Seniors highlighted at RWD final banquet

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD Cheavers officially wrapped up the 2022-23 campaign Saturday night with its banquet/awards event at Bobber’s in Lake Delton.

Among the announcements at the event was the return of the entire coaching staff – Head Coach Neil Mattson, Assistant Coaches Mike Welch and Jeramy Greenwood, Goaltending Coach Rick Allison and junior varsity co/coaches Joe Uminski and Cade Mattson.

One change though will be Greenwood doing some double duty in the upcoming season as a counsellor, available for players who may be experiencing mental or emotional challenges. This change was deemed necessary by the coaches with some recent events and the recent local, national and international attention given to mental health issues in athletes.

“We’re hopeful this can be helpful for the young guys,” said Mattson.

After dinner, Mattson addressed the players and parents, setting goals (15-9 regular season record) for 2023-24 and praising the players for their respective roles this past season with special attention for the seniors.

It’s fitting the seniors garnered the attention as Mattson routinely relies on and leans heavily on the fourth-year skaters and they always deliver for him.

The Cheavers played through an interesting season, finishing the regular season at 14-10 and moving on to a 1-1 post season, ended by state tournament bound Verona Wildcats who feasted on the Badger West Conference with wins against the Cheavers, Sauk Prairie Eagles and Madison Edgewood Crusaders en-route to the state tourney.

Mattson pointed at the nine losses by a single goal as evidence things could have been much different with a few bounces.

Mattson said the senior players posted an overall record of 57-40-1 during their time with the Cheavers.

Honored first were the six team managers including senior Kaitlin Elder who stepped in this season as the team videographer and another pair of seniors, Stella Scott and Olga Hernandez who wrapped up a four-year run with the team. Other managers, Autumn Gillman, Megan Franz and Lydia Eastman were named and all six were presented with a gift from the coaches.

Seniors

From there, Mattson highlighted the performance of the team’s nine seniors including in order of jersey number:

John Scott – Scott relished the senior role collecting 19 goals and 34 points, nearly double the 19 points from his junior year. Over his four-year varsity career (including playoffs) Scott collected 64 points for the Cheavers and his aggressive physical play worked well.

John Scott (Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer)

Mattson said Scott “played with passion…for the love of the game. He played for all the right reasons.”

Lukas Vana – Vana, a foreign exchange student from Czech Republic immediately improved the team on defense, making his presence felt on offense as will with five goals and 23 points on the season. Vana also fit in well off the ice said Mattson.

Lukas Vana (Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer)

“He was one of the funniest guys in the locker room,” recalled the coach.

Caden Brandt – Simply put, Brandt is one of the greatest players to represent the Blue and White jersey and the Brandt brothers will be tough to replace. A class act both on and off the ice, Brandt overcame an early season injury scare to wrap up his third 20-goal campaign with 37 regular season points.

Caden Brandt (Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer

Over his career, Brandt put up 86 goals, second most in team history. He was an obvious First Team All-Badger Conference selection and moves on with a 142-point total. The best part of his stats could be the penalty minutes total – 24 minutes in 87 regular season contests.

Carsen Brandt – The defender gave an indication of his mental toughness came in his junior year when Brandt shrugged off a shoulder injury, putting off surgery until after the season.

Carsen Brandt (Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer)

He returned 100 percent healthy for his senior year and was a leader on the blueline, called on in every situation. Like his brother, Brandt played clean, sitting just 32 minutes through 83 games and that was important as both were relied on heavily in penalty kill situations.

Also, a First Team All-Badger Conference member and a leader by example, Mattson summed up the thoughts of everyone in attendance saying, “Thank you for all you have done for this program.”

Yevgeny Dedun (Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer)

Yevgeny Dedun – Dedun “Had a wonderful senior season,” said Mattson of the hard-nosed forward whose contributions don’t always show up on a score sheet. Dedun’s physical style punished opposition players and like the Brandt brothers he did it while avoiding infractions. Dedun was charged with just give minor penalties in the 22 games played this season despite being a physical player.

Caleb Eastman – Like Dedun, Eastman was an energy player who made the varsity lineup in his senior season through hard work and a great mental attitude. “He never complained,” said Mattson classifying the rugged winger as “one of the greatest role players you could ask for.” His hard work paid off as Eastman collected his first varsity goal.

Caleb Eastman (Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer)

Nate Stando (Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer)

Logan DeMars – Another anchor on the blueline, along with Brandt and Vana, DeMars chipped in on defensive unit that later shared a team award. Mattson said DeMars helped produce a “solid foundation on the blue line,” limiting opposition chances or making them fire the puck from well outside the scoring zone. DeMars has been counted on heavily by the varsity team, playing all 24 regular season games in both his junior and senior seasons and suiting up in a four-year total of 89 games.

