Area players play role in Blue Devils’ spring season

By Jim den Hollander
Editor/Publisher
Saukhockey.info
A large number of RWD hockey players have avoided a lull in their schedule by trying out for and making the Western Wisconsin Blue Devils Summer Hockey teams.

Most of the teams attended three tournaments, wrapping up this past weekend.
Details on the events were limited, but following is a list of teams that included local players and the details this reporter was able to garner.

’08 Blue Devils

The ’08 Blue Devils began its three-tournament season at the Border Battle Tournament with RJ Manley, a fixture with the Tomah-based squad for several seasons included in the lineup along with Thomas Sarnow.

Manley, an incoming RWD freshman and his teammates started out with an impressive 8-1 win against Blaze (Gold) at Somerset Ice Arena April 22, then returned the following day battling Breakaway to a 1-1 draw in Forest Lake and moving back to the win column with a 5-2 decision against Ice Edge in Woodbury, MN.

The Blue Devils wrapped up top spot in its six-team group with another 5-2 margin on April 24 against the St. Croix Muskies, played in Forest Lake.

At the Shock Doctor Tournament played in the Twin Cities area, the Blue Devils played in the six-team ’08 Upper draw, beginning April 29 with a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the Lake Superior Pirates at Brooklyn Park.

The following day, the North Metro Stars doubled the Blue Devils 4-2 but the Devils stormed back with an 8-2 win against FCA Hockey (Blue), both games played in Maple Grove.

In the first of two games Sunday, the Blue Devils were shutout 4-0 by Hockey Haven and they wrapped up a busy weekend, settling for fourth place after a 5-2 loss against the Madison Capitols in the third-place contest.

The team wrapped up the compact season playing this past weekend in the Mountain Dew Blast Tournament, also in the Twin Cities area. No details from that event were available at the time of printing this article.

’09 Blue Devils

A group of players from the Regional Champion RWD Peewee ‘A’ Cheavers stayed united on this team. Tyler Krieski and Ethan Pope both made the trip with the team to the Border Battle Tournament in Hudson.
Playing at the AAA level is a giant step for players generally playing in smaller centers and the tournament was primarily a learning experience.
After dropping a 10-3 decision against the Eskimos in the first game, April 22, the Devils played twice the following day, doubling the Minnesota Magicians 8-4 before falling 7-3 against Tommy Chicago later the same day.
The Blue Devils returned to play Tommy Chicago again Sunday falling 8-3.
Scoring details were unavailable.
Krieski and Pope were joined by Ethan Wilcox and Hailey Dietl a few weeks later at the Shock Doctor Shootout played at several rinks in the Twin Cities area as well as the final tournament.
The caliber was tough again in the State of Hockey, the Blue Devils opening April 29 with a tough 3-1 loss against All Out Hockey and returning the following day for a 5-2 loss against Hockey Factory from Fond du Lac, eventual championships in their 12-team division and a 2-2 draw against Arvada 2009. On Sunday, the team played in the 9th place match but settled for 10th following a 5-1 win against the same Arvada team.
The team turned in its best effort at the end, settling for fourth place at the Mountain Dew Blast played at the National Sports Center Super Rinks in Blaine, MN, along with a few others. No game or roster details were available from this event played this past weekend but the ’09 team wrapped up fourth place.

