River Falls Youth Hockey Association

Some of this momentum may have begun with Karyn Bye's run through the system. Karyn played with the boys her entire youth and high school career. Karen Played for the River Falls Wildcats Boys High School Hockey team under the name of K.L. Bye as she did while growing up. The 1987-88 season she was the second leading scorer on the team with 7 goals and 11 assists. Karyn went on to a Division 1 career at the University of New Hampshire, joined the US National Team in 1992 and took home a Gold Medal at the 1998 Olympic Games as well as a Silver at the 2002 Olympics. Karyn set the bar for what girls would like to achieve in our system. If you visit our arena, you will see a giant billboard of Karyn's likeness on the wall inside of the arena to honor her significant achievements. The River Falls Hockey Community is very proud of what Karyn achieved. Karyn's family was very instrumental helping to run this association and positioning us to build our own facility and their work is much appreciated by all of us that enjoy this facility today. The same can be said about many of our past Board Officers and Association members.

On the first U19 team, many girls had never played before, a couple transferred over from figure skating, a few others had been playing boys hockey. It was quite a year. There were girls aged from college freshmen to 5th grade. The team took home the first girls team hardware, from the Hayward "Fire on Ice" Tourney, when they were awarded the "Team Sportsmanship Award" after losing 3 games to Fort Francis Canada...and two others we cannot remember. Those 5th graders are were sophomores on the 2007-2008 St. Croix Valley Fusion. They finished 20-1-1 in 2007-2008, losing a heartbreaker in the Section Final vs Chippewa Falls, and they are poised to remain a major contender for the Wisconsin crown for the foreseeable future. Some HS girls joined in to play for the U18 BlackCats after the season at the Hayward "Fire On Ice" Tourney, the place where it all began, but this time Playing at the U19 Elite Level and taking home the Championship in a very tough field of teams from all over the place. What growth they have made in that short time.

In 2003-2004, River Falls started a U10 Squad, U14 Squad and also had the U19 Squad. The U10 and U14 teams played an independent schedule and had a good year playing teams from all over Wisconsin and Minnesota. The U14 eventually lost in the regional’s to Hudson.

The next year in 2004-2005, the girl’s hockey numbers were showing that a partnership would be very beneficial. The most likely candidate was BlackHawk youth Hockey in Baldwin, who had been playing girls hockey for several years and had players at various levels, but did not have the numbers to sustain teams at all levels (Outside of U16) and could not garner the support to build a high school team. They even had a State Championship and several high ranking finishes under their belt by the time we merged. With the partnership, we were able to build a well numbered U14 team, U16 and the U19 Team once again. The U14 competed at the U14B Level in Minnesota League and the U19 played an independent schedule. The U14s took first place in the Minnesota District 8 U14B League. They won tournaments at Augsburg College, River Falls and Menomonie. The team ended up with a 32-2 record and placed 2nd in the WAHA U14 State Championship, losing 2-1 in a great game to a very good team from the Wisconsin Wild Youth Hockey group. A game still discussed by the girls involved. That year we also continued a U10 Independent Team.

In 2005-2006, we had our first year of High School Hockey, and boy it was exciting. We were again able to run a U14A team in Minnesota and added a U12B Team in Minnesota. Both teams did very well, and were a force to be reckoned with. The U14's tied for first in league in their first year at the A Level, the U12s placed in the top part of the league, and both did well in the regional's. The U14s won the Regional's in a thrilling 5-4 win over a fired up New Richmond squad and went on to place 4th in the State Tournament. The U12 team lost in the regional championship to New Richmond 2-1. New Richmond went on to win the State Championship. Many of the girls from New Richmond, River Falls and Baldwin played together in the off-season. Again, we ran a U10 Independent in River Falls this season.

In 2006-2007, the high school team, which is not part of the youth Hockey organization, had a good year losing in the regional championship to Chippewa Falls and their superstar and Team Wisconsin member, McKayla Hogan. The U14A Team tied for first with Eagan, MN in League and won the first State Championship in BlackCats History. The U12 team played at the A level in Minnesota, did very well, and placed 3rd in the WAHA State Tourney after losing in overtime to eventual champion Fond du Lac in overtime in the semi final. We did bring together the U10s from Baldwin and River Falls this year, playing in regional's and making it to the State Tournament for the first time in BlackCat History. Baldwin had a U10 program prior to the BlackCat Partnership that had actually won a State Title independently in 2003-2004.

In 2007-2008, the entire U12A team moved up to U14A and we started from scratch with a new U12 Team, most of whom have been playing on other boys teams, the U10 team etc. You can see updates in their individual web pages as they progress.

In 2008-2009 we are running a full U10, U12, and U14 Program for the Girls and they will wear new BlackCats Uniforms for the first time in their History with replica jerseys of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 2008-2009 Styles with Black, Vegas and a hint of Red/Orange. Sure to look sharp this year!

Girl’s hockey continues to be the catalyst for growth in numbers for USA Hockey and there are many mountains yet to climb.