Logan DeMars (Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer)

Nate Stando – Perhaps the biggest improvement among the seniors came from Stando who used his size and reach to become a regular for the Cheavers. Mattson described his three-goal, 10-point season as a “breakout season,” adding his ability to find chemistry with whoever he was on the ice with as a plus.

Conner Putz (Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer)

“He bounced around from line to line,” early in the season said Mattson adding he fit in well with whoever he was on the ice with.

“He never worried about minutes, he just wanted to be a part of it.”

Conner Putz – Hard work and a positive attitude helped Putz get into the varsity lineup for a half dozen games in his senior season and he was also on the roster for the post season, a great reward for a player who did whatever was asked of him.

“He shows up every game with a positive attitude and a smile on his face,” said Mattson.

Awards

The Coaches wrapped up the night with the presentation of several team awards for both the junior varsity and varsity teams.

The coaches will all be back with RWD in the fall including from left: Rick Allison; Cade Mattson; Neil Mattson; Mike Welch and Jeramy Greenwood. Absent from the photo (with a team playing at the State tournament is Joe Uminski. (Photo Courtesy Jen Baldwin).

First, the JV squad honored a trio of players, Tristan Edgerton collecting Offensive Player of the Year honors and Nolan Pope earning Defensive Player of the Year while rugged defender Carter Renneberg received the ‘Mr. Hustle’ Award.

Coaches honored the entire defense corps, including of course, sophomore goaltender Alex Griebe for an awesome effort this past season.

With a penalty killing success rate of 84% among some other great statistics, Mattson said the defense corps “was one of the most solid groups we’ve had,” as a squad.

Also honored were the six team members that shared the role of team captain for 2022-23 including seniors John Scott, Caden Brandt, Carsen Brandt, Yevgeny Dedun and Logan Demars along with junior Brady Baldwin. Mattson also announced Baldwin will return as a captain in the fall along with incoming senior defender Iszak Elder.

Caden Brandt and John Scott became a two-headed scoring monster for the Cheavers this season and it was fitting they shared the Offensive Player of the Year Award and Nate Stando was rewarded for his breakout campaign as an easy selection for Most Improved Player.

Caden Brandt returned to pick up the ‘Triple D’ (Dedication/Desire/Discipline) Award and the Hobey Baker Character Award was handed to Caleb Eastman celebrating his attitude.

Each Coach presented a Coaches Legacy Award beginning with Coach Allison who honored Putz with his Award.

Coach Welch described Carsen Brandt as “Coachable, Respectful with a desire to Improve, all while keeping a minimum 3.0 Grade Point Average for his Award.

Coach Greenwood gave his honor to junior Brendan Bychinski who he described as “Dedicated and Put the team first.

Mattson gave his Legacy honor to Nate Stando, who he described as “Coachable” and a Character player with a willingness to Learn.”

Also honored with Certificates, pins and in some cases, varsity letters in order were” Geo Rivas; Kaden Uminski; Nolan Pope; Tristan Edgerton; Trey Lariden; RJ Manley; Gus DeFosse; Mark Othmer; Carter Renneberg; Andrey Tougas; Kadin Bergenske; Jaxon Hess; Iszak Elder; Tye Barney; Bryan Mammos; Alec Breunig; Jonny Mata; Bryton Clark; Brendan Bychinski; and Alex Griebe.

Wrapping up the evening, the players took over the role of presenters, honoring their coaches along with announcer Brad Droste and the team’s public relations standout Jennifer Baldwin.

With many players moving on already to spring sports, Mattson said the team will once again welcome the incoming freshmen and begin the bonding experience with some off-season events, beginning with a grueling four-mile run and cookout June 12 and continue it with summer hockey and other bonding activities, all leading up to the start of a new season in November.

Griebe shutout, Scott hatty pace Cheavers past Thunderbirds

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The first of two annual meetings refueling the RWD Cheavers vs. Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds rivalry wrapped up Saturday (Dec. 10) at Pierce Park Pavilion in Baraboo and went to the Cheavers 5-0.

John Scott, pictured here in a game earlier this season, picked up a natural hat trick with three second period goals against the Baraboo-Portage Thunderbirds at Pierce Park Pavilion Saturday (Dec. 10). Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer

A pair of sophomore goaltenders continued awesome campaigns, Alex Griebe earning his first varsity shutout for the Cheavers while Burke Schweda turned in another awesome performance, stopping 42 of 47 albeit once again in a losing cause.

The Thunderbirds have scored just two goals this season and this game marked the fifth time the team has had a shutout hung on it.

The Cheavers got another big game from senior John Scott who notched a hat trick while juniors Iszak Elder and Brady Baldwin counted the other goals, Elder and senior defender Logan DeMars both collected a couple assists as well.

Other assists came from junior Trey Lariden, senior Lukas Vana and freshman RJ Manley.

