All of our mite teams had one of their busiest years ever with games both at Sidner and Omaha, as well as traditional jamborees such as Sioux Center, Sioux City, Brandon Valley and Lincoln. Some teams also attended Mitchell, SD, and Sioux Center, IA. We are thankful to Midland’s Milan Breczko as well as all the volunteer coaches who made the beginning years of hockey great with our two-times-a-week practice model focused heavily on skating and skill to prepare our group for the upcoming challenges of full-ice hockey in the years to come.
Our Squirt teams had a tremendous season on and off the ice. This included our Squirt Gold (Warbirds) finishing with an impressive 35-12-3 record that saw them win four Squirt A tournaments, including the Westminster Rocky Mountain Regional Silverstick Squirt A Championship in November, and the 10UAA Colorado Springs President’s Day Championship.
Squirt Silver also ended with an impressive 18-12-3 record, finishing runner-up in the Gold Division of the Midwest Hockey League Select Division. The team then went on to win the Fort Collins, MyHockey Rocky Mountain Shootout and was runner-up in the Omaha Stampede 10U Division. All of Silver’s players also played on Squirt Black or White, with both teams going a combined 31-12-4 and Squirt White winning the Omaha Joust League Playoffs.
Our Peewee teams had similar success to our squirts, in the end after a learning curve to begin the season. Peewee Gold started the year 1-7-3 but ended the season 21-19-8, capping it with an Omaha Stampede tournament victory. The team played consistently at the A level despite having only four returning players from the previous season.
Peewee Silver finished on a positive note as well, ending at 17-11-3, including a runner-up finish at the Fort Collins, MyHockey Rocky Mountain Shootout in February. The team also won the Des Moines New Years Eve Slapshot tournament. Similar to squirts, every Silver player also played on Peewee Black or White going a combined 32-6-3 on the season. Unfortunately, injury and sickness forced Peewee White out of the league playoff weekend, but Black fought valiantly, qualifying for the the semifinals, losing 2-1 to end the season.
Our Bantam Gold (Warbirds) enjoyed success despite only having four returning players from the USA Hockey National Championship team in 2023-24. As of March 10, the team sports a 22-17-3 record, winning the Westminster Rocky Mountain Regional Silver Stick Bantam A Championship in November and competing with some of the best teams in Minnesota and across the country. They will attend USA Hockey Nationals in Kalamazoo, Michigan April 2-7.
Bantam Silver finished the season 21-18-4-2, including winning the Midwest Hockey League Select Silver Division Championship 3-0 over KC Stars in January. The team finished third place at the Brookings Winter Classic and Fort Collins, MyHockey Rocky Mountain Shootout. They also were asked to move up for Omaha Stampede and obliged, qualifying for Sunday. The team ended the season at home hosting the Inaugural Class B Outstate Jr. High Hockey Series with Tri City while the Warbirds played Mastery 13UAAA - a terrific celebration of Nebraska hockey.
Our 15U Warbirds attended several tournaments across the U.S. in Chicago, Detroit, Florida and Pittsburgh going 16-6-3. The team also had a couple members participate with the High School Flyers in a few games.
The Tigers completed another season in the Omaha High School Hockey League with a very young team who will compete hard next season with most of the team returning. The JV/Varsity Flyers had challenges with a small roster, but fought valiantly all season to the bitter end. JV went 2-2-1 in the month of February with both Varsity and JV winning their final weekend series against Okoboji. We are excited about the what is on the horizon for high school hockey at Fremont Ice Association!
Every year the bittersweet moment of saying goodbye to long-time Fremont Ice Association players takes place. This season we honored seven (five from Varsity and two from Tigers) in their hockey careers in Fremont.
Grant Pappas, Trenton Smutz, Jackson Walvoord, Nate Koborg and Ryan Lee
Hayden Throener, left, and Tony Ondracek
Every year we celebrate the season through time-honored traditions. Our Squirt 3v3, Black-White games, Tiger Alumni night and more. We also this year hosted the Innaugural Outstate Jr. High Hockey Series as well as our first-ever Girls Day. We are looking forward to continuing these traditions and building more in the years to come!