Locker Room Stories & a Title Win | Twin Bridges 10U Roundtable

What happens when you hand the mic to a championship youth hockey team?

This week on 2 Many Men on the Mic, we sit down with the Twin Bridges 10U B1 team — fresh off their Blue Note Cup win — for one of our most fun episodes yet.

You’ll hear:

• Hilarious locker room stories
• Spot-on (and brutal 😂) coach impressions
• The moment they realized they could win it all
• What made this team special on and off the ice

This is what youth hockey is all about — fun, teammates, and memories that last forever.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_06 0:54

It's March 26.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

It is the first spring show of 2026 of too many men on the mic. We're officially out of winter into the spring time of year, which means uh spring hockey, but also we're gonna be talking to some winners from the regular season.

SPEAKER_07 1:13

Well, you say we're out of winter, but I think uh I think the weather decided to uh give us one last blast of you know, we had 90 degree weather yesterday, and I was out golfing. Not very well, but I was out golfing, and then next thing you know, I wake up this morning and uh the heat comes out in the house. I thought I had the AC turned on and the heat came out. I was like, oh, you know, go back out and shovel the shovel the walk again. But yeah, I mean, what an what an awesome time of year. Um, you know, it's that time of year where kids start some, you know, you start putting skates up or you're on the ice a lot less, you're playing other sports, you're having fun, you're getting ready. You probably just got back from spring break. Um, but there's some great memories that are still lingering out there from the last uh last couple of uh weeks here. One of which is we just finished up here in Missouri for Mo Hockey, the Blue Note Cup tournament. And uh we're excited to talk to uh to this team tonight.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

Let's talk about it it's a brag and rights show.

SPEAKER_07 2:14

Absolutely, brag and rights, you get a chance to go on there and you know also share with our audience, you know, other players, coaches, parents. Um, you know, nobody wins a championship in one game in one game. It's a season's worth of you know development, uh, it's a season's worth of you know building a team, but most importantly, especially for for these kids and these coaches who I think we're gonna be bringing on, it's a season's worth of fun. And uh, I'm not saying that you have to win a championship to have fun, but usually when you win a championship, you have a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

We're all you're basking in the afterglow.

SPEAKER_07 2:51

We're hoping for some fun stories tonight. We're bringing on the uh the Twin Bridges B1 uh hockey team. Uh their head coach, Dave Schwab. Um, we've got a number of players in here, uh, assistant coach, um Kyle Gehrig and his son Canon Gehrig. We have Ava Bremer, Rowan Steinmeier, and Cooper Dively. And I've probably said some of those names wrong, and they're gonna correct me, but we're gonna bring on uh the Twin Bridges uh 10U B1 team that just won the Blue Note Cup. And let's talk a little bit about their season, ask you know the coaches and the players to to share with our our listeners what goes in to having a very successful youth hockey team. What's going on?

SPEAKER_08 3:35

How's it going?

SPEAKER_01 3:37

They looked very relaxed. They're still uh they they've got their they're still basking in the afterglow of their winning.

SPEAKER_07 3:44

Who's the run of cup right now? Where's the blue dog cup right now?

SPEAKER_08 3:48

Uh believe it or not, it's it's in my truck. And it's and uh one of the other uh Cooper's dads supposed to get it from me in the morning. So they're gonna pass it around every couple weeks, I guess. So it's the best. We're starting that tomorrow morning.

SPEAKER_01 4:05

So so I gotta ask, you've got the cup, uh you've got the uh symbolic physical piece uh to represent the win. Uh, I have to imagine uh with all these kids on, uh, who's gonna eat cereal out of this cup first? Ava, is that uh what kind of cereal are you gonna eat out of the cup? And what's what's your what's your go-to cereal uh that you're gonna eat out of the out of the cup? Or is it are you gonna do something else with?

SPEAKER_07 4:36

Ava, you're on mute.

SPEAKER_08 4:37

You're on mute. Oh shoot.

SPEAKER_07 4:41

Well, Cooper, why don't you tell us? Tell us a little bit about what you're gonna do with that cup. Um, is this the first time you've been on a team that's won the Blue Note Cup?

SPEAKER_04 4:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 4:53

What are you gonna do when you get the cup?

SPEAKER_04 4:56

Um drink a milkshake out of it.

