It is rare that an early season tournament features four top-notch teams.

But the Red Flint River City Meltdown consists of four teams that are ranked in the WiPH Top Ten. The squads competing are host Eau Claire Memorial (#4), Notre Dame (#1), Wausau West (#2), and New Richmond (#10).

The games will take place at Hobbs Ice Arena in Eau Claire on Friday, November 25 and Saturday, November 26.

All four teams took part in last year's state tournament, with Wausau West skating away with a 5-0 victory over Middleton.

But that was last year. 

Notre Dame comes into this season ranked at the top of our WiPH Top Ten. West follows them in the number two spot, and not too far behind is Eau Claire Memorial. New Richmond rounds out the top ten.

In the inaugural Red Flint River City Meltdown, Notre Dame opens against New Richmond in the 5:00 game on Friday.

"From our perspective this will provide an early season measuring stick of where we stand as a team," says NDA head coach Cory McCracken. "We certainly have several questions that need to be answered."

On paper, it looks like the questions have been asked and answered for Notre Dame, but the game is played on the ice, so this weekend should tell the hockey world much more about how the number one pre-season pick will fare during the year.

Their top two lines are second to none and include juniors Jason Reynolds and Steven Phillips. Senior Brandon Walls and junior Riley Christensen will more than pick up the slack, along with sophomore transfers Brett Gruber and Mason Appleton. One loss for the Tritons is senior Austin Vieth, who might be out for the entire regular season.

On defense, senior star Tim Davison will lead the group and will be joined by sophomore Luke Davison, and juniors Grant Kluesner and Will Woodward. 

Junior Chris Nell returns in net after an all-state year as a sophomore.

New Richmond will be led by senior forwards Nate Jones, Parker Olson, Max Skatrud, Dylan Cox, and Kyle Montgomery. Junior Tyler Lagerstrom will also see key minutes at forward.

Defensively, the team is led by three juniors: Austin Zywiec, Kaleb Kier, and Jarek Manske.

Junior Jacob Hilby will get first shot in net after seeing limited action last year.

"We will be tested early this year as we open with number one Notre Dame," says Tigers head coach Adam Swanda. "We return 13 players from last year's team and the seniors will be supported by a solid junior class."

The final match-up of the day pits host Eau Claire Memorial against reigning state champion Wausau West at 7:30pm.

The Old Abes will have a nice mix of youth and experience at forward with seniors Brady Burzynski and Matthew Knapp, along with sophomores Jake Bresser and Charlie Grasskamp. Junior Brady Bollinger also is in the mix.

Michael Kapla leads a quartet of juniors on defense. He is joined by Jake Sparger, Nate Pientok, and Derek Larson. Seniors Killy Kitzman and Dan Hanna are fighting for the starting role at the netminder spot.

ECM head coach Mike Schwengler is excited about the tournament.

"Eau Claire is a great hockey town and this is a great opportunity to kick off the season," says Schwengler. "It should a terrific weekend (for fans) to take in some good hockey."

Wausau West lost several top players to graduation, but still return a very potent squad. Seniors Kyle Lee and Tom Kilgore lead the forward group, along with classmates Alex Halbrook, Dan Schlais, and Nick Snoeyenbos. Juniors Tanner Gould, along with Marshall Oja, and sophs Zach Peterson, Logan Clemment, and Drew Pearson will step into key roles.

The blueline will be patrolled by senior Seth Wage, juniors John Feemster and Thomas Brown, and sophomore John Metzinger.

Sophomore Sam Wiegert will take over in net for Austin Priebe, who is playing in the USHL this season.

"While only returning eight players that participated in the State Tournament run, we have some quality players returning that we will lean on while our younger players develop in their roles on the team," says West head coach Pete Susens. "The challenging early schedule will test our young squad and make us better down the road."

The junior varsity squads from the four schools will also be playing in the JV bracket of the tourney.

Note: Saturday's JV games will be played on the Akervik rink, while the varsity games will be played on the O'Brien rink.

Adult--$7.00
Student--$5.00
Tournament Family Pass--$20.00