Local teams compete at state championships

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Sauk Prairie peewee ‘A’ Flyers were one of the few teams able to celebrate the end of the season with a win as they wrapped up three seemingly easy wins to claim the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association (WAHA) State 3A Championship a few weeks ago.

Following is a division by division look at how things went down for all Sauk County teams that participated in Regionals and State Championship Tournaments

Squirt ‘A’

At Regionals held Feb. 4-5, the Squirt ‘A’ Division included just one game as the RWD Cheavers collected a 3-1 win against the Flyers at Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC).

The win advanced the Reedsburg/Wisconsin Dells/Mauston crew to the State 3A Championship as the Region 4 Representative in Rhinelander, WI.

Seeded seventh at the event, the Cheavers opened play at Rhinelander Ice Arena, playing the tournament opener against the second seeded Somerset Spartans early on March 4

A 5-1 loss in that contest sent the Cheavers to the Consolation side of the draw for an afternoon contest against the sixth seeded Oshkosh Warbirds later the same day.

A 4-3 edge in that one advanced RWD to the Consolation Championship contest but the fourth seeded Waupun Warriors spoiled Cheavers’ bid for a plaque and banner with a 5-1 win.

After defeating the Cheavers in its opener, the Spartans defeated third seeded Marshfield with an 5-4 decision in overtime and claimed the state title with a 3-1 win against number five Black River Falls Tigers.

Congratulations to the RWD Squirt ‘A’ Cheavers for a Region 4 Championship and a sixth place showing at State where they met up with both the eventual State and State Consolation Champions.

RWD’s squirt roster includes in numerical order: Jase Uminski; Talon Burton; Joel Dotts; Cole Renneberg; Thomas Bowen Jr.; Elliott Wilcox; Briar Messer; Caleb Backeberg; Bentley Meyer; Jesse Curley and Owen Meyer.

Justin Messer was the team’s Head Coach this season with help from Dustin Curley and Nate Wilcox and Angela Meyer was the team’s manager.

The RWD squirts wrapped up the season with an 18-23-1 record.

Congrats also to the Squirt ‘A’ Flyers who wrapped up a solid 18-10-2 (possibly a few games missing).

The Squirt ‘A’ Flyers includes in numerical order: Henry Zuelke; Bryce Argall; Isabelle Jolicoeur; Kelton Royster; Brayton Bahe; Luke Hager; Teresa Weiss; Mason Ramirez; Milio Donaldson; Oswald Tippery; Joshua Freeman; Cashton Suchla; Jonathon Bromley and Jayden Teague.

Michael Freeman is listed as the team’s Head Coach along with assistants Brett Suchla; John Tippery and Zake Bahe. Team Manager this season was Rachel Tippery.

Squirt ‘B’

The Squirt ‘B’ Regional Playdowns included both the Flyers and Cheavers along with the Ice Wolves out of Dodgeville and the Stoughton Vikings.

On Feb. 4 the Flyers Squirts collected a 12-0 win against the RWD Cheavers at SPARC and advanced to the Regional Championship against the Ice Wolves who edged the Vikings 6-5 in its semifinal.

Second round games were not required, top seeded Flyers gaining entry to the State Tournament in Somerset, WI while the Ice Wolves were granted the ‘host’ spot.

The Flyers drew eventual State finalist Somerset Spartans who were hosting the event on March 4, dropping a 5-3 decision and moving to the Consolation side of the draw.

Later the same day, the Flyers earned a 5-4 edge against Marshfield, moving to the Consolation Championship game, but the Waupun Warriors spoiled the run March 5 with a 3-1 edge to claim the Consolation title.

The Ice Wolves went to a shootout to capture a 5-4 edge against Marshfield in its opening game but ran into the Spartans in the second round dropping a 9-3 decision. In the third place contest, Barron/Chetek Grizzlies captured a 7-3 win against the Ice Wolves.

Congratulations to the Flyers on a sixth place showing at the State Tournaement. Team members include: Bryce Jacobs; Owen Olson; Carson Lohr; Logan Meyer; William Prohaska; Levi Sadek; Basil Welch; Wyatt Kieffer; Jameson Gray; Everett Meyer; Harper Caldwell; Catharine Marshall and Reid Hart.

Brandon Lohr is listed as the team’s coach along with assistants Tony Hart; Zach Wagner; Michael Kieffer and Paul Jacobs. Danielle Lohr and Natalie Hart shared the team manager duties.

The RWD Cheavers Squirt B roster included: Kaden Whitrock Pyne; Reeve Krus; Knox Ganem; Nash Walker; Tenley Van der Wilt; Brayden Lee; Darby Seep; Amaya Clark; Cooper Simonson; Corbyn Sullivan; Landyn Luke; Christian Shirek; Zander Mathis; Westly Williams; Jaxsen Folgate and Dalton Whitaker. Co-Coaches included Bryton Clark; Barry Folgate; Brad Lee and Eric Neuhauser and Megan Folgate was the team’s manager.

