Ultimately, the Dells Jr. Ducks is hoped to be a spring/summer opportunity for youth hockey players of all ages, but Shaun Falzone, owner of the Ducks USPHL junior hockey team eased in with just a peewee level team this season.
The team made its competitive debut at the Clash of Sticks event in a couple Chicago arenas, the final event in a busy 2021-22 season for Ultimate Tournaments May 27-29.
The team, including players from Illinois, Texas along with Landen Uminski, Noah Backeberg and Evelyn Gurney from RWD, played four times, winning once and finishing fourth in its five-team pool.
The Ducks started out on the Friday night (May 27) at Addison Ice Arena, dropping a 7-2 decision against the Chicago Eagles.
The Eagles led 2-1 after a period and added four more in the middle period before both teams added one in the final period.
Pictured from left: Noah Backeberg, Landen Uminski and Evelyn Gurney posed for a picture after one of their games at the Ultimate Tournaments Clash of Sticks event at Fifth Third Arena in the heart of Chicago.
The Ducks returned to play two more on Saturday, beginning with a 4-0 shutout win against Wolverines Hockey. Three of the four goals came in the middle period, including the first, scored by Owen Voller with an assist from Uminski who picked up another point with the lone goal of the third period as well.
Later the same day, the Ducks came up short 6-2 against the Glacier Ice Dogs as a 1-1 tie after a period turned into a 4-1 deficit by the start of the third. The Ice Dogs added another before the Ducks finally scored its second in the final period.
The Ducks wrapped up play Sunday with a tough 1-0 loss against the Vipers, the lone goal scored late in the first period. The narrow win was enough to get Vipers into the championship game where the defeated the Eagles 3-2.
After Friday’s opener, all games were played at Fifth Third Arena in Chicago, the practice facility of the Chicago Black Hawks.
The RWD Peewee ‘A’ Cheavers wrapped up what it hopes is the first of two banners, claiming the championship in its Ultimate Tournaments Dairyland Classic Division over the President’s Day weekend.
The Cheavers kicked off the tournament Friday (Feb. 18) afternoon with a 4-0 win against the Waconia (MN) Wildcats at Lake Delton Ice Arena returned with an early morning 1-1 draw against a familiar opponent, the Waunakee Wildcats at Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA).
On Sunday morning, the Cheavers wrapped up division play and earned a spot in the championship game with a 3-1 against the Chicago Hawks also at RACA
Later Sunday, the Cheavers returned to Lake Delton to face the Waunakee crew again, claiming the banner with a 3-2 win.
RWD Cheavers 4 Waconia Wildcats 0
Two goals in the first and another pair in the second sent the Cheavers to a win in its opening contest.
Three goals came from Landen Uminski and Teaghen Geffert notched the other. Ethan Wilcox and Dayne Wagner each collected an assist and Jesse Arnold recorded his second shutout of the season in goal for the Cheavers.
RWD Cheavers 1 Waunakee Wildcats 1
A tight defensive battle against a Wildcats team the Cheavers have run into a few times this season saw teams battling to a draw.
Braxton McGuigan put the Wildcats up with the lone goal of the first period, but Uminski equalized the score in the second from Wilcox and Tyler Krieski early in the second.
From there it was the goaltenders taking charge, Arnold wrapping up with 10 saves while the Cheavers tested the Wildcats’ keeper with 25 shots.
RWD Cheavers 3 Chicago Hawks 1
The Cheavers clinched a spot in the championship game with a win Sunday morning in Reedsburg.
Wilcox fired the first goal of the game, late in the first period from Wagner and Krieski and Wagner converted a feed from Uminski early in the second with what turned into the game winner.
The Hawks pulled one back late in the middle period, but Krieski restored the two-goal margin in the final period with help from Wilcox.
Arnold stopped eight shots to pick up the win while the Cheavers peppered the Hawks’ goaltender with 27 shots.
RWD Cheavers 3 Waunakee Wildcats 2
The final brought a rematch with the Wildcats, and they engaged in another close battle Sunday afternoon.
Teams were tied in the standings, but the Wildcats got the nod as the home team based on goal differential through the preliminary contests.