’10 Blue Devils

This team that also included a trio of members from the Peewee ‘A’ Cheavers attended the same events as their ’09 teammates — Landen Uminski, Noah Backeberg and Jesse Arnold. Also, from the Sauk Prairie Flyers, Logan Harrington played in all three events while Michael Jolicoeur and Braden Slough joined for the final two.
At the Border Battle Tournament, the ’10 Devils played its first two games in St. Croix, falling 4-1 in its opening contest against MPH Gold before bouncing pack with a 3-2 win against Blaze (Gold) later on Friday April 22.
The Blue Devils stepped across the border to Woodbury and collected a 9-3 win against the Rivertown Muskies (Green) Saturday.
On Sunday, the Devils wrapped up in Hudson, dropping a 4-0 shutout against the Eskimos.
Scoring details were unavailable.
At the Shock Doctor tournament, the local players joined the Blue Devils in the 10-team ’10-Lower’ Division.
The team again continued its summer arena tour appearing in two more, beginning with a 4-1 loss against the Wisconsin Jr. Jets in Maple Grove, MN.
The remaining games were played at Pagel Rink in Minnetonka, MN. The Devils clearly found it to be like home, collecting a 6-5 win against Arvada 2010 Saturday morning and a 4-1 decision against Rivertown Muskies (Blue) later the same day.
An 8-2 win Sunday morning against Hockey Factory Lake Country advanced the Blue Devils into the Consolation Championship game and the locals stayed hot with its fourth straight win at Pagel, 7-4 against the MN Lakers (White).
The Blue Devils wrapped up its short Spring/Summer season with a spot at the Mountain Dew Blast this past weekend where the ’10 Blue Devils wrapped up its season with a tournament championship.

U-14 Girls Blue Devils

This division included four locals — Kayla Garbacz and Reese Olson who played as freshmen on the Badger Lightning varsity hockey team this past season along with Paige Othmer and Ryleigh Bychinski who reached the U-14 State Championship match with Tomah’s TNT Squad and will join the Lightning in the late fall.
This team first played at the Border Battle Tournament, opening play in Baldwin, WI with a 5-2 loss against the St. Croix Selects Friday April 22, before bouncing back the same day at Woodbury, MN with a 2-0 shutout against Ice Cougar East.
The following day, back in Baldwin, the U-14’s played Hometown Hockey to a 2-2 draw before wrapping it up in Baldwin with a 6-0 win against MPH Gold.
On May 6 the Devils travelled to the Twin Cities to compete in the Spring Stampede, opening with a 3-0 shutout against Minnesota Hook at the Buffalo Civic Center and following it up with another goose egg, 6-0 against the South DC Tigers at the Super Rinks in Blaine.
The Blue Devils moved on to a 4-4 draw in its third game (opponent unclear) at Blaine’s Fogerty Ice Arena, then moved on to Elk River Ice Arena to pick up a 5-2 win against Stampede Green.
That moved the Devils into the tournament championship game where they came up just short 3-1 against Northern Elite White.
The 14U squad finished it’s summer schedule with a spot at the Midwest Invite Tournament in Appleton May 13-15.
In its opening match, the Blue Devils dropped a 3-1 decision against the Green Bay Hornets. Garbacz scored the lone Blue Devils’ marker in the second period.
The following day Olson fired a pair and set up another with another goal from Bychinski as the Blue Devils got by the Milwaukee Tuskers 5-1. Later Saturday Hockey Factory Madison handed the locals a 2-0 loss.
On Sunday, Othmer led the way with a goal and assist, Olson adding another goal and Garbacz setting up one in a 4-0 shutout against the Fox Cities Bulldogs, wrapping up third place for the Devils.

U-12 Girls Blue Devils

The U-12 Blue Devils, including Hailey Dietl wrapped up a solid spring season with the championship banner at the Midwest Invite Tournament in the Madison area.

