March 7, 2025 at 6:02 a.m.
RIA Peewee As to vie for state title this weekend in Waupun
After solid runs at state the last couple of years, the Rhinelander Ice Association’s (RIA) Peewee A hockey team is gunning for more this weekend when it travels to Waupun for the WAHA Class 3A state tournament.
There are high hopes and expectations for the Hodags’ top 12U squad. Many of the same skaters on this squad finished third two years ago in the Squirt 3A state tournament in Rhinelander and then took sixth last year in the Peewee 3A state tournament in Somerset.
Going in as the No. 1 seed in the eight-team bracket, coach Randy Ostrom said the team’s objective is clear.
“This year’s the year we were really hoping that we can finish this off,” he said regarding the teams hopes for a state title.
The Hodags will come into state off of a fourth-place finish in their home invitational tournament this past weekend, but challenged itself against larger programs. Rhinelander beat 1A program Middleton on Friday before losing to 2A Washington County on Saturday and 1A Verona on Sunday.
“We’ve been kind of swinging out of our weight class all year, really, playing a really competitive schedule, playing a lot of the right teams around here locally and then playing a lot of teams that we don’t get to see in a typical year,” Ostrom said. “We feel like we have a really strong team and so we wanted to go play other teams we don’t get to play a lot that we know are going to be really good competitive games for us.
“We’ve had challenges, you know, just trying to make sure that we’re keeping everybody on the right development path, that we’re working hard and that we’re not getting down about losing to teams. We skate competitively with some of these teams that are rated considerably higher than we are. So, to be able to keep these kids going at that level, playing as a high of a level as they are, and working as hard as they are has been really fun. It’s been a really good season as far as that goes.”
The Hodags started this past weekend’s home tournament with a 7-5 win over Middleton on Friday night, breaking a 5-all tie with goals by Max Cahee and Cason Burnis in the final 5:04 of regulation. Both scored goals earlier in the game and Rhinelander also got goals from Gage Chavez, Collin Jorata and Easton Ostrom.
The Hodags were unable to overcome 11 penalties in a 5-2 loss to Washington County on Saturday morning. Three power play goals for the Ice proved to be the difference. Easton Ostrom and Nick Schneider had the goals in that contest.
A late rally fell short in an 8-5 loss to Verona on Sunday. The Hodags allowed three goals in the second period and trailed 6-2 after two frames. They rallied back to within 6-4 with 5:42 remaining before Verona scored twice to put the game away. Chavez had a hat trick for Rhinelander in the contest while Burnis and Schneider also scored.
Goalies Owen Wallerman and Quinn Burton split time in the contests, something they have done all season.
RELATED: Peewee vs. Verona photos in Youth Sports Roundup
“They’ve played a ton of minutes each,” coach Ostrom said. “There’s been no like priority goaltending this season really. They each play half a game pretty much, every single game we play. So that’s been good for development there, and good for those kids up to skate in front of them to have to play a full game, no matter who’s in net.”
Looking ahead to the state tournament, the Hodags will draw Beaver Dam at 11 a.m. Saturday in their opening game. Rhinelander’s lone win in last year’s state tournament came against the Golden Beavers.
From there, the Hodags will either play the fourth-seeded hosts from Waupun or fifth-seeded Shawano at either 5 or 6:30 p.m. Saturday, depending on the outcome of the first game. The placement rounds take place Sunday, beginning with the seventh-place game at 8 a.m., working up to the championship game at 1:15 p.m.
Second-seeded Somerset and third-seeded Hayward are the top hitters on the other side of the draw, but coach Ostrom said he wouldn’t rule out a possible run in with the other Region 2 team in the field, Antigo, on Sunday.
“We’d have a lot of fun,” he said. “I actually know those guys at Antigo really well. I talk to them all the time. We’ve actually already joked about what that would look like if we were to skate at the state tournament, you know, two Region 2 teams playing in the state tournament together.”
Regardless of the results this coming weekend, this year’s Peewee A squad, and some of the younger programs at the RIA, provide optimism for the future — especially after this year’s Rhinelander High School boys’ hockey team struggled to a 3-20-0 record on the season.
“When you look at that, when you look at our (20)11s, our ‘12s and our ‘13s, you know, we had a full Peewee B team this year, too, and a lot of 2013s on that team,” coach Ostrom said. “The development potential in that group was really tapped into this year with the coaching staff that we had with that group. Our ‘14s at the squirt level. Moving forward in a couple of years, I think we should be able to make an impact at the high school level and be able to carry what we have for momentum of individual teams now.
“We put those kids together, like a four-year span of those kids all in the ice together, I think we really have a good opportunity to have some fun in high school.”
First thing’s first, however, the group wants to win three games this weekend and win what would be the RIA’s first state championship since 2008 when Rhinelander and Lakeland co-oped to win the Bantam 3A title.
“If they hang a banner in this rink, it’s something that they get to walk back into this rink for years and see that banner,” coach Ostrom said. “So that’s what we’re going for. That’s the target. We’ve got a spot for the banner and we’re looking to hang it.”
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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