Riverkings win OT thriller to close regular season

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – The Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings closed out the 2025–26 regular season in style, defeating the Steele County Blades 5–2 then 3–2 in an overtime thriller. With the final weekend in the books, the Riverkings finish at 32-10-1-0 and secure the second seed in the USPHL North Division playoffs.
Under head coach Paul Pechmann, the program has become a model of consistency. Since a fourth-place finish in his inaugural season, Pechmann’s teams have claimed either first (2023–24) or second (2024–25, 2025–26) in the division, and he now holds an impressive 131-48-15 record behind the bench.
This season added another wave of names to the franchise record book.
Mikhail Ilyin climbed into the top five all-time for single-season goals, tying for third with 36.
Felix Ahlstrand shattered the single-season assist record with 60, surpassing the previous mark of 53, and finished with a remarkable 93 points.

Jackson Gruttadauria posted a .939 save percentage, the third-best single-season mark in team history.
They join recent record-setters such as Will Tricarico (39 goals in 2022–23), Bora Yildirim (2023–24 SV% leader and second in GAA) and Jude Ayling (fifth in SV% in 2023–24), underscoring the program’s steady rise.
It was a season filled with milestones, momentum, and memorable moments in front of packed hometown crowds - fueling expectations as the Riverkings turn their focus to the postseason.

Feb. 27
The Riverkings took the lead scoring late in the first period in the first game of the weekend series. The Blades tied things up early in the second but the Riverkings would respond with two goals of their own and another in the third period for a 4-1 lead. The Blades would make it 4-2, but the Riverkings sealed the victory with a late empty net goal for the final 5-2 outcome.

Scoring summary
• Riverkings 1–0 (4:17, 1st): Sebastian Redfern skated behind the net and found Marcus Andersson in the slot for the opening score.
• Blades 1-1 (18:36, 2nd): John Scott took the pass from Trevor Dolata and skated across the crease to slide the puck past goaltender Deaken Shaw.
• Riverkings 2–1 (18:00, 2nd): Daniil Korobeynikov buried the puck for the go-ahead goal on a feed from Colin Ryan who blocked the pass and caught Korobeynikov breaking behind the defense.
• Riverkings 3-1 (16:28, 2nd): Jonathan Jakshoej chipped one in when the pass from Mikhail Ilyin was deflected in front of the net.

• Riverkings 4–1 (13:46, 3rd, PP): Felix Ahlstrand on the power play from Olivier Bolduc and Jonathan Jakshoej.
• Blades 4-2 (07:46, 3rd, PP): Yelysei Hashymov on a nice feed from Trevor Dolata for the five-on-three power play goal.
• Riverkings 5–2 (14.9, 3rd, EN): Mikhail Ilyin jumped on the missed shot by Mateo Ruffolo and buried the puck for the final tally of the game.
The Riverkings finished 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Express went 1-for-8 and 0-1 on the penalty shot. Deaken Shaw stopped 28 of 30 and the Express goaltender Braedyn Sullivan turned aside 39 of 43.

Feb. 28

The Riverkings fired 42 shots on goal and controlled stretches of play, but a parade to the penalty box kept the game tight until the final whistle. In a contest featuring 22 penalties, 11 per side, it is not unexpected that every goal in regulation came on the power play. With the final score knotted at 2–2, Mikhail Ilyin broke through two defenders for his second goal of the game and the overtime winner.

Scoring summary
• Riverkings 1–0 (13:29, 2nd, PP): Mikhail Ilyin scored on the 5-on-3 power play when Jonathan Jakshoej was able to find Ilyin open on the backdoor.
• Blades 1-1 (09:30, 2nd, PP): Liam Devlin chipped one in on their own 5-on-3 power play.
• Riverkings 2–1 (06.9, 2nd, PP): Sebastian Redfern from Felix Ahlstrand with time running out in the period. Ahlstrand ended with a Riverkings single season record of 60 assists.
• Blades 2-2 (12:49, 3rd, PP): Kade Phillips chipped in a bouncing puck initially shot by Alexander Wilkey.
• Riverkings 3–2 (3:55, OT): The overtime format of three-on-three leaves a lot of open ice and room to maneuver. Mikhail Ilyin initially brought the puck into the Blades side of the ice but skated back out to reset and attack the zone. Ilyin pushed the puck between two defenders and jumped around the right side to collect the puck and drive the net, burying the biscuit glove side for his 36th goal of the season. The game winning goal is tied for third for most goals in a single season by a Riverking’s player.
Blades goaltender Dominic Seligman had 39 saves and delivered a standout performance, robbing what looked like certain goals and keeping his team in the fight. Riverkings netminder Jackson Gruttadauria was sharp as well, stopping 28 of 30 and ended the regular season 12-4-1-0. Gruttadauria faced 676 shots through the season, had 635 saves and ended with an impressive 0.939 SV%.

Playoffs

The division playoffs began March 6 with a best-of-three series. The Riverkings faced the Hudson Havoc in the opening round. The MN Squatch have secured a first-round bye as division champions and look strong, finishing the season in second place in the USPHL. The Northwest Express will host the MN Mullets, and the MN Blue Ox will host Steele County. The highest remaining seed will host the lowest seed in the second and final rounds.
First round for the Riverkings is March 6, 7 and 8 (if needed). All home games are scheduled for 7 p.m. at the South Wood County Recreation Center.