SPEAKER_07 4:58

There you go. What's your go-to milkshake? We talking five guys, we talking you know, Dairy Queen, we talking McDonald's. Where are you gonna talk about? Homemade. What homemade? Homemade milkshake?

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Homemade, nice.

SPEAKER_07 5:13

Sounds good.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

Rowan, I I you you've got your gaming headset on, it looks like. Yeah, I just imagine maybe you're gonna be playing some games with your buddies, and you're just gonna have it maybe in your screen next to you, so your buddies, every time you guys are playing each other, can just can look at you and then look at the cup right next to you, or got something else in mind. What are you thinking?

SPEAKER_04 5:36

Uh I don't really know.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Like time to think about it.

SPEAKER_04 5:44

The second we got it, I was gonna say, are we gonna are we gonna all drink soda of it? Did you no? We didn't get to, they wouldn't let us.

SPEAKER_07 5:54

Well, they don't they're not gonna be around when uh you take day of the officials when they handed you the other cup. Yeah, yeah, do it at the party afterwards. So I can see him though, they'll just have it over his shoulder and he'll look at his buddies. Oh, you don't have one of those canon. What about you? You and your dad, this your guys' first cup?

SPEAKER_03 6:14

Um, yeah. Um I my parents won't let me eat any other cereal but plain Cheerios.

SPEAKER_07 6:22

Plain Cheerios? Hey, it's good for your heart, man. That wasn't good.

SPEAKER_03 6:27

So I would eat cereal out of it.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

You can eat whatever cereal you want out of the cup.

SPEAKER_07 6:34

Okay, count chocolate?

SPEAKER_00 6:35

Lucky charms. Lucky charms is cup.

SPEAKER_07 6:38

It's magical. So, Ava, what about you? When you get that cup, what's what are you gonna do with it?

SPEAKER_08 6:48

Abe's gonna hear us. Can you hear us, Ava?

SPEAKER_02 6:53

You can just it cut it, it cut out at first, so I couldn't hear what it was saying. I can't hear what you guys were saying at first because it was cutting out.

SPEAKER_07 7:04

What are you gonna do when you get the cup? Uh well we'll take a we'll we'll come back to it.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

Well coach what what about the coaches? What are the uh uh what are the coaches gonna do with their uh day with the cupboard?

SPEAKER_00 7:21

Drink deer eat some spaghetti out of it.

SPEAKER_07 7:30

Oh, that's a good one. It's better than clam chowder.

SPEAKER_00 7:33

I've I've heard someone in the cup, New England.

SPEAKER_07 7:39

So, Coach Schwab, talk a little bit about this season, you know, as you put this at Ms. Keen. Lucky Charms? Anyway, you're gonna do some lucky charms? All right, that's good. Well, coach, talk a little bit about, you know, as the as the season, you know, came into focus when you call, you know, you're getting through September and October and deck season, you see this team. Talk a little bit about, you know, what made these this group of kids special? How are they to coach? When did you decide we were gonna be good?

SPEAKER_08 8:14

I think uh from the get-go, um, the when they did the tryouts and stuff, the the team above had a lot of really good players, and I felt like they they had a a good pool to choose from, and and that left us with a good group too. Um, and so whenever the season started getting underway, this is my first year head coaching. Um, I relied on the other coaches who knew some of these kids a little better than me. I didn't pick the team, it was handed to me.

SPEAKER_06 8:43

Sure.

SPEAKER_08 8:43

And um we just I talked to all the coaches. I was you know, we're all very humble. I feel like I I don't I listen to everyone's opinion, and we looked at the team and said, hey, we got some really good skaters, and most of them are on defense, and so we just we went with that, and then we said that you know, on the bottom side, we needed to increase um our uh skating ability, and and so a lot of our practices revolved around almost 20 to 30 minutes of just edge work, especially in the beginning of the year, and then we focused on using the points a lot and moving the puck around the perimeter. Um, we did that a lot, and it it it just slowly kind of evolved into just a very uh good little system, and we focused on a lot of skills. We had half-ice practices, so it's not like I could teach a crazy amount of breakouts or any kind of regroup. I I think we tried a cycle one time, and that was a disaster. So I gave up on any kind of system work and just kind of worked on keeping the puck out and around the perimeter, and it seemed to work well.

SPEAKER_01 9:47

That's great stuff to do at 10U. So, Coach Schwab, you said it was your first year coaching this year. Were you an assistant coach uh before?

