Panthers roll over Thunderbirds at home

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Playing at home for the first time in three weeks, the Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds were unable to use it to their advantage, dropping a 9-0 decision to the high-flying Oregon Panthers at Pierce Park Pavilion on Thursday (Jan. 12).

Despite a 16-6 edge in shots in the opening period, the Panthers grabbed just a 1-0 lead thanks once again to the standout goaltending of junior Burke Schweda.

The guests stepped up their attack in the middle period, peppering Schweda with a 29-6 edge in shots and widening the margin to 4-0.

Another five in the third period with a 24-2 edge in chances wrapped up the goose egg for the Panthers, led by junior Andrew Jicha who scored three and set up another pair for a five-point game.

After a long stretch on the road, the Thunderbirds began a stretch of three straight at Pierce Park Pavilion, followed Saturday (Jan. 14) with a rematch against the Milton Red Hawks followed Tuesday (Jan. 17) with a Badger West Conference match against the Monroe Cheesemakers.

Mast’s third lifts Eagles past Panthers 6-5

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

By Jim den Hollander

The Sauk Prairie Eagles collected a needed 6-5 win on the road in Oregon to keep its hopes of at least a share of the Badger West Conference alive on Thursday (Jan. 20).

The back-and-forth contest saw the Eagles scoring first and up 2-1 against the Panthers after a period. Teams traded goals in the first half of the middle period but three goals in 2:59 had the host Panthers up 5-3 2:31 from the end of the middle stanza.

The Eagles responded with two goals 23 seconds apart from seniors Micah Hanson and Nick Mast pulling the Eagles even in the final minute of the period.

The lone final period goal was the game winner and third of the game for Nick Mast, scored unassisted 4:26 from the final whistle.

Hanson also fired three goals, Mast adding a couple assists. Senior Hakon Peterson had two assists with twin brother Erik adding one and junior Luke Mast also picked up a helper.

For the Panthers, junior Kyle Rohrer scored three goals and set up another to strengthen his state-leading points total to 85 while sophomore Andrew Jicha added two goals and two assists to stay second in state with 75 points. Jicha also leads the state in goals with 45.

Nick Mast is seventh in points with 55 and Luke Mast rounds out the top 10 with 52.

The Eagles held the edge in shots 33-29 and junior goaltender Kaden Stracke picked up the win in goal.

The win was the 10^th consecutive ‘W’ for the Eagles who improve its season record to 13-2 and its Badger West Conference record to 4-2. The Eagles have six games remaining on its schedule including the final game of the season against the Madison Edgewood Crusaders on Feb. 10. The Crusaders have yet to lose a conference match so the Eagles would need one other conference rival to step up before that finale to keep its hopes of a conference title alive.

Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Baraboo’s Pierce Park Pavilion to play the Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds on Tuesday (Jan. 25).

Cheavers continue streak at home against Panthers

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD varsity Cheavers hockey team showed the grit and poise shown at the recent Monk’s Cheeseburger Classic was not temporary, putting together its best 51-minute effort of the season so far in a thrilling 4-2 Badger West Conference win against the Oregon Panthers Thursday night at the Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA).

The Cheavers never trailed but didn’t have the game fully under control until an empty netter from Trevor Slaght with 27 seconds to play.

The win extends the team’s current winning streak to seven games dating back to the team’s previous meeting with the Panthers, a 5-1 loss on Dec. 15.

The team honored its seniors and their parents between the warm-up and pre-game flood.

All three forward lines and defense pairs along with senior goaltender Cooper Oakes played to expectations and Head Coach Neil Mattson showed he was not afraid to put anybody on the ice in high pressure situations. And, considering the Panthers entered the game with the state’s top three points leaders and are currently ranked second in state among Division 2 teams, that is a pretty darn high level of pressure.

RWD hit the scoreboard first, senior Tomas Korndorfer hitting the mesh from a tough angle 7:29 into the contest and sophomore Brady Baldwin buried a pass from Korndorfer to give the host Cheavers a 2-0 cushion at the first period break.

Andrew Jicha fired his state-leading 28^th goal of the season for the Panthers early in the second period and a penalty called in the final minute of the frame gave the visitors reason for optimism at the break.

