River Report: 2024-2025 | Issue 2

Director's Update

With the season in full swing, our teams have been competing in league play along with various local and out of town tournaments. The program also welcomed a new group of mite blues with their unofficial transition taking place in the month of December. As our teams continue to work hard to improve and have fun, I want to thank all of the hard work that our coaches, managers, and other volunteers have put in so far this season.

Please save the date for our annual coaches game that will take place on February 2nd. As we have done in the past, this event will be donation based admission with all proceeds going directly to Adaptive Sports. A few of their sled players will be playing during intermission and the bantams will have a chance to scrimmage sled players after the conclusion of the season.

We wish all of our teams continued success as they prepare for the CSHL playoffs coming up in February.

Bantam 1

While our win-loss record might not be where we’d hoped, one thing is crystal clear—this team never gives up! Each game has been a battle, with close scores that highlight just how competitive and determined our players are. We’ve seen incredible hustle, teamwork, and resilience on the ice, with every player stepping up and giving their all. This group is growing stronger with each shift, and the effort they put in every game is something to be truly proud of.

This past weekend, we traveled to Miami of Ohio and won The Bear championship. It was another chance to face some tough competition and continue working on the progress we’ve made so far this season.

Bantam 2

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to participate in a local tournament early in the year, however, the Bantam 2 show rolled on into Fort Wayne for Silver Sticks! The boys punched above their weight taking two very experienced and talented teams the distance. Your parents and coaches are very proud of the way you represent yourselves and your organization! While in Fort Wayne, we fueled up at the Electric Works food co-op, captured some great photos for future rock album cover art, celebrated a couple birthdays and proved we’re better hockey players than bowlers!

Cycling, physicality, trusting your teammates and elevating our level of compete are areas of focus we’re putting to work on the ice. Second stanza in the books boys. All gas! No brakes!

Bantam 3

The Bantam 3 team has started off the regular season with a BANG! The boys have taken the momentum from the preseason and continued skating hard and playing as a team, going 5-0 in our first five games. This has been good enough to have us placed 2nd in our division thus far. Our focus for the middle stretch of the season will be physicality and discipline. We are constantly learning how much more physical we can be in games, without drawing unnecessary penalties. Staying disciplined in our roles on the ice; whether it is on the power play, penalty kill, or even the offensive zone is proving to be more of a challenge. I am confident we will master this by the time the regular season ends and we, hopefully, head into some post-season tournaments.

Peewee 1

PW1’s turned the corner on results since Thanksgiving weekend where we traveled to Detroit for the CCM Nations Cup tournament which pits USA based teams against Canada based teams in every game. As a bonus, every team is in the same uniforms - TEAM USA or TEAM Canada jersey and socks, and each game counts towards one nation or the other winning the tournament as a group in your division, no individual team winner as all other tournaments are set up. While we lost our very first game against Team Canada, we turned the corner and then ran off 4 straight victories including a final game that clinched the tournament in our division for TEAM USA and all the players got medals to celebrate TEAM USA’s division victory over Team Canada. In all, there were only 3 Cleveland area teams in this tournament, a Baron’s Squirt Team, a Team Ohio Peewee Team, and our River Peewee Team and the tournament boasted 266 teams total, 133 from each nation, 665 games played over 3 days, split over 21 divisions, from Squirts to Bantams, with Canada narrowly winning 11 divisions to Team USA’s 10 division wins. Having other teams cheer for you as TEAM USA chanting when we would score or win a game to cheers of USA USA USA was something that the kids and parents won’t soon forget. PW1 has racked up a 9-2-2 record including that weekend in Detroit through December and is ready to take on the CSHL league games in January. PW1 is also doing leg strengthening workouts at the rink before every practice now through the end of the season as the boys are learning what HERB BROOKS meant when he said - LEGS FEED THE WOLF!!!!!

Peewee 2

Peewee 2 is navigating the heart of the season. Though we've faced some challenges that have tested our grip on the division, the team remains resilient and eager. The kids have consistently put in tremendous effort and are now channeling their energy toward a strong playoff push. Excitingly, Peewee 2 will also be competing in the Winterhurst Presidents Day tournament, providing us a fantastic opportunity to showcase our growth and team spirit.

Peewee 3

After a challenging start to the season in a seemingly uneven division, PW3 has really come together. We are playing our best hockey as individual players and as a team. We have learned to play aggressive hockey as a team and are putting great pressure on our opponents. The team headed to Detroit for MLK weekend and earned third place. We will go to South Bend in February. We are all excited to see what the team can do over the second half of the season.