10U Girl’s ‘A’

The Squirt ‘B’ Regional Playdowns included both the Flyers and Cheavers along with the Ice Wolves out of Dodgeville and the Stoughton Vikings.

Monkeys guaranteed a spot in the top four with a 7-0 shutout win against the Eau Claire Mustangs in the second game of the state tournament but dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker against the Lake County Warhawks later the same day, returning the following day and wrapping up third place with a 5-1 win against the Fox River Freeze.

Congratulations to the 10U ‘A’ Monkeys on a third place showing at State and an overall record of 14-12-1 (Possibly missing some results) Team members include: Margaret Nelson; Hayley Chamberlin; Ruth Saltzberry; Callie Lohr; Brooke Schmidtke; Reagan Maier; Mya Goodman; Teresa Weiss; Giullette Melone; Grace O’Connell; Isabelle Jolicoeur; Lola Smith; Margaret Kossen and Ruby Rinabarger.

Jeromy Chamberlin was Head Coach of the Monkeys along with assistants Jed Smith; Derek Rinabarger and Shawn Nelson. Team manager was Julie Goodman.

10U Girl’s ‘B’

As the lone Region 4 representative at the Region 4 10U ‘B’ level, Monkeys earned an auto berth into the State Championship tournament played March 4-5 in Spooner.

As the eighth seed, the Monkeys knew it would take some big efforts to pick up a win on the weekend and Beaver Dam Wildfire, the top seeded team at the event collected a 12-0 win in the third game of the day in Spooner to send Monkeys to the Consolation side of the draw.

Later the same day, Fox River Freeze moved past the Monkeys with a 9-1 win and Green Bay also earned a 4-0 victory in the seventh-place game. All things considered, players may have been disappointed, but this weekend could be pointed to down the road as an experience that made the local 10U squad a better team.

10U ‘B’ Monkeys include Silvia Cassidy; Taylor Ruhland; Londyn Kleist; Maycee Bradley; Nellie Kaderaverk; Raegan Noltner; Eloise Nelson; Olive Nelson; Scarlett Breunig; Charlotte Gesicki; Gracelyn Kleist; Elizabeth Cook; Emily Ramirez and Ella Paul.

Seth Nelson was the team’s Head Coach and Aaron Kaderavek an assistant while Madeline Nelson took on managing duties.

Peewee ‘A’

Dave Jolicoeur’s peewee ‘A’ side claimed the state championship in Ashland which has already been reported on.

The team claimed its spot at the state tournament by winning the Region 4 Championship with a 6-2 edge against the RWD Cheavers Feb. 5 at SPARC. The Cheavers moved into the championship game with a 9-2 margin against the Beloit Junior Knights at McFarland the previous day.

The Flyers wrapped up a state championship season with five straight wins, including victories against Marshfield, Black River Falls and Tomahawk at the Ashland event.

Team members included: Haakon Hoeltke; Logan Harrington; Alexander Kirk; Braden Schlough; Brayton Bahe; Natalee Gesicki; Davis Lombard; Bryce Ballweg; Benjamin Freeman; Oswald Tippery, Michael Jolicoeur and Reid Knoll.

Dave Jolicoeur was the team’s Head Coach with assistants Michael Freeman; Jeffrey Harrington and Brian Schlough. Ryan Kirk was the team’s manager.

The RWD Peewee ‘A’ Cheavers also wrapped up a solid season with an overall record of 15-18-2.

Members of the Peewee ‘A’ Cheavers include: Landen Uminski; Kate Brandt; Rainier Scott; Kason Messer; Aaron Belk; Teaghan Geffert; Bryce Horkan; Evelyn Gurney; Jesse Arnold and Noah Backeberg.

Joe Uminski is the team’s Head Coach with Billy Oakes and Jeremy Backeberg also behind the bench. Team manager is Tara Uminski.

Peewee ‘B’

The Peewee ‘B’ Flyers were granted automatic inclusion in the State 3B tournament in Waupaca while the RWD Peewee ‘B’ Cheavers were granted a spot as the Region 5 Rep (There was not 3B level teams in Region 5) with a 7-2 win against Stoughton on Feb. 5 in McFarland.

The Cheavers took advantage of the opportunity and earned a 5-3 win against Oshkosh in the final game of the opening round March 11 to move to the Championship side of the draw. Earlier the Flyers suffered a 4-1 loss against Blackhawk and moved to the Consolation side of the tournament.

