“It was just such a special year. It’s been 27 years since we made a state run. I’m so proud of our team. They earned this, and I can’t wait for November.””

Head Coach Cam Wilken

The River Falls Wildcats were defeated by the Fond du Lac Springs Ledgers in the semifinal round of the state tournament in Madison on Thursday by a score of 2-1.

It was a tight game the whole way through where both teams never stopped battling, and the Wildcats gave it everything they had. Somebody had to win the one-score game, it just wasn’t River Falls this time out.

The star of the lopsided first period was Wildcat goalie Luke Linehan who had 21 stops while River Falls only had seven shots on goal of their own. The second was a lot more symmetrical.

Fond du Lac Springs struck first 4:39 into the period with a power play goal after the Wildcats incurred a minor penalty for holding from behind. At almost exactly mid period, River Falls struck back on a power play goal of their own when Andrew Amundson put one in with the assistance of Hunter Rappel.

The period came to a close with a 1-1 score and 14 shots on goal over the frame by each team.

It’s hard to put on paper how close the third period was. There were only 12 shots on goal total by both teams, with River Falls edging the Ledgers 7-5. With under 8:00 left in regulation, the Ledgers sneaked one past Linehan to take the 2-1 lead.

Fond du Lac Springs would give the Wildcats an opportunity to tie it up late when they incurred a penalty with just under 90 seconds to go. River Falls would double down on this by pulling Linehan and trying to tie it up with the 6-4 advantage. It would ultimately prove unsuccessful, and the game would come to a close at 2-1.

It was the second time in the history of the River Falls hockey program that they made it to state, and for the first time in over 25 years. As such, it’s a major testament to the quality of the players and the new generation of personnel running this program.

Overall, Head Coach Cam Wilken says he feels great about how they played in the state tournament.

“Our game plan was to slowly take the momentum and tire out St. Mary’s, and we did that. By the end of the second period, I thought we’d taken control of the game’s pace, we just didn’t get the puck luck we needed,” Wilken said. “The team did everything we planned to do leading up to the game and executed it to a T. Honestly, there isn’t anything more I can ask of the team or in all reality would have changed. St. Mary’s wanted to win too. Every night one team wins, one doesn’t.” 

Looking forward, River Falls will be losing five of its top seven points scorers in the offseason including their top 3 in Hoepfl, Rappel and Rock.

Wilken says that’s just how high school sports work.

“You only get players for a maximum of four years,” Wilken said. “I’m incredibly proud of our entire senior class for what they’ve done to set the standard going forward. They’ll be missed and it’s hard to see that group go, but we have a strong, young, and experienced core group. We’ll find a way with the kids we have now to fill the holes our five seniors are leaving.” 

Coach Wilken says he fully expects players like Jaxon Flanagan, Mason Rappel, Charlie Friemann, Chase Weissinger, Cal and Riley Usgaard, Lars Briese and the rest of the guys to step up and continue what they began in making River Falls a hockey town.

“Like I said before, most of our core is coming back,” Wilken said. “We’ll have holes to fill for sure, but it will be filled by players who already have been part of a state run and sectional championship. I think we have the best two goalies in the BRC. We’ll find ways to win our fair share of games.”

For junior Usgaard, he says that every one of the returning Wildcats’ journeys back to the state tournament started the day after they get back from Madison.

“Now the page flips, and we’re focused on the season coming up because this is who we are now, and this is what this expectation is for next year and in the years to come,” Usgaard said. “I want to come back here one more time, and I want to keep the culture how it is now. Everyone's journey starts tomorrow in the offseason doing their own work, and it continues in the summer with captains’ practices.”

Going into the offseason, Wilken says they will use their limited amount of contact days with their athletes for a summer tournament up in Somerset, and they will also have a summer training program like most teams.

Every though the page turns for Usgaard and the Wildcats, Wilken says this year’s team will always have a place in his heart as a coach.

“It was just such a special year,” Wilken said. “It’s been 27 years since we made a state run. I’m so proud of our team. They earned this, and I can’t wait for November.”