Cheavers move past Thunderbirds with 8-2 win

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The ‘second’ season got underway Tuesday (Feb. 15) for most teams in the WIAA and out the gate, RWD Cheavers and Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds engaged in battle for the third time this season.

The visiting T-Birds did its best to keep things close, but in the end, the Cheavers couldn’t be stopped, scoring four unanswered third period goals to turn a close 4-2 contest into an 8-2 win and a berth in the Regional championship round on Thursday night.

Thunderbirds’ best chance was a close, low scoring contest and while the Cheavers held a substantial margin on the clock counter, Thunderbirds’ senior Andrew Schaetzl made his final varsity game a big one, in particular through the first two periods.

RWD held a 17-9 edge through the opening 17-minutes, sandwiching the lone Thunderbirds’ tally to carry a 2-1 lead into the second period.

T-birds rallied to tie it early in the second, but the Cheavers added two more including one 39-seconds from the end of the period that provided the momentum for a lopsided final frame.

Senior forward Trevor Slaght fired that last minute goal in the second, his second of the game. He added two assists as well while linemates senior C.J. Pfaff (1g, 4a) and junior Caden Brandt (2g, 3a) both enjoyed big nights as well to wrap up a 14-point night for the line.

The team’s other high-octane line – senior Tomas Korndorfer, junior John Scott and sophmore Brady Baldwin also made their presence felt. All three scored in the contest, Baldwin adding two assists and Scott setting up one.

Senior defenseman Grant Marsich adding an assist and senior goaltender Cooper Oakes stopped 24 shots to pick up his 19^th win of the season in goal.

Seniors Gabe Fitzwilliams and Oliver Scanlan have carried the load on offense for the Thunderbirds all season long and it was Fitzwilliams burying both goals with an assist for Scanlan on one. The third member of the line, sophomore Carson Zick helped out on both goals for the Thunderbirds.

Schaetzl who has become accustomed to a heavy workload between the pipes for the Thunderbirds, stopped 41 shots and kept his team in it through 34 minutes.

The fourth seeded Cheavers are 1-0 in the post season and 19-6 overall, advancing to the Regional Championship game Thursday (Feb. 17) at Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA) against number 5 Sauk Prairie Eagles.

Winner of that contest will move into the Sectional semi-finals next week against either Madison Edgewood Crusaders or Sun Prairie Cardinals.

The Baraboo Thunderbirds saw its 4-20 season come to an emotional end.

Varsity Cheavers bury Bluebirds in regular season finale

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD varsity Cheavers had one final test and passed with flying colors to check another box on its list of goals for the 2021-22 season with a 9-3 win against the visiting Janesville Bluebirds in its finale on Tuesday (Feb. 8).

Before the season started, Head Coach Neil Mattson and his players set a goal of winning 18 games in its 24-game regular season. That sure didn’t seem likely when the team pulled into the Monk’s Cheeseburger Classic at just over .500 with six wins and five losses.

But a 14-1 stretch to wrap up the season helped the team check the box, grab a number four seed in the 14-team Sectional pool and gain some major momentum heading into what the team hopes will be a long post season run.

The Bluebirds are no slouch, come into the game Tuesday with a 12-9 record and playing in the tough Big Eight Conference, but the Cheavers left no doubt which was the better team, outshooting its guest 52-21 including a dominant 26-5 edge in the middle period. That helped the team turn a 2-1 cushion after 17 minutes into a 7-2 margin by the start of the third.

Offensively, four players collected four points in the contest. Junior Caden Brandt led the way with a four-goal game wrapping up a 26-goal, 46-point regular season. Junior John Scott added two goals and two assists, a total matched by senior linemate Tomas Korndorfer and senior C.J. Pfaff, the team’s leading scorer, set up four to finish a 49-point campaign.

The other Cheavers’ goal came from sophomore Brady Baldwin, third member of the line with Korndorfer and Scott while Trevor Slaght, third member of the line with Pfaff and Brandt, collected two assists.

Senior defenseman Grant Marsich also collected an assist and senior goaltender Cooper Oakes wrapped up an 18-win season, third best total in the state. A starter for RWD since his first game as a freshman, Oakes wrapped up his varsity regular season career with a 52-31-3 record with RWD goaltending records in almost every category.

Next up for the local squad is the post season, beginning Tuesday (Feb. 15) at Lake Delton Ice Arena against the Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds.

Between the first and second periods, the Cheavers seniors and sophomores paid tribute to their favorite teachers in a brief on-ice ceremony.

RWD varsity seniors and sophomores honored their favorite high school teachers during a brief ceremony at Lake Delton Ice Arena between the first and second periods on Tuesday.

