It’s a different Dells Ducks team local fans have been given a chance to see since putting up new calendars at the beginning of this month, continuing Sunday with an important 6-1 win against the Minnesota Mullets.
After beginning the USPHL Premier Midwest-West regular season with seven straight home losses, the Ducks dropped another in October before snapping a 14-game season opening skid with a 2-1 edge agaisnt the Minnesota Blue Ox Nov. 5, 2022.
That was the lone win in 10 games played in Lake Delton before the Christmas Break.
Since returning from the break, the Ducks are 2-1 on home ice including the big one Sunday that takes the team a giant step toward clinching the eighth and final playoff spot.
On Sunday, the Ducks opened a 2-0 first period lead adding three more in the second before Mullets finally hit the scoreboard late in the frame.
Ethan Matthews (’02/South Bend, IN) led the way with two goals and an assist while linemate Adam Brown (’02/Westmont, IL) checked in with a goal and two helpers. Jack Kopfstein (’05/Vista, CA) and Reece Atkins (’03/Amery, WI) both added a goal and assist, the other goal coming from Jackson Stubblefield (’03/McKInney, TX). Logan Potts (’03/Allen, TX); Ashot Davtyan (’05/Russia); Bryce Jacobsen (’02/DeForests, WI); Gage Senio (’02/Red Deer, AB); Alic Schuster (’04/Menomonee, WI) and Gabe Krueger (’03/Blaine, MN) each added an assist.
The Ducks pounded the Mullets’ goal with 57 shots while Chris Maszurek (’03/Batavia, IL) stoped all but one of 34 Mullets’ chances.
The Ducks have a total of seven games remaining in the regular season schedule. Following the three home games this weekend there will be one ore, Feb. 26 against the same Mullets. In between the Ducks will pay a visit to Coon Rapids, MN for a pair against the Minnesota Blue Ox and they have one more visit to the Hudson Havoc as well.
The Dells Ducks rode a promising stretch into the Christmas Break and came out the other side looking to continue its inspired play into the portion of the season that has been its Waterloo in previous years.
Generally, teams come out of the Christmas Break having completed their Showcase events or else have one final Showcase right away in January.
Following that, the Ducks engage in head-to-head Midwest-West Division matches through the season’s homestretch and they have had little success in those games in the past.
This season, the Ducks lost its first 14 games before finally breaking into the win column in early November. Since then, the team has posted a record of 9-12 and for the most part, they have been in every contest.
The highlight of the season so far was likely the opener at the Chicago Showcase on Dec. 15 as goaltender Chris Mazurek (‘03/Batavia, IL.) kicked out all 45 Chicago Cougars chances and led his team to a 1-0 edge against its Midwest-East Division rival. Captain Bryce Jacobsen (‘02/DeForest, WI) scored the lone goal.
The Ducks wrapped up the event 2-2 with a 5-1 win against MHC, a tournament team put together by the Metro Jets along with a 4-1 loss to the Cincinnati Cyclones from the Great Lakes Division and a 6-0 loss in its finale against the Northern Colorado Eagles from the Mountain Division.
Following the Christmas Break, the Ducks returned on a promising note with a closer than it sounds 4-1 win at home against the Steele County Blades on Jan. 7.
Noah Czech (‘04/Natick, MA) scored first and newcomer Ashot Davyton (‘05/Russia) put the Ducks in front to stay 2-1 in the final period. Ryan Hammer (‘05/Wheaton, IL) and Logan Potts (‘03/Allen, TX) both added last minute empty netters to put the win away.
The following night, the Blades responded with a 4-2 win, Ducks goals fired by Davyton and Ethan Matthews (‘02/South Bend, IN).
This past weekend was a rough one though, after dropping a narrow 4-3 decision at South Wood County Recreation Center (SWCRC) in Wisconsin Rapids Friday night, an on-ice incident sidetracked the team Saturday, and they were pounded 11-4.
Jacobsen fired the lone first period goal and the host Riverkings led 3-1, adding another in the middle period before Hammer and Mikel Ferran Cobo (‘02/Cuernabaca, Mexico) fired late goals to make it interesting.
Major penalties early allowed the Riverkings to pile up six unanswered first period goals and they never looked back
Jack Kopsfstein (‘05/Vista, CA); Matthews; Reece Atkins (‘03/Amery, WI) and Jacobsen fired the Ducks’ goals.