Elder’s goal was the game winner, scored just past the seven-minute mark of the opening period before Scott contributed a natural hatty, all three coming in the second frame. Baldwin rounded it out with the lone final period tally, 5:28 into the frame.

Both teams entered the contest without a conference win and desperate to get on track. The Cheavers boosted its conference record to 1-2 and its overall mark to 3-3 and the Thunderbirds remain winless in seven and have dropped four Badger West contests.

Both will be in action Tuesday, the Cheavers facing defending conference champion Madison Edgewood Crusaders at Reedsburg Area Community Arena and the Thunderbirds hit the halfway mark in conference at Oregon against the host Panthers.

Goaltender Alex Griebe, pictured here in a game earlier this season, stopped all 12 shots fired at him Saturday (Dec. 10) to collect his first varsity shutout against the Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds at PIerce Park Pavilion. **Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer**

Clary lifts Eagles to overtime win at RACA

By JIm den Hollander
Editor/Publisher
Saukhockey.info
The Sauk Prairie Eagles stayed undefeated in Badger West Conference play as Landon Clary notched an overtime game winner lifting the guests to a 4-3 win Tuesday night at Reedsburg Area Community Arena.

While the win boosted the Eagles to 3-0 in conference matches and 5-1 overall, the host RWD Cheavers fell under .500 at 2-3 and 0-2 in Conference — both league losses coming in overtime.
Both teams are looking to find their way without their top offensive threats as seniors Caden Brandt of the Cheavers and Luke Mast of the Eagles are both out with injuries. The loss of Brandt might not be as permanent though as tests after the game in Oregon found a bad sprain opposed a broken or fractured bone.

In this game, the Eagles went to work early, junior Garret Mittelsteadt connecting for the first goal of the night in the second minute, from junior Karsyn Banta and Colin Harrington. Senior Blake Howery added another for the Eagles from junior Steven Romaker just before the 10-minute mark, but RWD sophomore Kaden Uminski struck back just 35 seconds later converting a feed from freshman RJ Manley to get the Cheavers within a goal.
That held up until late in the middle period when RWD senior John Scott notched his fourth of the season, unassisted to even the score. Sophomore Gunnar Nachreiner put the Eagles in front again before the end of the period with help from Harrington and freshman Landon Froese.
Senior defenseman Lukas Vana scored the lone third period goal from junior Brady Baldwin setting the stage for the overtime frame.
Senior Landon Clary stepped up as the overtime hero for the Eagles with his unassisted goal in the sixth minute.

Senior Kaden Stracke collected the win in goal for the Eagles, his fourth of the season with 25 saves on 28 shots while sophomore Alex Griebe kicked out 23 shots for the Cheavers.
The Eagles have played all but one game so far this season on the road and will get a chance to face one more tough road test Thursday at LeBahn Arena in Madison when they square off with the Madison Edgewood Crusaders.
This game has added importance as the Eagles and defending conference champion Crusaders are the lone undefeated teams in conference — the Eagles at 3-0 and the Crusaders with two wins.
The Eagles will finally play in front of friendly fans on Tuesday (Dec. 13) when they host the Monroe Cheesemakers at the Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) but then head on the road for another pair.
The Cheavers will look to get their own conference season on track Saturday when they travel to Pierce Park Pavilion in Baraboo for a 7 p.m. faceoff against the host Thunderbirds, then return home for a Tuesday night contest against the Crusaders and a Friday game against the Cheesemakers, taking them to the halfway mark of their Badger West Conference schedule.

Chetwood hat trick leads Flyers past Cheavers

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Sauk Prairie Bantam ‘B’ Flyers wrapped up a busy weekend with a trip to Reedsburg Area Community Arena where it picked up a 7-2-win Dec. 12 against the RWD Bantam Cheavers.

The Eagles grabbed control with three unanswered first period goals and three more in the middle period had the visitors up 6-1 heading to the final period where both teams added one more.

Kaleb Chetwood fired a hat trick and set up two others to pace the Flyers’ offense with other goals added by Jacob Wiegman, Tucker Acker, Slater Denu and Tyler Jorgenson.

Peewee Call up Landen Uminski and RJ Manley scored for the Cheavers with assists for Ethan Wilcox, also a peewee and Manley.

Jordan Kowalski stopped 28 shots in goal for the Cheavers and Ethan Goodman picked up the win with 19 stops for the Flyers.

Sauk County well represented on WEHL squads

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Wisconsin Elite Hockey League, set up as a way for keen hockey players to prepare for their respective fall seasons, is underway.

Regional teams have been selected and the South-Central Region is well-represented by players from the RWD, Baraboo and Sauk Prairie youth and varsity programs.

South Central U-16

Local organizations are well represented on a pair of u-16 teams with the Brandt twins, Caden and Carsen, incoming juniors with RWD and Carson Zick from the Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds all teammates on the U-16 Blue team.

