Sheridan Hawks Junior Hockey Team Preparing For 2025 NA3HL Showcase Competition

The Sheridan Hawks have established themselves as the team to beat in the NA3HL’s Frontier Division, and now the team is preparing to face some other top level competition.

The team will compete in the 3-day NA3HL Showcase Event beginning on Sunday, December 14th in Blaine, Minnesota, which is a northern suburb of Minneapolis.

All teams in the league will play 3 games against teams from other divisions that are in the same position that they’re in.

For Sheridan, that means the team will take on 3 other top tier teams, and first up on Sunday at 5:15pm, is the undefeated Louisiana Drillers, based out of Lafayette, who lead the Southeast Division and are also the defending NA3HL Champs.

The Hawks then play on Monday at 5:30pm, against the Long Beach Sharks, who are based out of Long Island, New York and are in 1st place in the East Division.

Sheridan will conclude the Showcase Event on Tuesday at 11:15am, against the host team, the Minnesota Moose, who are in 1st place in the West Division.

Hawks Head Coach J.J. Santagata says these next 3 opponents should be able to provide the different type of challenges that the team has been looking for.

“I think we’re just trying to accomplish that we can play with other teams outside of our division. We’ve done really well in our division this year and the Tuesday 10 obviously kind of reflects that yeah, we’re a good team, but are we that good? So I think right now, we’re just trying to go in to prove to some people that no matter what, whether its in our division or outside, we can play against any team.”

In the NA3HL’s weekly 10 rankings, the Hawks are ranked #7.

The Drillers are ranked #1, the Sharks #5 and the Moose #2.

The Louisiana Drillers lead the league in goals scored with 263 after 23 games, and have only allowed 19 pucks into their own net.

Goalie T.J. Wonnacott says Sheridan just needs to worry about themselves and not get caught up in the hype regarding their opponents.

“I think the team’s just got to play their game, play simple and I think we have a good fighting chance against all the teams we can play against. We’ve done really well in our division and so going outside of the division, playing other top teams, is going to be great to gauge ourselves and I’m just excited to close the door against these high octane teams.”

After the Showcase Event, Sheridan will return home, take a break for the holidays and then play again on January 2nd and 3rd at Bozeman, Montana.

The next scheduled home games are not until January 16th and 17th, also against Bozeman.

Weekend Recap: (Courtesy: Sheridan Hawks)

Sheridan faced the Badlands Sabres this past weekend in an away-home split.  It was an important weekend for the team for many reasons; the last games of 2025; the last games before showcase; and the last time the Hawks would face the Sabres in the regular season.  The Hawks felt the pressure, also, as Badlands was the only team in the Frontier Division with a winning record over the #1 seed Hawks, having a 3-1 record in the four previous games over Sheridan.  But with two back to back wins the Hawks put that in the past and steam forward to end the first half of the season and head to the 2025 NA3HL Showcase in Blaine, MN, on a roll.

The Badlands Sabres hosted the Sheridan Hawks on Friday night in an electrifying, high-scoring affair where the Hawks ultimately soared past the home team with a decisive 7-3 victory.

The Hawks fired the opening salvo on an unassisted goal by Dante Hunziker.

Less than a minute later, answered the Sabres, evening up the score at one.

The rest of the period went scoreless and headed into the second frame tied up. 

But the middle period was a scoring frenzy. 

The Hawks and Sabres would trade off goals for a total of five.

Sheridan hit first when just over two minutes in when Elijah Farris netted one for the Hawks. 

The Sabers answered again in short order 90 seconds later with a goal of their own to even it up at 2-2, for a time, but then goals by Anthony Launderville and Jeff Slivon, propelled Sheridan to a 4-2 lead. 

Once again though, Badlands clawed back into the game with a 3rd goal under a minute later and with 2 minutes left in the period closing it out with Sheridan holding a one goal lead. 

But, in the third, the Hawks dominated, adding two more goals by Dean Schlarman and Elijah Farris, while Jeff Slivon sealed the deal with a late goal to take this one in a decisive 7-3 win. 

Sheridan’s TJ Wonnacott stood firm in goal, saving 24 of 27 shots while the Sabres just could not contain Sheridan’s offensive onslaught.

The action moved to Sheridan’s Whitney Rink in the M&M’s Center on Saturday as the Sabres looked for revenge against the Hawks after their loss on Friday night. 

But much to the delight of the fans filling the stands, the Hawks continued their winning ways. 

The first period was a quiet one with no scoring occurring but setting the stage for a thrilling second period.

In that frame, the Hawks broke through two minutes in on a goal by Jeff Slivon, assisted by Deagan Watson and Jameson Clark.

Just over five minutes later, Elijah White scored a goal, assisted by Dante Hunziker, for a 2-0 lead midway through the second.

The Hawks would tally their third of the night on a power play by Max Krueger, assisted by Caden Gleason and Charles Stow, for a 3-0 lead going into the final period.  

In the third, the Sabres would finally find the back of the net at 57 seconds left in the game. 

The lone goal of the night from the visiting team came after pulling their goalie for the extra skater, and on a play that left the Sheridan fans unhappy, crying out for a goalie interference call, and feeling Sheridan netminder Otto Reinhart was robbed of a shut-out. 

Thirty seconds later, Dante Hunziker would put a ribbon on the win for the Hawks with an empty-netter to end this one 4-1. 

Otto Reinhart’s stellar goaltending performance, stopping 35 of 36 shots, earned him the first star of the game.

With this win, the Hawks extended their winning streak to seven games, evened up their record versus the Sabres and cemented their dominance in the Frontier Division by 10 points.

The Hawks leave this upcoming weekend to travel to this year’s Showcase event for three out of division regular season games. 

On Sunday, Dec 14, the Hawks take on the undefeated Louisiana Drillers from the Southeast Division at 5:15 MST. 

Monday the 16th it’s the Hawks vs the East Division leaders, the Long Beach Sharks, at 5:30 pm local time. 

Finally, on Tuesday, Dec 17 the Hawks play the #1 ranked West Division Minnesota Moose, with the puck dropping at 11:15 AM MST. 

After that the team gets a short holiday break before heading to Bozeman for a two game series versus the Icedogs the first weekend in January. 

The Hawks play at home again on January 16, once again against the Icedogs.