The Ducks will look to improve on its 1-3 record since the start of the New Year but it will be hard with the lone contest this weekend at Hudson Sports and Civic Center against the first place Hudson Havoc.
Below are some interviews from the Chicago Showcase. Not as timely now, but still some great comments from Head Coach Anthony Rohde and goaltender Chris Mazurek.
The Dells Ducks have enjoyed a nice turnaround to its regular season of late but one thing remains the same.
Fogerty Ice Arena is no fun for them.
Coming into a weekend set with the host Minnesota Moose riding a modest two-game winning streak and looking much better of late, the Moose brushed them aside in the first of two games by an 11-1 score. The following night the Ducks came out looking to turn the tables and led 2-1 late in the game in what would have been its biggest victory in several seasons.
But the Moose, a team the Ducks have never defeated, spoiled the day for them again, tying the game with 3:30 to play and snatching the win away just over a minute later.
The Moose fired two more in the game’s final minute, the first into an empty goal to rub a bit more salt into the wound, wrapping up a 5-2 win.
Despite the tough losses in Blaine, a win in the Twin Cities Thursday night against the Minnesota Mullets widened the Ducks in the final playoff position and the ninth place Mullets who wrapped an 0-3 weekend.
HIghlights of Thursday included another win in goal for Chris Mazurek (‘03/Batavia, IL) as he stopped 26 of 28 Mullets’ shots and Austin Holmberg (‘03/Amery, WI) fired the game winner early in the final period. Holmberg’s goal was the first of three helping the Ducks rally back from a 2-1 deficit for a 4-2 win.
Friday’s game was a mismatch from the opening faceoff as the host Moose peppered Anthony Falzone (‘03/St. Charles, IL) and Jadon Mammen (‘04/Grapevine, TX) with a combined 68 shots including the game winner notched before the halfway mark of the opening period.
MIkel Ferran Cobo (‘02/Curernabaca, Mexico), a former Moose player fired his third goal since joining the Ducks just before Thanksgiving, the lone bright spot on an otherwise rough night.
If the Ducks were down after the loss to the Moose, it didn’t show Saturday as the team came out looking to prove something in its fourth and final meeting of the season with the Blaine-based squad.
Moose got on the board with the lone goal of the first period but defenseman Jack Kopfstein (‘05/Vista, CA) responded with the lone second period tally.
Mazurek turned in his best outing of the season, kicking out 45 of 46 to keep the game even after 40 despite a 46-17 margin for the home side on the shot counter.
A brilliant neutral zone takeaway sent Bryce Jacobsen in alone and he buried a go-ahead goal right after the Ducks killed a minor penalty with just under four minutes goal in the third giving the Ducks their first lead of the season against the Moose.
The Moose kept up its barrage against Mazurek until netting the equalizer just 3:30 from the final buzzer and breaking Ducks hearts with the game winner just over a minute later. The clincher was slid into an empty net and the Moose fired one more meaningless goal with four seconds to play.
The Ducks will be hoping the goaltending effort of Mazurek who should be the Goaltender of the Week for the division, will give them momentum as they head to the Windy City Thursday for its third and final Showcase event of the season.
The Ducks will start out Thursday at 12:40 p.m. (CST) at the Canlan Arena in Romeoville against the Chicago Cougars who they played in a couple of pre-season exhibition contests in Lake Delton. The Cougars are from the Midwest-East Division.
On Friday the Ducks will face two opponents at the Leafs Center in Elgin, IL. First up is the Cincinnati Cyclones from the Great Lakes Division at 10:10 a.m. and later they will play the MHC club, made up of Metro Jets players, also from the Great Lakes Division.
Wrapping up the pre-Christmas portion of its schedule, the Ducks will return to Romeoville Saturday to play the Northern Colorado Eagles from the Mountain Division at 7:50 p.m. Because the games are being played in a tournament format, starting times may not be exact.
After the Showcase, players will scatter around the globe to celebrate the holiday with their respective families, then return to prepare for its first home series since November Steele County Blades pay a visit to the Lake Delton Ice Arena Jan. 7-8, 2023.
Those games will kick off the 13-game homestretch for the Ducks who will wrap up the regular season on Feb. 26.
By Jim den Hollander Editor/Publisher Saukhockey.info The Dells Ducks hoped for a better finish to the first half of their regular season but there have been plenty of positives to grab from their recent games.