Thor Peterson, a member of the Sauk Prairie Eagles varsity squad is playing on the U-16 Teal team roster.

The Blue team has been the busiest so far, playing a half dozen contests in the second half of August and compiling a record of 5-1.

On August 15, the South-Central squad played a pair of games at the Verona Eagles Nest against the North Central region collecting a 5-2 win in the first before surrendering a 4-3 decision in the second game.

The following weekend in Ozaukee, the South-Central squad took a pair from Southeast Kelly squad by 5-2 and 9-2 scores.

On Sunday, the team was back in Verona, collecting two more wins, starting with a third straight against Southeast Kelly, 8-1, followed up with a 10-2 decision against Northeast.

The team carries a 40-13 edge on the scoresheet into September, getting the Labor Day weekend off before heading to Rice Lake Sept. 12 for a pair against the Western Wisconsin squad.

The U-16 Teal team made the trek to Chippewa Falls for its first two games, Aug. 15, dropping the first but putting in a solid effort to battle the same Western Wisconsin team for a 4-4 draw later.

The team has played four more games – two in Verona against Southeast Grey August 22 and another pair in Stevens Point against Northcentral Sunday but details on those games were not available.

The Teal squad will be on home ice in Verona against Sept. 12 to play both the Southeast Kelly team and Northeast.

South Central U-18

Hakon Peterson, an incoming senior defenseman with the Sauk Prairie Eagles is the lone Sauk County participant on this team which has played three games so far.

Details are so far unavailable on the results of a pair of games played in Verona Aug. 21 against the Southeast Region team and the following day at Verona again, one game against the Northcentral Region team.

The Southcentral squad has another trio of games scheduled to be played at the Champion Center in Appleton Sept. 11-12.

South Central U-18 Girls

Three members of the Badger Lightning are competing with the South Central 18U squad including defenders Signe Begalske and Katelyn Allen from Sauk Prairie and Mallory Ruhland from Elroy.

The team opened its season splitting a pair of games against Southeast in Beaver Dam Aug. 22. After dropping a 3-1 decision in the first game, the team grabbed a 2-1 win in the getaway game.

The U-18’s were scheduled to travel to Baldwin to play Western Wisconsin Sunday, but details on that contest are not yet available.

South Central U-14

There are two South Central teams at this age level, U-14 Teal and U-14 Blue. There are four Sauk County players and all four play on the Sauk County Teal squad.

Three players, Landon Froese, Brock Hill, and Rylan Burch are from Sauk Prairie while RJ Manley plays for RWD.

The team opened its competitive schedule Sunday with a pair of contests at the Omni Center in Onalaska, tying the Western Region team in the first game 3-3 but no details are available for the second contest against the Southwest region entry.

The team will next be in action Sept. 12, playing host to both the Northeast Region team and getting a rematch with the Southwest region squad.

South Central U-14 Girls

The South-Central U-14 Girls are well represented by Sauk County skaters.

Forward Tahni Barger and defense Sarah Hash both split time between the Sauk Prairie Flyers and Sauk Prairie Monkeys while Paige Othmer was a defender for RWD Cheavers as well as the Badger Lightning. Reese Olson played for the Baraboo T-Birds as well as the Badger Lightning.

Paige Othmer of the South-Central U14 girls squad blocks a shot from a Western Wisconsin player in action at the Verona Eagles Nest Sunday. The team will next be in action Sept. 12 at the Lake Delton Ice Arena. Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer.

The South-Central team opened its season with a pair of home games in Verona Sunday, dropping the first 3-1 against Western Wisconsin. More details will be coming soon on those first two games.

Next up for the South-Central squad will be a pair of games at the Lake Delton Ice Arena Sept. 12, both against the Southeast with faceoffs at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Cheavers bounce back for State Consolation

The RWD Peewee A hockey team was the lone representative from the organization to reach the State Championships and they returned home with a Consolation Championship trophy from the Sauk Prairie-based event on Sunday.

RWD qualified for the State tournament with a 7-1 win at Regionals but face one of its toughest opponents on the season in its first contest, pushed to the Consolation side with a 5-1 loss against the Tomah/Sparta Titans.

However, the locals bounced back with a pair of lopsided wins, reaching the Consolation final with an 8-2 whipping of the Amery Warriors, then collected the Consolation plaque with a 7-0 shutout against Waupun Warriors.

Cheavers 1 Titans 5

Having lost a lopsided contest to the Titans earlier this season, Head Coach Joe Uminski and his squad knew the opener would be a tough contest and that served to take a little pressure off the team.

They certainly weren’t going to just hand over a win, but they were playing as underdogs.

“We had nothing to lose,” said Uminski in an email interview. “Tomah is one of the best teams in the state. It’s basically the same team that on the Squirt A State title two years ago, plus a couple good players from Sparta.”

