Tourney showing vaults Eagles into second half

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Following an unbeaten showing at the annual Madison area Holiday hockey tournament, the Sauk Prairie Eagles rolled into the second half of the season looking to build on an already successful season.

A 4-1-1 stretch has the Eagles in the hunt for a top tier playoff seed and a shot at at least a share of the Badger West Conference title.

The Eagles began play at the holiday tournament with a 7-1 win against the Ashland Oredockers, an independent team that rolled into the event with a 4-2 record on Dec. 28.

The Eagles outshot the Oredockers 47-18 and after surrendering the game’s first goal in the third minute, responded with seven straight markers.

The following day, Cedarburg Bulldogs from the North Shore Conference faced off with the Eagles who bounced them by a 9-1 count. The Eagles put this one away turning narrow 2-1 cushion after a period into an 8-1 margin with six unanswered middle period goals.

Wrapping up the event, the Eagles battled Madision Memorial Spartans to a 2-2 draw. After a scoreless first period, freshman Landon Froese opened the scoring in the second, then added the lone third period tally to pull the Eagles even at 2-2 against the Sparts who rolled into the contest with a 7-2 record and a five-game winning streak.

Building off that momentum, the Eagles faced off with the Sun Prairie Cardinals dropping a 5-3 decision at Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) on Jan. 3.

Teams were even at 1-1 after a period and 3-3 heading to the final frame before the Cards scored a pair, including a shorthanded empty netter to clinch it with 73 seconds to go.

On Friday the Eagles returned to Badger Conference play and improved their record to 6-1 with an 8-1 decision at SPARC against the visiting Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds.

The Eagles led 4-0 after a period and carried a 7-1 cushion into the third.

Finally, at SPARC Tuesday (Jan. 10) a goal from junior Colin Harrington 20 seconds from the final horn lifted the Eagles to their second win against the RWD Cheavers this season and a 7-1 conference record. The goal was the third of the period for the Eagles who rallied all the way back from a 4-2 deficit.

Leading the offensive charge was senior Luke Mast who racked up 25 points with nine goals and 16 helpers, vaulting him to third in the state with 18 goals and 44 points. He could become the second player in team history to move past the 200 points plateau as he currently sits at 71 goals and 172 points through 72 games played.

Luke Mast (left) looks for a way past RWD defender Carsen Brandt during their game at SPARC Tuesday night. Mast is on a torrid offensive pace that could be highlighted with him becoming the second player in team history to reach the 200-point plateau. **Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer**.

Freshman Froese chipped in nine goals and 13 points while Harrington added four goals ande nine points. Junior Karsyn Banta notched a goal and six points and senior Landon Clary scored four and added an assist.

Freshman Josh Mast scored once and set up three others and junior Thor Peterson fired three goals in the six-game stretch. Other goal scorers included senior Blake Howery and sophomores Gunnar Nachreiner and Connor Grant while junior Garret Mittelsteadt picked up an assist.

Game winners came off the sticks of Peterson, Harrington, Howery and Froese.

In goal, Kaden Stracke rolled up a 3-1-1 record with 115 stops on 127 shots, including 40 of 42 in the draw against Madison Memorial. Overall, his Save Percentage for the stretch was .911. Senior Brooks McInerney got some relief work in the tournament and picked up the win against Baraboo, stopping 16 of 17 through five periods’ work for a save percentage of .941.

The Eagles head back into action Friday (Jan. 13) with its Badger Challenge match against the Beaver Dam Golden Beavers and after a road-heavy opening to the schedule, the Eagles will get the pay off with six of their final eight games on home ice at SPARC.

Carrying a 12-3-1 record into the home stretch, the key match will be next Thursday when they put their 7-1 conference record on the line against the unbeaten (in conference play) Madison Edgewood Crusaders looking for a share of the conference title.

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD Peewee A Cheavers, closing in on their trip to the WAHA Peewee 3A State Championship tournament in Somerset March 12-13 got another tournament test this past weekend.

Looking to add to hardware collected as champions at the Ultimate Tournaments Dairyland Classic in all the local rinks the previous weekend, the Cheavers won two of three at a tournament in Green Bay last weekend (Feb. 26-27).

After opening the event with a 6-2 win against the Ozaukee Ice Dogs Saturday morning at Cornerstone Community Center, the Cheavers hit the ice again Saturday afternoon, falling by the same 6-2 margin against eventual tournament champion Escanaba (Michigan) Hawks.