The Ducks wrapped up play at the Detroit Showcase Sunday with a 6-2 loss against the Fort Wayne Spacemen, perhaps the toughest opponent faced at the Motown event.
Dells Ducks
After winning its opener against the Decatur Blaze, the Ducks dropped a pair against the Motor City Gamblers and Columbus Mavericks Saturday, then closed it out Sunday against the Spacemen. Fort Wayne entered the contest with a 2-1 record on the weekend, including a win in its first game against the Metro Jets on Friday. On Saturday the Spacemen defeated the third Metro team, MHC and added a 4-3 edge against 4-3 edge against the Steele County Blades. The win against the Ducks clinched them as one of only two teams that wrapped up the weekend with a 4-0 record. Two goals in both the first and second had the Spacemen up 4-0 heading to the third and they added another before Ethan Matthews (‘02/South Bend, IN) finally got the Ducks on the board with help from Bryce Jacobsen (‘02/DeForest, WI). The assist for Jacobsen was his 50th point as a Duck.
One of the team’s newest additions, Mikel Ferran Cobo (‘04/Mexico City, Mexico) collected his second goal of the weekend later, from Jacobsen and Matthews. Jacobsen and starting goaltender Jadon Mammen were both playing for the first time on the weekend after sitting out a three-game suspension following an altercation the previous weekend in Isanti. The weekend win moved the Ducks past the eighth place Minnesota Mullets but the Steele County Blades, currently seventh enjoyed a five-point weekend and widened its gap on the Ducks while climbing into a sixth-place tie with the Blue Ox – both six points up on the Ducks now.
The Ducks will return to action on Dec. 1 with a quick dash to the Twin Cities for a Thursday night contest against the Minnesota Mullets at Augsburg University Ice Arena. The following Thursday will see the team back at Augsburg for a rematch, but they will stay in town a Friday/Saturday pair against the Minnesota Moose in Blaine.
Next home game for the Ducks will be Jan. 7, 2023, against the Steele County Blades.
The Dells Ducks have been better every time they hit the ice this season and were finally rewarded with a win this past weekend.
Dells Ducks
The team has been closing in since the beginning and afer 14 games, including a pair of overtime losses and another heartbreaker in shootout, the defending USPHL Premier Midwest-West Division Champion Minnesota Blue Ox were the victims of the Ducks’ first win.
Blades 3 Ducks 2
The team started the weekend with another of those heartbreaking defeats as the team made a Friday night dash to Owatonna, MN to start the weekend off with its first meeting of the season against the Steele County Blades.
After deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 the Ducks took control and led 3-2 before the Blades pulled even with 90 seconds to go and snatched the win in overtime.
Jack Kopfstein, Ethan Matthews and Jacob Behnke fired the Ducks’ goals, Adam Brown and Bryce Jacobsen collecting assists on each of them.
Ducks 2 Blue Ox 1
Saturday night, the Ducks faced the Blue Ox for the first time this season and collected its first win against the defending champions since 2019.
Goaltenders ruled this contest with only one goal allowed in each period. The Blue Ox scored first, Dylan Smith firing the only shot to get by Jadon Mammen with a little under five minutes to go in the first period.
Braydan Kirchmann fired his fourth of the season 14 seconds into the middle frame and that stood up until Behnke stripped the puck off a Blue Ox defender just outside the blueline, went in alone and sank the game winner. His goal came with just 2:19 to play and a combination of solid play by Mammen and great defense, including a penalty kill late took it home for the Ducks.
Blue Ox 4 Ducks 2
On Sunday the Ducks wanted to show their win from the previous night was no fluke and what ensued was another close battle from start to finish.
The game started like the previous day, the Blue Ox opening a first period lead before the Ducks struck back early in the second with a goal from Brown.
The Blue Ox scored twice in 45 seconds to open the first two-goal lead of the game.
Ryan Hammer pulled one back for the Ducks in the final five minutes of the second period, but despite a 10-6 edge in shots the Ducks were able to notch the equalizer in the final period. To make it tougher, the Ducks were once again assessed a penalty late in the contest and the Blue Ox kept the pressure on, scoring one more to pad its margin as the buzzer sounded.
The inspired play in all three weekend contests showed the Ducks, who will not play on home ice again this calendar year, are ready to give all the other eight teams in the division a run for the money for the remainder of the regular season.