The Cheavers dropped a 4-1 decision to Somerset Spartans later the same day, denying them a spot in the championship game but instead returned Sunday to face Blackhawk in the third place match. Blackhawk collected th the plaque with a 4-2 doubling of the Cheavers.

The Flyers bounced back from its opening loss, taking out frustrations on the Tomahawk Hatchets 9-2 later the same day.

That pushed the Flyers into the Consolation Championship match but the Ashland peewees wrapped up that plaque with a 6-3 win.

Congratulations to the RWD Cheavers on a 4th place ranking in State. Team members include: Isaac Howe; Shirlie DeFosse; Nora Walker; Kapri Rabine; Elliot Wilcox; Aria Gada; Cole Renneberg; Jamison Haag; Harlan Folgate; Jase Uminski; Caleb Backeberg; Joseph Patton; Briar Messer and Braydan Potter.

Todd Patton and Jim Polanek are co-Coaches for the ‘B’ Cheavers and Katrina Knight is the team manager.

Congratulations to the Peewee ‘B’ Flyers who wrapped up fifth in state. Team members include: Henry Zuelke; Eli Dillon; Liam Hart; Calder Schakelman; Owen Olson; Reid Hart; William Prohaska; Mason Ramirez; Calvin Kunde; Calvin Russo; Cashton Suchla; JJ Hagen; Mason Cantwell and Jayden Teague.

Jason Teague is the team’s Head Coach with Juan Ramirez and Colin Hagen as Assistant Coaches. Manager duties this season were shared by Amanda Cantwell and Natalie Hart.

12U ‘A’ Girls

The 12U ‘A’ Monkeys earned its shot at state winning the lone Regional contest 9-0 against Sun Prairie. That advanced the Monkeys to play in the Milwaukee area in a tournament hosted by Arrowhead (Lake Country) March 11-12.

The Monkeys opened the event as the fifth seed but suffered a 4-2 loss against Superior Spartans March 11, sending them to the Consolation side of the pool.

The Monkeys bounced back with a 2-1 win later the same day against the eighth seeded Fox River Freeze, then captured the State 12U ‘A’ Consolation plaque and banner with a 3-1 win against the Black Cats ‘Black’ squad.

The Consolation crown wraps up a solid 20-6 record (some game results may be missing) and ranked fifth in state.

Team members include: Allison Herbrand; Khloe Walker; Lydia Falde; Carys Benedict; Ashlynn Ballweg; Louisa Hahn; Cassidy Annen; Claire Hansen; Huntleigh Grant; Hazel Kossen; Martha Weiss; Alyse Anthon; Ivy Hare; Kaydence Henke and Isabelle Laufenberg.

Robert Annen Sr. Is the team’s Head Coach with Jess Hansen; Graham Falde and Holly Walker as assistant coaches. Ellie Falde was the team’s manager.

12U ‘B’ Girls

The ‘B’ Monkeys also qualified for the state tournament with an automatic berth, making the trip to Appleton March 11-12.

Seeded sixth at the tournament, the Monkeys drew a tough opener, falling 7-0 to the number 3 Fox River Freeze in the second game of the event March 11. Later the same day, the Monkeys began play on the Consolation side, dropping a 3-2 heartbreaker in double overtime.

The locals dropped their final game at the state tournament as well, the seventh-place match on Sunday against Chippewa Falls.

Congratulations to the 12U ‘B’ Monkeys on wrapping up the season at the state tournament and ranked eighth overall in Wisconsin.

Team members include: Hayley Chamberlin; Carolena Weiss; Reagan Maier; Charlotte Drake; Vivienne Tomlin; Lucy Gibson; Mia Persinger; Sydnee Marks; Eliana Graham; Elle Osborn; Mackenzie Pflieger; Margaret Kossen; Bryn Hommowun; Ruby Rinabarger; Nora Thiering and Catherine Marshall.

Rebecca Hildebrandt was the team’s Head Coach with Jody Persinger; Brandon Hommowun and Matthew Drake also in place as assistant coaches. Team manager duties were shared by Jessica Mijal and Stephanie Osborn.

Bantam ‘A’

Sauk Prairie Flyers also earned a direct entry to the state championship as the lone Region 4 rep while RWD was also included as the tournament host.

Play started at Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA) on March 4 for the WAHA Bantam 3A title.

The host Cheavers dropped a 6-0 opening round decision to Somerset Spartans and the Flyers played the final game of the opening round, falling to the Waupun Warriors 6-3.

Both teams moved to the Consolation side of the tournament later Saturday, RWD advancing to the Consolation Championship game with a 7-0 decision against Black River Falls while the Flyers claimed the other spot with a 7-1 win against Waupaca.