Hailey Dietl did double duty playing for the U12 Girls Blue Devils as well as the ’09 squad.
The team played three events as well, beginning with the Ignite the Ice/Trailblazer Tournament April 8-10 in the Twin Cities.
Starting out with a 4-3 edge against the Red River Flames (Red) team on Friday night, they found the Red River Flames (Black) tougher on Saturday morning, falling 4-1. Later on Saturday, the Blue Devils responded with a 7-0 shutout win against Hometown Blue.
On Sunday, the second seeded Blue Devils collected a 4-1 win agianst Red River Flames which moved them into the tournament championship where they ran into Red River Flames (Black) again, settling for runners up 6-1.
Next up was Spring Stampede, May 6-8 also at the Elk River Ice Arena.
The Blue Devils opened with an 8-1 win against the Majors and also blew by Blue Army Red 8-0, then played the Railhawks to a 5-5 draw.
A 9-1 win in semis against the Majors sent the Blue Devils to a rematch with the Railhawks in the Championship game, but it was the Railhawks hoisting the hardware with a 1-0 win.
Wrapping up the season, the Blue Devils played in the U-12 Midwest-Invite in the Madison area, wrapping up the season in style with five straight wins and a championship trophy.
In the first game, the Devils downed Hockey Factory, Fond du Lac 7-1 on Friday at McFarland Community Ice Arena.
On Saturday, the Devils earned a 3-2 edge against Milwaukee Tuskers at Verona’s Eagles Nest, then returned to McFarland for a massive 13-0 shutout against Them Girls.
A 9-2 win in McFarland against the Hornets send the Devils to the championship game where it was joined by Dietl who played for the ’09 team in Minnesota on the same weekend.
Dietl scored twice and set up the other, leading the Devils to a 3-0 win in the championship game against the Tuskers. Brooke Lakowske was on the receiving end of the pass from Dietl for her goal and returned the favor with assists on both Dietl markers.

’11 Blue Devils

Rainier Scott, a member of the RWD Squirts played for the ’11 Blue Devils who attended the same three events as the older Blue Devils’ teams, beginning with the Border Battle April 22-24.
The competitition was tough for the ’11 Blue Devils who dropped four games. The first three, an 8-1 loss against the Guardians (Gray), 6-1 against the Blaze (Gold) and 8-1 against the OP Predators were played Friday and Saturday at St. Croix Rec Center and the final game, a 6-3 doubling by the MN Magicians was played in Hudson.
At the Shock Doctor event April 29-May 1, the Blue Devils played in the 10-team U-11 Lower Division.
After opening with a 4-3 win against the Wisconsin Titans at the Pagel Rink in Minnetonka Friday, the team moved to Eden Prairie Saturday, dropping an 8-1 decision against the Majors and settling for a 5-5 draw against MN Steel.
On Sunday, the U11’s wrapped up the weekend, dropping a 7-4 decision to the Wildcats, also at Eden Prairie.
Like the others, the U-11 Blue Devils finished the schedule at the Mountain Dew Blast which currently has no details available.

’12 Blue Devils

Briar Messer, another member of the RWD Squirt ‘A’ squad played for the ‘U12 Blue Devils which opened its season at the Border Battle event April 22-24 as well.
The Devils started on the Friday in Somerset dropping a 3-1 decision against the Guardians (Gray), then headed to Woodbury on the Minnesota side of the border, battling the Ice Hawks to a 3-3 draw Saturday morning.
Back in Somerset later Saturday, the Devils collected an 8-1 win against Lake’s Elite and they wrapped up play Sunday with a 6-3 doubling of Blaze (Gold).
At the end of April at the Shock Doctor tournament, the ’12 Blue Devils played all games at Shakopee Rink, starting out with a 7-0 win Friday against. the Daggers.
On Saturday, Devils collected an 8-1 win against the B-E Bombers (Red) but suffrered a 5-1 loss later in the day against the Fox City Bulldogs.
On Sunday, the Devils suffered a 9-1 loss against the AAA Velocity who later claimed the division championship while the Blue Devils moved on to down the Wisconsin Jets 5-1 and wrap up third place.
Like many of the other Blue Devils teams, the ’12 squad finished at the Mountain Dew Blast this past weekend, wrapping up the spring schedule with a third place showing.

’13-14 Blue Devils

Jase Uminski, Owen Meyer and Bentley Meyer played a part for the ’13-14 Blue Devils who attended the same three events as the other Blue Devils teams.
At the Border Battle, April 22-24, the ’13 Blue Devils won four straight games, beginning Friday with a 7-6 edge against the Blaze (Gold) squad in Hastings, MN.
On Saturday, the Devils pounded PH Grit 10-3 and downed the Guardians (Gray) 5-2, both games played in St. Croix.
The team wrapped up top spot with a rematch and a 9-3 win against Blaze (Gold).
Blue Devils were one of 16 teams at the Shock Doctor Shoot Out and got the tournament off to a great start with a 7-0 win against the WI Jr. Jets at Eden Prairie Friday followed by a 6-3 decision against Ice Edge (Blue) Saturday at the same rink.
Later Saturday, the Blue Devils dropped an 8-1 decision against the MN Lakers at Braemar Arena in Edina.
Those results put the team into a 7th place battle against the same Guardians (Gray) team it played a few weeks earlier. The Devils clinched the spot with a 5-3 edge.
Last weekend, the ’13 Blue Devils finished the schedule at the Mountain Dew Blast, reaching the championship game.