Senior C.J. Pfaff turned the tables though, intercepting a pass and heading the other way alone, making several moves before depositing the puck into the Oregon cage for a shorthanded goal 31 seconds into the final period.

The only issue the team struggled with was some tough penalty calls in the second half. After the Panthers were assessed the first four infractions of the game, the Cheavers had the finger pointed at them five consecutive times from the 11:33 mark of the second to the 12:01 mark of the third.

Successful at killing off the first four, the Panthers finally found a way through as senior Joe Roemer buried one bar down from about 40 feet out with 3:42 to play.

That set the stage for Slaght’s clincher with assists for Pfaff and sophomore Trey Lariden.

Overall, the Cheavers held a 35-27 edge in shots.

The win boosted the team’s overall record to 11-5 and more importantly, boosted its Badger West Conference record to 4-2, keeping league title hopes alive.

The Panthers fell to 9-6 and 2-4 since its previous win against the Cheavers and their conference record falls to 3-3.

Next up for the Cheavers is another conference battle as they travel to Pierce Park Pavilion on Tuesday (Jan. 11) and the Panthers will also move on to play at Pierce Park on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

Eagles wrap up third straight shutout against T-Birds

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Sauk Prairie Eagles and Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds returned from a brief holiday break to face each other at Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) on Monday (Jan. 3) night.

The Eagles collected a 9-0 win, its third straight goose egg to wrap up its first round of Badger West Conference play at 3-2, snapping two conference losses in a row.

Teams played through seven minutes without a goal, but the Eagles wrapped up four in the final 10 minutes of the opening period and piled on three more in the middle frame before wrapping it up with two down the homestretch.

Seniors Hakon Peterson and Micah Hanson and junior Luke Mast fired two goals apiece, Peterson adding two assists and Mast setting up one. Seniors Nick Mast and Erik Peterson both notched a goal and two assists, the other goal fired by junior Landon Clary.

Luke Mast boosted his season points total to 46, fourth best in the state behind only the Oregon trio of Kyle Rohrer (57), Andrew Jicha (51) and Joe Roemer (47). He is also third in assist. Nick Mast’s goal was his 26^th of the season, boosting him to second in state, tied with David Emerich of Waunakee and just two behind state leader, Jicha.

The Eagles held a 44-8 edge in shots on goal. Junior Brooks McInerney picked up the shutout in goal and first year Burke Schweda was the busiest man on the ice, in goal for the Thunderbirds.

The Thunderbirds returned home to Pierce Park Pavilion where it was scheduled to play host to the Black River Falls Tigers on Tuesday and the Eagles head straight into the second half of its Badger West Conference schedule with a trip to SLICE in Monroe to play the host Cheesemakers on Thursday night.

Badger West this Week

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

BADGER WEST THIS WEEK

As Badger West Conference teams wrapped up the pre-Christmas portions of their schedules with a barrage of 13 games between Dec. 13-21.

Out of the smoke, Madison Edgewood Crusaders emerged as the conference’s championship favorite, the only team still unbeaten in conference play and adding two more games to its current six-game winning streak while Sauk Prairie Eagles, Oregon Panthers and RWD Cheavers have each dropped two out of five to share the runners up spot.

Another key match saw the Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds sliding into fifth with a win against the Monroe Cheesemakers.

MADISON EDGWOOD CRUSADERS (6-1, Badger West 4-0)

The Crusaders put itself in the driver’s seat on Monday, Dec. 13, becoming the lone undefeated team in conference with a decisive 10-2 win at LaBahn Arena against the visiting Oregon Panthers. The following night the Crusaders collected a 12-0 shutout against the Monroe Cheesemakers, also at La Bahn. That win was the team’s sixth in a row after a season opening defeat against defending State Champion Hudson Raiders.

Cody Menzel let the awesome group of seniors on the Crusaders, collecting four goals and eight assists for a dozen points while J.J Wiebusch scored eight while setting up another three for 11 points. Both Wiebusch and Menzel have 26 points in seven games, good enough for a tie for ninth among the state’s top scorers.