RWD varsity Head Coach (left) and Lake Delton Ice Owner Aaron Kirby (right) paid tribute to longtime fan, William Pettit before the start of Tuesday’s game at Lake Delton Ice Arena, presenting him with an RWD sweater. Pettit is a regular at the rink for almost every varsity and junior hockey game.

A surprise addition to the RWD varsity team this season was Tomas Korndorfer, a senior from Czech Republic attending Wisconsin Dells High School as an exchange student this season. Korndorfer centers a high octane offensive line with junior John Scott and sophomore Brady Baldwin.

Head Coach Neil Mattson and his players set a pre-season goal of 18-wins this season and the team reached that goal winning 14 of its final 15 games.

Brandt fires four to lead RWD past Oredockers

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD varsity Cheavers hockey team wrapped up a two-game northern getaway Saturday (Feb. 5) afternoon with a 5-1 win against the host Ashland Oredockers.

Four unanswered goals in the middle period made the difference in this one as both teams fired one in the opening period and the final 17-minutes was scoreless.

RWD junior Caden Brandt fired his first of four to open the scoring, from senior Trevor Slaght and Grant Marsich 3:35 from the end of the opening period, but the Oredockers struck back with the only shot of 21 to get past senior Cooper Oakes in goal for the Cheavers with 13 seconds to play in the frame.

Brandt notched the game winner from senior C.J. Pfaff and first year Kaden Uminski 49 seconds into the second, senior Tomas Korndorfer adding another before the end of the second minute, from senior Trevor Slaght and junior Logan DeMars.

Brandt fired the other two, 49 seconds apart inside the game’s final three minutes. Pfaff collected an assist on both with Slaght also helping on one.

Both teams fired 10 shots in the opening period, but it was a dominant RWD effort with a 15-5 edge in the second and a closer 9-6 margin down the stretch.

The win boosts the team’s overall record to 17-6 and extends its current winning streak to four games.

The Cheavers will wrap up the regular season Tuesday night with a 7 p.m. contest against the Janesville Bluebirds (12-9, 8-5 Big Eight Conference).

Wiebusch hat trick paces Crusaders by Cheavers

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD varsity Cheavers hockey team saw a nine-game winning streak come to an end but continued to show progress against a tough opponent despite falling 4-2 at La Bahn Ice Arena in Madison against the host Madison Edgewood Crusaders.

The Crusaders held a 1-0 lead after a period and carried a 4-1 margin into the third, but a goal for senior C.J. Pfaff 69 seconds into the final period kept the visiting Cheavers in the equation.

That turned out to be the final goal as the host Crusaders, who limited the high-octane Cheavers’ offense to seven shots in both the first and second period, tightened the screws a big more down the stretch, allowing just four in the final 17 minutes.

Meanwhile, the Crusaders who eliminated the Cheavers from Badger West contention with the win, peppered RWD senior goaltender Cooper Oakes with 35 shots.

Senior JJ Wiebusch scored three for the Crusaders and senior Cody Menzel notched the other – both veterans of the prestigious Team Wisconsin Before and After program.

Junior Caden Brandt fired the first RWD goal and grabbed an assist on the Pfaff goal, along with senior Trevor Slaght.

The loss was the first for RWD since Dec. 14 at Oregon and dropped the team’s overall record to 13-6 on the season. More importantly, RWD fell to 5-3 in Badger West contests, snapping a string of three straight wins.

The Cheavers head home for a Thursday (Jan. 20) contest against the Monroe Cheesemakers, its final home game at Reedsburg Area Community Arena and its penultimate Badger West contest.

The Cheavers have just five games remaining on its schedule, hitting the road for three following the Thursday game before wrapping up the regular season at Lake Delton Ice Arena Feb. 8 against the Janesville Bluebirds.

Korndorfer hatty leads Cheavers past Norskies

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD varsity Cheavers renewed acquaintances with a former conference rival and collected of of five Badger West Conference wins on the day at the Badger Challenge at the Waunakee Ice Ponds Saturday.

A 9-2 win against former Badger North partner, the DeForest Norskies also helped the RWD crew extend its current winning streak to nine games.

Despite a 13-5 edge in shots through the opening 17-minutes, the Cheavers appeared on its way to a scoreless opening frame, but two goals in the final 84 seconds of the period opened the floodgates.

Another pai in the opening 4:15 of the second had RWD comfortably in control before the Norskies notched its first about 90 seconds later

The Norskies moved to within a pair 51 seconds into the third, but the Cheavers responded 11 seconds later and slammed the door with three more before the period was five minutes old.

Senior Tomas Korndorfer enjoyed his best game as a Cheaver, firing three goals and adding an assist, giving him nine goals and 20 points on the season so far.

Senior Trevor Slaght notched two more goals and senior defender Ty Thompson, known primarily for his solid defensive play, struck or his second goal in two games, adding an assist as well. Senior forward C, J. Pfaff continued his hot streak with a goal and two helpers, junior twins Caden and Carsen Brandt firing the other goals, Caden also with a set up.