The loss Saturday afternoon snapped a six-game unbeaten string for the Cheavers, and they went right back to work starting a new streak Sunday with a 4-0 win against the Iron Kings, another Michigan-based squad.

Cheavers 6 Ice Dogs 2

In the first game, the Cheavers carried a 2-0 lead out of the person and had the game in hand with a 6-1 cushion heading to the third.

Landen Uminski paced the offense with a three-goal game, Ethan Wilcox scoring twice and setting up another and Tyler Krieski scoring the other, along with two assists.

Evelyn Gurney and Andrew Stando picked up assists as well and Jesse Arnold picked up the win in goal with nine saves.

Blake Atchison kicked out 23 shots for the Ice Dogs.

Cheavers 2 Hawks 6

The Cheavers gained some consolation in the knowledge they played the Hawks closer than any other team as the Hawks collected their second win of the week and claimed the title with a 12-4 margin against the host Green Bay squad.

Hawks were up 4-0 after a period and 5-1 after the middle frame, both teams adding one more in the third.

Hailey Dietl fired the first RWD goal, unassisted and the other game from Uminski with a feed from Wilcox.

Arnold kicked out 19 shots in the contest while Bryce Bichlor stopped six to pick up the win for the Hawks.

Cheavers 4 Iron Kings 0

The Cheavers shrugged off the loss to the Hawks and went back to work Sunday, collecting the 4-0 shutout against the Iron Kings.

The game winner came in the first period and the other three goals all game in the middle period.

Krieski and Uminski scored two goals each, Krieski adding an assist. Other assists were credited to Dayne Wagner, Noah Backeberg and Ethan Pope.

Arnold picked up his third shutout of the season and second in the past two weeks with eight saves, Aubree Moore stopping 16 for the Kings.

The 2-1 win boosted the Cheavers’ overall record to 27-17-2 and the team is an impressive 6-3-1 in its past 10 games.

The Cheavers were ranked fourth at the tournament based on some points system used for the event.

The final chance to catch the Cheavers on home ice will be this weekend as they get some tough tests on home ice at Reedsburg Area Community Arena Saturday, playing the Sun Prairie ‘A’ peewees Saturday (March 5) at 10:45 a.m. then return for a 4:45 ‘B’ test against the Waunakee ‘B’ Wildcats at 4:45 p.m.

On Sunday, the Cheavers will play the Tomah ‘A’ peewees at 9:15 a.m.

Four-goal middle period lifts Eagles over Cheavers 5-3

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

For a third straight season, the Sauk Prairie Eagles have advanced to the WIAA Sectional semi-finals and for a second straight season it came at the expense of the rival RWD Cheavers by a 5-3 margin at Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA) Thursday (Feb. 17) night.

The second period, in particular a stretch of 6:08 that saw a 2-1 RWD lead turned into a 5-2 Eagles’ cushion. Of the four goals, Eagles produced one on a powerplay and another shorthanded.

The Eagles held 18-6 shots lead through the period and carried that lead into the final 17 minutes. A desperate Cheavers team threw all it had at the Eagles in the final frame, but the Eagles showed a proficiency in playing a simple defensive game and breaking up numerous RWD rushes through the neutral zone.

The final seven minutes the Cheavers found more success penetrating the Eagles’ end and it paid off with the second goal of the night for senior Trevor Slaght with 6:37 to play. That left plenty of time for two more, but the Eagles again mostly kept RWD chances to the outside.

Senior Micah Hanson fired the game’s first goal, from senior defender Hakon Peterson 3:39 into the game but RWD struck back with two in 55 seconds from seniors Tomas Korndorfer and Slaght to grab its first lead 7:17 into the contest.

Senior Grant Marsich, junior Caden Brandt and sophomore Brady Baldwin each contributed an assist on the first period markers.

Peterson fired a seeing-eye slapper from the blue line that found its way past a host of bodies in front and past senior RWD goaltender Cooper Oakes who never saw it until it whizzed past him 92 seconds into the middle period. Senior Hanson and junior Luke Mast had the assists.

RWD took a penalty, but the Eagles had also assessed one seconds later. Shortly after the Cheavers’ penalty expired, Nick Mast notched an unassisted shorty to put his team in front to stay.