Aidan Lenz, another senior, collected three goals and four assists in the two games and senior Parker Murn had six set ups.

In goal, sophomore Rowan White stopped all but two of 39 shots, boosting his overall Goals Against Average to exactly two, good enough for a tie for eighth best in the state.

OREGON PANTHERS (7-4, Badger West 3-2)

The past stretch was an up and down run for the Panthers who started out with its first conference defeat, brushed aside by the host Crusaders 10-2 before bouncing back with a 5-1 win the following night on home ice against RWD. A 3-2 loss against St. Mary’s Springs from Fond du Lac carried the team into a second conference loss, 7-1 at Sauk Prairie.

The key to beating the Panthers in this stretch seems to be shutting down the high-flying team leaders that remain the state’s top scorers so far. Of course, it is one thing to know that task and another thing to get it done.

The 10 goals in four games this week is easily the lowest scoring stretch so far, but the Panthers will be looking to recapture that touch at a tournament over the Christmas Break.

Senior Joe Roemer picked up seven assists to lead the way, sophomore Andrew Jicha collecting five goals and an assist and junior Kyle Rohrer adding three goals and two assists while junior Simon Dosher scored once and assisted on three.

Rohrer (20-26-46), Jicha (23-19-42) and Roemer (6-33-39) hold down the state’s top three spots. While Rohrer leads the state in points, Jicha is the state’s leading goal scorer and Roemer has the most assists.

SAUK PRAIRIE EAGLES (5-2, Badger West 2-2)

The Eagles, like the Crusaders, haver started the season a little slower than other teams due in part to a couple games being postponed.

The Eagles dropped a 2-1 decision at RACA in Reedsburg against a desperate RWD team on Friday (Dec. 17) and bounced back as the desperate team itself with a 7-1 victory at SPARC against the Panthers on Monday.

The Eagles wrapped up its busiest stretch of the season so far with a 7-5 win against McFarland in non-conference play at SPARC on Tuesday.

The Eagles put up 15 goals through the stretch, junior Luke Mast leading the charge with three goals and eight assists for 11 points. Senior Nick Mast scored six and added an assist while senior Hakon Peterson scored a pair and added four helpers. Senior Erik Peterson chipped in two goals and four assists.

In goal junior Kaden Stracke appeared in the first two goals, stopping 41 of 44 shots against.

RWD CHEAVERS (6-5, Badger West 3-2)

The Cheavers fell to 2-2 in Conference and 4-5 overall with the loss in Oregon but bounced back with a 2-1 win at RACA against the visiting Eagles and climbed over .500 once again with a non-conference win at Tomah against Tomah/Sparta on Tuesday night.

Defense and goaltending were key for the Cheavers, especially in the two wins that saw senior goaltending Cooper Oakes stopping 55 of 56 shots in goal and picking up the goose egg in Tomah.

Offensively, the Cheavers got two goals and four assists from senor CJ Pfaff, two goals from senior Caden Brandt, two assists from senior Grant Marsich and a goal and assist from junior Carsen Brandt.

BARABOO/PORTAGE THUNDERBIRDS (2-7, Badger West 1-2)

After starting out with a postponed game against the Eagles, Thunderbirds dropped a pair of games against some tough non-conference opponents but sandwiched them with a 2-1 win at Pierce Park Pavilion against the Monroe Cheesemakers on Saturday.

The losses came against Janesville Bluebirds, a 9-0 loss in Janesville and an 8-2 loss against Onalaska/La Crosse at the Omni Center.

Scoring has continued to be a tough area for the Thunderbirds who picked up the win but scored just four goals in three games.

Seniors Gabe Fitzwilliams and Oliver Scanlan both scored a goal and added an assist with other goals added by sophomore Carson Zick and first-year Nathan Gneiser. Junior Peyton Sloan drew assists on two of the goals.

MONROE CHEESEMAKERS (1-11, Badger West)

The Cheesemakers dropped all three games played this season, running its current losing skid to eight games.

The first two were both Badger West matches, a 12-0 loss to the Crusaders at La Bahn Dec. 14 followed by another loss at Pierce Park Pavilion in Baraboo against the host Thunderbirds on Saturday. Wrapping up the week was a 6-2 loss against Kenosha Thunder at SLICE on Tuesday (Dec. 21).