The Ducks come out of the weekend with a 1-12-2-1 regular season record and five points in the standings. Not a great start, but the team is currently just four points behind eighth place Minnesota Mullets who currently hold down the final playoff spot and five behind the Blades who they will face off against once again in Owatonna Friday night.
Following that, the Ducks will play their final two games of the season against the Outlaws, in Isanti. The Outlaws roll in as the division’s hottest team, riding a 10-game winning streak. The Ducks have dropped three decisions to the Outlaws, two by 5-3 margins and the other 6-5 in overtime. These games will be played in Isanti.
The following weekend the Ducks will make the long trip to Detroit for a four-game showcase weekend against teams from the Midwest-East and Great Lakes Divisions, carrying the players into their first break of the season as they all return home to celebrate Thanksgiving with family.
The Dells Ducks are looking to improve on a tough year and instill a renewed winning culture in the tourist town, but there is one throwback they cannot do without.
Two seasons ago, Jacobsen, then a captain with the DeForest Norskies, turned lemons into lemonade, joining the Dells Ducks. It could not have been a better arrangement between the player and team.
Jacobsen will be the second player in team history (joining Chris Vella before him) to return for a second season as team captain. Despite a pair of rough seasons, Jacobsen’s presence has been an overwhelming positive for the team.
Head Coach Anthony Rohde made the easiest decision of the off season, bringing back Jacobsen as the team captain.
“The work ethic and drive to win is why Bryce has the ‘C’ again, said Rohde in an email interview. “It’s the attitude I want all the players to have.”
Locals were somewhat familiar with Jacobsen before he joined the team in the middle of the 2020-21 campaign as he played for the rival DeForest Norskies in the rival Badger North varsity league that all three Sauk County teams played in at the time.
With the pandemic destroying his final varsity season (Norskies were one of a few teams that decided not to play during that season), Jacobsen shifted his gaze to one of his semi-local junior teams.
“After my first skate, when Coach Falzone asked how I liked it. I told him I loved it,” said Jacobsen in an email interview. “Then, he asked if I wanted to play in the games that weekend. After that, I was all in. I loved how fast the practice was and how we did a lot of skill work.”
Jacobsen played in just 23 games that season but wrapped it up among the team’s leading scorers. The attributes listed above prompted Coach Falzone to select him among several returners to take the responsibility of being captain.
“When Coach Falzone named me captain I was a little surprised,” said the 6’3” 190-pound center. “I was very happy to be named captain. I was one of the captains in high school.”
DeForest’s Bryce Jacobsen, shown in action during the 2021-22 regular season, will be back as the Dells Ducks’ team captain for the upcoming USPHL Premier Midwest West regular season beginning in September.
Jacobsen and the Ducks endured another tough season but through it all, he continued to lead by example with his dedication, hard work and leadership by example. Jacobsen was on the ice in every situation, contributing 12 goals and 31 points. He and his teammates believed they could win no matter who the opponent was.
“Every week we would prepare for our opponents, and we would always have a positive mindset,” said Jacobsen. “At some points of the season, it was hard, but with the leadership of our veterans, we were able to keep a positive mindset.”
The captain said the frustrations of last season have inspired him and the other returners to make things different this time around.
“The other returners and I have had a long offseason just thinking about how we can’t wait to get back to the Dells to start the 22-23 season. We all feel like we have something to prove. Coach Rohde is bringing in a bunch of great guys that are skilled and ready to put in the work to make it a great winning season.”
Leadership and attitude are Jacobsen’s contributions. On the ice, he plays every shift with ferocity and while he may not win as many style points as some other players, his bull in a China shop approach in front of the net has been a factor in him getting pucks over the goal line.
Perhaps his most notable asset is his contribution in the faceoff circle. Actual statistics were not available but anyone paying attention is aware he wins far more than he loses at the dot. Reflexes and natural ability play a part, but Jacobsen works hard on faceoffs as well.
“Coach Rhode and I spend a lot of time working on faceoffs and how to consistently win them,” said Jacobsen. “We would even watch film on just faceoffs.”
Jacobsen will enter his final season with 17 goals and 40 points to his credit in 66 career games. He seldom missed a game over the previous two seasons and if he is able to continue that trend, he will be wind up in an elite group that includes just five players currently, with 100 or more games played as a Duck.