A thrilling all-Sauk County Consolation Championship game went to the Cheavers with a narrow 4-3 margin. The state title went to the Tomahawk Hatchets who doubled Somerset 6-3.

Congratulations to the host and State Consolation champion RWD Cheavers with team members: Jordan Kowalski; Jenna Garbacz; Wyatt Arnold; Ethan Wilcox; Caydence Putz; Cassidy Putz; Matthew Stando; Ethan Pope; Andrew Stando; Molly Stokes; Marley Fischer; Tyler Krieski; Brian Skwara; Payton Kowalski; Olivia Renneberg; Nicholas Warneke; Aiden Knull; Dayne Wagner and Hailey Dietl.

Chris Arnold, Justin Pope and Nate Wilcox were team coaches and Nicole Stokes was the team’s manager.

Congratulations to the Bantam ‘A’ Flyers who wrapped up sixth spot in the state. Team members include: Ethan Goodman; Brody Bjorklund; Benjamin Hanko; Douglas Jolicoeur; Kash Caldwell; Cameron McInerney; Ryker Hovland; Austin Smith; Baryn MacLeish-Breunig; Caden Argall Tucker Cummings; Rylan Burch; Carl Weiss and Rowan Kauss.

Mark Schultz was the team’s Head Coach with Timothy McInerney and Kurt Caldwell as Assistant Coaches and Gregory Sarnow listed as ‘General Staff.’ Kristian Smith was the team’s manager.

14U ‘A’ Girls

The Lake City Whitecaps wrapped up its inaugural season with an auto berth to the State Championship tournament as the Region 4 Rep.

Traveling to the Milt Lunda Memorial Arena in Black River Falls, the Whitecaps opened play March 4 as the eighth seed and dropped its opener 9-2 against the top seeded and eventual state champion Fond du Lac Thunder.

A 9-1 loss against Hayward Hurricanes later the same day sent the area 14U squad to the seventh place game Sunday. A closer game saw the Whitecaps falling 2-1 to Winter Club and wrapping up its first season as the state’s number eight squad.

Roster for the 14U ‘A’ Whitecaps was unavailable on the Sauk Prairie Youth Hockey website.

14U ‘B’ Girls

The 14U ‘B’ squad also earned direct entry to the state championship tournament held March 4-5 in Beaver Dam.

Also seeded eighth, the Whitecaps found the road tough as well, pitted against the top seeded and host Beaver Dam Wildfire who sent them to the Consolation side with a 9-1 decision. The Whitecaps returned later the same day and were sent to the Seventh place contest with a tough Consolation round loss against the Western Wisconsin Stars 5-4.

On Sunday the Whitecaps wrapped up a tough weekend with a 5-3 loss to the Ozaukee Ice Dogs to finish as the state’s eighth ranked team.

Members of the 14U ‘B’ Whitecaps include Lili Peekna; Kylie Unseth; Vyvienne Tomlin; Lucy Gibson; McKenzie Teague; Olivia Zuelke; Seneca Ruyle; Mary Marck; Elle Osborn; Lauren Mankowski; Lila Shadewald; Allison Anderson; Violett Fredrickson; Allison Herbrand; Haydee Meyer and Madison Breunig.

Nathan Breunig was the team’s Head Coach with Jason Teague and Rebecca Hildebrandt as assistants. Melinda Teague was the team’s manager.

Squirt ‘A’ Flyers reach State Consolation final

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Sauk Prairie Squirt ‘A’ Flyers wrapped up sixth place at the WAHA Squirt 3A State Championship tournament at the Crawford Center in Shawano last weekend (March 5-6).

The Flyers dropped its opening contest Saturday morning against the Ashland Youth Hockey team by a 4-1 score, sending them to the Consolation side of the draw.

Returnng to the ice later Saturday, the Flyers rebounded with a 7-2 win against the Lakeland Hawks, sending them to the Consolation final against the Marshfield Blades.

The Blades proved too tough, claiming fifth place and the Consolation title with an 8-3 win against the Flyers who settled for sixth spot.

The weekend results wrapped up a 19-11-2 season for the Flyers.

Monkeys 10U A takes fourth, ‘B’ eighth at State

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Sauk Monkeys were represented by both 10U teams at State Tournaments this past weekend including the 10U ‘B’ squad as a tournament host.

While seven other 10U ‘B’ teams visiting Sauk for the weekend, the ‘A’ Monkeys made the short trip to Stoughton’s Mandt Community Center for their event.

For the youngest of the Monkeys, the learning curve has been steep this season and they were unable to take advantage of home ice advantage against three tough opponents, including a tough 8-1 loss in its opener against the eventual State Championship winning Beaver Dam Wildfire Saturday (March 5).