Cheesemakers scored three goals in the week. Junior Seth Brandt scored the lone goal in Baraboo from senior Josh Haight. Scoring details for the Onalaska game were not available at press time.

Solid play but lapses hurt varsity Cheavers

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD varsity Cheavers slipped back under .500 with a couple rough days at the office.

On Saturday (Dec. 11), the Cheavers played host to Baldwin-Woodville Hawks for a non-conference tilt and saw a 3-2 edge after two periods slip away thanks to three unanswered Hawks goals in the final 17 minutes and a 5-3 loss.

On Tuesday at Oregon, the Cheavers went up against one of the state’s top scoring teams, the Oregon Panthers and limited the team to 26 shots, but that was enough for a 5-1 win for the home team.

Baldwin Woodville Hawks 5 @ RWD Cheavers 3

The home team couldn’t have started this game much better, outshooting a Hawks team coming off a tough loss the night before at Black River Falls to start the weekend road trip, by a 19-4 margin.

But on the scoreboard teams were even at 1-1, the lone goal coming from junior defenseman Carsen Brandt, just back in the lineup after a season opening injury. Brandt’s rising shot from the blue line hit the back of the net unseen by the Baldwin keeper, cancelling out the Hawks’ opener, scored a couple minutes prior.

Another defender stepped up 33 seconds into the middle period as senior Grant Marsich put the Cheavers in front with help from junior Caden Brandt and senor Tomas Komdofer.

The Hawks tied it just past the nine-minute mark, but Komdofer put the Cheavers in front again 63 seconds from the middle period buzzer from Marsich.

The Cheavers held a 31-14 edge in shots through the first 34 minutes, but the visitors flipped the script in the final frame, tying the game 6:17 in and taking the lead with 6:17 to play on a powerplay. Another powerplay goal, third of the game for the Hawks all but settled the game with 1:54 to play.

RWD Cheavers 1 @ Oregon Panthers 5

The assignment awaiting anyone taking on the Panthers is shutting down the explosive trio of Joe Roemer, Kyle Rohrer and Andrew Jicha. For the most part, the Cheavers did that for 44 of 51 minutes Tuesday night, but three goals in seven minutes to open the middle period showed just how explosive that trio can be.

The Cheavers took the game to the host Panthers through the opening period, holding the high-flying team to one goal scored 2:03 into the contest.

The Cheavers held a 10-8 edge on the shot clock, but the Panthers scored twice in the opening two minutes of the second and added another before the seven-minute mark to widen the gap.

Senior CJ Pfaff finally got the Cheavers on the board with 7:05 to play in the game, from juniors Yevgeny Dedun and Logan DeMars, but any thoughts of a late comeback with squashed less than a minute later as Oregon fired its fifth.

Once again the Cheavers held the overall edge on the shot clock but just by a 27-26 margin.

Rohrer-Roemer and Jicha played a part in all five Panther goals and combined for 10 points although only one of the markers involved all three.

The back-to-back losses dropped the Cheavers under .500 at 4-5 for the first time since Dec. 3 when they sat at 2-3. It also evened the team’s Badger West Conference record at 2-2, making Friday’s home game against the Sauk Prairie Eagles (3-1, 1-1 Badger West) crucial to the team’s conference championship hopes alive.

That game will wrap up the first half of the Conference schedule for the Cheavers who will have one more game before the Christmas break, traveling to Tomah to faceoff against Tomah/Sparta on Tuesday (Dec. 21).

Badger West this week

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

A busy week of Badger West head-to-head matches set up a crucial week ahead filled with big matches as the six teams hit the halfway mark on the conference schedule.

Key game of the week saw the Madison Edgewood Crusaders making its home ice debut with a 6-1 win against the Sauk Prairie Eagles giving the visitors its first loss and first loss in what ended up being the lone game of the week for both teams.

The Crusaders remain undefeated in conference play and enter this week with the Panthers as co-leaders entering their head-to-head battle on Monday (Dec. 13) which will be part of next week’s conference summary.