That didn’t matter to the Cheavers who played even through the opening frame, opened a 2-1 edge in the second and widened the gap early in the third.
Uminski’s unassisted goal opened the scoring, and it was Wilcox with another unassisted goal in the second to put the Cheavers up 2-1.
Another Wilcox goal in the final period, from Andrew Stando widened the gap and turned into the game winner when the Wildcats pulled one back later in the period.
Arnold kicked out another dozen while the Cheavers fired 33 at the Waunakee goal.
Three wins and a tie boosted the Cheavers’ overall record to 27-16-2 and they will be looking for another tournament title attending an event in Green Bay this weekend.
That will leave one more weekend of play before the team heads to the WAHA Peewee 3A State Championship in Somerset. More information on that event will be on these pages in the days ahead.
The RWD Cheavers won three and tied one to claim the Ultimate Tournaments Dairyland Classic Peewee Division championship at Lake Delton Ice Arena on Sunday afternoon. Peewee Cheavers team members include: Hailey Dietl; Tyler Krieski; Landen Uminski; Ethan Wilcox; Dayne Wagner; Teaghen Geffert; Noah Backeberg; Evelyn Gurney; Andrew Stando; Jesse Arnold and Ethan Pope.
After qualifying for the WAHA Bantam 3A State Championship a few weeks earlier, the Sauk Prairie Bantam ‘A’ Flyers gave a preview, collecting a championship banner at the final Ultimate Tournaments event of the season, the Dairyland Classic.
Playing in a three-team pool, the Eagles earned a bye to the championship game with a 6-1 win against the Rice Lake Youth Hockey Friday team and a 5-2 edge against the Sheboygan Lakers Saturday afternoon. The Lakers won a semi-final game to move into the other Championship spot and provided a tougher challenge Sunday afternoon before the Flyers captured the banner with a 5-4 edge.
Flyers 6 vs. Rice Lake 1
It was a rare event Friday night as the bantams opened at Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) but occupied the visitor’s bench in the home barn.
Landon Froese kicked off a great weekend with two goals in his first game of the weekend, matched by Ben Hanko while Quinn Payne scored once and set up two others.
Josh Mast fired the other goal and adding an assist with other help coming from Brock Hill and Blayze Caldwell.
Taitym Banta notched the first of three weekend wins stopping all but one of 16 shots against.
Flyers 5 vs. Lakers 2
Froese fired all five goals in this one, including the lone goal of the opening period and two more in the second to carry a 3-1 lead into the final frame.
Hill and Payne chipped in an assist each and Banta added another win although shots on goal were not recorded in the contest.
Flyers 5 vs. Lakers 4
In the championship game Flyers and Lakers were even at 1-1 after the opening period and 3-3 heading to the third.
The Flyers fired the first two of the final period, the second standing up as the game winner.
Froese collected three more goals to wrap up a 10-goal, weekend Payne notching a pair and setting up another. Hill had three helpers and Banta picked up another win with eight saves.
WAHA Qualifier
Flyers 4 Cheavers 2
Earlier, the Flyers clinched its spot at the WAHA Bantam 3A State Championship with a 4-2 win against the RWD Bantam Cheavers in the Region 4 Championship game.
As the top seed, the Flyers earned a berth straight to the final while the Cheavers used a 2-1 shootout win against Monroe to claim the other spot.
All of the scoring took place in the first two periods. Teams were even at 2-2 heading to the second where the Flyers fired a pair of unanswered goals to clinch the win.
Froese fired two goals including the regional championship clincher in the second period and assisted on another.
Hill added a goal and assist with the other goal scored by Mast.
For the Cheavers, RJ Manley scored one and set up the other, by Nicholas McPherson.
Banta enjoyed a big game stopping 35 shots to help his team grab the win despite being outshot 35-23.
Jordan Kowalski stopped 19 shots in goal for the Cheavers.
With the win, the Flyers qualified to represent Region 4 at the WAHA State Championship tournament March 5-6. More information on that event will appear on this page in the next few days in one of several state championship weekend previews.