Uminski was proud of the effort from everyone, and it was his team in charge after a period as RJ Manley converted an Ethan Wilcox feed to put the underdogs up 1-0 heading to the second.

Despite a brilliant effort in goal from Jordan Kowalski that saw his team up 1-0 despite being outshot 12-4 in the period, the Titans eventually found a way to the mesh, scoring two unanswered second period goals and then two early in the third to grab control.

“Tomah controlled the game, so even when we were up, it was going to be hard to stay in front of them. I’m extremely proud of our effort. We gave them everything we had,” said Coach Uminski adding his team focused on blocking shots, back checking and clearing rebounds to eliminate Tomah chances. “We did those throughout the game.

Tomah outshot the locals 40-11 and Kowalski, who allowed just two more goals in the final six periods at state, rightfully earned high praise from the coach.

“He played one of his best games of the season,” said Uminski adding that is nothing new for the Cheavers’ goalie. “We had a learning moment early in the season with mental toughness and after he past that, he really took off. He grew as a goaltender and as a kid.”

Amery Warriors 2 RWD Cheavers 8

One of the best things about the peewee Cheavers is its offensive abilities and that was on full display in the final two games.

The Cheavers carried a two-goal lead out of the opening period against Amery before putting up five straight shutout periods. Two more in both the second and third periods allowed the Cheavers to skate away in this one.

Nine different Cheavers checked in on the scoresheet, led by Landen Uminski who fired three goals and added two assists. Paige Othmer fired a pair, Wilcox adding a goal and assist, and other goals scored by Payton Kowalski and Ethan Pope. Single assists went to Hailey Dietl, Wyatt Arnold, RJ Manley, and Tyler Krieski.

Cheavers 7 Waupun Warriors 0

The thrill wasn’t lessened, but the drama of the third game didn’t last long, the Cheavers carrying a 4-0 lead out of the opening period on its way to a lopsided shutout win.

This time Wilcox potted the hat trick, along with an assist and Krieski picked up two of each. Uminski set up a pair with other goals for Payton Kowalski and Elizabeth Haag.

In goal, Jordan Kowalski kicked out all 14 of the shots he faced.

The peewees returned home with a trophy and amazing memories of an experience many people don’t get to participate in.

“We get a trophy and I’ll add a photo of the team and small plaque with all their names on there” said Uminski, meaning every time these players walk in the Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA), they will be reminded of this accomplishment.

The RWD Peewee “A’ Cheavers returned home from the Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association (WAHA) Peewee 3A State Championship tournament in Sauk Prairie this past weekend (March 13-14) with a Consolation Champions’ trophy. Team members (in numerical order) include: Hailey Dietl; Wyatt Arnold; Landen Uminski; Ethan Wilcox; Paige Othmer; RJ Manley; Elizabeth Haag; Payton Kowalski; Jordan Kowalski; Ethan Pope; Tyler Krieski and Olivia Renneberg. Coaches are: Joe Uminski; Nate Wilcox and Justin Pope.

“As a coach, I’ve been luck to coach four teams to state and come away with three trophies,” said Uminski. “Each one has history attached to it and the stories that with them. A lot of memories of each season.”

Any player, coach or parent who reaches the state stage, in any sport, gets a special experience. With the craziness of the 2020-21 season, it’s a great finish and for the Cheavers, there was some lemonade made from a lemon of a season. Playing out of Region four also guarantees top notch league opponents and a team well-prepared for when the big games start.

“With all the Division one teams in the Madison area, we have some great competition,” said Coach Uminski. “One silver lining, with all the rink restrictions in Dane County, this year, teams had to come to us. We only played on the road three times. Additionally, I tried to schedule as many top teams from the area to really push these kids this year. We had a great year and were extremely successful, more successful that I thought we would be.

“This is a great group of kids who want to learn and be pushed. Add in the commitment from the parents to get their kids to all the practices and games was amazing. The families made it one of the best years I have ever had coaching. It’s tough letting go of this group, that’s for sure.

“They will always have a special place in my heart.”

Flyers snatch third place away from Bantam Cheavers

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD Bantam Cheavers found themselves in a competitive group and discovered some familiar opponents at a Sparta tournament Jan. 16-17.

First the locals came face to face with the Oregon Panthers, a Regional rival from earlier days with the South-Central Cyclones. The Panthers brushed the locals aside 7-1 but the Cheavers bounced back with a second round 5-1 win against the Sparta Spartans to earn a berth in the third-place contest.

Sauk Prairie Flyers, a current Regional rival for the Cheavers in the final contest that saw the locals grab a 3-0 lead, but ultimately falling 5-3 and settling for fourth place in the tournament.

Oregon Panthers 7 RWD Cheavers 1

The Panthers opened a 2-0 lead and added two more in the middle frame against RWD.

