GRAND CHUTE - In one of the more highly anticipated Hockey Games of the early season, the De Pere Voyageurs (6-0-1) traveled to the Champions Center to face off against the Fox Cities Stars (8-1). This was a matchup between one of the best offensive teams in Fox Cities, averaging better than seven goals per contest, and one of the best defenses in De Pere, allowing only 1.5 goals per game.

With both teams spotting an unbeaten record coming into this game, a lot was at stake, as you knew something had to give in this one. Over two periods, this game lived up to the hype as both teams played wide open, but the two teams combined for only three goals. It was in the third period when everything changed as De Pere beat Elliott Reichenbacher three times in the first three minutes to open up a 4-2 lead, which is where things would end in favor of De Pere.

If the first period was a sign for the things to come in this one, this had the makings of a defensive battle as Reichenbacher and Nathan Frank came to play. Frank wasn’t tested as much early and finished with 23 saves, while Reichenbacher stopped double-digit saves in each period to come away with 36 stops in the game. It took nearly the entire first period for someone to break through as Andrew Ostermann went through the five-hole of Frank to put the Stars up 1-0 with just over two minutes to go in the first period.

Despite trailing by a goal after one period, De Pere felt they dominated the first period, controlling the puck and the game's tempo. That continued into the second period, as the Stars struggled to get the puck out of their defensive end, resulting in limited chances. Eventually, that was going to come back to bite them, and with William Birkholz forcing a turnover on the Stars' end, he took care of the rest as he beat Reichenbacher to tie things up.

Even with very few chances to generate offensive momentum in the second period, the Stars put several good shots on goal against Frank as they looked to capitalize on the opportunities. What better way to do that than by having your captain take care of business, as Cale Adamovich had Frank sliding the opposite way in front of the crease as he knocked home the Power Play goal late in the second period to put the Stars back on top 2-1.

With just 17 minutes standing in the way of someone earning a victory and the other team suffering their first loss, the start of third was nearly a carbon copy of how the second period started as the Voyageurs not only dominated things early, but put one past Reichenbacher less than a minute in as Birkholz scored his second goal of the night to make this a 2-2 game. De Pere was just getting started, as their constant pressure had the Stars defenders on their heels, which in turn put more pressure on Reichenbacher to stand tall.

Despite several big saves in the period, it was the Voyageurs breaking through early as they added two more goals in the first three minutes of the third to put the Stars in a 4-2 hole, and their biggest deficit of the season. Reid Sands added what went down as the game-winning goal at the 2:09 mark in the third with Birkholz capping off his hat trick 24 seconds later. Down, but certainly not out, the Stars started to play with a bit more desperation late in the period, which in turn led to them controlling the puck over the final five minutes. That led to Fox Cities getting off several great shots late in the period, but with Frank standing tall in goal to turn things away, it was the Voyageurs remaining unbeaten as they handed the Stars their first loss of 2025-26, 4-2.