The Sauk Prairie Bantam ‘A’ Flyers claimed the title in their Bantam ‘A’ Division in the Ultimate Tournaments Dairyland Classic Tournament played out of Lake Delton Ice Arena, Reedsburg Area Community Arena, Pierce Park Pavilion and Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center over the Presidents Day Weekend. Team members (in no specific order) pictured above include: Quinn Payne; Brock Hill; Blayze Caldwell; Taitym Banta; Douglas Jolicoeur; Gavin Goetsch; Landon Froese; Greyden Schomber; AJ Klemm; Josh Mast; Rylan Burch; Carl Weiss; Ben Hanko and Cam McInerney. Photo by Jim den Hollander
For a second consecutive weekend, Ultimate Tournaments took ice time in all four Sauk County ice rinks for the initial running of the Bucks and Pucks tournament.
In all, 33 teams from across the American Midwest competed in seven different divisions, wrapping up Sunday with 10 Championship games at the Mite, Squirt and Peewee levels. Below is a brief rundown on each division.
MITE LOW AA/HIGH A
A half dozen teams competed in ‘Red’ and ‘White’ Divisions wrapping up with finals for all six teams on Sunday (Nov. 21).
The ‘White’ Division title went to the Junior Ice Dogs out of Vernon Hills, IL who matched a 5-0 win it also collected in round robin play against the Crystal Lake Stingers.
The ‘Red’ Championship game was also a 5-0 final, the Northern Express Mites from Park Ridge, IL grabbing the shutout against the Team Iowa Renegades, widening the gap after a narrow 3-2
The Consolation final was an all-Wisconsin battle, the Wisconsin Capitols collecting a 6-4 win against the Mitey Badgers.
Vernon Hills Ice Dogs
MITE LOW B/HOUSE
This four-team division saw teams playing round-robin matches Friday and Saturday and wrapped up Sunday with a 9-4 win for Northern Express against Team Iowa, wrapping up a perfect 4-0 weekend including a 6-1 win against the same Team Iowa squad earlier on the weekend. The Consolation final went to the Crystal Lake Stingers with a 5-0 shutout win against the Ice Dogs.Tw
Northern Express
SQUIRT A
This division included both a playoff semi-final and final on Sunday. The SHAW (Southern Hockey Association Wisconsin) drew a bye to the championship game with a tie and a win on Saturday and the Ice Dogs avenged an earlier 7-2 loss against Twin Bridges Lightning from the St. Louis area with a 4-3 edge in semis to grab the other spot in the final.
SHAW collected a 7-3 edge in the Championhship game.
SHAW Squirts
SQUIRT B
Another six-team division with two championship games saw the Omaha Jr. Lancers and Glen Ellyn (IL) Admirals capturing the championship banners and hardware.
The Lancers won two out of three leadup games to reach the final and captured the ‘White’ championship with a 5-3 edge against the Crystal Lake Yellowjackets.
The ‘Red’ Division provided a championship thriller as regulation time and a five-minute overtime segment couldn’t decide a winner.
In a shootout, the Admirals finally wrapped it up with a 2-1 margin against the Affton Americans from the St. Louis area.
The Consolation final was won by the Twin Bridges Lightning with a 3-1 edge against the Waunakee Wildcats.
Omaha Lancers
SQUIRT C
This four-team division saw the Huskies Hockey Club from Romeoville, IL avenging an earlier defeat with a 4-2 doubling of Lady Liberty, part of the Affton Americans hockey group, in the championship game.
The Liberty entered as the top seed, having defeated Huskies by a 2-1 margin earlier in the tournament.
The Consolation final saw the Admirals collecting a 6-1 win against the Twin Bridges Lightning.
Romeoville Squirt Huskies
Peewee B/WI Third team
The Affton Americans rolled through round robin matches but rank into a tougher challenge from Milwaukee Winter Club in the championship game. Winter Club took the banner with a 4-0 shutout, avenging a 5-1 defeat earlier the same day.
The Consolation final went to the Glacier (Vernon Hills, IL) Ice Dogs capturing a 5-0 shutout win against the Admirals.
Milwaukee Winter Club Peewees
Peewee B2
This six-team division wrapped up Sunday with a pair of championship games.