Scott scores five to lead Squirt Cheavers past Wildcats

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD Squirt ‘A’ Cheavers bounced back from a narrow defeat against the Madison Patriots Saturday (Jan. 29) with a pair of wins against the Waunakee Wildcats Sunday.

On Saturday, teams combined for 13 goals but unfortunately for the locals seven of those came off Patriots’ sticks. On Sunday the Cheavers earned a narrow 2-1 lead against the ‘C’ Wildcats then followed it up shortly after with a more comfortable 8-2 decision.

All three games were played at the Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA).

Patriots 7 @ Cheavers 6

The Patriots outlasted the Cheavers in a wide-open contest by a narrow margin.

Regular goaltender Jase Uminski took a turn as a skater and collected three goals along with an assist to pace the Cheavers’ attack. Briar Messer chipped in a pair of goals, Rainier Scott scoring the other goal and collecting an assist.

Elliot Wilcox stopped 23 shots in goal for the Cheavers.

Wildcats 1 @ Cheavers 2

After the wide-open contest Saturday, the Cheavers came out on top in a defensive battle in the first of two Sunday games.

Teams were even at 1-1 after a period, Cole Renneberg scoring for the Cheavers on a feed from Scott.

That tie held up until the final period when Brayden Potter notched the game winner and Renneberg picked up the assist.

Uminski kicked out 12 of 13 in goal for the Cheavers.

Wildcats 2 @ Cheavers 8

The RWD Squirts, led by a five-goal explosion from Scott, collected an easy win in its final game of the weekend. Messer, Renneberg and Potter each added a goal and assist, and Wilcox also helped on one.

Uminski turned in a 16-save effort to pick up his second win of the day in goal for the Cheavers.

The focus turns to Regionals this weekend as the squirt Cheavers, along with all the other RWD contingent will be looking to punch a ticket to the State Championship tournament. More information on that will be in a related story to be released shortly.

Squirt ‘A’ Cheavers take second in West Salem

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD Squirt ‘A’ hockey team rolled to a second place showing at a tournament in West Salem with a win, shootout loss and regulation loss along the way.

After opening with a 7-2 win against the Waupun Warriors Saturday (Jan. 22), the Cheavers engaged in a thriller with the Iowa Heartlanders, who rallied late to tie it then captured a 5-4 win in shootout to break Cheavers hearts Saturday night.

On Sunday, the Cheavers wrapped up play against the host West Salem squad who held off the Cheavers for a 3-2 edge.

Cheavers 7 Warriors 2

The opener saw a bit of a slow start for the Cheavers, even with the Warriors at 1-1 after a period but up 3-1 heading to a five-goal (4-1 Cheavers) third period.

Briar Messer paced the Cheaver attack with a hat trick and an assist while Rainier Scott notched a pair of goals. Brayden Potter chipped in a goal and assist, and the other goal came from Jamison Haag. Jase Uminski handled the work in goal and earned praise from Head Coach Justin Messer in a post-tournament report for his stellar work between the pipes in all three contests.

In the opening game, the Cheavers held a 28-7 edge in shots on goal.

Cheavers 3 Heartlanders 4 (so)

In its second game, the Cheavers carried a 3-1 lead out of the opening period but saw it trimmed to 4-3 in the middle frame. The Heartlanders struck for the only goal of the final period to send the game to overtime and a shootout where the Iowa squad fired the only goal.

Scott notched the first two goals of the game for the Cheavers, both unassisted and the other two came from Cole Renneberg with help from Messer on the first one.