Squirt 1

Squirt 1 traveled to an away tournament MLK weekend in Oxford, winning the championship! We looked forward to playing teams out of the CSHL and attended a Miami Redhawks hockey game as well. We are playing in the AA division of squirt and actively vying for a top seed. Looking forward to seeing how the second half of the season plays out.

Squirt 2

Squirt 2 continues to play extremely hard in both practices and games. Several of their opponents' coaches have commended them on their style of play, which tends to be quite physical. Despite their strong efforts, their season record is not where they would like it to be. Games have been close and exciting for the most part. They were able to etch out a win versus AA Geauga a few weeks back, which speaks to their potential and the growth they have made since August. Looking to the future, Squirt 2 looks to play hard and grab a playoff spot in their division. They were runners-up in the Rock n Roll Cup over MLK weekend and will travel to Ann Arbor, MI to compete in Big Bear’s Ursa Minor tourney President’s Day weekend.

Squirt 3

Squirt 3’s season is off to a great start, holding third place in their division. The players are putting in the hard work at practice and really coming together as a team. Many took advantage of the recent holiday clinics to further bolster their fundamentals. The weekend of January 17, they took their talents to South Bend where they competed well. Both on the ice, as well as in a melt burger challenge against Head Coach Scott.

Squirt 4

Squirt 4’s had a fun preseason and then ran into some stiff competition in league play. Our record doesn’t reflect the effort that all the kids have put in though! All of their hard work finally paid off with a nail-biter win at Strongsville. We’re looking forward to more wins and to the Three Rivers Cup Tournament over Valentine’s Day weekend, as well as the Rock N Roll cup tournament here around Cleveland.

Mite 1

Our kids continue to show up and battle each game, showing improvement every time we set foot on the ice. After a tough loss in the final to Gilmour in the Snowball shootout in Euclid (in which all 4 RR Mite teams made the final!!), we had our first away tournament MLK weekend in Pittsburgh. It was fun to see how we measured up against out of state teams. With just a handful of CSHL games left, one against our rival Gilmour, we’re excited to start our transition to Squirt, as all but one of the kids will be moving up next year.

Mite 2

Mite 2 has continued to show improvement on and off of the ice. Their communication on the ice in passing and successfully executing plays is showcased in every game. The team has continued to successfully challenge themselves by competing against teams outside of our division, where the kids are thriving and demonstrating their ability to hold their own, utilizing developed skills.

Off of the ice, our team has continued to grow closer in team gatherings, leading up to our out of state JAM tournament in Pittsburgh, the weekend of January 23rd. Not only are the kids set for some great hockey, but all looking forward to the time away they get to spend together as well. There is nothing better than to see these kids thriving in the sport they love, while developing life long friendships.

Mite 3

Best part of this team is the awesome kids who are excited to be at the rink and enjoy their teammates. It’s been rewarding for the coaches to see them progress and start to grasp the foundations of what it means to be on and play as a team. We continue to make positive strides individually on the ice.

We won our first tournament, the Snowball Shootout in Euclid. Such a fun positive experience seeing the kids totally immersed in a hockey weekend. Our kiddos also got to play a game and score goals at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse which was followed by a team outing to a Monsters game.

This week we showed up ready to win against a higher ranked team that gave us a pretty darn good beating in preseason - edging them out with a last minute goal for a 2-1 win in a hard fought barn burner. It was a great test for our team and a testament to their hard work and progression all season.

Overall record including preseason:  20-2-2

We are excited for our first away tourney coming up in the beautiful Buffalo/ Niagara area at the end of the month. Looking forward to telling the parents to leave the swimming trunks at home - also heard it’s beautiful this time of year!

Mite 4

The Mite 4 team has made impressive progress since the beginning of the season. Each game reveals new improvements in the players’ skating, passing, and shooting skills. They came together as a team and clinched the Championship Game at the Snowball Shootout in Euclid last December. Additionally, they had the unforgettable opportunity to play at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse before a Monster’s game - an experience they will always cherish.

This month we will be traveling to Buffalo/Niagara for our first out-of-state tournament. We are excited to face new competition and strengthen our team bond. We might need to pack extra layers for the chilly temperatures and outdoor rinks, but the kids will love experiencing the beauty of the falls during the winter months. Our season will conclude with the Ice of March Tournament in Mentor.