The ‘Red’ final saw the Crystal Lake Yellowjackets wrapping up an undefeated (three wins, one tie) weekend with an 8-3 victory against the Huskies.
The ‘White’ Division title went to St. Peters from the St. Louis area saving its only win of the weekend for the right time, a 2-0 edge against Milwaukee Winter Club with a 2-0 shutout. St. Peters collected two ties and a loss in round robin matches while Winter Club took top spot in the division with one win, one loss and one tie.
Crystal Lake Yellowjackets PeeweesSt. Peters Peewees
While Ultimate Tournaments has a longstanding history in Sauk County, it was a new look event in town for the first time in the 2021-22 season this past weekend.
All four Sauk County rinks played a part in the Mite-Squirt-Peewee event that saw 34 teams competing and ultimately whittled down to 10 championship games on Sunday in the first Northwoods Showdown Tournament.
The difference this season is, while the same tournaments will be in the Sauk County area on the same weekends as they always have been, each tournament is now a standalone event as well. For example, the Northwoods Showdown will return next November so it will have its own unique history and traditions.
Below is a quick look at the highlights for each division.
Mite D2 Low/D3 High
The six-team group was divided into a ‘White’ and ‘Red’ Division. After three games each, the Jr. Vipers out of Gurnee IL/Pleasant Prairie, WI captured the ‘Red’ Division title with a 2-0 shutout in the championship game against the Orland Jr. Vikes from the Chicago area, played at the Lake Delton Ice Arena.
Gurnee/Pleasant Prairie Vipers
The ‘White’ Division title went to the Geneva Cyclones from the Chicago area with a 5-2 margin against the Pekin (IL) Dragons at the Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA).
Geneva Cyclones
The Wisconsin Jets captured the Consolation victory, outlasting another Jr. Vikes team in a 7-6 thriller at Pierce Park Pavilion in Baraboo.
Mite D3 Low/House League
Another six-team group, this division came down to a pair of Championship games as well.
The Geneva Cyclones and Highland Park Falcons battled through three exciting periods without settling anything in the ‘White’ Championship game before the Cyclones finally settled it with a 2-1 overtime victory.
Geneva Cyclones
The ‘Red’ Division saw no goals through the first two periods, but a third period explosion led the Gurnee/Pleasant Prairie Jr. Vipers to a 4-1 Championship win. Both Championship games were played a the Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC).
Gurnee/Pleasant Prairie Vipers
The Division’s Consolation final was won by the West Dundee Leafs with a 3-0 shutout against the Wisconsin Jets.
Squirt Low A/High B
This Squirt Division was divided into the Low A ‘Red Division and High B ‘White Divisions.
On Sunday, the Meramec Sharks from the St. Louis area captured the ‘Red’ Division title with a 5-0 shutout against the Highland Park Falcons at RACA while the ‘White Division crown was won by Kirkwood Stars, also from the St. Louis area with a 5-2 margin against another Meramec team at Lake Delton Ice Arena.
Meramec Sharks
Kirkwood Stars
The Consolation Final for the Division went to Twin Rinks Sharks from the Chicago area with a 5-0 win against Peoria (IL) Horsepower at RACA.
Squirt B3/C1
This four-team division saw the Wisconsin Jets team collecting the championship hardware as they doubled the Kirkwood Stars 6-3 at the Lake Delton Ice Arena and the Consolation honors went to St. Peters Spirit who edged the Affton Americans in an all-St. Louis area contest played at RACA.
Wisconsin Jets
Squirt C
The Siouxland Musketeers, from Sioux City, IA wrapped up a perfect 4-0 weekend with a 6-1 margin against the Kirkwood Stars on Sunday and Lake Delton Ice Arena and the Consolation honors went to Twin Bridges Sharks with a 2-1 win against the Meramec Sharks.
Siouxland Musketeers
Peewee B
Eagan (MN) Wildcats wrapped up a perfect weekend with a 5-0 win in the Peewee B Championship game against the Kirkwood Stars and Winter Club (Milwaukee) captured the Consolation title with a 2-1 edge against the Peoria Horsepower. Both games were played at Pierce Park Pavilion in Baraboo.
