For the City Times

CHICAGO – As the Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings headed into a two-week holiday hiatus, the team sits in a tight race for first place with a 21-3-1 record in the USPHL Midwest.

For the last set of games to end the year, the Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings headed to the USPHL’s Chicago showcase sporting a 14-game winning streak.

Their first game was a hard fought battle but the Riverkings fell 5-3 to the league’s top-rated and  undefeated Metro Jets.

However, for the next three games, the Riverkings were back and stronger than ever, beating the Lake Erie Bighorns, 3-2; the Wooster Oilers, 4-3; and a top 10-rated Toledo Cherokee, 6-4.

Captain Cole Creger scored five points on the weekend. Alternate Captain Nathan Bottles had a hat trick against Wooster for four goals and assists this weekend. Rookies Grant Newcomer and Trey Zagrzebski both tallied six points, followed closely by Rookie Sander Willard who had five points with defenseman Jordan Stear, Jake Jakusz, and Trenton Skaggs with multiple points.

The team returns after the new year, Jan. 8-9, in Wisconsin Rapids at the South Wood County Recreation Center, with the puck drop at 7 p.m. both nights against the Minnesota Mullets.