Senior Erik Peterson doubled the Eagles’ lead from the Mast brothers, senior Nick, and junior Luke just over three minutes later and an Eagles’ powerplay made it a three-goal cushion just under three minutes after that one.

Hanson fired the power play tally with an assist for Luke Mast.

The win pushed the Eagles’ overall season record to 19-4 on the season and they advance to the Sectional semis against the Madison Edgewood Crusaders who moved on with a narrow 3-2 edge against the Sun Prairie Cardinals.

As this is written the date and time are still TBA but the game will likely be Tuesday night at La Bahn Arena in Madison.

The other Sectional semi-final will match the second seeded Waunakee Warriors against number three Verona Wildcats who are also two-time defending Sectional 3 Champs.

The Cheavers had one of its most successful seasons come to a sudden end. Even at 5-5 just before Christmas, it was a win against the same Eagles that sent the team on a 14-1 run heading into this one.

Several RWD seniors played their final varsity contest, but at least a few will likely take part in the seniors tournament in a few weeks with the luxury of having some of the Eagles’ rivals as teammates.

Rivals since they started out in youth hockey, Sauk Prairie Eagles senior Nick Mast and RWD senior Trevor Slaght met for an emotional sendoff at center ice following what will likely be their final game against each other. Unseen in the picture is RWD senior Grant Marsich standing behind. Mast will likely play as a teammate to the other two for the first time in a few weeks at the annual Seniors Tournament.

Eagles power past Norskies in final period at SPARC

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Three goals in the opening six minutes of the final period helped the Sauk Prairie Eagles varsity hockey team turn a close 3-2 match into a comfortable 6-2 margin in their opening WIAA Division 1 playoff encounter against the DeForest Norskies at Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) on Tuesday (Feb. 15).

While the score was close, the shot clock showed a dominating effort by the Eagles who ultimately carried a 51-17 margin on the shot clock.

DeForest senior Alex Kaminski did his job and more, helping the visitors stay within a goal despite a 34-12 edge through the first two periods.

Junior Luke Mast fired the goal that stood up as the game winner 8:53 into the second period, just 45 seconds after Gabriel Larson, a junior from Lodi pulled his team even at 2-2 with what would be the final Norskie goal of the season.

The younger Mast brother added four assists in the contest while senior Nick Mast fired two goals and set up a pair as well. Rounding out the top line was senior Erik Peterson who also contributed two goals and two helpers.

The other Eagles’ goal came from defender Hakon Peterson who also collected an assist in the contest. Another senior, Porter Kreul picked up an assist for the Eagles.

Scoring the other DeForest goal in the opening period was senior Preston Nichols.

Eagles’ juniors Kaden Stracke and Brooks McInerney shared the work in goal, McInerney coming on for the final 9:13, facing three shots after Stracke stopped a dozen shots playing into the final period.

With the win, the now 18-4 Eagles advance to one of four Section 4 Regional finals, Thursday (Feb. 17) at 7 p.m. at RACA in Reedsburg against the 19-6 RWD Cheavers. Winner of that game will advance to Sectional semis next week against either Madison Edgewood Crusaders or the Sun Prairie Cardinals.

The season wraps up for the Norskies who finish the season with a 7-13-1 overall record.

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.

Cheavers, Tbirds and Eagles together in WIAA draw

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

High School varsity hockey teams are entering the final week of their respective regular seasons and as of Sunday (Feb. 6) the playoff seeds have been set.

The four Sauk County teams will start their respective playoff runs Feb. 15-18, and the number will be cut by at least one in the opening round as the RWD varsity Cheavers will play host to Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds in its first-round match.

The Cheavers drew the #4 seed in the 14-team Section 3 with the Sauk Prairie Eagles ranked #5 and the Thunderbirds were ranked #13.

Top seeded Madison Edgewood Crusaders and second seed Waunakee Warriors both drew a bye through the first round of play.

The other 12 teams will start on Feb. 15 with the six opening game winners heading to regional finals Feb. 17 or 18.

The top half of the draw has a distinct Badger West flavor with RWD, Baraboo/Portage, Sauk Prairie Eagles and the Crusaders in that half of the draw.

The Eagles will entertain the 12^th seeded DeForest Norskies in its opening contest with the winner confronting either RWD Cheavers or the Baraboo/Portage Thunderbirds in the Regional final round.