By the time Bryan Mammos scored what would be his team’s only goal, the Panthers had five on the board, adding two more in the final 8:07 for the lopsided win.

Alex Griebe made 21 saves in goal for the Cheavers while the Panthers limited RWD to just a dozen shots at the opposite end.

Sparta Spartans 1 RWD Cheavers 5

In the second game, goaltenders stepped up in a big way, just one goal scored in the first two periods. That goal came from Tye Barney on a feed from Kaden Uminski as Griebe kept his crease clean with eight saves through the first two frames.

Griebe was 3:44 from a shutout when Sparta finally hit the board and by then the Cheavers had already notched five.

Barney notched the game winner with 8:55 to on a feed from RJ Manley and Uminski added some insurance with 7:13 on the clock from Ryleigh Bychinski. Manley fired the final two for the Cheavers the first on a feed from Barney and the final one a solo effort.

RWD Cheavers 3 Sauk Prairie Flyers 5

The Flyers couldn’t have started better when they returned to the rink Jan. 17 for the fourth-place contest. Barney hit the board first again, just 1:29 into the match with help from Gus DeFosse. Uminski added a solo effort 27 seconds later and the Cheavers were off and running.

Tristan Edgerton gave the local bantams a 3-0 margin with 3:02 to go in the period and the Flyers finally hit the board 33 seconds later when Brock Hill converted a pass from Audrey Hanko.

Connor Grant got the Flyers within a goal with his marker 3:49 into the second, from Hanko and Joshua Mast and Gavin Goetsch evened it up with 8:50 to go, teams wrapping up the middle frame even at 3-3.

Gunnar Nachreiner fired the game winner 2:49 into the final period from Mast and Landon Froese added some insurance with still a little more than 10-minutes to go, from Hill.

Griebe kicked out 24 shots in the contest while Corbin Domka stopped 17 including everything he saw in the final two periods.

Manley fires three to lift Cheavers past Wildcats

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

In between matches at the Dells Cup Tournament, the RWD Peewee ‘A’ Cheavers jammed in two more with a pair of games against the Waunakee ‘B’ Wildcats at Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA) on Saturday.

The result was a split as the Wildcats collected a 4-2 win against the Cheavers Saturday morning, just 12 hours after its tournament opener on the same ice. The Cheavers salvaged a split with a 3-2 win in another game at 12:15, giving players time to rest up for another game Saturday night in tournament action.

In the first game, both teams scored in the first period, Landen Uminski scoring for the Cheavers and Trevor Day for the Wildcats.

Wyatt Arnold had a set up on the Uminski goal and collected another assist on a second period goal for Tyler Krieski.

Wildcats scored three times in the middle period, Rylan Port collecting the game winner and insurance goals with the other added by Paige Nowinski.

Jordan Kowalski stopped 19 of 23 shots in the game for the Cheavers who outshot their guest 26-23.

RJ Manley notched all three goals for the Cheavers in the second game, including the only goal of the opening period with a pass from Arnold.

Wildcats tied it up with a goal from Port early in the second, but Manley put the Cheavers into the lead again in the seventh minute of the period and then padded the margin with 2:51 to go in the frame after taking a pass from Elizabeth Haag.

Lilly Wagner scored for the Wildcats 58 seconds later, but that was as close as they could get thanks to Kowalski who kicked out all seven shots he faced in the third on his way to a 24-save effort. The Cheavers fired 35 shots the other way, including 15 in the opening period.

The win Saturday afternoon snapped a three-game skid for the Cheavers, its longest of the season.

The weekend matches move the Cheavers to 21-11 on the season and the teams head into a well-deserved rest this weekend before heading North for a tournament in Rice Lake Jan. 23-25.

RJ Manley finished off his hat trick with 2:51 to play in the second period.

Uminski-Kowalski step up for Cheavers in Dells Cup final

The Annual Lake Delton Ice Arena Dells Cup tournament saved the best for last – at least in the opinion of the local fans.

The Peewee ‘B’ Red Championship saw the RWD Cheavers ending the weekend against the same team it opened with but with a more favorable result.

A 5-0 shutout against the Ozaukee Ice Dogs at Lake Delton Ice Arena avenged an opening night 3-2 loss to the same team at Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA).

The Cheavers dropped another 3-2 decision to the eventual ‘Blue’ Championship winning West Madison Polar Caps on Saturday night at RACA, but the locals came ready to play Sunday morning, putting its first of two shutouts together with a 9-0 whipping of the Oshkosh Warbirds sending them to the rematch against the Ice Dogs.