Rohde and Jacobsen will officially begin the reboot when the team reconvenes in September, but the future skate held at the end of last season and tryouts coming up in the Chicago area in June will give them a chance to get things started. For Jacobsen, an ‘02, this will be one final kick at it and over the course of the season he will also finalize the next chapter of both his education and hockey career.
“There were a few colleges that talked to me in the showcases,” said the captain adding, “When making a decision on where I will go to college, I want to go to a school that has a strong business program, and a good hockey program.”
The Dells Ducks wrapped up the USPHL Premier regular season with a tough trio of games but some friendly faces on the finale on Sunday night.
Back-to-back losses (10-0, 6-1) in Hudson against the Havoc Friday and Saturday and a 7-0 loss in both its home and regular season finale at Lake Delton Ice Arena Sunday against the Steele County Blades wrapped up a stretch of 13 losses suffered by the team since returning from the Christmas Break.
Some trades in the past few weeks have seen the team’s top two scoring players – Caden Glamkowski (‘04/St. Charles, IL) to the Chicago Cougars for Francesco Addante (‘02/Glenview, IL) who scored the previous weekend in Wisconsin Rapids and Jayden Tkaczuk (‘02/Channahon, IL) traded to the Detroit Fighting Irish for Andrew Crawford (‘05/Seattle, WA) heading to teams with a shot at a long playoff run.
They would be eligible to return next season which could give them a chance to improve on some strong offensive seasons this time around. Glamkowski became just the third player in the 11-year history of the Ducks to hit the 30-goal plateau in a season, joining Aidan Verbeke (37) in the team’s first season and Ian Wood (36, 34) who accomplished it in both the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.
Tkaczuk was the team’s leading scorer last season, and his 56 points (24g, 32a) ranks him 16th all time, two points and one spot in front of Glamkowski.
Ducks 0, 1 @ Havoc 10, 6
Friday night was a tough one for the Ducks in Hudson, the home side scoring twice in the opening six minutes on its way to a 4-0 first period lead, a total it matched in the middle period before rounding it off with two more down the stretch.
Anthony Falzone (‘03/St. Charles, IL) and Drew Moseley (‘02/St. Louis, MO) were the busiest players on the ice, facing a combined 67 shots while the Ducks challenged Matthew Powell with 19 shots, and he kicked them all away.
While cutting down the shots against and improving its own shots total Saturday night, the goaltending of Moseley was tested once again. He stopped 47 of 53 shots including all 19 of the shots he faced in the first period.
The Havoc found a way past him in the second period though and scored four times before Ducks’ captain Bryce Jacobsen (‘02/DeForest, WI), notched his 12th goal of the season, unassisted.
Hudson added one more in the final period to clinch the win.
Blades 7 @ Ducks 0
Sunday’s game saw the Ducks once again outshot by a wide margin on a night that saw the team struggle in all three periods to get the puck beyond its own blue line.
Falzone got the start and once again faced a barrage from the opening faceoff, the Blades topping 20 shots in each frame while the hosts couldn’t get to double digits. Overall, it was a 74-15 edge for the visitors who scored, three in the first and last periods and once in the middle.
The seventh goal came against Jadon Mammen (‘04/Grapevine, TX) who replaced an exhausted Falzone through the final few minutes and faced eight shots.
Playoffs ahead
The Ducks move on to the post season as a major underdog, the number eight seed in the Midwest-West Division, taking on the top seeded Minnesota Blue Ox who finished the regular season 66 points ahead of the Dells’ squad.
The Best of Three series will begin Friday at the Coon Rapids Ice Center at 7 p.m. and the second game will be played Saturday night at the same time and place.
If needed, a third game would be played on Monday at 2:30 p.m., also in Coon Rapids.
Winner of this series will advance to the second round of four, battling for one of two Midwest-West division berths at the league’s national championship tournament to be played in Hudson, NH March 24-29.
The Dells Ducks made the short trek to Wisconsin Rapids last weekend (Feb. 17-18) dropping a pair of decisions in the penultimate weekend of the USPHL regular season, 5-2 on the first night before the Riverkings handed them a lopsided 11-0 defeat the following night.
Looking to snap a long losing streak and gather some momentum heading into the post season.
The Ducks made some big moves in the time between games with top scorers Caden Glamkowski and Jayden Tkaczuk both wearing new jerseys as of last weekend, giving both a shot at making some post season noise with the Chicago Cougars and Detroit Fighting Irish respectively.