The other top-half match will see #8 Sun Prairie Cardinals from the Big Eight Conference hosting #9 Onalaska Hilltoppers from the Mississippi Valley Conference.

The bottom half of the draw will include five Big Eight teams.

While the Warriors draw the first-round bye, the third seeded Verona Wildcats will begin its quest for a third straight trip to State against #14 Madison LaFollette/East, #6 Middleton Cardinals will host the Aquinas Co-op Avalanche, seeded 11^th and #7 Madison Memorial Spartans will play #10 Madison West Regents.

Lightning ranked sixth

The Seven-team Section 3 draw gives the Badger Lightning a shot at one more meeting with the Cap City Cougars.

The Lightning took the Cougars to overtime at Pierce Park Pavilion on Thursday (Feb. 3) and as the number six seed in Section 3, they will make the trip to third seeded Sun Prairie to face the same team either Feb. 17 or 18 for its first playoff encounter.

Winner of that game will move on to play either second seeded Viroqua or number seven Beaver Dam in the Sectional semis.

The other half of the draw includes the Metro Lynx drawing a first-round bye as the top seed and #4 Icebergs playing host to the #5 Rock County Fury.

The unique draw which sees all seven Badger Conference teams in the same draw makes the Sectional tournament double as a sort of unofficial Conference championship series as well.

Nick Mast scores first four against Cardinals

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Sauk Prairie Eagles hit the road, making the short trip to Sun Prairie and extended its winning streak with a 7-2 win against the host Cardinals.

The Eagles opened a comfort zone with three unanswered goals in both the first and second periods at Sun Prairie Ice Arena, then added another in the third before the Cards gained some satisfaction, denying junior Kaden Stracke the shutout with two goals in the game’s final six minutes.

Eagles’ senior has had some big games this season, but this might be the biggest as he collected a natural hat trick with all three first period goals, then added his fourth early in the second on his way to a four goal, one assist game.

Linemates, senior Erik Peterson and junior Luke Mast both added a goal and two assists the other Eagles’ goal scored by senior Micah Hanson.

Junior Ethan Tranel and senior Hakon Peterson picked up assists as well.

Seniors Will Brinkmeier and Davis Hamilton counted the Cardinal goals.

Stracke’s role was big in this game as the Eagles held a slim 39-34 edge in shots including a 15-13 edge for the Cards in the final frame.

The Eagles’ will put its nine-game winning streak on the line in a key Badger West Conference battle at Oregon on Thursday (Jan. 20) and the road stretch continues at Baraboo on Tuesday (Jan. 25). Next home game for the Eagles will be on Feb. 1 when the RWD Cheavers pay a visit.

The Eagles climb to 12-2 overall and they are 3-2 in Badger West Conference matches. The team has seven games remaining to play, five of them conference tilts.

Stracke-McInerney share another Eagles shutout

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Sauk Prairie Eagles stayed hot with a 4-0 shutout against the Beaver Dam Golden Beavers in one of five Badger West Conference wins against rivals from the Badger East Conference at Waunakee Ice Ponds.

For the second time this season, junior goaltenders Kaden Stracke and Brooks McInerny shared a shutout, combining to handle all 16 shots put at them by the Golden Beavers.

All four Eagle’s goals came in the middle period, scored by seniors Nick Mast, Micah Hanson, and Erik Peterson along with junior Luke Mast. The first three came in a span of 2:19 in the middle of the frame. Hanson added two assists, the other three goal scorers each picking up one helper. Other assists went to junior Ethan Tranel and sophomore Karsyn Banta.

The Eagles dominated the contest with a 44-16 edge in shots.

The win continues a winning streak for the Eagles to eight games and the team’s overall record is 11-2.

The Eagles return to action Tuesday (Jan. 18) back on the road to face the Sun Prairie Cardinals, the first of three consecutive road matches. Next home game will be Feb. 1 when the Eagles play host the RWD Cheavers.

Season Preview — Sauk Prairie Eagles

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Sauk Prairie Eagles head into the 2021-22 WIAA season looking to build off the success of its past two seasons.

After reaching Sectional semifinals in the past two seasons, the Eagles had its progress impeded by the State Champion Verona Wildcats in the spring of 2020 and the same Wildcats who once against reached the State Championship game this past Spring.