SPEAKER_08 9:56

Yeah, I always helped out um on 8U and 6U with with my kids' team, and then uh this year was the first year to hand me the rein.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

So so Rowan, if uh if if you had to pick uh what what's Coach Swab's style? What's what what what's a word would you say is Coach Swab's style when he's out there coaching you on the ice?

SPEAKER_04 10:18

I'd say he's way nicer than my dad by a lot, by a very much a lot.

SPEAKER_00 10:26

Who's also an assistant coach?

SPEAKER_08 10:32

Um was I nice to my son, though, Rowan?

SPEAKER_07 10:36

No, no, no, no, we didn't even invite him on the show here.

SPEAKER_08 10:41

Oh no, no, no.

SPEAKER_04 10:44

Yes, we don't want that.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

Well, and you talked about half-yes practices a lot. Uh that's great. We had uh uh your coaching director, Tyler, on our show a couple months ago. And uh does he come out to any of your practices throughout the season and uh and help out and share some words of wisdom?

SPEAKER_04 11:06

We have uh some elite, we he does elite with us sometimes. Um, so he comes out a lot of times for those.

SPEAKER_00 11:16

So that's like a special practice that his hockey school uh runs, and they do all the drills and everything just to give the kids a break from us coaches.

SPEAKER_08 11:27

That's pretty nice.

SPEAKER_07 11:28

Yeah, so Coach Kyle, when you're looking back at this season, and it sounds like you know, you've had some experience with a lot of these kids. Um, what surprised you the most? You know, whether it was from the team or individual players or just, you know, what surprised you the most, you know, being around these kids?

SPEAKER_00 11:48

I mean, just their their compete level um was honestly amazing to me. They just we were not, you know, we asked a lot of them in practice and we pushed them hard, like further than you normally push 10-year-olds, I would say. But they the only reason we did that is because they kept responding every time we did it. So we're like, okay, let's let's keep doing this, let's keep going more. And honestly, like I would say for me, I didn't know what we had going into the season. I knew some of the kids, and I knew we'd be pretty good, but we got into the very first tournament, uh, probably right after deck season, and we played up against mostly a teams, you know, a two, a three teams, and we won the whole thing. And I think that's when I looked at the coaches and I'm like, okay.

SPEAKER_05 12:45

Uh so let's go.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

So that was that was that we realized it right off right off the bat, I think. Um, but they just continued raising their level all season long.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

It sounds like you've had uh some players that maybe started at one position and then maybe move positions uh as the season went along. Talk a little bit about that. Did uh did did the kids come in? Uh I know you had a you have a 10 U team, so you're playing full ice for the first time. Did kids have an idea of what kind of position they wanted to play, or did you just kind of look at the kids as you started off and say, okay, based on what I see, I think you're gonna be uh most successful as a defenseman or forward. How did that work?

SPEAKER_08 13:38

Uh we tried a couple different things. Like I wanted Rowan to play D, but he doesn't really care for it. So I wanted him to even though he's really good at it, he was really good at it, but if the kids aren't having fun, then you know what's the point here? So if they didn't want to do it, I tried another kid, um, Brady at defense, and he came to me after like a game was like, I don't want to do this. And so um I actually asked Ava, who was a forward, um, and she moved a D and she was absolutely incredible. Um, she she locked it down. It was it was a fun season uh to watch her play and develop. She she grew a lot.

SPEAKER_01 14:17

Well, I've heard you say fun now twice, and I'd love to hear Cooper. What uh what do the coaches do? What does Coach Swab and uh and and the other coaches do to make practice fun for you?

SPEAKER_04 14:32

Um a lot of times we do like two-on-two and like activate the um third person, or like a lot of times we did this drill called the sunglasses, where we have two people in the corners, and then like we have two lines in the corners, um, and then we have a line of defense, and then you have a defense on the boards, and then one out in the middle, and then the forwards um pass it up to the per the defense on the boards, and then the they pass it over to the defense in the middle, and then they shoot, and then the forwards tries to deflect it in.

SPEAKER_01 15:11

Love it. Rowan, what about you? What are coaches uh what do your coaches do to make practice fun for you?

SPEAKER_04 15:18

Uh probably most of the times, like whenever we were like getting really angry at them for pushing us, they like swapped the drill to make it like better.

SPEAKER_07 15:32

Yeah, what's your favorite?

