Solid showing but road ends in Verona for Cheavers

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

An up and down road for the RWD varsity Cheavers hit a final roadblock in Verona Friday (Feb. 17) against the top seeded Verona Wildcats.

The Cheavers earned its berth in the Section 3 quarterfinals with a 7-3 win against the Aquinas/Holmen Avalanche but that advanced them to the team’s toughest test of the season in Verona.

The Wildcats, wrapped up the regular season with a 17-5 record and wrapped up the Bight Eight Conference title with an 11-1 mark in division play.

The Cheavers represented the community well and while the CWildcats were ultimately too much for them, they overcame a slow start and skated with them through the final two periods.

It was all-Verona in the opening period though as the home team peppered RWD sophomore goaltender Alex Griebe with 23 shots and opened a 2-0 with goals from seniors Blake Herburger and Charlie Scadden.

After a 23-7 margin through the opening period though the Cheavers nearly matched the Wildcats in the middle frame, the home side with a 14-12 margin in favor of the hosts. Down the stretch the Cheavers threw all it had at the Wildcats, owning a 17-12 edge in shots in a scoreless final period.

Crusaders led 4-0 before the Cheavers hit the board with an all -senior effort – Logan DeMars pulling the trigger with assists for Lukas Vana and Caden Brandt.

The Cheavers entered the game as heavy underdogs and the effort was impressive despite the final result. The loss wrapped up a successful run for the senior players including DeMars, Vana, Caden and Carsen Brandt, John Scott, Nate Stando, Yevgeny Dedun, Caleb Eastman and Conner Putz.

The Cheavers finished with an overall record of 15-11.

Other Section 3 Quarterfinal matches saw second seeded Madison Edgewood Crusaders getting past Sun Prairie United 4-0 while third seed, Middleton Cardinals downed Waunakee Warriors and number five Sauk Prairie Eagles collecting a 5-4 edge on the road against fourth seeded Madison Memorial 1-0.

Goaltender Alex Griebe came up big for the Cheavers in Verona, particularly in the first period when he stopped all but two of 23 Wilcats shots. **Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer**

RWD senmior forward Caleb Eastman pressures Verona Wildcats freshman Boden Brotzman during their Sectional 3 Quarterfinal Friday night (Feb. 17). Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer

Brandt, Scott lead Cheavers past improved Avalanche

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD Cheavers varsity hockey team didn’t pay much attention to recent trends when it opened the 2022/23 WIAA playoffs at Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA) Tuesday (Feb. 14) with a 7-3 win against the Aquinas/Holmen Avalanche.

It was a battle of middle seeds in the 13-team WIAA Section 3 with the eighth seeded Cheavers hosting the number nine Avs. While the RWD squad endured and up and down season, its longest streak a pair of three straight wins.

One of those streaks started on Dec. 30 with a 7-0 win against the Avs at the Bobber’s Classic Holiday Tournament.

However, following that game, the Avs got about as hot as a team can get, picking up wins in 10 of its final 11 games.

That didn’t impress the Cheavers though as they carried a 1-0 lead out of the first period but had the game in control with a 5-1 margin heading to the third.

Leading the offense were seniors Caden Brandt with two goals and two assists and John Scott who fired a pair and set up another. Seniors Logan DeMars and Nate Stando had other goals along with junior Andrey Tougas.

Caden Brandt collected four points to help his RWD Cheavers teammates roll to a 7-3 win in their WIAA playoff opener at RACA Tuesday (Feb. 14). **Photo Courtesy Jessica Othmer**

Senior Lukas Vana had a couple assists with others picked up by senior Carsen Brandt and junior Brady Baldwin.

Avs goals came from senior Ethan Meyer, freshman Owen Hoehn and sophomore Casey Keane.

The win advanced the Cheavers into the WIAA Section 3 quarter finals but they face a tough task, heading to Verona to take on the top seeded Wildcats.

Crusaders send Eagles to WIAA sidelines in semis

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The final Sauk County team remaining in the WIAA post season was sent to the sidelines Wednesday (Feb. 23) as the Sauk Prairie Eagles were shutout 6-0 by Section 3’s top seed, the Madison Edgewood Crusaders in the Sectional semifinals at La Bahn Arena in Madison.

The Eagles were looking to solve the Crusaders who wrapped up the first Badger West Conference crown without a loss, including two wins against them in regular season play.

The job got tougher quick as senior Parker Murn put the Crusaders on the board with the goal that turned into the game winner just 21 seconds into the match.

Crusaders added another three seconds away from the first period buzzer off the stick of senior Cody Menzel and that 2-0 cushion held up all the way to the final period.

The Crusaders held a narrow 8-7 edge in shots through the opening 17 minutes and ran it 19-13 by the end of a scoreless middle period.

The Eagles needed to find the mesh in the final period, but the Crusaders tightened its grip, limiting them to four shots while piling up four more goals to pad its margin.