Uminski kicked out 21 of 25 shots in the game as the Heartlanders held a 25-18 edge overall.

West Salem 3 Cheavers 2

On Sunday the Cheavers returned for a final contest and once again took control early with the lone goal of the first period off the stick of Haag, unassisted.

All the remaining goals came in the second period, including the game winner fired in the final minute of the session giving West Salem its first and only lead of the contest.

Cheavers’ second period marker also came from Haag on a feed from Renneberg.

The weekend contests leave the team with an 11-10-1 record so far and this weekend, the final games of prep before the Regionals will see the team on home ice three times at the Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA).

On Saturday the Squirt Cheavers will take on the Madison Patriots ‘B’ at 3:30 and they will play twice on Sunday, against Waunakee Wildcats‘C’ at 1:15 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.

The RWD Squirt ‘A’ Cheavers celebrated a second place showing at a tournament in West Salem this past weekend. Cheavers players include (in no specific order) Jase Uminski, Caleb Backeberg, Cole Renneberg, Elliot Wilcox, Briar Messer, Brayden Potter, Nora Walker, Rainier Scott and Jamison Haag. Team Coaches include in back from left: Jeremy Backeberg, Head Coach Justin Messer, Nate Wilcox and Joe Uminski.

Haag’s huge weekend helps RWD rebound

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

After a tough opening game to the weekend against the visiting Sauk Prairie Flyers (see story), the RWD Squirt ‘A’ Cheavers got back into the win column with a pair of victories Sunday at the Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA).

In its first game of the day, Jamison Haag fired four goals and Jase Uminski collected his first career shutout, leading the locals to a 6-0 against the visiting Middleton Cardinals Squirt ‘C’ club. Later, the locals outlasted the Waunakee Wildcats by a 5-2 score.

Caleb Backeberg chipped in a goal and assist, and Brayden Potter fired the other for the Cheavers who peppered Middleton goaltender Finn Mauk with 33 shots. Uminski was helped out by some solid defensive play from Rainier Scott, Cole Renneberg and Briar Messer.

Haag stayed hot with another hat trick against the Wildcats to wrap up a seven-goal day, other goals added by Scott and Renneberg.

The weekend results boosted the team’s early season record to 3-2. The Cheavers will face a tough assignment Saturday with a return trip to Sauk to play the Flyers before traveling to Black River Falls to play both the Squirt ‘A’ and ‘B’ Tigers.

Argall notches four to lead Squirt Flyers past Cheavers

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

A four-goal effort for Bryce Argall helped the Sauk Prairie Flyers Squirt ‘A’ squad open its Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Assocation (WAHA) regular season with an 8-0 win on the road at Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA) against the host RWD Cheavers on Saturday morning.

Joshua Freeman chipped in a goal and assist for the Flyers with other goals added by Brayton Bahe, Milo Donaldson and Henry Zueltke.

Mason Ramirez kicked out all eight shots he faced to open the season with a shutout and Jase Uminski was the game’s busiest player, stopping 27 shots in goal for the Cheavers.

Both teams were successful the rest of the way through the weekend, the Flyers returning home for a pair of Sunday wins, the Cheavers moving on to defeat the Middleton ‘C’ Squirts 6-0 and handling the Waunakee Squirt ‘C’ Warriors 5-2.

Meanwhile, the Flyers played a pair of home games at the Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC), doubling up both Verona and Waunakee with 4-2 margins.

This weekend the Flyers will hit the road again Saturday for a game in Middleton and return home for a rematch against the Cheavers.

Scott hat trick helps Squirt A Cheavers tame Ice Dogs

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association (WAHA) opened for many local teams this past weekend including the RWD Squirt ‘A’ Cheavers with some promising results.

After an 8-2 win against the Dodgeville Ice Dogs in its opening match at the Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA)on Saturday, the Squirt Cheavers battled back late but fell just short in a narrow 3-2 loss to the Middleton Cardinals Sunday.

Squirt A Cheavers 8 Dodgeville Ice Wolves 2

The Cheavers were clearly eager to get the regular season going, blasting off to a 5-1 first period lead and wrapping it up with three more in the middle frame.