The loss moved the host Monkeys to the Consolation side of the draw and they were back on the ice later the same day, taking the Fox River Freeze to overtime before succumbing 3-2.

The Monkeys returned Sunday for the Seventh Place contest and again pushed the Chippewa Valley Girls Hockey Association to the final buzzer and coming up just short 5-4.

The tough weekend assignments wrapped up a 9-24-1 season record for the local squad.

The 10U ‘A’ Monkeys got things off to a solid start in Stoughton, collecting a 3-1 win in its opener against the Chippewa Falls/Eau Claire Area Stars and sending that team to the Consolation side of the draw. The Stars bounced back with two wins to claim the tournament’s Consolation title.

Meanwhile the Monkeys moved to the Championship side and ran into the Southern Hockey Association of Wisconsin (SHAW) 10U squad and missing out on a State Championship berth by one goal in a 5-4 loss.

On Sunday, the Monkeys returned for the Third Place contest ultimately settling for fourth after a 7-0 loss against the Lake Country Warhawks.

The Monkeys 10U ‘A’ squad wrapped up its season with a 13-18-2 overall record.

WAHA State Preview — Sauk Monkeys 14U ‘A’/TNT 14U

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Sauk Prairie 14U A Monkeys 5-31-2

TNT 14U A 27-10-1

Officially, Sauk County and WAHA Region 4 will be represented by the Sauk Monkeys 14U ‘A’ squad at the WAHA 14U A State Championship tournament in Baldwin at the United Civic Center this weekend.

However, there is a bit of overlap as the Tomah-based TNT 14U squad includes a couple Reedsburg area players who double rostered with the RWD bantams this past season.

Playing in Region 6, TNT earned its berth collecting a thrilling 3-2 overtime/shootout win against the Western Wisconsin Stars.

The 14U Monkeys collected an automatic berth in region 4 but faced tough challenges along the way to prepare for this event.

The Monkeys and TNT are both on the bottom half of the draw for the eight-team tournament that begins Saturday in Baldwin. The Monkeys will start out with a tough test against the Hayward Hurricanes 14U girls (5-10-0 – Incomplete) at 11:30 a.m. followed by TNT against Milwaukee Winter Club (14-16-2).

Winners of these two contests will meet in a semi-final match at 8:15 p.m. and the other two will square off at 6:30 p.m. On the other side of the draw are the Central Wisconsin Storm (24-12-3), Fox River Freeze (16-11-2 – Incomplete), River Falls BlackCats (No statistics available) and the Elmbrook Valkyries (No statistics available).

All eight teams will play twice on Saturday in Baldwin, then return Sunday for finals, beginning with the seventh-place game at 10 a.m. and wrapping up with the WAHA 14U State Championship game starting at 2 p.m.

All 12 games from the United Civic Center in Baldwin will be available online on LiveBarn.

Included on the 14U ‘A’ Monkeys are Mary Marck, Jordyn Schmid, Emma Diehl, Amelia Hahn, Claire Wiler, Lillian Freeman, Aubree Christian, Sophia Gesicki, Sophia Vest and Izzy Laufenberg.

Included on the TNT squad are Reedsburg area players Paige Othmer and Ryleigh Bychinski along with Charlotte Hanna, Anna Phillips, Samantha Berra, Hailey Jordan, Piper Mathison, Reanne Long, Ally Ritter, Shelby King, Camryn Steele, Alexa Lowe, Kaylan Hanson, Marah Noth, Alizah Hayes, Bella Arne, Alexa Moore, Jessie Berg, Jada Rave.

Saukhockey.info would like to wish both the Sauk Monkeys 14U and TNT 14U squads good luck in Baldwin this weekend.

Members of the TNT 14U girls celebrated their Region 6 Championship win in early February. They will be in Baldwin this weekend along with the Sauk Monkeys 14U ‘A’ squad in the hunt for a state championship. ***Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer***

WAHA State Preview — Sauk 10U ‘B’ Monkeys

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Sauk Monkeys 10U ‘B’ — Host – 9-21-1

The Sauk Monkeys 10U ‘B’ squad has the luxury of playing in a state championship tournament this coming weekend on friendly territory.

The 10U Monkeys qualified automatically as the host for an eight-team tournament that will take place at Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) starting Saturday morning.

While the Monkeys enter the tournament as the host squad, that left the Madison Patriots as the lone 10U ‘B’ entry from region 4, so they also earn a spot automatically as the Region 4 representatives.

The Monkeys played many of the same teams as their ‘A’ sisters, so the sub .500 record is a little misleading. One team the Monkeys have yet to play is the Beaver Dam Wildfire U-10 team (18-6…incomplete stats) a solid entry they will face in their first game at the State tournament at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday.