SPEAKER_04 15:35

Uh probably the drill where like you it's a shootout, but like there's one side and then they shoot, and if they miss, then you have to if you miss you have to like do sideboards and then the other team goes, and if they make it, then the other team has to do sideboards.

SPEAKER_07 15:55

Uh how many times were you missing, Rowan?

SPEAKER_04 15:58

A lot. I'm not great at I'm not great at shootouts.

SPEAKER_07 16:03

Kane, what's uh their canon? Tell me a little bit about you're a forward. Um tell me a little bit about the thing that you were at this season after you got to a certain point where you're like, hey, we can be really, really good. We may we may go pretty far. When did you realize that as a player?

SPEAKER_03 16:22

Um after we won that first tournament, I just thought a lot of us had chemistry and we were like really good at passing and talking on the ice.

SPEAKER_07 16:32

Talking on the ice, that's like the I I coach high school, and there's some high schoolers I can't get to say a word out there. So you guys as 10 use are out there communicating with each other. Imagine what you're gonna be like when you're playing high school and midget hockey. That's just so exciting. Ava, you've been you've you've been a little quiet there now. Somebody who went back and just locked it down on defense. What was your favorite thing about playing defense? What did you like to do the most?

SPEAKER_02 16:57

Um probably like pushing them to the boards.

SPEAKER_07 17:01

Yeah, uh it's um yeah, tenu you can't check, but you get a little physical. Do you sometimes get in the corners there and maybe you know a little bit of a face washes?

SPEAKER_08 17:22

Ava got two penalties all year, I think. In like the last four games. Um, I challenged her to actually take a penalty uh earlier in the year. I wanted her to be more aggressive, and so I wanted to see her take a penalty. And uh it took her a little bit, but uh she got after it.

SPEAKER_00 17:40

So she went crazy when she was DO from us her clapping, and the other teams like, what are they clapping about? And we told her, told them, and they they started clapping, it was great.

SPEAKER_07 17:55

Well, tell talk a little bit about um you know some of those things that you did. You know, you talked about going to a tournament, you know, when you're playing youth hockey, some of the best memories are at the hotels or at the restaurants when you get together with the team. You know, Cooper, tell us a little bit about some of the favorite things that you did when you guys were on the road traveling this year.

SPEAKER_04 18:17

Um, probably knee hockey.

SPEAKER_07 18:20

Excellent, excellent. Did you guys get in trouble from you know, because some hotels are not they're not all big on Shinny, they may be like who was stand up past curfew, by the way? Connor.

SPEAKER_04 18:35

Definitely Liam playing um NHL.

SPEAKER_07 18:38

Oh, you guys are Chell?

SPEAKER_04 18:40

Yeah, he brings his PlayStation everywhere he goes.

SPEAKER_07 18:44

We're taking this to another level then. Canon, if you're if you're making yourself in Chell, tell the tell us a little bit about the like what's gonna be your number one skill set, man. What's gonna be your number one?

SPEAKER_03 18:53

Um probably uh checking people. I would probably put my I would probably put my fight mode on often and then probably speed and shot.

SPEAKER_07 19:10

We're gonna have to introduce you to our buddy Cam Jansen. I think he bought that. Rowan, what about you?

SPEAKER_08 19:19

Rowan, you're on mute.

SPEAKER_04 19:20

I know. I tried to get it off.

SPEAKER_07 19:22

Um coach, it's the off season, buddy. I'll get there. He's like piping down, coach. I got this.

SPEAKER_04 19:33

Uh I really don't know. Uh I have zero clue.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

Zero clue? Yeah. You're pretty you're pretty you're pretty physical too, bro.

SPEAKER_04 19:45

Oh, yeah, I punched a kid in the face one time because I kept our goal.

SPEAKER_07 19:49

Yeah. We don't want to celebrate that, but it's I can see it. More like in the strikes me as Ava strikes me as like a as like an 85 plus skater. How's her skating? How's your skating ability, Ava?

SPEAKER_08 20:02

No, I don't think I saw her fall down one time all year in a game, and that's a lot for a for a B1 team. I mean, she she was always on her feet, always present. She won't come out and say it, but she was she was definitely not very talented skater.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

So uh let's uh what's an ism uh of the coaches? So Cooper, uh, when you're uh what's one ism that your coaches say? So maybe it's a a phrase they say frequently. Uh one of the things we sometimes say is uh net front. Uh do your coaches have a uh an ism that they say frequently when you're out on the ice?