Eagan Wildcats
Peewee C
A diverse division with four teams representing four states, saw the Omaha (NE) Hockey Club capturing the Championship with shutout win against the Verona (WI) Wildcats at and the Consolation battle went to the Geneva Cyclones with a 5-3 edge against the Kirkwood Stars.
Omaha HC Peewees
Ultimate Tournaments will return to the local area again this coming weekend with the first version of the Bucks and Pucks tournament.
The first major tournament of the season will roll into all four local arenas this weekend as Ultimate Tournaments begins another massive season.
The first tournament in a new era for Ultimate Tournaments, the Northwoods Showdown will feature teams in seven divisions of Mite, Squirt and Peewee teams playing out of the Lake Delton Ice Arena, Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA), Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) and Baraboo’s Pierce Park Pavilion.
In all, 34 teams from Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska, Missouri and Minnesota will begin play Friday afternoon, with nine championship games highlighting the weekend on Sunday.
The tournament will be the first of two on back-to-back weekends and seven events that will be held in the Sauk County community between now and the end of February.
Ultimate Tournaments also hosts events in St. Louis, Chicago and South Bend, IN.
By Jim den Hollander Editor/Publisher Saukhockey.info Ultimate Tournaments has been a part of the regular hockey season in Sauk County for more than a decade. This year the tournament series will return with its regular dates, including some massive events on Martin Luther King Weekend in January and President’s Day weekend in February.
The tournament offers a unique hockey experience for the teams that attend, with deals offered in the community’s top waterpark resorts, offering a great family weekend with parents and children provided with an exciting experience on and off the ice.
Ultimate Tournaments owner, John Schwarz and Tournament Director Johnny Schwarz also provide weekend jobs for dozens of referees, scorekeeper/timekeepers and directors in more than one location.
The Lake Delton Ice Arena is generally the primary arena on tournament weekends, but Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA), Pierce Park Pavilion in Baraboo and the Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) frequently host games as well. Ice time rentals in Reedsburg, Baraboo and Sauk Prairie directly benefit the youth hockey organizations in all three communities.
Old School hospitality and updates is combined with modern era methods in making the players, parents and coaches up to date on all that is happening. In the arenas, Paper schedule/standings sheets are updated within minutes of the completion of every game and updates are also available online at http://www.ultimatetournaments.com thanks to John Schwarz who uses a home office in Chicago to keep everyone posted, often to events in more than one location on the same weekend. Schwarz’s office is jokingly referred to as ‘Toronto,’ as it serves a similar function to the NHL’s replay center in the Canadian city.
Players have become familiar with the ‘goodies’ provided to team managers at the start of each event, providing some hockey related items to welcome the players to the Dells. Also provided is an information book outlining the many activities available in the Dells and the cloth bag the items come in is a handy piece of equipment the manager can use for the remainder of the season. While the Dells is the original home for Ultimate Tournaments, Schwarz now runs similar events in St. Louis, Chicago and as of this season, South Bend, Indiana. The tournaments have some new names and a new look this season. The Dells tournaments will start in with the ‘Northwoods Showdown ‘21 Nov. 12-14 followed a week later by ‘Bucks And Pucks.’
The Martin Luther King Weekend event is once again a double tournament now known as the Glacier King Championship. With an extra day available, this has traditionally seen several Friday to Sunday Divisions along with some that begin Saturday and wrap up on the holiday Monday. This year the events will be run together Jan. 14-16 and Jan. 15-17. A week after, the Cheddar Cheese Classic will be held Jan. 21-23, 2022 and the Dairyland Classic will also debut in 2022.
Ultimate Tournaments wrapped up its first Wisconsin Dells tournament of the 2020-21 season with a solid weekend of great play culminating with 10 Championship games on Sunday, November 15.
The Mite, Squirt and Peewee Division Championship games were split with five at the Lake Delton Ice Arena and five at Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA). Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) and Pierce Park Pavilion in Baraboo also hosted games on a busy weekend.
Following is a look at the Lake Delton Ice Arena Championship matches in the order they were played
PEEWEE B
Omaha Jr. Mavericks 2 Peoria Jr. Rivs 1 (ot)
The Championship Day could not have gotten off to a better start as this duel came down to a last-minute howitzer and an overtime breakaway.