The daggers were likely two goals scored 51 seconds apart giving the near a 4-0 cushion 5:37 into the final period. Menzel and senior Aidan Lenz fired those goals.

First years Matt Richter and Easton Kinsler both scored in the final seven minutes to wrap up the scoring and send the Crusaders to the Sectional Championship game Friday night against the Waunakee Warriors who moved on by knocking off two-time defending Sectional champion Verona Wildcats with a 2-1 margin at the Waunakee Ice Ponds, also on Sunday.

Eagles’ junior Kaden Stracke faced 31 shots in all, the Eagles firing 17 at sophomore Rowan White who stopped them all.

Winner will represent Section 3 at the WIAA State Championship tournament in Madison next week.

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.

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.

Peewee Cheavers win two of three weekend tests

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD Peewee ‘A’ Cheavers started a busy weekend taking a 10-0 knock from the Verona ‘A’ Peewees Saturday (Dec. 4) morning, but things improved the rest of the way.

On the way home, the Cheavers stopped at Hartmeyer Ice Arena in Madison Saturday afternoon and bested the Patriots 3-1.

On Sunday, the Cheavers played on home ice at RACA, collecting a 10-1 win against the Monroe Avalanche.

In the opener at Verona, goaltender Jesse Arnold was the busiest player in the game, facing 50 Verona Wildcats shots and turning away 40. The home team carried a 3-0 lead out of the opening period and widened it to 7-0 heading to the third.

At Hartmeyer, the Cheavers hit the scoreboard first, Ethan Wilcox hitting the mesh after taking a feed from Landen Uminski, but a last-minute goal had the host Patriots even by the end of the first period.

Tyler Krieski buried the game winner unassisted and Dayne Wagner added insurance with help from Wilcox later in the middle period.

Arnold made it stand up, stopping all but one of the 28 shots he faced and helping the Cheavers to the win despite being outshot 28-23.

The following day against the Avs, the local peewee squad picked up a big win against a regional opponent, carrying a 3-0 lead out of the opening period and building it to 8-1 in the second before wrapping up with two more unanswered in the final frame.

Krieski, Evelyn Gurney and Noah Backeberg scored twice each for RWD and Krieski also added a pair of assists. Andrew Stando, Wilcox and Teaghan Geffert each added a goal and assist, and Uminski set up a pair. Wagner fired the other RWD goal and Ethan Pope collected an assist. The Cheavers held a 35-9 edge in shots in the contest.

The loss on Saturday stopped a five-game Cheavers’ winning streak, but the team has now won seven of its last eight and heads into play this weekend sporting a 7-6-1 record.

On Saturday, the peewee Cheavers will play the Middleton ‘A’ Cardinals peewees at 5:15 p.m. at RACA, returning Sunday at 8:30 a.m. to play the Oregon ‘A’ Panthers peewees. Wrapping up the weekend, the locals will move to Lake Delton Ice Arena to play Waunakee Wildcats at 2 p.m.

Back to back hatties for Uminski

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD Peewee A squad played host to the Viroqua Peewee Thunder on the weekend and sent them home disappointed with 6-1 and 7-2 wins at the Reedsburg Area Community Arena (RACA).

The first game ended up 6-1 but it was Viroqua on the board first, Caden Williams hitting the mesh with 1:44 to go in the first period.

The lead lasted 31 seconds before Tyler Krieski tied it with a set up for Ethan Wilcox and teams were even at 1-1 heading to the middle period.

Cheavers took its first and only lead 1:50 into the second with a goal from Landen Uminski, unassisted and Andrew Stando scored the next two before Uminski finished off a hat trick with two more in the third period. Krieski collected assists on two of the goals.

Jesse Arnold picked up the win in goal with 22 saves and Jack Ray stopped 19 in goal for the Thunder.

A few hours later teams hit the ice again and again it was the guests on the board first, Jackson Morrison netting his first of a pair 20 seconds into the contest.

Wilcox scored and teams were again even at 1-1 after a period. A second Wilcox put the Cheavers in front early in the second period, but Morrison notched the equalizer a few minutes later and teams were even again with 15 minutes to go.

Uminski fired his second game winner of the day and started his second hat trick of the day 4:46 into the final period and the Cheavers rolled to five unanswered goals in the period.

Krieski fired the other two RWD goals and Noah Backeberg wrapped up the game with a couple assists, others going to Stando, Wilcox and Dayne Wagner.

Another case of déjà vu saw Arnold once again getting the win with 22 saves and the Thunder had a pair of goalies combining on a 31-save effort.

The wins continued the team’s recent streak to five straight wins and after a tough start to the season, the Cheavers are now 5-5-1. They will look to climb over .500 for the first time traveling to the Madison area for three games.

On Saturday, the team will travel to Verona to play the Wildcats who defeated them in their first two games this season at RACA for a 9 a.m. faceoff and RWD will stop at Hartmeyer Ice Arena on the way home to faceoff against the Peewee Patriots at 2 p.m.