The Panthers enjoyed a big week, starting with an 8-0 win at SLICE against Monroe Cheesemakers Monday and also including a 9-8 edge against Big Eight leading Janesville Bluebirds on home ice Tuesday.

A scheduled meeting between the Eagles and Panthers was postponed and will now be played on Dec. 20.

RWD hit the conference win columns with victories against both Baraboo Portage on home ice Tuesday and at SLICE in Monroe Thursday but wrapped up the win with a tough non-conference loss to Baldwin on Saturday.

The Thunderbirds also dropped a pair of non-conference matches, both at Pierce Park Pavilion in Baraboo while the Cheesemakers lost a pair of conference matches as well as a road game against Muskego

MADISON EDGEWOOD CRUSADERS (4-1, 2-0 Badger West)

SAUK PRAIRIE EAGLES (3-1, 1-1 Badger West)

These two are included together as their lone game of the week was against each other.

After dropping its season opener, the Crusaders have now racked up four straight including conference matches against both RWD and Sauk Prairie.

It’s starting to look like this team could be in for a special season with an awesome group of seniors leading the way.

J.J. Wiebusch was in on five of the six (2g, 3a) against the Eagles and has put up 15 points in the team’s four wins. Parker Murn and Cody Menzel both collected four points in the game and Aidan Lenz had three set ups.

In goal, sophomore Rowan White and freshman Hayden Reuhl have combined on the 4-1 record, stopping all but 11 of 118 shots against so far.

For the Eagles, the Mast brothers, senior Nick and junior Luke both played a part in the lone goal, and they have combined on 27 points through four games for the Eagles.

After playing Oregon on Monday, the Crusaders will stay home to entertain the Cheesemakers Tuesday wrapping up the team’s pre-Christmas schedule. They have yet to play Baraboo/Portage and those two teams will meet twice in the second half of the schedule.

The Eagles are scheduled to entertain Baraboo/Portage at SPARC on Tuesday and will be at RACA in Reedsburg to play RWD. The Eagles will remain busy, the moved game to Dec. 20 leaving them with still five games to play before the break.

OREGON PANTHERS (6-1, 2-0 Badger West)

The offensively gifted Panthers continued to wreak havoc on opposition goaltenders this past week, scoring another 17 goals and racking up two more wins.

After the 8-0 shutout at SLICE Monday, the team played at home Tuesday and an equally impressive Janesville Bluebirds team its first loss 9-8 on Tuesday.

The Oregon team, ranked among state coaches as one of the top Division 2 teams in the state, rolled into Tuesday’s game with 59 goals through its first seven games – an average of more than eight per match. The Bluebirds rolled in undefeated through its first three games with 29 goals scored so the 17 goals in the game was likely no surprise.

The trio of forwards – junior Kyle Rohrer, sophomore Andrew Jicha and senior Joe Roemer continued their season opening barrage combining for 30 points in the two games.

Rohrer notched eight goals and five assists in the two games and entered this week as the state leader with 41 points. Jicha had two goals and six assists and is currently second in state with 36 points while Roemer picked up two goals and seven helpers and currently sits third with 32 points so far.

The Panthers are scheduled to start the win making the trip to LaBahn Arena Monday in a battle of the only two teams undefeated in conference play so far. After hosting RWD the following night, the Panthers will wrap up the week with a non-conference contest against Fond du Lac Warbirds on Saturday in Oregon. Wrapping up the pre-Christmas portion of its schedule, the Panthers will travel to Sauk Prairie on Monday, Dec. 20.

RWD CHEAVERS (5-5, 2-1 Badger West)

RWD picked up a pair of big wins to climb over .500 both in conference and overall, but a tough 5-3 loss against the visiting Baldwin-Woodville Hawks on Saturday was a bit of a spoiler.

RWD has shown itself to be well balanced so far, collecting 19 goals in the three games played while allowing just one in the two conference matches.

Junior Caden Brandt and senior CJ Pfaff both collected eight points in the two wins while senior goaltender Cooper Oakes kicked out all but one of 30 shots faced and picked up a shutout. Brandt’s 19 point have him in a tie for ninth in state.

