Hockey Talk Aug. 25 –Yoga, softball and pool party

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info.

Ducks moved into the middle of its first week and camp on Wednesday (Aug. 25) with some more dryland workouts, a team activity and a bit of social time.

Dells Ducks

Head Coach Shaun Falzone and assistant Mario Lachica put the team through the paces Wednesday morning with a tough workout before sending the team to yoga once again, allowing them to work on their aches and pains a bit.

After a softball game in the afternoon, team members once again assisted Lake Delton Ice Arena owner Aaron Kirby with the first floods of the season as the floor has frozen in the arena and ice making is underway.

By the time players headed to a pool party at the Staybridge Hotel, a Ducks’ sponsor, there was a nice layer of ice on the floor. Coach Lachica said in his interview today the team is planning to spend 24-hours in the rink on Saturday in both a bonding event and a chance to put finishing touches on the ice surface, likely including line and logo painting.

Now 23 days from the opening game of the USPHL Premier Midwest-West regular season, things are coming together nicely for the Ducks.

Happy Birthday Svyatoslav Kuchinsky

A late season addition in 2017 from the Kenai River Brown Bears, Svyatoslav Kuchinsky fit in nicely on the Dells Ducks roster, scoring three goals and collecting eight points in nine regular season games and adding another five points in six playoff encounters.

Kuchinsky’s visit to Tier 3 was a brief one. He headed back to the NAHL the following season with the Austin Bruins before a midseason trade sent him east to the Northeast Generals for the next season and a half .

Kuchinsky currently is enrolled at Endicott College, near Boston. In his first two seasons there, he has played 28 games, contributing six goals and 17 points.

Happy Birthday Kuch!

Oakes shines for Jets at NAHL Prospects Challenge

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Before embarking on a senior season and adding to an already history-making career as the primary goaltender for the RWD varsity hockey team, Cooper Oakes is getting a look at his hockey future.

Oakes, an ’03 from Reedsburg, attended a North American Hockey League (NAHL) combine in Columbus, Ohio in April and in late May he backstopped a Janesville Jets sponsored 18U team to a pair of wins on a weekend that saw the team wrap up at 3-1 at an event at the National Sports Center Super Rinks in Blaine, Minn.

The team played four times as one of several teams at the NAHL event played while the mother Janesville Jets were playing in their Division semifinal against the Kenai River Brown Bears. The Alaska-based Brown Bears have been using the Minnesota rink as a home barn.

After starting out with a 4-3 (so) win against the Austin Bruins, the Jets dropped a 5-2 decision against the Northeast Generals, then bounced back with a 3-1 win against the Lone Star Brahmas and finally, a 2-0 edge against the Kenai River Brown Bears.

Janesville Jets 4 Austin Bruins 3 (SO)

In the opening game against the Austin Bruins 18U squad, Oakes took the reins from Noah McCrary (‘04/Sun Prairie) in the middle period and helped the team to a 4-3 win in shootout. Oakes Bkicked out all three shots he faced in the shootout.

Regulation goals for the Jets came from Brady Moore (‘04/Eau Claire Memorial); Tyler Steuck (‘04/Janesville) and Eric Horein (‘04/Madison Capitols). The lone goal of the shootout came in the third round from Ben Carlson (‘03/Chippewa Falls).

Janesville Jets 2 Northeast Generals 5

Oakes and McCrary flipped the roles in the second game, Oakes starting the contest and handing off to Mc Cray with the Jets trailing in the second.

The pair combined for 29 saves in the contest with Jets’ goals scored by Pavel Rettig (Waunakee) and Horein.

Generals carried a 2-0 lead out of the first period and extend its lead to 4-1 in the middle frame, both teams adding one in the third.

Janesville Jets 3 Lone Star Brahmas 1

Against the Brahmas, the Jets went with McCrary between the pipes and he stopped 22 of 23 to nail down the win.

Jets trailed 1-0 after a period and charged back for the win with three unanswered in the final frame.

Carter Plante (‘04/Eau Claire) tied the score early with Horein notching the game winner and adding a clincher into an empty Brahmas’ goal with 34 seconds to play.

Janesville Jets 2 Kenai River Brown Bears 0

Oakes got the call for the finale and turned in a perfect effort, blocking all Brown Bears’ attempts in a shutout win.

The game’s first goal came in the sixth minute of the third period from Joe Roemer (‘04/Oregon HS) and Gavin Hruby (‘04/Waunakee) followed up with an insurance tally in the final minute.

Brandt and Zick reach NAHL Prospect semis with 15U Jets

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

A pair of local talented hockey players – Incoming RWD junior Caden Brandt and Carson Zick who will be a sophomore for Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds in 2021-22 took part in the high caliber NAHL Prospects Challenge tournament this past weekend, suiting up for the 15U Janesville Jets.