The Rivermen and Mavericks played in a four-team division and reached the Championship game with matching victories and a head-to-head preview in tightly packed group
Omaha grabbed a 3-1 win in its opener against St. Peter’s while Peoria earned a 5-0 shutout against Belle Tire peewees.
In their final round the Mavs edged Belle Tire 2-1 and the Rivs got by St. Peter’s 5-4. In between was the middle contest won by Omaha 3-0 against Peoria.
The Championship game featured almost 20 minutes of shutout hockey before Cruz Taylor converted a pass from Quinn Andrews to lift the Rivermen to a 1-0 lead that stood up all the way to the game’s final minute.
A desperate Omaha squad looked to draw level and defenseman Zoren Sobansky made it happen, His slapper from the blue line going through a crowd and making its way to the mesh just 45 seconds from the end.
Sam Coakley finished the comeback skating in alone from the red line and backhanding the game winner home with 2:37 to play in 4-on-4 overtime.
The Omaha Jr. Mavericks captured the Peewee B Championship at the first Ultimate Tournaments Waterpark Classic event of the year in Wisconsin Dells with a 2-1 overtime win against the Peoria Rivs. Jr. Mavs team members include:Kellen Mann; Brody Strohman; Conner Bash; Mason Baughman; John Fleming; Trey Sigmund III; Casey Gillilland; Gianni Bianchette; Zoren Sobansky; Jacob Ellison; Sam Coakley; Henry Lancaster; Logan Sibson; Ben Insko; Brian Strohman; Logan Voight and Dario Marez. Mavericks are coached by Karry Baughman; Mike Blanchette and Cody Sobansky.
SQUIRT B-C
Kirkwood Stars 7 Belle Tire Warriors 2
Another four-team division saw the Stars wrapping up a successful four-win weekend the same way it started, with a win against Belle Tire Warriors.
After a 4-3 win on Friday night against the Warriors, the Stars went on to a round-robin sweep with a 6-1 win against St. Louis area rival, Meramec Sharks and a 6-1 win against Sabres Hockey Saturday night.
Belle Tire rallied from its opening loss with a 6-1 win against Sabres Hockey on Saturday and an early morning 8-3 decision Sunday against Meramec Sharks.
The Stars set the tone in the opener with a first minute goal from Tristan Rojas who went on to add two others. Stars opened a 4-1 lead through the opening period and cruised from there. Other Kirkwood goals came from Louie Rolwes; Live Bowler; James Newman and Andrew Hallsten.
Joey Fragoso and Parker Vargo countered with the Belle Tire markers.
The Kirkwood Stars finished a perfect 4-0 weekend as Champions of the Ultimate Tournaments Waterpark Classic Squirt B-C Division. Team members include: James Newman; Christopher Schneithorst; Louie Rolwes; James Mignerone; Andrew Hallsten; Charles Thomson; Jack Pennington; Luke Robison; Steven Shapiro; Jackson Porter; Tristan Rojas; William Hulsen and Liv Bowler. The Stars are coached by Chip Hallsten; Adam Thomson; James Newman and Matt Bowler.
MITE AA
Rockford Roadrunners 2 Glacier Ice Dogs 0
A small, but thrilling division ultimately wrapped up with the Roadrunners capturing a 2-0 shutout against Glacier Ice Dogs.
Glacier grabbed a 6-1 win against Peoria in its first game on the Friday night and promise of a thrilling championship came out of a 3-3 draw against the Roadrunners
Roadrunners wrapped up round robin play with a 5-0 win against Peoria on Saturday, the shutout playing a part in the Rockford crew gaining a bye to the championship game while the Ice Dogs needed a 5-0 win against Peoria in an early Sunday morning semi-final.
Jayger Guffey scored the only goal Roadrunners needed with 5:09 to go in the opening period with an assist for Kash Cassalena. Guffey added another for insurance in the final seconds of the second period with another assist for Cassalena.
Backstopping the win was Roadrunners goaltender Raef Gibler with a nine-save shutout.
Rockford Roadrunners were winners of the Mite AA Division at the Ultimate Tournaments Wisconsin Dells Waterpark Classic November 15, winning the championship game against Glacier Ice Dogs.