The team has collected at least a point from 14 players in its first eight games.

BARABOO/PORTAGE THUNDERBIRDS (1-5, 0-2 Badger West)

A tough 8-0 loss against conference rival in Reedsburg was sandwiched between a pair of non-conference losses Monday against Madison LaFollette East Lakers (6-3) at Pierce Park Pavilion Monday and Thursday (10-4) against Brookfield Stars.

The team was missing eight players due to illness, injury or other reasons against the Cheavers, and the team has not had a full lineup on the ice yet this season.

Seniors Oliver Scanlan and Gabe Fitzwilliams have tried the lead the squad, both scoring in both non-conference matches, Scanlan ending the week with three goals and Fitzwilliams with two. The other goals came from junior Luke Schweda and freshman Jordi Beale.

Thunderbirds have dropped four in a row and face a tough assignment Tuesday making the trip to Sauk Prairie to play the Eagles and staying on the road Thursday for another tough game against the Bluebirds, then returning home to Pierce Park Pavilion Saturday to face the Monroe Cheesemakers.

MONROE CHEESEMAKERS (1-8, 0-3 Badger West)

A rough week for the Cheesemakers saw the team dropping conference losses to both Oregon (8-0) and RWD (8-1) and wrapping up the week with an 8-1 loss on home ice against the Muskego Co-op Ice Force. The losses stretched the team’s current losing streak to five games and they have dropped their first three Badger West matches.

Junior Nolan Bodenstein and sophomore Wyatt Janecke scored the Cheesemaker goals. The week ahead will be tough as well, beginning with a conference match at La Bahn Arena in Madison against the Crusaders Tuesday and a Saturday contest at Pierce Park Pavilion against Baraboo/Portage to wrap up the first half of the conference schedule.

Badger West This Week — game on in Conference

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

BADGER WEST THIS WEEK (Nov. 29 – Dec. 5, 2021)

The Badger West entered the first round of head-to-head conference matches in the second full week of the season and early results were mostly lopsided.

Oregon Panthers and Madison Edgewood Crusaders both enjoyed two-win weeks while the Sauk Prairie Eagles won its only game and remain the lone undefeated squad in the group. The RWD Cheavers picked up a big win but dropped its conference opener while the Monroe Cheesemakers and Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds both dropped a pair.

All six teams will play key conference matches in the week ahead so the conference championship picture will begin to take shape.

OREGON PANTHERS (4-1-0, 1-0 Badger West)

A wild 20-goal contest saw the Panthers opening conference play with a 14-6 edge against the visiting Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds on Thursday (Dec. 2) and following it up with a 6-2 win the following night, also on home ice against former Badger South rival, McFarland Spartans.

Those results give the Panthers an overall 42-19 edge on opponents through five games and the trio of Andrew Jicha, Kyle Rohrer and Joe Roemer have combined for 79 points, holding down the top three spots in the state.

Week ahead – A three-game week begins and ends with conference matches. The Panthers were scheduled to play at Stateline Ice and Community Expo (SLICE) on Monday and wrap it up with a visit to the Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) on Thursday night. In between, the Panthers will play host to the Janesville Bluebirds on Tuesday.

MADISON EDGEWOOD CRUSADERS (3-1, 1-0 Badger West)

The Crusaders had most of the week to practice and prepare for Friday and Saturday matches, opening its Badger-West Conference schedule with a 4-2 win at Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA) on Friday night and adding another 4-1 decision against the Madison Memorial Spartans at Hartmeyer Ice Arena on Saturday.

The wins give the Crusaders a three-game winning streak and the trio of J.J. Wiebusch, Cody Menzel and Aidan Lenz were in on all four goals against RWD. They combined for 16 points in the two games.

Week Ahead – After four on the road to open the season, the Crusaders have three in a row at LaBahn Ice Arena but just one this week, Tuesday against the visiting Sauk Prairie Eagles.

SAUK PRAIRIE EAGLES (3-0, 1-0 Badger West)

The Eagles played just once this past weekend, traveling to SLICE and opening Badger West for an overwhelming 9-0 win against the Monroe Cheesemakers, giving the Eagles a total of 24 goals through its first three contests.