Action begins at SPARC at 9 a.m. Saturday with the Coulee Region Stars (6-15-2) taking on the Fox River Freeze (no statistics available followed by the Monkeys and Wildfire.

Each team will play twice on Saturday, the Monkeys returning to the ice at either 2 p.m. or 3:15 p.m. against either the Stars or Freeze, depending on opening round results.

The bottom half of the draw at SPARC this weekend will include the Madison Patriots (19-8-5) who come into town riding an 11-game winning streak, the Chippewa Valley Girls Hockey Association Stars (4-15-1), the Western Wisconsin Stars (18-4-2) and Milwaukee Winter Club (14-6-1).

Teams will return Sunday for final games, beginning with the 7^th place contest at 9 a.m. and wrapping up with the WAHA 10U B State Championship game at 1:30 p.m.

The Sauk 10U ‘B’ Monkeys include: Londyn Kleist; Maycee Bradley; Stella Sadek; Lara Kloepping; Margaret Nelson; Whitney Sadek; Carolena Weiss; Gracelynn Kleist; Margaret Kossen; Bryn Hommowun; Ella Paul; Elle Osborn; Lillian Nelson and Ruby Rinabarger.

All 12 games will be available on LiveBarn, but why not head to the rink and enjoy this exciting tournament that will end with the crowning of a state champion in person. SPARC is in an industrial park area in Prairie du Sac. It’s easy to get to, has plenty of parking, a nice warm room and bleacher section and a great concession area. If you have never been, put the address (1700 Tower Street, Prairie du Sac) in your cell phone maps app.

Saukhockey.info would like to wish the Sauk 10U ‘B’ Monkeys and the tournament organizers and volunteers’ good luck this weekend.

WAHA State Preview — Sauk 10U ‘A’ Monkeys

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

This is the second of six previews of WAHA State Championship tournaments involving local youth teams this weekend.

Sauk Monkeys 10U ‘A’ 12-16-3 (Not including Feb. 26-27 games)

The Sauk Monkeys have exploded onto the girl’s hockey scene in recent seasons and this season has qualified six of its seven teams to play in State Championship tournaments.

Both youngest level teams, the 10U A and 10U B teams are among those heading into the big tournaments this weekend.

The ‘A’ squad headed into the final weekend before the state tournament a little under .500, but five of those defeats are a dstant memory, coming in the opening have dozen games played way back in late November.

The Monkeys were the lone ‘A’ level team in region four and earned an automatic berth into the state tournament that will be held at the Mandt Recreation Center in Stoughton, beginning at 11:30 a.m. Saturday when the local squad opens against the Chippewa Falls/Eau Claire Area Stars (26-24-1).

The Monkeys are familiar with the Stars having faced off against them twice this season. The Stars claimed a 3-2 edge against the Monkeys at a game played in Beaver Dam Jan. 15, but more recently, it was the Monkeys pulling out a 7-5 win in a game played in Ashwaubenon.

The Monkeys will play a second game Saturday at either 4:30 p.m. or 5:45 p.m. and against either the River Falls BlackCats ‘Black’ (1-9-1) or the SHAW (Southern Hockey Association of Wisconsin) Timberwolves (20-15-1), depending on first round results.

Also included in the WAHA State 10U A Championship tournament are the Wisconsin Valley Union Junior Eagles (incomplete statistics), Appleton Freeze (28-16-2), River Falls BlackCats ‘Orange’ (no statistics available) and the Lake Country Warhawks (No statistics available).

The eight-team event will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday with each team playing twice. The final game will face off at 5:45 p.m. On Sunday, play will begin with the 7^th place game at 9 a.m. and wrap up with the State 10U A Championship game at 1:30 p.m.

Sauk Monkeys team members include Mia Persinger; Hayley Chamberlin; Ruthie Saltzberry; Harper Caldwell; Mya Goodman; Isabelle Jolicoeur; Lucy Gibson; Huntleigh Grant; Khloe Walker; Claire Hansen; Teresa Weiss; Catharine Marshall; Carys Benedict and Sydnee Marks.

Unfortunately, it appears there is no LiveBarn available at the Mandt Recreation Center.

Saukhockey.info would like to wish the 10U ‘A’ Monkeys good luck in Stoughton this weekend.

Local youth teams weekend schedules

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

With a visiting tournament taking over at least some hours of ice time in all four Sauk County ice rinks, many teams in the local youth organizations will be hitting the road this weekend. Here is a schedule for all of the competitive teams in our area.

RWD CHEAVERS

Squirt ‘A’ — The 3-2 Squirt ‘A’ Cheavers have another busy weekend scheduled with a pair of games on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, the locals will be at Bob Suter’s Capitol Ice to play the Middleton Squirt ‘C’ Cardinals at 3:30 p.m. and stopping on the way home to play the Sauk Prairie Squirt ‘A’ Flyers at 6:30 p.m.