Rainier Scott enjoyed a huge weekend which started with a hat trick and an assist in the opener. Cole Renneberg added a pair while Briar Messer collected a goal and assist. Braydan Potter and Jamison Haag scored the other goals and Caleb Backeberg added a couple assists.

Jase Uminski played in goal for the Cheavers, kicking out 14 shots to nail down his first win of the season.

Griffin Hanson and Brayden Lydic scored the Ice Wolves goals.

Middleton Cardinals 3 Squirt A Cheavers 2

On Sunday, the Middleton ‘B’ squad paid a visit to RACA for a much tighter defensive battle.

The lone goal through the opening two periods was a first period tally by Gavin Shaw of the Cardinals in the opening period but two goals, eight seconds apart early in the third had the visitors up 3-0. Owen Raulin and Cole Klein scored the Middleton markers.

Scott finally got the Cheaves on the board with 5:03 to play and notched his fifth of the weekend with 1:51 remaining to get the Cheavers within a shot of tying it up. That was as close as they would get through, Nora Walker picking up an assist on the first goal.

Uminski kicked out another 20 shots in goal for the Cheavers, Carson Kraus stopping 11 in goal for the Cards.

The Cheavers will carry the 1-1 record into next weekend, an even busier stretch with three more home games. On Saturday, the Cheavers will welcome the Sauk Prairie ‘A’ Flyers at 11 a.m. and on Sunday, the Middleton ‘C’ Cardinals will be at RACA for an 8:45 a.m. faceoff while the Waunakee ‘C’ Wildcats at 3:30 p.m. at the Lake Delton Ice Arena.

Tough lessons for youngest RWD squad will pay off in future

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The youngest competitive team in the RWD Cheavers’ stable continued its tough learning process on the weekend of Jan. 9-10 with some hard assignments on home ice against a pair of Wildcat teams. The lessons learned now will pay off in the future for the young pucksters.

The Squirt ‘B’ Cheavers dropped a tough 9-0 decision to Verona C2 Wildcats at Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA) in its first game and put up a stronger fight before ultimately falling 5-2 in another home contest against the Waunakee Wildcats the following day.

Busiest player in the first game was Cheavers’ goaltender Jase Uminski who faced a barrage. The lopsided score might have hidden the fact the Uminski stood tall in the crease, kicking out 30 shots along with the others that got by him.

Verona jumped into a 2-0 lead and added five more in the second along with another pair down the stretch.

Uminski stopped 13 of 15 in the opening period.

The following day, Waunakee jumped into a 2-0 first period lead before Rainier Scott’s unassisted goal cut the lead in half with just under five minutes to play in the second. The visitors added two more to extend its lead and both teams added one down the stretch.

Uminski skated out with Aria Gada getting a turn in goal and Uminski collected the third period goal for Cheavers, also unassisted.

Gada stopped 11 shots in the contest.

The losses dropped the Cheavers to 4-14-2 on the season so far.

After a game this past weekend was cancelled, the Squirts will next see action this coming weekend with a visit from the West Madison Polar Caps at RACA at 5:15 p.m. Sunday.

Two game winners for Renneberg lead surging Squirt ‘B’ Cheavers

Clearly, the RWD Squirt ‘B’ Cheavers have discovered a love of winning.

After hitting the win column for the first time the previous weekend, the Squirt Cheavers posted three more ‘W’s this past weekend (Dec. 26-27) to carry a four-game winning streak into the New Year.

After posting a 1-0 shutout against the Sun Prairie C2 Cardinals Saturday afternoon, the Cheavers were back on the ice a couple hours late against the Madison Patriots ‘C’ squad, posting a 2-1 win. All three games were played at the Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA)

On Sunday, the Cheavers gave the Cardinals a chance to redeem themselves and posted a second shutout, this time by a 2-0 margin.

In the first game, Jase Uminski collected the team’s first goose egg of the season and both teams were scoreless through the first two periods. The only goal of the contest came from Rainier Scott in the final period with an assist for Briar Messer.