The Mast brothers, senior Nick and junior Luke are off to strong offensive starts, combining on 25 points so far and junior goaltenders Kaden Stracke and Brooks McInerney shared the shutout in Monroe.

Week Ahead – The Eagles have a massive week ahead playing both other first round conference winners. On Tueday the Eagles will be at LaBahn Ice Arena to face the Madison Edgewood Crusaders and on Thursday, the Eagles host the Oregon Panthers at SPARC.

RWD CHEAVERS (2-3, 0-1 Badger West)

The Cheavers opened the week with a big 5-4 overtime win against the visiting Onalaska Hilltoppers, the first regular season win against Onalaska since the RWD program was formed in 2010. Despite another solid effort, the Cheavers came up short against the Crusaders on Friday, snapping a two-game winning streak and putting the team under .500 once again.

RWD has been outscored 16-14 through five games and led offensively by junior Caden Brandt in on 10 of their goals.

Senior goaltender Cooper Oakes has stopped 193 of 209 shots for a .929 Save Percentage to rank among the state’s best puck stoppers.

Week Ahead – After a big rivalry game at RACA against the Thunderbirds Tuesday night, the Cheavers will make the trip to Monroe Thursday to face the Cheesemakers and wrap up a busy week with a non-conference duel against Baldwin-Woodville Hawks on Saturday in Reedsburg.

BARABOO/PORTAGE THUNDERBIRDS (1-3, 0-1 Badger West)

The 14-goals against at Oregon might be the most allowed in a game since the Badger/Portage Co-op was founded in 2010, but the six goals for in the same game was easily the team’s best offensive showing in a crazy game.

The Thunderbirds have endured a season’s worth of adversity with injuries and illness hampering the lineup but senior forwards such as Gabe Fitzwilliams and Oliver Scanlan have been contributing.

Week Ahead – Thunderbirds have already opened a busy week, dropping a 4-1 non-conference decision to Madison LaFollette-East at Pierce Park Pavilion in Baraboo Monday and travelling the following night to its conference test at RACA in Reedsburg.

On Thursday, the Thunderbirds will play a non-conference game against the Brookfield Stars at Pierce Park Pavilion.

MONROE CHEESEMAKERS (1-5, 0-1 Badger West)

The Cheesemakers dropped its Conference opener on the road 9-0 against the Sauk Prairie Eagles Thursday and fell 7-2 against KMMO (Kettle Moraine/Mukwonago/Oconomowoc) at SLICE Saturday.

The losses dropped the Cheesemakers to 1-5. Seth Brandt scored both goals against KMMO.

Week Ahead – The road will stay tough for the Cheesemakers with the Oregon Panthers scheduled to pay a visit Monday and RWD will be in Monroe for a Thursday night test. The Cheesemakers will hit the road Saturday wrapping up a three-game week against the Muskego Co-Op Ice Force at Wilson Ice Arena in Milwaukee.

Oregon’s big three too much for understaffed Thunderbirds

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds found out Thursday (Dec. 2) the previous hype about the Oregon Panthers was deserved as they dropped their Badger West Conference opener 14-6 at the Oregon Ice Arena.

The Panthers have been an offensive juggernaut out of the gate, led by a trio who currently hold down the top three spots in the WIAA state scoring race.

Panthers had the game all but won after 17 minutes, carrying a 7-1 cushion to the middle period, but the Tbirds showed it can put some goals up in a hurry as well, outscoring its host 5-3, including four straight to end the period.

Four more unanswered goals in the third carried widened the final gap for the Panthers.

Sophomore Andrew Jicha scored five goals and set up a pair to stay in the state scoring lead with junior Kyle Rohrer who scored two and added five assists. Senior Kyle Roemer collected a goal and six assists to match the seven points of his mates.

Thunderbirds, hampered by injuries and illness out of the gate, had just a dozen skaters on the scoresheet but spread out the scoring well with eight picking up at least a point.