On Sunday the Squirts will head to Black River Falls to take on both the ‘A’ (11:30 a.m.) and ‘B’ (2:30 p.m. Squirt Tigers.

Peewee ‘B’ — The Peewee ‘B’ Cheavers will play just once, making the trip to SPARC in Sauk Prairie to play the Peewee ‘B’ Flyers in a 3:30 p.m. contest.

Peewee ‘A’ — The Peewee ‘A’ Cheavers will play at SPARC in Sauk Prairie against the host Peewee ‘A’ Flyers Saturday at 5 p.m. and on Sunday the team heads to Black River Falls for 9:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. games against the Peewee ‘A’ Tigers.

Bantam – The Bantam Cheavers will be in West Salem for a 12:30 p.m. contest against the Bantam Panthers

SAUK PRAIRIE FLYERS/MONKEYS

10U ‘B’ Monkeys – Just one game for the 10U Monkeys this weekend who will play at Pierce Park Pavilion in Baraboo against the Lake Country Wildcats and the 10U ‘A’ Monkeys has a weekend off.

Squirt ‘B’ — The 1-3 Squirt ‘B’ Flyers will play host to the Waunakee Squirt ‘C’ Wildcats at SPARC at 8 a.m. Sunday morning.

Squirt ‘A’ — The 3-0 Squirt ‘A’ Flyers play twice on Saturday, traveling to Bob Suter Capitol Ice Arena in Middleton to faceoff against the Squirt Cardinals at 12:15 a.m. and returning home to SPARC to face RWD Squirt ‘A’ Cheavers at 6:30 p.m.

12U ‘B’ White – The 2-1 12U ‘B’ White Monkeys will be in Onalaska Saturday for a pair of games against the Coulee Region Stars at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The ‘B’ Red team has no games scheduled this weekend.

12U ‘A’ — The 2-1-1 12U ‘A’ Monkeys play on Saturday at Verona Ice Arena against the Madison Mavericks with a 10:30 a.m. puck drop.

Peewee ‘B’ — The 2-0 Peewee ‘B’ Flyers will entertain the RWD Peewee ‘B’ Cheavers at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at SPARC and the Sun Prairie Peewee ‘B’ at 4:15 p.m. on Sunday.

Peewee ‘A’ — The 3-1 Peewee ‘A’ Flyers will begin Saturday in Beloit with an 11:30 a.m. game against the Peewee ‘A’ Raptors and return home to SPARC for a 5 p.m. game against the RWD ‘A’ Cheavers.

14U ‘A’ — The 14U ‘B’ Monkeys have a weekend off while the 0-2 ‘A’ team will travel to Stateline Ice and Community Expo (SLICE) for a 3 p.m. match against the 14U ‘B’ Madison Mavericks at 3 p.m.

Bantam ‘B’ — The 4-0 Bantam ‘B’ Flyers will be busy, playing the Verona ‘A’ Wildcats Saturday at 9 a.m. at SPARC, then hitting the road to Hartmeyer Ice Arena to play the Madison Patriots at 6:45 p.m. On Sunday the team will get a rematch with the Verona ‘B’ squad in Verona.

Bantam ‘A’ — Just one game for the 3-1 Bantam ‘A’ Flyers who will take on the Waunakee Wildcats at 1 p.m. at SPARC.

BARABOO/PORTAGE T-BIRDS

Squirt – The Squirt T-Birds will open its regular season on home ice at the Pierce Park Pavilion Saturday with a 10 a.m. game against the Waunakee ‘C2’ Wildcats.

Peewee and Bantam T-Birds teams will be out of action this weekend.

Zeutzius and Conklin pace 12U Monkeys to wins

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Sauk Prairie Monkeys 12U Squirt team made the trek to Stevens Point and collected back-to-back wins against the host Wisconsin Valley Union Junior Eagles on Saturday.

The Monkeys’ defense shook off a rough start, trailing 3-0 after the first period of play and allowed just one more goal through its final five periods. After rallying back for a 7-4 win in the opener, the Monkeys dominated the second game on its way to an 8-0 shutout win.

12U Monkeys 7 WVU Jr. Eagles 4

The Monkeys scored twice in the second period to get within one in the opening contest, then exploded for five in the third period, including the tying and go-ahead goals 25 seconds apart.

Sidney Zeutzius led the Monkeys with a three-goal game, Emma Wipperfurth adding a goal and assist, and other goals scored by Evelyn Bahe, Natalee Gesicki and Evelyn Gurney. Anjali Ballweg and Eleanor Potter also picked up helpers and Lucy Hahn turned in a 13-save effort to collect the win in goal.