A few key members have moved on, but offensively, many of the key cogs are back for another run beginning Tuesday (Nov. 23) when the Eagles play host to the Onalaska Hilltoppers, a perennial contender as well.

The Eagles have solid leadership up front and on the blue line with key seniors such as Nick Mast, Erik Peterson and Micah Hanson at the forward position along with Hakon Peterson on the blueline along with junior forward Luke Mast and junior defender Ethan Tranel.

In goal, the junior pair of Kaden Stracke and Brooks McInerney helped the team to a 12-1 regular season record in last year’s shortened season.

The Eagles are looking to step into a higher level of competition beginning with the game against Onalaska, a team it faced off for the first time in regular season competition in January.

The new Badger West is basically an even trade-off as the always tough Madison Edgewood Crusaders now become a division rival along with Oregon and Monroe while perennial conference championship contender, Waunakee Warriors slide into the Badger East along with Deforest and Beaver Dam.

Regular season contests against Big Eight contenders Middleton Cardinals and Sun Prairie Cardinals will provide some tough challenges late in the season. The Eagles will also be taking part in the prestigious Culvers Cup holiday tournament (usually played out of both Hartmeyer Ice Arena and Madison Ice Arena) over the Christmas break.

Some of the players took part in both spring/summer teams as well as Before/After squads including Team Wisconsin, so the Eagles should be strong out of the gate.

Eagles raise bar on 2021-22 season challenges

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The Sauk Prairie Eagles are rolling into the 2021-22 season coming off of back to back Sectional semi-final defeats against the Verona Wildcats. The same Wildcats that won the state title in 2020 and finished as runners up last season.

The team has a combined regular season record of 31-5-1 in regulation and has plenty left in the tank for another deep run.

If they match the regular season success of the previous season, they will have had a great run as the team’s schedule looks tough this time around, beginning with the season opener Nov. 23 at SPARC against the Onalaska Hilltoppers.

Three of the team’s first five games will be against the Hilltoppers, Edgewood Crusaders, now a division foe and the University School of Milwaukee, also a perennial state contender. The Eagles will also compete in the annual Christmas tournament at Hartmeyer and Madison Ice Arenas – usually one of the state’s tougher events. Other regular season games will include Bight Eight opponents from Sun Prairie and Middleton.

The always tough Waunakee Warriors will no longer be in the path of the Eagles, but the Badger West will still be tough with the addition of both the Crusaders and Oregon Panthers and the up and coming Monroe Cheesemakers, rival of all Sauk County communities at the Youth hockey level.

Listed below is a tentative version of the Sauk Prairie Eagles’ 2021-22 regular season schedule, taken from the school’s website. Dates and times are subject to change.

Badger West Conference games are listed in bold

Nov. 23 – vs. Onalaska Hilltoppers @ Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) 7 p.m.

Dec. 2 – vs. Monroe Cheesemakers @ SPARC 7 p.m.

Dec. 7 – vs. Madison Edgewood Crusaders @ LeBahn Arena 7 p.m.

Dec. 9 – vs. Oregon Panthers @ SPARC 7 p.m.

Dec. 11 – vs. University School of Milwaukee Wildcats @ SPARC 2 p.m.

Dec. 14 – vs. Baraboo Thunderbirds @ SPARC 7 p.m.

Dec. 17 – vs. RWD Cheavers @ RACA 7 p.m.

Dec. 21 – vs. McFarland Spartans @ SPARC 7 p.m.

Dec. 28-30 – vs. TBA @ Madison-Hartmeyer tournament

Jan. 6, 2022 – vs. Monroe Cheesemakers @ State Line Ice & Community Expo (SLICE) 7 p.m.

Jan. 11 – vs. Edgwood Crusaders @ SPARC 7 p.m.

Jan. 15 – Badger Challenge @ Waunakee Ice Ponds TBA

Jan. 18 – vs. Sun Prairie Cardinals @ Sun Prairie Ice Arena 7 p.m.

Jan. 21 – vs. Oregon Panthers @ Oregon Ice Arena 7 p.m.

Jan. 25 – vs. Baraboo Thunderbirds @ Pierce Park Pavilion 7 p.m.

Feb. 1 – vs. RWD Cheavers @ SPARC 7 p.m.

Feb. 4 – vs. Middleton Cardinals @ SPARC 7 p.m.

Feb. 8 – vs. Tomah/Sparta @ SPARC 7 p.m.