Both Flyers bantam squads wrap up at State tourneys

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Both Sauk Prairie Flyers Bantam teams made the trip to their respective State Championship tournaments this past weekend both the Bantam ‘A’ and Bantam ‘B’ Flyers returning home with Consolation Final hardware.

Both also faced a tough opening round opponent, going to the Consolation side of the draw with tough losses to eventual State Championship finalists.

The procedure was the same at every state tournament played last weekend, each team playing twice on Saturday and returning for one final match on Sunday.

In Shawano at the WAHA State 3A Championship tournament, the Bantam ‘A’ Flyers dropped a 5-2 decision to Ashland before bouncing back with a 7-3 decision against Marshfield Youth Hockey Blades. In the Consolation Championship game, the Flyers handled Waupun by a 7-2 score.

The Ashland bantams moved to the State Championship game before falling 3-2 against Tomahawk.

The weekend results wrapped up the WAHA season for the Bantam ‘A’ Flyers who posted a record of 25-13-1.

The Bantam ‘B’ Flyers were moved up from the WAHA State 3B to 3A Championship event facing some tougher caliber teams, due to a lack of teams at the 3B level.

After dropping a 4-2 decision to the River Falls Wildcats in its opening game the Flyers rebounded with a 6-2 win against the New Richmond Tigers.

That advanced the Flyers to the State Consolation Final where they handled the Mosinee Pride by a 6-4 score.

Flyers 2 Wildcats 4

The Flyers played the Cats even through a period, both teams scoring once. The Wildcats notched the lone goal of the second then outscored the Flyers through the final 15 minutes by a 2-1 margin.

The first period Flyers’s goal came from Tucker Acker on a feed from Jacob Wilhelm and the other Flyers’ goal was scored by Caleb Chetwood with an assist for Lucas Rehlinger.

Ethan Goodman handled the work in goal for the Flyers, stopping 29 of 33 shots.

The loss moved the Flyers to the Consolation side of the draw.

Flyers 6 Tigers 2

In the second-round game, played later on Saturday, the Flyers jumped in to a 3-1 first period lead and never looked back, adding one more unanswered marker in the second and outscoring the Tigers 2-1 down the stretch.

Slater Denu opened the scoring for the Flyers and set up the other two first period goals, scored by Ryan Flynn and Ryan Jorgenson before wrapping up his own hat trick with both third period goals.

The second period goal came from Chetwood with help from Greyson Dunn. Flynn and Dunn both collected assists as well.

Goodman stopped a dozen of the 14 shots he faced to help move the Flyers into the Consolation Final.

Flyers 6 Pride 4

On Sunday, the Pride and Flyers were even at 2-2 after a period and still knotted at 3-3 heading to the final period.

The Flyers finally grabbed control with two goals in the opening 2:36 of the final period, then matched then another in the middle of the period before Mosinee added one more in the final six minutes.

This time it was Chetwood with the hat trick to wrap up a five-goal weekend with goals in all three contests. Denu fired a pair and Tyler Jorgenson fired the Flyers’ first goal of the contest. Gavin Krueger chipped in three assists with others for Jacob Wiegmann and Flynn.

Goodman backstopped the win with 26 saves, including 14 of 15 in a wild third period.

The Bantam ‘B’ Flyers’ weekend record finished their season at 22-11-1. It was the final youth event for Chetwood, Flynn, Wilhelm, Acker and Denu who will all move under the Eagles’ umbrella next season.

Wilhelm sinks winner for Flyers against Wildcats

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Sauk Prairie Flyers Bantam ‘B’ hockey team wrapped up a split Dec. 11-12, opening with a tough 4-3 loss at McFarland Ice Arena against the host McFarland ‘B’ Spartans Dec. 11 before bouncing back the following day on home ice with a 3-1 win against the Waunakee ‘C’ Wildcats.

The team wrapped up the weekend later Dec. 12 with a 7-2 win in Reedsburg against the RWD Cheavers (see story below).

Against McFarland teams were even at 2-2 after a period, Slater Denu and Jacob Wilhelm counting the Flyers’ goals. The Spartans scored a pair of unanswered goals in the middle period, but Tucker Acker got the visiting Flyers within one with just under five minutes to go.

Kaleb Chetwood had set ups on two of the Flyers’ goals and Denu had an assist as well.

Goaltender Ethan Goodman was the game’s busiest player, kicking out 37 shots to keep it close despite a 41-17 edge on the shots clock for the Spartans.

The following day against the Wildcats, Acker converted a feed from Acker for the lone goal of the opening period, but Waunakee responded with the lone goal of the middle frame and teams were even at 1-1 heading to the final 15 minutes.

A pair of unassisted third period goals about two minutes apart made the difference in this one, the game winner fired by Wilhelm and the insurance goal by Ryan Flynn.

Goodman turned in another 27 save effort in goal to lift his team to the win despite a 29-28 edge in shots for the Wildcats.

The Flyers are scheduled to be back in action this weekend, traveling to Rhinelander for a tournament. The Flyers will begin with games against the Appleton Avalanche (10 a.m.) and host Rhinelander Hodags (7 p.m.) on Saturday and wrapping up Sunday against an opponent determined by the performance in the first two games.

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.

Bantam Flyers wrap up 25-goal weekend

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Sauk Prairie Bantam ‘B’ Flyers added 25 goals and three wins to its total on three days from three different arenas this past weekend.

After playing host to the Madison West Polar Caps Friday at SPARC and opening the weekend with a 7-1 win, then hit the road to Brookfield Saturday for a 7-4 win against the host Elmbrook Eagles. Wrapping up the weekend on Sunday, the Flyers traveled to Pierce Park Pavilion in Baraboo playing as the guest and collecting an 11-1 win against the Waunakee Wildcats.

On Friday night on home ice, the Flyers carried a 2-0 lead into the second period and both teams scored once in the middle frame before the Flyers piled on another four in the third.

Kaleb Chetwood, on his way to a 10-goal weekend, scored four and set up another for the Flyers. Ryan Jorgenson scored twice and assisted on another, Slater Denu scoring the other and picking up an assist.

Jacob Wiegmann, Ronald Osborn, Lucas Rehlinger and Gavin Krueger each added an assist and Ethan Goodman picked up the win in goal stopping 13 of 14 Polar Caps shots.

On Saturday in Brookfield, the Flyers carried a 3-2 cushion out of the opening period and was still up by a goal at 5-4 after the middle session. Two unanswered down the stretch padded the Flyers’ margin.

Chetwood sank another hat trick and set up one with Flynn scoring twice with an assist as well. Denu and Wiegmann scored the other goals with single assists for Rehlinger, Jorgenson and Graysen Dunn.

Goodman added another with with 20 saves.

In Baraboo on Sunday, the Flyers jumped into a 6-0 cushion adding two more in the second and wrapping it up with a 3-1 margin in the third.

Wiegmann enjoyed a big offensive game scoring a goal and adding four assists.

Denu and Chetwood both collected hat trick, Chetwood adding an assist while Austin Smith and Flynn both scored a pair, Flynn adding a set up.

Osborn and Jorgenson both notched another assist and Goodman stoped all but one of 15 to snag his third game of the weekend.

This weekend the bantam Flyers will have visit another three rinks, beginnng Saturday with a road trip to McFarland to play the bantam Spartans, then returning home Sunday morning for an 8 a.m. contest against Waunakee and wrapping it up with a trip to Reedsburg to take on the host RWD Cheavers.