Amaya Collins scored three for the Eagles, Katie Winder adding a goal and assist and Ellie Czaikowski setting up a pair.

Issie Wojcik was kept busy in the Eagles’ net with 43 shots on goal for the Monkeys.

12U Monkeys 8 WVU Jr. Eagles 0

The second game was all-Monkeys as they scored three unanswered goals in both the first and second periods and added two more in the third.

Mateya Conklin powered the Monkeys’ attack with four goals and an assist, Emmalyn Ezman scoring a pair. Hayley Royster and Phoebe Hager, Royster adding an assist. Also chipping in an assist was Lucy Hahn.

Megan Collins picked up the shutout win in goal for the Monkeys and Wojcik was busy again, kicking out 32 of 40 for the Eagles.

The wins boost the regular season record for the 12U Monkeys to 2-1-1. On Saturday, the Monkeys will face a tough challenge, traveling to Verona to face the 14U ‘B’ Madison Mavericks.

Eagles and Lightning player run SPYHA youth camps

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Members of the Sauk Prairie Eagles and Badger Lightning varsity hockey teams offered a bit of payback to the organization that helped turn them into solid high school players, taking and wearing coach hats for the Sauk Prairie Youth Hockey Association Thursday morning.

Taking advantage of some professional teacher days at their respective schools, the varsity players rank three one-hour sessions for members of the youth hockey organization at Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC).

The first hour for was for squirt and 12U-aged players with peewees/14u taking the ice for the second and third hours.

Among the seniors who took the reins on the early morning sessions was Nick Mast and Hakan Peterson, incoming seniors for the Sauk Prairie Eagles, a team that has the bar set high this season after back-to-back trips to Sectional semis in previous campaigns. Also in attendance was Signe Begalski, a senior with the Badger Lightning also looking for big things with the entire 2020-21 team elibigible to return and some promising freshmen skaters as well.

The Camp took place on the eve of the opening weekend for some of the SPYHA teams and just a few weeks from opening practices for the varsity teams as well.

Phillips’ hat trick leads 14U WEHL squad to win

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Wisconsin Elite Hockey League (WEHL) 14U SouthCentral Girls team wrapped up its 12-game regular season splitting a pair of games against the NorthEast/NorthCentral squad at the Lake Delton Ice Arena.

After winning a wild offensive battle 7-4 to start the two-game set Sunday morning, the SouthCentral team had trouble finding the mesh the second one, dropping a 2-1 decision.

A four-goal flurry for SouthCentral turned a 2-0 deficit into a 4-4 draw by the start of the third and three more unanswered goals in the final frame lifted them to the win.

Leading the way on offense was Anna Phillips (Black River Falls) with three goals and Julia Purinton (Madison Mavericks) notched a pair. Ella Knapp (Madison Mavericks) collected a goal and two assists, the other goal scored by Shelby King (Wisconsin TNT/Wisconsin Blue Devils AAA).

Defender Tahni Barger from the Sauk Prarie Flyers/Monkeys and Wildcat Youth Hockey and Payton O’Neill (TNT/Blue Devils)set up a pair of SouthCentral goals with other assists for Phillips, Purinton and Carolina Cutrano (Mavericks).

The second game was the opposite as SouthCentral opened the scoring early in the second period as Knapp set up Purinton’s third of the day, but this time the visitors struck back with a trying goal early in the third and a game winner with 6:20 to go.

Also in the lineup for SouthCentral in this one and for the entire season was Sarah Hash from the Sauk Prairie Flyers/Monkeys and Wisconsin Jr. Stars along with Paige Othmer (RWD/Badger Lightning/Blue Devils) on defense and forward Reese Olson from Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds/Badger Lightning/Blue Devils AAA.

A goal Celebration from earlier this season. SouthCentral had plenty to celebrate in the first game, but had troubles on offense in the getaway game against NorthEast/NorthCentral on Sunday at the Lake Delton Ice Arena.

The split in the final series leaves SouthCentral with a 3-6-3 record in WEHL contests and a 7-6-3 record overall.

The four teams from the 14U Division will compete in the championship tournament this weekend at Blue Line Family Ice Center in Fond du Lac.

SouthCentral will face off against SouthEast in its first game Saturday at 9:45 a.m. In its previous four meetings with SouthEast, the local side owned a 1-2-1 record, but they haven’t faced each other in over a month.

Second game at 6:30 p.m. Saturday will see the local squad taking on the Western team which it has yet to defeat, tying once and dropping the other three.

On Sunday at 11:45 a.m. SouthCentral will wrap it up against NorthEast/NorthCentral who they hold a 2-1-1 record against this season.