The RWD Peewee ‘A’ Cheavers captured the Peewee ‘B’ Red Championship at the Dells Cup Tournament at Lake Delton Ice Arena Sunday. Pictured are team members including: Hailey Dietl; Wyatt Arnold; Landen Uminski; Ethan Wilcox; Paige Othmer; RJ Manley; Elizabeth Haag; Payton Kowalski; Jordan Kowalski and Tyler Krieski along with Coaches Joe Uminski and Nate Wilcox. Absent from the photo are Ethan Pope and Olivia Renneberg.

Uminski and Kowalski get it done

Sunday’s championship win was a full team effort, but a pair of players stepped up their games in starring roles.

Jordan Kowalski kicked out 30 shots to grab the goose egg in goal for the Cheavers and Landen Uminski notched a hat trick to power the offense, two of them on dazzling rushes that started near his own goal.

One of those rushes came 2:35 into the contest for an unassisted game winning goal.

That lead carried into the second period when the Cheavers doubled its margin with another solo effort provided by RJ Manley.

Manley sent Uminski in for the third goal, near the halfway mark of the final period giving the Cheavers a little breathing room and Uminski wrapped up his hat trick 93 seconds later, all but clinching the win.

Hailey Dietl finished it off with her goal 70 seconds from the final horn with an assist for Uminski.

The win came in the sixth game of the weekend for the Peewee Cheavers, but if they were worn out from the play, it didn’t show as they celebrated their banner-winning victory.

Below is a summary of the three round robin games for the Cheavers.

Ozaukee Ice Dogs 3 RWD Cheavers 2

In the opening contest, Kowalski faced 33 shots and stopped 30, keeping his team in the game despite a lopsided 33-17 edge in shots for the Ice Dogs.

Caleb Kundinger scored the lone first period goal for the Ice Dogs before Manley tied it with 6:51 to play in the second period.

That held up until the third period when the Ice Dogs grabbed two early goals, 1:11 apart.

Manley’s second came with just six seconds remaining in the match.

RWD Cheavers 2 West Madison Polar Caps 3

On Saturday night at RACA Manley put the Cheavers on the board before the end of the first minute, from Uminski, but the Caps scored twice in 26 seconds near the middle to grab a lead. Uminski tied it, from Manley, 56 seconds later and teams were even at 2-2 at the end of the first period.

Camden Sauer, grandson of the former UW-Badgers Head Coach Jeff Sauer, fired his second of the game 3:02 into the middle period and it ultimately stood up as the game winner.

Kowalski turned in another 18 saves in the contest but the Cheavers outshot the Caps 25-21 in this one.

Oshkosh Warbirds 0 RWD Cheavers 9

Desperate for a win on Sunday morning, the Cheavers delivered in a big way, settling this one quick with four first period goals. Another four in the second left no doubt.

Uminski started off his big day with a four-goal, two assist game. Elizabeth Haag and Tyler Krieski added two goals each, Haag also collecting an assist. Dietl notched the other Cheavers’ goal and helped out on three others and Ethan Wilcox also picked up a couple assists.

Peewee ‘B’ Blue Championship

West Madison Polar Caps 1 SHAW 0 (ot)

West Madison Polar Caps also avenged an earlier defeat when it met the Southeast Hockey Association of Wisconsin (SHAW) Hockey Timberwolves in the other Peewee ‘B’ final, but it came because of patience.

Teams played through three 12-minute periods without a goal scored and were nearly through the five-minute four-on-four overtime when Nathan Justman launched a hard wrister from the blue line that traveled through a maze of bodies and into the SHAW goal to end the contest suddenly.

The same two teams met on Friday with SHAW opening the event with a 5-2 win, then adding a 3-2 decision against Ozaukee and on Sunday morning, a 3-1 win against Verona Wildcats.

The Polar Caps regrouped from its opening defeat with an 8-1 win against Verona and the Saturday night win at RACA against the Cheavers.

Peewee ‘C’ Championship

SHAW 3 West Madison Polar Caps 2

The Peewee ‘C’ championship game matched the same two teams, but this one was won by the SHAW squad.

Teams were even at 1-1 after a period but SHAW scored the lone second period goal and added another with 4:54 to play. That one became big when the Caps pulled one more back 64 seconds from the final buzzer.

Owen June scored twice, and Luca Davido added the other for SHAW, Jonah Tollefson and Ashton Wedige both scoring for the Polar Caps.

The final wrapped up a 4-0 weekend for SHAW, beginning with a 3-0 win against Ozaukee Ice Dogs on Friday, then continuing with a 4-3 edge against the Caps and a 7-2 decision against Waunakee Wildcats.

Squirt ‘B’ Championship

Pandemic Penguins 10 New Richmond Tigers 3

The Penguins brought together players from the Illinois-Wisconsin border area in a tough season and their new bond paid off at the Dells Cup.

The Penguins trailed the Tigers 2-1 after a period and held a slim 4-3 margin heading to the third before grabbing control with three goals in the opening two minutes of the final frame.