On Sunday, the Monroe Avalanche will be at RACA for an 11:30 a.m. contest, the first meeting between these Regional rivals this season.

Peewee Cheavers overcome rough start

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

The RWD Peewee ‘A’ Cheavers entered the 2021-22 Wisconsin Amateur Hockey Association (WAHA) campaign through a gauntlet of tough opponents.

As a result, the team took its share of lumps with five losses and a tie through its first six contests. But a key win against the regional rival has turned things around.

The Cheavers avenged a 4-2 loss on home ice against the Sauk Prairie Flyers on Nov. 6 with a 2-1 edge against the same team at Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) a week later and a pair of lopsided wins Nov. 14 has the peewee squad riding a three-game winning streak.

The games against the Flyers have appeared on Saukhockey.info earlier. Following is a quick wrap on the other seven games in the order they were played.

Verona Wildcats 8, 5 @ RWD Cheavers 1, 1

The Cheavers opened the regular season on Halloween weekend with a pair of games against the ‘A’ Wildcats.

After dropping an 8-1 decision early on Oct. 30, the same two teams returned to the ice later the same day and while the Wildcats won again, the Cheavers trimmed the margin a bit.

Dayne Wagner scored the lone goal in both games, gaining satisfaction of shattering the shutout bid of Brooke Terrien just 67 seconds from the final buzzer in the opener.

Andrew Stando collected an assist in the second game and Jesse Arnold picked up 20 saves in goal in both contests.

McFarland Spartans 1 RWD Cheavers 1

On Halloween Sunday, the Cheavers engaged in a tight defensive battle with the visiting Spartans.

Ian Boresh fired the only shot of 23 to get by Arnold in the second period but Landen Uminski pulled it back for RWD in the third with an unassisted goal.

RWD Cheavers 2, 0 Dubuque Fighting Saints 10, 10

The Fighting Saints feasted on the Cheavers on Nov. 7, taking a 10-2 win the first game at Mystique Ice Arena and following it up with a 10-0 shutout.

RWD carried a 2-1 lead out of the opening period in the first game and were even at 2-2 with a period to play before the home side exploded for eight third period markers.

Tyler Krieski scored both RWD goals, Uminski collecting an assist on the first one.

RWD Cheavers 7, 9 @ Black River Falls Tigers 4, 3

Following its win at Sauk Prairie, the Cheavers made the trip to Black River Falls on Nov. 14, taking a pair with a 7-4 win in the opener and 9-3 in the getaway game.

RWD was up 4-1 after a period in the first game, and 6-3 heading to the third, both teams adding one more down the stretch.

Uminski paced the squad with three goals and an assist, Ethan Wilcox adding a goal and a helper and other goals for Dietl, Stando and Krieski. Arnold collected the win with 18 saves.

The second game saw the Cheavers open with a four-goal first again, this time carrying a 4-0 cushion to the second and up 7-1 heading to the final frame.

Uminski wrapped up a seven goal, eight-point day with four goals, Ethan Pope adding two goals and a helper. Wagner notched a goal and assist with other goals for Krieski and Wilcox. Teaghan Geffert set up one of the goals and Arnold added another win with 24 saves.

The 3-5-1 Cheavers enjoyed a rare weekend off this past weekend and will look to build on its winning streak hosting the Viroqua Blackhawks for a pair of games Sunday at 1:15 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.

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.

Chetwood does it all for Bantam Flyers

By Jim den Hollander

Editor/Publisher

Saukhockey.info

Ever seen a hockey player collect a hat trick and playmaker honors in the same game?
Kaleb Chetwood had a monster game Sunday, helping his Sauk Prairie Bantam ‘B’ Flyers rebound from a pair of tough losses the previous day with a 7-5 margin in a return match against the Verona Bantam ‘B’ Wildcats.

Chetwood played a part in all seven Flyers’ goals, scoring four and setting up the other three. Ryan Flynn scored two and added two assists while Austin Smith scored the other and also notched a helper.

Rene Repka responded with a hat trick for the Wildcats, Mac Lombardo and Ian Ludmer scoring the others.

The Sunday game played in Verona came in response to a 3-2 loss against the same team at Sauk Prairie Area Recreation Center (SPARC) early Saturday. The Flyers also played at Hartmeyer Ice Arena in Madison, dropping a 2-1 decision against the host Patriots Saturday evening.

In the first game against Verona, the visitors scored all three of its goals in a span of 4:20 in the middle period, Lombardo with the first and Repka with the other two.

Chetwood finally got the Flyers on the board with 62 seconds to play in the second period and Jacob Wiegmann made it a one-goal game with 5:35 to play in the contest.

At Hartmeyer, teams played through a scoreless first period and Quinton Greunke had the hosts up 1-0 heading to the third.

Tyler Jorgenson evened it up for the Flyers 65 seconds into the final period but Kyle Theisen notched the game winner for the Patriots with 5:01 to play.