Rainier Scott fired the only goal in a 1-0 win Saturday

The second game saw teams even after the first two periods again, scoreless after the first and even at 1-1 heading to the third.

Messer fired the second period goal for the Cheavers, and the game winner came off the stick of Cole Renneberg. Aria Gada collected the win in goal beaten just once on 13 shots.

Gada came within seconds of a shutout the previous weekend and on Sunday, she collected the donut with a dozen saves to blank the Cards.

Renneberg fired another game winner with only goal of the first period, unassisted and Caleb Backeberg added some insurance in the middle frame with a set up for Messer.

The suddenly hot Cheavers will put its streak on the line with a pair of contests at RACA. The first will be against Regional rival, the Monroe Avalanche ‘B’ squad at 3:30 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 2) and t he other will be against Waunakee C2 Black Wildcats Sunday at 8 a.m.

Gada so close to shutout in Squirt Cheavers first win

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD Squirt ‘B’ Cheavers played twice on the Dec. 19-20 weekend, wrapping up its pre-Christmas stretch with its first win of the regular season.

In the first game, the Cheavers had the luxury of playing a road game on home ice at Reedsburg Area Community Arena against the Sun Prairie Squirt C1 Cardinals, dropping a 6-1 decision, but the following day, again as the road team at RACA, the Cheavers built a 2-0 lead and held on for a 2-1 win against the West Madison Polar Caps Squirt ‘C’ team.

In the opener, the Cheavers hit the board first with a goal from Cole Renneberg on a feed from Caleb Backeberg but the Cardinals scored a short time later and teams were still even at 1-1 heading to the second period.

Four unanswered second period goals put the Cardinals in front to stay and one more in the third wrapped up the scoring.

Jase Uminski turned in a 14-save effort for the Cheavers.

Jamison Haag put the Cheavers up early in the second game but this time, the lead held up almost to the end, Briar Messer adding an insurance goal with 4:31 to play. That turned into the team’s first game winner of the season when the Caps denied RWD goaltender Aria Gada a shutout inside the final five seconds of play on their 12^th shot of the game.

The weekend split boosted the Squirt Cheavers overall record to 1-10-2 and they will look to continue their recently found momentum with three games on home ice Dec. 26-27.

Below is the game winning goal scored by Briar Messer

The Squirt B Cheavers celebrate their first win of the 2020-21 season

Competition tough for Squirt ‘B’ Cheavers

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD Squirt B Cheavers continue its search for its first win of the season, enduring a couple tough decisions this past weekend.

After a season opening tie against the Sauk Prairie Flyers ‘B’ Squirts at Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA), the locals have dropped its next five contests, including this past weekend as the visiting Waunakee ‘C2’ Yellow Wildcats squad collected a 6-1 at RACA Saturday and the Cheavers fell 10-1 at Viroqua on Sunday.

Wildcats 6 @ Cheavers 1

The Wildcats fired the lone goal of the opening period and added another before Cole Renneberg fired the lone Cheavers goal with 3:12 to play in the middle period. Two goals in the final 90 seconds of the period widened the gap to 4-1 for Waunakee and the Wildcats added another pair in the third.

Jamison Haag kicked out 22 shots in goal for the Squirt Cheavers.

Cheavers 1 @ Thunder 10

On Sunday, the host Thunder settled things quick with a half-dozen unanswered first period goals but the Cheavers held them off the board through the middle frame before the Thunder added another four in the third.

Jase Uminski collected the lone goal for the Cheavers in the third period after taking a pass from Elliot Wilcox.

This weekend – Dells Cup

The Squirt Cheavers will face its busiest weekend so far when it faces off at the Dells Cup this weekend, beginning at 5 p.m. today (December 11) against Waunakee Wildcats in the tournament opener.

The Squirt Cheavers will be back on Saturday to face Southeastern Hockey Association of Wisconsin (SHAW) Red Timberwolves Saturday in a 4:20 p.m. contest, then wrap up Round Robin play against Waukesha White Warhawks at 9:10 a.m. on Sunday.