MITE B
Kankakee Coyotes 5 Rockford Roadrunners 3
Again, two teams that kicked off against each other were the last two standing in this Division as well.
The Coyotes grabbed a 5-1 win against the Roadrunners Friday night, then rolled through the rest of the weekend with a pair of 5-0 shutouts against both Crystal Lake Stingers and Wisconsin Jets.
The Roadrunners also grabbed 5-0 goose eggs against both teams, setting up the rematch in the Championship game.
The Roadrunners hit the board first in the finale and carried a 1-0 lead out of the opening period. Coyotes struck for a pair of unanswered second period goals, but teams were even again early in the third.
Two goals in a little more than two minutes put the Coyotes in front to stay. The Roadrunners were within a goal, scoring with 3:33 to play, but an empty netter with 26 ticks on the clock wrapped up the Kankakee win.
Kerner, Renchen, Curwick, Merten and Warner had the Coyote goals, Brayden Washin, Michael Wagner, and Mason Lampe responding for the Roadrunners.
Kankakee Coyotes captured the Mite B Championship Trophy at the Ultimate Tournaments Wisconsin Dells Waterpark Classic November 15.
SQUIRT A – WHITE
Meramec Sharks 7 Rockford Roadrunners 1
After dropping its first game, the Sharks rallied back all the way to a championship.
The Sharks started out with a 3-1 loss to the Northwest Chicago Rebels Saturday morning, but struck back with a 6-1 win against Peoria and a 5-0 shutout in an early Sunday meeting with the Roadrunners.
Meanwhile, Rockford started with a 4-0 shutout against Peoria and got by Kirkwood Stars 4-1 before running into the Sharks.
In the Championship game, Jack Ortyl and Jack Steve led the Sharks with a two-goal games with others added by Braden Messmer, Kipton Feager, Connor Flynn and Ode Lape. William Taylor, Aiden Beuchting, Tyler Strothman, Braden Messmer and Shane Dressel picked up assists.
Jacob Wagner notched the lone Roadrunners goal, unassisted.
The Meramec Sharks captured the Squirt A White Division championship at Ultimate Tournaments Waterpark Classic in Wisconsin Dells Nov. 15 with a 7-1 win Rockford Roadrunners. Team members include Aiden Beuchting, Braden Messmer, Carson Simmons, Henry Schneider, Jack Ortyl, Jack Stebe, Kipton Feager, Ode Lape, Shane Dressel, Tyler Strotham, William Taylor, Wyatt Westbrock and Camden Wooderson. The Sharks are coached by William Taylor, Bill Flynn and Kyle Simmons.
Ultimate Tournaments took over three Sauk County arena for much of the past weekend, running its second four-day event of 2020 with the Annual Presidents Day Weekend tourney.
The tournament which included Mite, Squirt, Peewee and Bantam divisions was run as usual as a combination of two different three-day tournaments.
The Peewee and Bantam Divisions both started play on Friday evening, wrapping with championship and consolation finals Sunday. The younger divisions both started Saturday afternoon and wrapped up on Monday.
The Lake Delton Ice Arena once again was the tournament headquarters with a full slate of games on all four days, including a bulk of the championship games while Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA) and Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) hosted several games as well.
BANTAMS
Hodags, Riverdogs claim top honors
The Rhinelander Hodags bantams will host the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association (WAHA) 3A bantam state championship March 7-8, playing host to the Sauk Prairie bantam Flyers in the final game of the opening round
Friday night, some of the Flyers’ coaching staff got a chance to see the Hodags in action and they know now the opener will be a tough game as the visiting Hodags grabbed their first of four straight weekend wins with a 6-1 decision against the Meramec Sharks from the St. Louis area.
After round robin wins against the Sun Prairie Cardinals (4-1) and Northbrook Bluehawks (7-2) from the Chicago area, the Hodags need an overtime goal in its rematch with the Cardinals to claim the Bantam B Red Division crown 4-3. The Consolation final saw Northbrook avenging a 4-1 round robin play loss to the Sharks with a 4-2 victory.