The trend of first round teams meeting in the end continued as these two first squared off Friday night, the Penguins again using some late goals to secure an 8-3 triumph.

The Penguins went to defeat the De Pere Voyageurs 4-2 and got by the Beloit Jr. Knights in its final game.

The Tigers handled the Jr. Knights 8-1 before wrapping up with an 8-3 win against the Voyageurs.

Squirt ‘C’ Championship

Washington County Ice 4 Des Moines Buccaneers 2

The Ice carried a 2-1 lead out of the first period against the Bucs and the one-goal margin was still intact at 3-2 heading to the third. The clincher came with 2:31 to play in the contest.

The Ice were also avenging an earlier defeat as it was the Bucs with a 3-0 shutout margin Saturday night at the Lake Delton Ice Arena.

The Ice started paly with a 5-1 win against Beloit Jr. Knights on Friday night at RACA with the Buc following them onto the Reedsburg rink for a 1-0 win against the Oregon Panthers.

The Bucs wrapped up a perfect round-robin set with an 8-2 win against the Jr. Knights while the Ice secured the other championship spot with a 7-2 win against the Panthers.

Next Up – Ponytail Classic

The weekend event was the third and final Dells Cup event of the season at the Lake De

Aaron Kirby announces the winners after one of the Championship games at the Dells Cup Tournament at Lake Delton Ice Arena Sunday. Kirby will be running the Ponytail Classic in March and Ice Wars 2021 in April as well.

lton Ice Arena, leaving just the Eighth Annual Ponytail Classic. This year, the popular event will feature U-10, U-12, and U-14 Divisions. It was originally scheduled to be the first tournament of the season but was later rescheduled for March 26-28.

The Lake Delton Ice Arena will also host a unique event, the Ice Wars 2021 tournament for both squirt and peewee players. Rather than taking teams, the event will have individual players signing up to play in the April 9-11.

Players will be invited to the Lake Delton Ice Arena March 19 for a 90-minute skating and drill sessions under the watchful eye of high School, junior and college coaches. Following that, players will be drafted onto one of four teams – Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.

Players will return for the tournament, representing their respective branches a three-game round robin event followed up by Championship games on Sunday, April 11.

Only 64 players – 15 skaters and a goaltender for each of the four teams will be included and the sign ups are on a first-come, first-admitted basis.

For more information on either the Ponytail Classic or the Ice Wars 2021 event, feel free to contact Aaron Kirby at Lake Delton Ice Arena – email dellsicewars@gmail.com. Registration forms for the event can be found at www.lakedeltonice.com.

Dietl sinks game winner for Peewee Cheavers

The RWD Peewee ‘A’ Cheavers hosted the Onalaska/Holmen Tornado and earn a split Sunday (Dec. 27) at Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA).

The Cheavers used a pair of unanswered third period goals to snag a 3-2 win in in the opening contest Sunday morning but the visitors turned the tables later rallying from a 2-1 deficit for a 4-3 edge with three third period goals.

In the first game, Tornado opened the scoring early and carried a 1-0 cushion into the middle period.

Wyatt Arnold pulled one back for the Peewee Cheavers, but the Tornado responded to recapture the lead heading to the third.

The lead held up until Elizabeth Haag fired the tying goal with 2:24 to play in the contest. Seven seconds later, Hailey Dietl pounced on the rebound of a shot by Arnold to put the Cheavers in front for the first and last time.

Shown below is Hailey Dietl’s game winner

Jordan Kowalski turned in a stellar effort between the pipes, helping his team to the win despite being outshot 34-29. Kowalski kicked out all but one of the 17 shots he faced in the opening period.

In the return match it was the Cheavers carrying the slim lead into the final frame as goals from Tyler Krieski and Dietl about five minutes apart had the Cheavers up 2-1 with 17-minutes to play. Assists on the goals went to RJ Manley and Paige Othmer.

Tornado hit the board with four seconds to play in the second, then tied it early in the third and scored two goals in 21 seconds to take control in the middle part of the period.

Krieski notched one more in the dying seconds but it wasn’t enough to avoid the split.

Sunday’s games boost the Cheavers’ overall record to 16-7 and the Tornado edge in the second game snapped the latest Cheavers’ winning streak at four games.

The team will keep home ice advantage with another three games coming up this weekend. The first will pit the Cheavers against Regional rival, Monroe Avalanche in a 2 p.m. test on Saturday (Jan. 2). On Sunday, the Cheavers will prepare for another big Regional match with a 9:15 a.m. game against Waunakee Wildcats before the Sauk Prairie Flyers hit the ice for a 12:30 p.m. meeting.

The Cheavers have yet to face Monroe this season but dropped a tough 8-2 decision to the Flyers at SPARC in Prairie du Sac on Nov. 28. In another previous meeting on Nov. 7, also at RACA, the locals collected a 3-0 goose egg against the Wildcats.