As they have all season, the Ducks relied heavily on the goaltending this past weekend and Anthony Falzone (‘03/St. Charles, IL) played a big role in keeping the first game close. Falzone faced close to 70 shots while the Ducks triggered just 11 at the opposite end, but Falzone stood tall throughout the 60-minute contest.
In fact, Francesco Addante (‘02/Glenview, IL) picked up days before in the Glamkowski trade, fired the lone goal of the first period three minutes into the game from Kai Neumaier (‘03/St. Charles, IL). That allowed the Ducks to carry a 1-0 lead into the middle period despite a massive 28-3 edge on the shots board for the home side.
The Riverkings finally found a way past Falzone near the halfway mark of the second period and that opened the floodgates for three more, giving the Rapids’ crew a 4-2 edge heading to the third period.
Luca Maislin (‘03/Montreal, QC) fired his fifth goal in nine games since joining the Ducks while Bryce Jacobsen (‘02/DeForest, WI), Ducks’ captain and now, team leading scorer, collected his 19th assist and 30th point.
Riverkings’ fourth goal was scored by Jeffrey Rebman (‘01/Libertyville, IL) a fifth-year junior who played both the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons with the Ducks.
The Riverkings held an 18-5 edge in shots in the middle period and pounded the Ducks with a 22-3 edge in the third, resulting in one final goal.
On Saturday, the Riverkings dominated the shot clock again but this time they found the net early and often on its way to an 11-0 whitewash, the 10th consecutive loss for the Ducks who enter this weekend with three final chances – two in Hudson Friday and Saturday and back on home ice Sunday – to break into the win column.
The Riverkings were up 4-0 after a period and added another five in the middle period before putting it away with a couple goals down the stretch.
Drew Mosely (’02/St. Louis, MO), Jadon Mammen (’04/Grapevine, TX) and Falzone each took a turn in goal in this one, combining to kick out 57 in the contest.
Sunday’s game will give local fans one final chance to get a look at the Ducks this season as they take on the Steele County Blades in a 6:30 p.m. start at the Lake Delton Ice Arena.
The playoff match ups have been determined, at least for the Ducks who face a tough assignment, going into battle next weekend against the Minnesota Blue Ox. Dates and times for that Best-of-Three series are still to be announced.
The Dells Ducks have shown a marked improvement over the course of the season, but the Minnesota Moose showed them in games Saturday and Sunday, the road to the top half of the USPHL’s Premier Midwest-West Division still features several cutbacks up the side of a steep mountain.
Recent games against the fifth place Steele County Blades showed the Ducks who for a second season are by far the youngest team in the division are closing in on being more than competitive with mid pack teams.
But back-to-back 11-2 defeats at the Fogerty Icehouse in Blaine, MN against the Moose were a tough pill to swallow for the locals.
In the opener on Saturday night, the Moose fired nearly 80 shots at Anthony Falzone (‘03/St. Charles, IL) and Drew Moseley (‘02/St. Louis, MO).
Again, the Ducks showed promise, staying with the Moose through the opening 20, but a 2-1 Moose cushion turned into a 5-1 lead in the second period and the Moose exploded for a half dozen down the stretch.
There have been some bright spots and one is the play of Samuel Soltes (‘04/Trnava, Slovakia). He scored his third goal in six games since joining the Ducks on a feed from Justin Green (‘01/Fort Worth, TX). The other goal came from Ethan Matthews (‘02/South Bend, IN) making his debut with the Ducks.
On Sunday, the start was similar, the Moose carrying a 1-0 lead into the second period before Jayden Tkaczuk (‘02/Channahon, IL) tied it with his 12th goal of the season early in the second period from Caden Glamkowski (‘02/St. Charles, IL) and Bryce Jacobsen (‘02/DeForest, WI).
The Moose responded with the next 10 goals, five in the second period and five more in the final 20 before Tkaczuk notched his 13th, again with help from Glamkowski and Jacobsen 47 seconds from the final buzzer.
Falzone and Jadon Mammen (‘04/Grapevine, TX) shared the work in this one, sharing the workload against another 70-plus shots on goal.
The losses in Blaine extended the team’s current losing streak to eight games with five games to play.
