could combine with Bowden along with Capener and Reese Olson, who enjoyed a massive first season with nine goals and 19 points along with a host of younger and incoming players that will make the team bigger offensive threat.
Other Badger Lightning players to watch – Reese Olson, Lily McPherson, Kayla Garbacz.
Player of the Year – Cooper Oakes
This was an easier choice than I expected. That’s not to say there aren’t a host of candidates from all four teams.
What most fans saw was a goaltender that has had fans chanting his name since he played youth hockey add consistency to all the great attributes he had between the pipes. When the team got off to a slow start in the early games, it was the work of Oakes in the blue paint that kept games close. In previous seasons, his skills were on view in many games but there were games when the entire team, including Oakes were not on their game. He would be the first to agree with that assessment too.
This past season though, I am hard pressed to point to any games when the puck stopper wasn’t in perfect form.
What fans might not have seen – this was Oakes’ team this season. As a senior, he took the leadership role seriously, doing all he could to lead by example and not shy about playing bad cop when he thought it was necessary. If he didn’t think players were focused or pulling their weight, he was fine with letting them know. What made it ok was he didn’t expect any more out of his teammates than he expected out of himself.
Oakes is a three-sport athlete. He will move on to varsity baseball almost immediately, but his game is hockey. He will be playing junior hockey somewhere this fall and the team that lands him is lucky.
The Dells Ducks are hoping some solid play at the annual Chicago Showcase can carry over into the final 13 games of the USPHL regular season, beginning with a pair on home ice this weekend against the Minnesota Mullets.
The Mullets, coached by Chris Walby who has Sauk County hockey connections, originally from the Lodi area, but playing his youth hockey in Sauk Prairie, also turned in a nice performance in Chicago and both teams are looking to keep their progress rolling into the new year.
The Ducks currently sit eighth in the eight-team Midwest-West and currently trail seventh place Rum River Mallards by 11 points, so climbing in the standings would be a longshot, but team morale is high with the addition of several new players (see video) and this team is clearly not done fighting.
The Mullets won three of four in Chicago and that builds to 4 of five when considering the team’s 3-1 win against the Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings on Dec. 11. Overall, the Mullets are sixth in the division with a 12-14-1-0 record, but the recent wins have the team in a position to move higher and home ice in the first round of playoffs is not out of the question.
For the Ducks, build has been slow, but there are a number of benchmarks the team could set in the final 13 games of the season.
TEAM
As a team, the Ducks have already collected four wins, one more than last season and points-wise, the nine points is also one more than last year. But the team has shown a marked improvement in almost every area.
The Ducks have scored 72 goals this season which is already seven more than last year with 13 games to play. Last season the team allowed 365 goals and the way the team is playing currently (225 GAG), they will likely finish under 300 goals against this year.
The 386 Penalty minutes is third highest in the division, but only a fraction more than half of the 768 it collected a year ago.
INDIVIDUALS
A year ago, Jaden Tkaczuk led the team in scoring with 19 points. This season, that would not rank him in the top four as Caden Glamkowski (27g, 19a) leads the way now with 46 points, and on a pace to perhaps break some longstanding team records.
Caden Glamkowski
In the Ducks’ opening season, Aidan Verbeke led the team with 37 goals and 76 points in 2011-12. Both records are still intact today, Ian Wood getting within one after a 36-goal 2013-14 season.
The 27 for Glamkowski so far leaves his 10 behind Verbeke’s mark with 13 games to play. If he doesn’t score another goal, the ‘04 from St. Charles, IL will have the sixth highest total. His next goal will move him into a tie for fourth with Sherman Mowery and Jake Stima.
Glamkowski is also in a tie for 15th with his 46 points, a total also reached by David Kaplan in 2015-16.
Tkaczuk has collected 52 points (21g, 31a) in his two seasons with the Ducks so far, ranking him in a tie with Jason Heard as the team’s 16th leading scorer all time and Glamkowski sits 22nd. Both will make their way up that list if they can continue to produce in home stretch.
Perhaps most impressive is Glamkowski’s points per game which this season is at 1.533. That ranks him fourth highest all time behind Verbeke (1.583), Nick Albergo (1.600) and Connor Rickabus (2.00). The leader came up with 12 assists in six games played, so that record might not be beatable, but Glamkowski is on an awesome pace.
If age is considered, Glamkowski’s goals and points totals are the best by a 17-year-old. He is already three points past Billy Warren who collected 43 as a linemate to Verbeke in that first season. His 27 goals are by far the best by a 17-year-old, the next best total 19, also by Billy Warren.
Go down one year and defenseman Jack Kopfstein will wrap up his season tied for the best season as a 16-year-old. The Vista, CA defenseman has put up three goals and a dozen assists for 15 points. That matches the five goals and 10 assists for Jacob Cameron of Oregon, WI in 2017-18. Kopfstein will unfortunately not be able to build on that as a collarbone injury suffered in Chicago has brought his season to a premature end.
There are currently three 16-year-olds playing for the Ducks, Zach Windom and Oliver Cabala joining Kopfstein while two others – Jace Weimer and Sam Bachman have suited up at different times on an interim basis.
That is five out of 15 players that have played for the Ducks as 16-year-olds over the past 11 seasons. Current Ducks Seth Stoutenburg and Thomas Howell also played as 16-year-olds with the Ducks.
All these stats show while overall, there might be some reasons to grumble as the Ducks have been in rebuild mode 2.0 and 3.0 over the past five seasons, this young team is moving in the right direction.
Sauk Hockey 