Junior Landon Olson led the way with a goal and two assists and senior Gabe Fitzwilliams fired a pair of goals. Freshman Nathan Gneiser and junior Luke Schweda both set up a pair, junior Peyton Sloan adding a goal and assist. Sophomores Carson Zick and Dylann Carpenter fired the other goals and senior Oliver Scanlan picked up an assist.

The loss dropped the Thunderbirds to 1-2 on the season and 0-1 in Badger West Conference place while the Panthers boosted its record to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Badger West. (The Panthers played again Friday and picked up a 6-2 win against the McFarland Spartans).

Thunderbirds face another road conference test Tuesday at RACA against the rival RWD Cheavers and will prepare for that with a home game Monday at Pierce Park Pavilion against the Madison LaFollette/East Lakers.

Here we go — Badger West Conference openers

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Teams are just wrapping up the second week of WIAA varsity hockey and the intensity level is ratcheted up with the start of Badger West Conference matches.

All three Sauk County-based teams will face off against a new varsity rival as the Sauk Prairie Eagles play host to the Monroe Cheesemakers and Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds visit the Oregon Panthers on Thursday night. Following that, the RWD Cheavers will play host the Madison Edgewood Crusaders on Friday night.

Monroe Cheesemakers (1-3, 0-0 Badger West) @ Sauk Prairie Eagles (2-0, 0-0 Badger West)

Expectations are high for the Eagles, coming off a one-loss regular season in 2020-21 and a couple players getting a jump on the season on Team Wisconsin.

So far, the team has lived up to expectations with two wins and a 15-7 edge on the scoreboard so far. The Eagles seem solid at all positions but its calling card in recent seasons has been an explosive offense and the ability to get a goal almost whenever needed.

The Cheesemakers are coming off a successful 16-9-2 record in 2020-21 but have stumbled a bit out of the gate, dropping three of its first four.

These teams have played 10 times since 2013 and all 10 have been won by the Eagles. The most recent meeting was a 6-1 win for the Eagles on Jan. 28, 2020, one of the goals scored by Eagles’ senior Nick Mast.

Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds (1-1, 0-0 Badger West) @ Oregon Panthers (2-1, 0-0 Badger West)

Thunderbirds evened its record at 1-1 with a 3-2 overtime edge on Tuesday in Sparta and those are the only three goals for the team so far.

The Panthers couldn’t be more opposite, entering the conference opener with a 2-1 record and 22 goals scored so far. Senior Kyle Rohrer who racked up 26 points in 27 games with Team Wisconsin before the WIAA campaign has played a part in 18 of the Panthers’ goals so far and sophomore Andrew Jicha is right behind him with 17.

If the Thunderbirds can dictate a tight defensive pace and take advantage of Oregon mistakes, this game could be interesting, but that will be a tough assignment for the Thunderbirds against this explosive squad.

The Panthers and Thunderbirds have met five times in the past, Oregon holding a 4-0-1 advantage, but none of the current players played a part in any of those games. The most recent meeting was a 3-2 overtime win for the Panthers in Dec. 2016.

Madison Edgewood Crusaders (1-1, 0-0 Badger West) @ RWD Cheavers (2-2, 0-0 Badger West)

The Cheavers dropped its first two games, both by a single goal before turning a corner with a 5-3 decision against the Somerset Spartans on the weekend and a big emotional win, rallying back from three one-goal deficits to grab its first regular season win ever against the Onalaska Hilltoppers, 5-4 in overtime.

The Crusaders dropped its first game to the defending state champion Hudson Raiders and rebounded with a 5-1 win against Chippewa Falls.

Both teams are senior-heavy, and the Crusaders had a handful of players playing for Team Wisconsin.

These teams have met six times before and the Crusaders have won five, including an 8-2 whipping last January, a low point of the season for the Cheavers. That memory will no doubt be the inspiration for the Cheavers who picked a bad night to come up flat. Many of the current team members also remember a game from the previous season that saw fearless RWD squad go toe-to-toe with the Crusaders at LaBahn Arena in the playoffs, despite a heavy underdog tag. Crusaders managed a last-minute goal to squeeze past the Cheavers in that one.

The Cheavers may be the underdog once again, but stellar goaltending has kept them close against some tough opponents and the offense enjoyed a breakout against Onalaska.