The Bantam B White Division matched two Chicago Riverdogs teams and two from the Pleasant Prairie Patriots.
Parity was evident in this area as the Riverdogs (Gilner) squad earned a spot in the championship game against Patriots (Walls) having tied each other 5-5 in their round robin contest. Walls’ team actually had two ties in its three round robin games but the final belonged to Riverdogs (Gilner) who dominated with a 6-0 win.
The Consolation match saw Patriots (Melnick) grabbing a 5-2 win against the Riverdogs (Lynch).
PEEWEES
Final an all-Riverdogs match
The five-team Peewee House Division including two Chicago Riverdogs teams and they ended up going head-to-head in the championship game. Each team played four round robin games with only the top two moving on to a fifth game.
Both Riverdogs (Clark) and Riverdogs (Seestadt) collected round robin wins against the Pleasant Prairie (Wis.) Patriots and the St. Peter’s Spirit (Mo.) The Kirkwood Stars, a St. Louis area squad battled Seestadt’s peewees to a 2-2 draw and Clark’s team to a 2-2 tie but missed its shot at the final with a rough start, dropping its first game of the weekend 5-1 to the Patriots.
The Riverdogs played to a draw in their head-to-head match but it was Seestadt’s team hoisting the hardware following a 4-0 shutout win in the championship game.
SQUIRTS
Panthers, Stars and Riverdogs take home Squirt hardware
There were three divisions of Squirts all together – four teams in a Squirt B/House Division and six others divided into two three-team Squirt B pools. In the House Division, Franklin Park Panthers from the Chicago area wrapped up four straight wins to take home top honors.
After 6-1 wins against both Meramec Sharks and Kirkwood Stars from the St. Louis area and a 5-1 decision against the Sabres from Bolingbrook (near Chicago), the Panthers met the Sabres again in the championship game, collecting a 5-0 win.
Sharks and Stars battled to a 5-5 draw in the all-St. Louis area Consolation final.
The Squirt B Division divided six teams into two divisions crowing a ‘White’ and ‘Red’ Champion.
In the Red Division, the Elmhurst Chiefs wrapped up three straight round robin wins to earn a spot in the championship match, but the Kirkwood Stars avenged a narrow 4-3 loss to the Chiefs in their first game of the weekend, claiming the win in a wild championship game with a 7-6 margin.
The White Division crown matched the Chicago Riverdogs (Burke) and Franklin Park Panthers in the championship game, also pitting a pair of teams that met in their respective first games, a 7-4 win for the Riverdogs. The Riverdogs also claimed the title, but the 3-2 edge showed a closer and tighter contest with goaltenders counted on heavily.
Closest of the three finals might have been the Consolation game, the Affton Americans from the St. Louis area holding on for a 1-0 victory against Riverdogs (Wilkoff).
MITES
Coyotes and Phantoms wrap up trophies
The Mite B Division featured four Chicago area teams and it was the Darien Phantoms dominating with a four-win run to the championship trophy.
The Phantoms opened the tournament with a 5-0 win against the Elmhurst Chiefs Saturday, then rolled to a 6-1 margin against the Glacier Avs from Vernon Hill Sunday and a 6-1 decision against the Stallions early Monday.
The Phantoms matched its 5-0 win in the championship game against the Chiefs while the Avs outlasted the Stallions 5-4 in the Consolation match.
The five-team Mite B/House division saw the Arctic Fury from Orland Park roll through its four round-robin games, beginning with 7-2 wins against both the Chicago Riverdogs and Kankakee Coyotes on Saturday followed by a 4-2 doubling of the Bensenville Chiefs Sunday and a 5-0 goose egg against the Pleasant Prairie (Wis.) Patriots early Monday morning.
The Coyotes nailed down the other championship game spot scoring six in each of its three games after dropping its opener to the Fury. The six was good enough for a 6-1 win against the Patriots and a 6-4 decision against the Riverdogs while settling for a 6-6 draw against the Chiefs.
The Coyotes turned the tables on the Fury in the championship game through, sinking an overtime game winner for a 5-4 edge.
its second four-day event of 2020 with the Annual Presidents Day Weekend tourney.
Sauk Hockey 