Juniors Logan DeMars and John Scott along with sophomore Iszak Elder each collected an assist

Senior goaltender Cooper Oakes stopped 23 of 25 for the win in goal and the Cheavers went past the 50-shot mark for the first time this season, outshooting the Norskies 52-25.

The win boosted the Cheavers’ overall record to 13-5 and they will put its winning streak to the test in its next game, travelling to LaBahn Arena in Madison to take on the Edgewood Crusaders (9-3, 4-0 Badger West). The Cheavers dropped a 4-1 decision on home ice against the Crusaders on Dec. 3) and need this win to keep Badger West Conference championship hopes alive.

Next home game will be on Thursday, the final Badger West Conference home game against the Monroe Cheesemakers.

Pfaff fires two, leads Cheavers past Thunderbirds

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD varsity Cheavers continued its winning streak and wrapped up a season sweep against the Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds with a 5-1 win at Pierce Park Pavilion on Tuesday (Jan. 11).

The Cheavers extended its current winning streak to eight games to eight games and nearly a month with the win, outshooting a game Thunderbirds squad 39-21.

Senior C.J. Pfaff scored his first of a pair unassisted to open the scoring with the only goal of the opening period 2:44 from the buzzer.

The Cheavers added two more in the second before senior Oliver Scanlan notched the lone T-Birds marker late in the period with help from junior Luke Schweda and sophomore Carson Zick.

Senior Trevor Slaght scored the game winner, his fifth in seven games since returning to the Cheavers from injury, converting a pass from junior Caden Brandt 5:32 into the middle frame and Junior John Scott stayed hot, scoring his ninth and seventh since the Monk’s tournament, unassisted later in the period.

Third period goals from Pfaff and senior defenseman, Ty Thompson widened the gap for the Cheavers and senior Cooper Oakes stopped all but one of the 21 shots he faced in goal for RWD.

Senior Andrew Schaetzl kicked out 34 shots in goal for the Thunderbirds.

The win was also the third straight Badger West Conference win for the Cheavers who now sit at 5-2 with three games to play. The Cheavers’ overall record is 12-5.

The Thunderbirds have dropped its last seven and fall to 2-13 overall and 1-5 in the Conference.

RWD and Baraboo/Portage now head into the Badger Challenge as all six Badger West Conference teams will take on teams from the Badger East Conference at the Ice Pond in Waunakee on Saturday.

The Thunderbirds will face off against the Milton Red Raiders (5-7-1, 2-5-1 Badger East) at 2:30 p.m. while the Cheavers meet the Deforest Norskies (3-4-1, 2-3-1 Badger East) at 5 p.m.

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.

Cheavers roll over Comets for sixth straight win

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Inspired by a great performance at the annual Monk’s Cheeseburger Classic tournament over the Christmas holidays, the RWD varsity Cheavers headed into the post-Christmas portion of the schedule with another impressive win.

The Cheavers travelled to Waupaca and collected a 6-0 shutout win against the host Comets, extending its current winning streak to six games.

The potent offense struck quick, senior Trevor Slaght notching his second goal in five games since returning from an off-season injury in the game’s third minute, from senior C.J. Pfaff.

That stood up as the game winner, but the Cheavers added more in the opening 17 minutes. Junior Caden Brandt and senior Tomas Korndorfer fired goals in the middle part of the period before Slaght found the net for another.

Junior John Scott fired the lone middle period goal, his eighth of the season and sixth in the past four games and Korndorfer wrapped it up with his second of the contest and fifth of the season in the final period.

Pfaff and junior Carsen Brandt both picked up a pair of assists in the game with singles for Slaght, senior Grant Marsich and sophomore Brady Baldwin.

Cooper Oakes kicked out all 27 shots he faced to record his fourth shutout of the season and once again smash his own record for career shutouts with his 13^th.

The win boosted the Cheavers’ overall record to 10-5 while the host Comets slipped to 7-6 (2-1 in Great Northern Conference).

Huge test ahead

The Cheavers are hoping to carry some momentum from its recent streak into a massive conference test on home ice Thursday as they kick off the second half of the Badger West Conference against the Oregon Panthers.

Both teams are 3-2, the Panthers collecting a 5-1 win in the first half meeting in Oregon.

The Panthers entered the week ranked second among Division 2 teams in the state according wisconsinprephockey.net.

While the Cheavers are riding a five-game winning streak, the Panthers dropped three in a row after defeating RWD before winning its most recent pair against Kettle Moraine/Mukwonago/Oconomowoc (KMMO) and Fox Cities at a holiday tournament hosted by KMMO.

Full team effort results in Monk’s tourney win

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Talk about a team effort!

