Riverkings should be tough to beat again — 2017-18 Season Review — USPHL Premier Midwest Divisions

By Jim den Hollander

Editor

Midwesthockey.info

It might be hard to recognize who’s who in the United States Premier Hockey League Midwest Premier Division West without a guide, but the view at the top could be familiar.

Meanwhile, the East Division is making an ambitious jump back to a level playing field with their west brothers.

Expansion has affected the West Division which will see a great battle between primarily Minnesota and Wisconsin based teams with no less than nine entries – four from Minnesota, four from Wisconsin and one from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The core of the teams were part of last season’s ‘Elite’ Midwest Division, getting a name promotion as last season’s Premier Division is now the free to play NCDC on the east coast.

On the East side are six teams, including two from Illinois and four others from Michigan.

Following is a quick preview on the two divisions. Keep in mind, it is difficult to know how many returners are on each team as most teams keep their rosters close to the team chest before absolutely having to divulge it.

USPHL Premier Midwest – West Division

Despite the statement immediately above, it’s no secret that last season’s top Elite Division entry – the Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings will return a large core of players.

Among the eligible returnees – Eric Schuette, ’97 from Olathe, KS; last season’s Midwest Division Goaltender of the Year; Ryan Matz, from Oshkosh, WI, Last season’s Top Forward and MVP and Harrison Kohl, from Chicago, last season’s top defenseman. Also back is Head Coach Marty Quarters who was the USPHL Elite Coach of the Year a season ago.

There could be as many as 10-12 returners from last season’s championship team, making this veteran group overwhelming favorites heading into the new season.

The Riverkings were pushed down the stretch by several teams, including geographical rival, Dells Ducks, Steele County Blades from Owatonna, MN and the Forest Lake Lakers – now known as the Minnesota Mullets.

The Riverkings’ toughest opposition this season could be the Steele County Blades, a team that battled the front runners hard last year before succumbing to the Ducks in a tough second round series.

Nick Adamek could also have a team loaded with returners with more than a dozen of last season’s top players, including defenseman Chase Wedding and forwards Kyle Wadden and Oskari Valli among \ potential vets.

In the case of the Ducks, the team is almost entirely new and young and this season the team will be mentored by Jeff Worlton, an experienced coach with previous Tier 3 and Tier 2 experience. The team is expected to be solidified by some experienced goaltenders and while this is a young squad, Worlton is confident the team will be competitive with the top teams in the league. The team will be eased into the competitive waters with only three games in September and that could be a blessing for a young group heading up a steep learning curve.

The Mullets turned in a solid performance as a young team last season and that could pay off in a big way this season as it also could boast a solid group of 10 or more returners this season.

In goal, Josh Greune and Jessie Heisz are both eligible to return leading a host of possibles that would give the Lakers experience at every position. Also, Head Coach Chris Walby will be back for a second year behind the bench, bringing several years’ experience with him at both the Tier 3 and Tier 2 levels.

Among the Wild Cards this season could be the Wisconsin Muskies, an expansion team based Spooner, WI and led by Dennis Canfield, another veteran coach well known by his colleagues in the USPHL Midwest. Little is known about the roster here, but with a coach like Canfield, the players have a leg up experience-wise in this league.

Hudson Havoc (formerly Hudson Crusaders/St. Croix Magicians/ River Falls Renegades) have moved around through the past couple of seasons, but find themselves back in the traditional home this time around.

In a similar position is the Minnesota Moose, formerly known as the Blaine Energy. Both teams are looking to improve on last season’s respective performances, but they will likely be entering with most young rosters, so, like the Ducks, these teams will be looking for quick improvement over the course of the season.

The Ironwood Yoopers made a successful return to the loop last season after sitting out the 2015-16 season, battling in the middle to upper half of the pack in the USP3HL Division through much of the season and falling in a hard fourth Best of Three playoff series against the Alpena Flyers.

This season, the Yoopers should face a tougher challenge in the West Division, but returning vets could be an intangible that could help the Yoopers surprise some teams this season.

That leaves the expansion Minnesota Blue Ox. This team is listed as the finale for this division, primarily because not much is known about the group now, other than its high-profile majority owner is none other than Bruce Boudreau, head coach of the Minnesota Wild. The Twin Cities area team will be coached by Jay Witta, a veteran mentor in the city’s Breakaway Hockey AAA program.

USPHL Premier Midwest – East Division

The East Division’s newest entry, the Chicago Cougars should be among the favorites for the upcoming season having played in the higher circuit a season ago.

That position is possibly strengthened as the Traverse City North Stars, perennial winners in this league going back to its Midwest Junior Hockey League days, is no longer in the fold.

The Cougars, with Brad Stoffers returning as Head Coach could have many returners as well as last season the team featured many younger players.

The Detroit area teams – the Motor City Hawks, Detroit Fighting Irish and Tri-city Icehawks have alternated between upper half and bottom half teams in each of the past few seasons.

The IceHawks were the top team in the league two seasons ago, but found the rowing much tougher a season ago, while the Fighting Irish transferred to the Elite Division and found it tough to compete with massive travel surely playing at least a small part in its frustrations.

The Hawks meanwhile took a step to the upper half of the league last season and went to within a third and deciding game of reaching the National tournament before falling to the Decatur Blaze.

With three teams within the Greater Detroit Area, the rivalry between these three will be intense and that should help all three clubs as well.

The Blaze will be a state-rival for the Cougars. Having seen a few its top players from last season aged out, it will be interesting to see with the other Illinois team can come up with this season.

The other Michigan based team is Krzystof Oliwa’s Kalkaska Rhinos. While little is known about his team to date, fans can count on one thing – the team’s identity over the season has been established. It’s probably not a big surprise, Oliwa likes to put a skilled, but hard-working team on the ice. His players always take the blue-collar work ethic seriously and teams always know they will be in a battle for the two points.