The event brought together a dozen teams, all under the umbrellas of North American Hockey League teams.

The team put together a 2-1 record in round robin matches and advanced through the Playoff quarterfinals before falling in the semis to the eventual tournament champs.

All games were played at the National Sports Center Super Rinks in Blaine, Minn., Friday May 29 – Sun day May 31.

Janesville Jets 3 Austin Bruins 4

The Jets trailed 3-0 early in the second period but rallied for three goals in the frame to knot the score at 3-3 heading to the final session.

Unfortunately, the only goal in the final period put the Bruins in front again with 8:20 to play in the contest.

David Emerich (‘06/Waunakee) scored twice for the Jets, sandwiching a goal for Grant Halmstad (‘05/Wausau).

Janesville Jets 3 Chippewa Steel 0

A goal in each period and a shutout effort in goal for Grenier Mason (‘05/Milwaukee) evened the Jets’ record.

Halmstad, Joseph Gerbitz (‘05/Green Bay) and David Dina (‘05/Verona) scored the Jets goals in this one, wrapping up play Friday.

Janesville Jets 2 Odessa Jackalopes 1 (so)

This defensive struggle didn’t see a goal until the Texas-based Jackalopes found the mesh early in the second period.

Brandt (‘05/LaValle) set up Will Rotar (‘05/Stoughton) about four minutes later to pull the Jets even and that’s the way it stayed through regulation and overtime.

In the shootout Rotar and Emerich both scored to lift the Jets to a win clinching a spot in the playoff quarter-finals.

Janesville Jets 6 Springfield Jr. Blues 1

The Jets’ collected its most decisive win later Saturday turning a 1-0 first period lead into a 4-1 middle stanza cushion and adding two more unanswered down the stretch.

Brandt led the charge scoring twice for the Jets and Zick (‘05/Baraboo) added a third period assist to help the cause. Other Jets’ goals came from Gerbitz, Emerich, Reid Post (Chippewa Falls) and Lars Brotzman (‘05/Verona).

Janesville Jets 1 New Mexico Ice Wolves 4

Just four teams returned Sunday for tournament semi-finals including three from the Jets’ round robin Division.

While the Jets squared off with the Ice Wolves, Chippewa Falls and the Jackalopes squared off in the other semi.

Brandt fire his team’s only goal, tying the game at 1-1 late in the second period, but the Ice Wolves recaptured the lead 51 seconds later with the game winning tally.

The Ice Wolves went on to claim the tournament championship with a 6-1 win against the Chippewa Steel.

Slaght, Jets enter NAPHL Fall Championship weekend

Trevor Slaght, 17, from Wisconsin Dells will join his Janesville Jets teammates at the NAPHL Tier 1 West Conference championship.

Slaght, a junior at Wisconsin Dells High School entering his third season with the RWD varsity club will wrap up the ‘Before’ portion of the Before and After schedule with the AAA Jets team looking to claim a conference title at the event that will be part of several NAPHL events at Schwan Super Rinks in Blaine, Minnesota.

The Jets enter the event tied for third in the NAPHL Fall League with a solid shot of moving up over the weekend.

The 5-3 Jets will start out play Friday night at the multi-rink complex against the 1-6 Austin Bruins. The Jets met the Bruins previously on Sept. 6 at a Duluth event and collected a 4-2 win.

On Saturday morning, the Jets will return to play the Magicians at Schwan. The Magicians from the Guest Division met up with the Jets on Sept. 20, also in Blaine, the Jets grabbing a 3-2 edge in overtime.

Perhaps the biggest game of the weekend for the Jets will come Saturday night when they play the Michigan Hockey Advancement Mudbugs in an 8 p.m. faceoff. The Mudbugs enter the final weekend of the season ranked first in the Fall League with a 7-1 overall record. That defeat was a 6-3 decision suffered at the hands of the Jets on Sept. 18.

Playoff matches will take place on Sunday.

So far this season, Slaght has collected a goal and three assists for the Jets.

NAPHL U-18 Fall League

Standings as of Oct. 15, 2020

Team W L OTL SOL F-A Pt

MHA Mudbugs 7 1 0 0 39-16 21

Fairbanks Ice Dogs 6 2 0 0 36-21 17

Janesville Jets 5 3 0 0 23-21 14

Minnesota Wilderness 5 3 0 0 24-23 14

Minnesota Magicians Elite 1 6 0 1 15-37 4

Chippewa Falls Steel 1 6 0 0 10-31 3

Austin Bruins 1 6 0 0 14-26 3