The RWD Cheavers wrapped up its second straight and fifth overall Monk’s Cheeseburger Classic Dec. 30 with the best effort of the season so far from every player involved in a 5-2 win against the Wisconsin Rapids Red Raiders.

As a result, the team allowed the game’s first goal 33 seconds in, then scored five of the next six for a dominant 5-2 win and a platter full of Monk’s Cheeseburgers.

The Championship game brought together the same two teams as last year—a game won 6-0 by the home side. In between through, the Red Raiders collected a 3-2 win in the season opening contest with wide 36-15 edge on the shot clock.

This time around, the Cheavers held a one-shot edge in all three periods on its way to a 31-28 total. Teams were even at 1-1 and 2-2 after the first two periods respectively, the Cheavers showing itself to have a little more in the gas tank heading into the third period of the game and ninth period in a 48-hour stretch.

Senior C.J. Pfaff sank his first of a pair of third period goals early in the final period to put the Cheavers in front to stay, but a major penalty infraction a short time later gave the home side another challenge to overcome.

A short time later though on the kill, Pfaff found junior Caden Brandt that sent him on an end-to-end rush and a flip shot over the stick of Rapids’ goaltender, senior Dakota Blasky to pad the lead and add a little insurance.

Pfaff added a clincher a short time later, his third point of the period, unassisted after picking off a cross ice pass in the offensive zone.

Sophomore Brady Baldwin fired the team’s first period goal, from senior Tomas Kordorfer and Brandt notched his first of two in the middle period from senior Trevor Slaght.

Senior Cooper Oakes picked up the win in goal but was forced to the bench with a little under four minutes to play after cracking the blade on one of his skates. That allowed freshman Alex Griebe a chance to make his varsity debut on a grand stage.

A great weekend effort and a great prize for the effort. Congrats to the RWD Cheavers for its second consecutive tournament win and congrats to Monk’s for making a mean Cheeseburger.

Griebe, currently riding a four-game shutout streak as the junior varsity goaltender, teammed up with his mates to keep the crease clean four the final few minutes, triggering the celebration.

At the buzzer, RWD celebrates a 5-2 win against the Wisconsin Rapids Red Raiders and its second consecutive Monk’s Cheeseburger Classic Championship

Solid play at this tournament is often used as a trigger to a big second half for the Cheavers. This season the Cheavers have flirted with the .500 mark, just under or just over, but the three wins at the Lake Delton Ice Arena has the team riding a five-game winning streak with a record of 9-5 heading into 2022.

The second half begins with a non-conference test against the Waupaca Comets (7-5, 2-1 Great Northern) at the Waupaca Expo Center Tuesday (Jan. 4) at 7 p.m.

Next home game will see the team returning to Badger West Conference play against the Oregon Panthers (9-5, 3-2 Badger West). The same two teams met in Oregon on Dec. 14, the host Panthers collecting a 5-1 win.

Scott hat trick leads Cheavers past Wildcats

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD Cheavers opened play at the Monk’s Cheeseburger Classic ready to defend its title and putting together what might have been its best 51-minutes of the season so far this season.

Led by a junior John Scott who fired his first varsity hat trick and 22 stops on 23 shots for senior goaltender Cooper Oakes, the Cheavers got by the River Falls Wildcats, a team they had never faced before.

RWD dominated the contest from start to finish, including a long stretch in the middle period played one or two skaters short. After a lackadaisical final five minutes of the second which allowed the Wildcats a chance to score its lone goal, the Cheavers responded with a renewed vigor in the final period, turning a 3-1 cushion into the 5-1 final.

Juniors Caden and Carsen Brandt had the set ups on the game’s first goal, scoring by senior C.J. Pfaff and Scott fired the other two first period goals, the first on a feed from senior Tomas Korndorfer.

The Cheavers re-established control with a 14-3 edge in shots through the final 17-, minutes and it paid off with goals from Scott and junior defenseman Logan DeMars.

Korndorfer collected assists on both third period goals and sophomore Brady Baldwin, the third man on the line with Scott and Korndorfer, also picked up one.

Other Scores

The first day of the tournament began with Wisconsin Rapids Red Raiders collecting a 10-4 win against the La Crescent-Hokah Lancers, an independent Minnesota team.

Sophomore Carson Gause led the Raiders with four goals and two assists, first year Pagel Jax scored a pair.

In the second game, Noah Clemment turned aside all 29 shots he faced and junior Gavin Schuster scored four to lead the Onalaska Hilltoppers to a 6-0 shutout against the McFarland Spartans.

The third game was the closest of the day, the Kenosha Thunder holding off a late rally by Tomah/Sparta for a 2-1 edge. First-year goaltender Mark Michelson stopped 33 of 34 to lead his team to the win despite a massive 34-12 edge in shots for Tomah/Sparta who didn’t find a way past him until late in the final period.