Marinette Youth Hockey Association

 

HIGH SCHOOL

The Thunder hosted a packed house at the Community REC Center on Friday as the community came together to support a local family in their fight against cancer.

The event raised over $9,000, all of which will go to Menominee High School sophomore Liz VandeHey and her family. VandeHey, who is currently undergoing treatment for B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, was in attendance to drop the ceremonial puck and cheer on the Thunder.

“It was a great game for a great cause,” Thunder coach Fred Haley said. “The kids knew they had to come out and play strong, and they had plenty of reasons. They all had names on their jerseys of people that they know that they were playing for, plus having Lizzie here was great. They came out and they all played as a team, and they played really well.

“The parents did a great job putting this whole thing together. We had a lot of great prizes and a great turnout. The crowd was great. They were out here cheering us on, and the kids were feeding off of it. It was a fun event.”

Damien Winterbottom got the crowd going almost immediately with his first of three goals just four minutes into the game.

Manitowoc got that goal back at the end of the first, but Theron Thayer and Winterbottom scored in the second period to push the score to 3-1 entering the final stanza.

Winterbottom completed his second hattrick of the season early in the third period. Midway through the third, the Thunder picked up an interference penalty, but proceeded to score not once but twice on the ensuing penalty kill.

“That was pretty awesome to get two shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill,” Haley said. “That’s big. That’s a dagger for any team.”

Brayden Rounds found the net followed shortly by a strike from Avery Waloway that put the game well out of reach at 6-1.

Manitowoc tacked on an inconsequential goal one minute later to cap the scoring at 6-2.

Although they missed the aide of their leading scorer, Blue Haley, for the fourth consecutive game, the Thunder were able to rip off 42 shots in the contest with Winterbottom pacing the attack.

Manitowoc’s Dan Karlin came up with 36 saves in the loss, while Ethan King stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced for the Thunder.

The victory completed a three-game season sweep of Manitowoc while the Thunder moved their record to 10-12-2 on the season.

The team will head south this weekend for a pair of games at Dodgeville on Friday and Saturday as well as a game at Madison Saturday afternoon.

BANTAM

The Thunder Bantams dropped a pair of close games against Houghton (Mich.) at the REC Center on Sunday, falling with scores of 4-1 and 3-2.

Bryce Vincent, Michael O’Connor and Wes Baty scored for the Thunder while Vincent and Jackson Raygo contributed assists.

The team will host Hancock (Mich.) and Sheboygan February 17-18.

PEEWEE A

After taking a pair of impressive wins over Marquette (7-0 & 10-4) on Saturday, the Thunder suffered a heartbreaking 8-7 loss in overtime in their WAHA Playdown game at Manitowoc on Sunday.

The Thunder and Manitowoc have played three games this season with all three reaching the end of regulation in a deadlock. Their first meeting ended in a 9-9 tie in November. The Thunder then won in a shootout at Rhinelander’s Hodag Invitational in January.

This time, the Thunder jumped out to a 4-0 lead with a pair of goals from Wyatt Kneath, one from Parker Perket and another from Brayden Forgette in the first period. However, the Breakers struck back with a four-goal flurry that took only 1:22 at the start of the second period.

Kneath completed a hattrick in the second period, and Carter Erdman scored as well to give the Thunder a 6-5 lead heading into the final period.

The Breakers pushed ahead 7-6, but Erdman tied the game with 2:33 to play to send the game to overtime. In the final minute of that sudden-death overtime period, Manitowoc’s Oliver Schwartz found the net to give the Breakers an 8-7 win and a ticket to the WAHA State Tournament.

Against Marquette the Thunder racked up 17 goals from six different players: Perket (7), Kneath (4), Chet Lacy (2), Forgette (2), Sullivan Reek and Holden Ruiz.

The Thunder will play a doubleheader at De Pere on Saturday.

PEEWEE B

The Thunder Peewee B team took a thrilling 6-5 win over Oshkosh on Sunday to earn a spot in this year’s WAHA 12U 3B State Tournament.

Including Sunday’s game, The Thunder and Warbirds have met three times with the two teams separated by just two goals. A doubleheader at Oshkosh earlier this season resulted in a 6-6 tie and an 8-7 Thunder win.

This time the teams met at a neutral site in Waupaca.

The score was tied 2-2 after first period goals form Calvin Schroeder and Cael Schmidt, but Oshkosh struck twice in the second period to move ahead 4-2.

Schroeder scored midway through the third, but Oshkosh answered to bring the score to 5-3.

Preston Nelson scored midway through the final period, and Jaxon Teteak leveled the game with a goal with 4:38 to play. Then with 2:53 to play, Schroeder completed a hattrick with what proved to be the game-winning goal.

Madiesn Salewsky worked the net for the Thunder, coming up with nine saves in the victory.

The WAHA 3B State Tournament will be played March 9-10 in Rhinelander, Wis. The Thunder will return to action on Saturday with a doubleheader at De Pere.

SQUIRT A

The Thunder Squirt A team has had a busy run, going 2-2 with wins over SHAW and Chippewa Falls in a tournament two weeks ago.

Last weekend, they brought home a 4-1 win over Marquette AA after a U.P. road trip that included four games against Marquette and Portage Lake. Then, on Sunday, they punched their ticket to the WAHA State Tournament with an 11-0 romp at Manitowoc.

The Thunder dominated their Playdown contest at Manitowoc, outshooting the Breakers 42-6.

Carter Campbell knocked in a pair of goals in the first period while a strike from Ashton Behrens made it 3-0 after one period of play.

The Thunder went on to pour in five more goals in the second period and three in the third to close out an 11-0 win.

Both Carter and Owen Campbell recorded hat tricks in the game while Braylen Puser (2), Behrens, Henry Schutt and Henry Karkkainen scored as well.

Carter Campbell rounded out an impressive day with four assists, while his brother, Owen, had a pair of helpers. Ryan Haile, Karkkainen, Finn Eastman and Liam Hofer recorded assists as well.

Liam Kegley stopped all six shots that he faced to preserve the shutout.

The Thunder Squirts will host the Battle at the REC This weekend. The Squirt A team will take on Green Bay at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

SQUIRT B

The Thunder Squirt B team qualified for the WAHA State Tournament with wins over Shawano and Manitowoc this weekend.

On Saturday, the Thunder rolled to an 8-1 win over Shawano with goals from Dean Gerondale (2), Ryder Erickson (2), Maverick Tardiff (2), Everett Skowlund and Nova Zeske.

On Sunday, the had their hands full with a Manitowoc team that jumped ahead 2-0 in the first period.

Camden Walker and Skowlund tied the game with goals in the second period.

Gerondale broke the tie early in the third before Skowlund and Hannah Frederiksen made it a three-goal (5-2) lead. Manitowoc was able to close the gap to 5-3 but got no closer as Benton Behrens came up with 22 saves including 11 in the third period.

The Thunder Squirts will host the Battle at the REC Tournament this weekend. The Squirt B team will kick things off with a rematch against Manitowoc at 5:45 p.m. on Friday.