The first four are on the road in Wisconsin with a pair at the South Wood County Recreation Center in Wisconsin Rapids Friday and Saturday (Feb. 18-19) against the second place Riverkings and a week later in Hudson against the third place Havoc. The Ducks will wrap up the campaign at the Lake Delton Ice Arena Feb. 27 with one last chance to get by the Steele County Blades before the playoffs start.
The Dells Ducks returned from the Christmas Break and returned to the USPHL Premier Midwest-West regular season with a new sandpaper look.
Unfortunately, with several new players in the lineup, communication was off a bit, but the improvement was evident in a pair of games against the Minnesota Mullets, a team that has had the Ducks’ number in recent seasons.
The Mullets dominated the second half of what started out as a close game Friday, taking a 9-2 win in the opener at the Lake Delton Ice Arena. In the second game it was the Ducks rallying late but ultimately falling short by a 5-3 score.
The Mullets collected more than 50 shots on goal on both nights, but the Ducks trimmed the total by 15 – from 69 to 54 in the second game while putting 27 of their own at Mullets’ goal, a solid total against a team in the Midwest-West.
Mullets 9 @ Ducks 2
The visitors dominated the opening minutes Friday, jumping into a 10-0 lead on the shot clock, but a disciplined Ducks team took advantage of three powerplay opportunities to cut the margin to 21-15 by the end of the opening 20.
Mullets scored first, but defenseman Drake Johnson (‘01/Grand Rapids, MI) sank his first as a Duck 10-seconds from the first period buzzer and teams were even at 1-1 heading to the second.
Unfortunately, the Mullets snatched the momentum away in the middle frame with four unanswered goals and two more in the first two minutes of the third to widen the gap to 7-1. Luca Maislin (‘03/Montreal, QC), playing his first game with the Ducks, scored the game’s second goal with set ups for Johnson and team captain Bryce Jacobsen (‘02/DeForest, WI).
Between them, goaltenders Anthony Falzone (‘03/St. Charles, IL) and Drew Moseley (‘02/St. Louis, MO) kicked out 60 shots. Falzone turned in a heroic effort in the first period stopping all but one of 21.
Mullets 5 @ Ducks 3
The Saturday game started with a similar barrage from the Mullets but once again the Ducks played a more even second half of the opening period, the Mullets carrying a 1-0 lead into the second after a 20-10 edge on the shot counter.
The second period saw the Mullets pull away again with four goals, Maislin pulling one back with a well placed shot from a tough angle.
The most promising sign came in the final 20 as the Ducks battled both figuratively and literally through a physical period with another goal by Jayden Tkaczuk (‘02/Channahon, IL) and another from Caden Glamkowski (‘04/St. Charles, IL) with a little under two minutes to go, making for an interesting final few minutes. Assists came from defenders Gage Senio (‘04/Red Deer, AB) and Johnson.
Moseley turned in another 49-save effort for a Ducks team that showed improvement not just from one game to the next, but one period to the next.
Boasting a full lineup for the first time, the Ducks enter its longest downtime of the season, allowing plenty of practices for players to get used to each other. Also, a few more new faces will be added in the days ahead making players compete not just for ice time, but starting spots in the lineup.
The team will be out of action until a busy weekend Jan. 28-30, starting with a pair in Coon Rapids, MN against the Division leading Minnesota Blue Ox followed by the penultimate home game of the campaign, Jan. 30 against the Steele County Blades.
DUCK PRINTS – The Ducks have 11 games remaining in the regular season, all against Midwest-West Division’s top five teams as they have now wrapped up against the seventh place Rum River Mallards and sixth place Mullets.
The Mullets swept a five-game series with the Ducks and have won the past nine against the Ducks, dating back to a 5-4 road win for the Ducks on Jan. 26, 2020.
Caden Glamkowski scored a goal in Saturday’s game, giving him 28 on the season, moving him into a tie for fourth best single season total with Sherman Mowery and Jake Stima. The next two ahead of him are both Ian Wood – with 34 in 2014-15 and 36 the previous season. The all-time leader is Aidan Verbeke with 37 in 2011-12, the Ducks premiere season.
Jayden Tkaczuk also picked up a couple points on the weekend, pushing his career total to 54 (22g, 32a) in two seasons so far. He sits 16th all time on a list of more than 200 players, six points behind Reedsburg native Sean Teske who collected 60 points (16g, 44a) in 94 games with the Ducks. Heading into the weekend, Tkaczuk was even with Jason Heard who played with the Ducks on the weekend as well.
Sauk Hockey 