SPEAKER_04 20:45

Yeah, um play hard, fast, and strong. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:50

Canon, I saw you with your hand up. What do you think?

SPEAKER_03 20:53

Um uh DJ always says win the period during the break of the period.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

Ava, how about you? Is there an ism that sticks with you?

SPEAKER_02 21:05

Back door to like put the forwards, like if there's someone behind the to like cover the back door.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

Cover the back door. Cover the back door, okay. Cooper, you got another one?

SPEAKER_04 21:18

Um, Coach Chad Rowan's dad always says, um, win the shift.

SPEAKER_07 21:24

Yep, absolutely. We've got a bunch here too. Like, if you lose a battle, start a battle. And uh you can't spell goal without you can't spell goal without net front. Look it up.

SPEAKER_01 21:36

Rowan, you got one?

SPEAKER_04 21:39

Um wheels.

SPEAKER_03 21:44

Do wheels count? Ah dad always says that. Like he's obsessed.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

I would always I would always yell that from the door when when I thought they had a lane from the from the defense.

SPEAKER_03 21:58

Mostly jet.

SPEAKER_07 22:01

Well let's talk. Let's see what your coaches think about about your team here. Um, so we're gonna ask the player. We have we've been talking to the players here, but like let's talk to the coaches. So who's the who's the kid that forgets their gear?

SPEAKER_08 22:18

My kid, Clayton.

SPEAKER_03 22:21

I've never forgotten a thing.

SPEAKER_00 22:23

You forget you had to wear Rowan's little brother shorts one time at a tournament.

SPEAKER_03 22:28

That was last year.

SPEAKER_08 22:30

I do remember that, yeah. Oh, didn't you? Yeah, canon Clayton. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_07 22:37

Coach Cal, who's the biggest clown on the team? Who's the guy? Who's the kid that gets in the rink and you can't help but smile and laugh, even though you want to be mad?

SPEAKER_00 22:46

Connor's definitely the the like class, the the team clown of you know, always cracking up and messing around.

SPEAKER_08 22:56

Now, I've got a story about Connor. So Connor is second to none, probably the most hockey smart player we had, probably in tenure. I mean, the kid just positionally his body position is just incredible. His skating is great. Um, now imagine going to the we're going into the Blue Note Cup championship game. They got the lights down and they got the fake smoke going, and they're the we're all busting through the through the the opening of the smoke, and uh Connor has one skate guard on his skate. So we're supposed to come out and look like super tough, and one of our best skaters just bites it.

SPEAKER_00 23:37

It's the ice, and I'm just like I remember he kept looking at his skate, like, what is wrong with my my blades?

SPEAKER_08 23:46

We didn't look out, we wouldn't notice we didn't look too tough uh coming onto the ice during the championship. So I kind of lighten the mood though. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 23:55

Well, once you hey once you get past the intro, if you fall on the intro, it can't get you'll only get better, right?

SPEAKER_00 24:00

Yeah, that's true. That's what we told them. After all this lights and all for the fans, that's all for them. That's still now it's just a hockey game, just like you guys have done all season.

SPEAKER_07 24:11

Well, when you got into the the playoffs, I mean, through the regular season, you guys, you know, there's a term in hockey, it's called wagon. You guys were a wagon, um, which is awesome to see. But you get to the playoffs and you got a little tighter. In fact, you had some tight games, you had some tough games.

SPEAKER_03 24:28

We almost lost to Kirkwood. It was like 20 seconds.

SPEAKER_07 24:32

Tell me about that, Canon. How do you how do you almost lose to Kirkwood?

SPEAKER_03 24:36

There was like um, I think we were down like two nothing with like a minute and 30 left. Um, I don't know who scored. I think it was maybe William. William scored like 60 goals this year. And um, and then Jet, like what go ahead, did you?

SPEAKER_08 24:53

It was one, it was one nothing, right? Yeah, it was one nothing. Yeah, one nothing in the third. We had 40 seconds left in the game. And then I tried to pull the goalie earlier, and then I had to send him back because the play was coming out of the zone, so it was delayed, and then I kind of forgot to get him back off, you know. And it just so happened I put a kid on the ice right whenever I finally realized that we didn't have our goalie pulled, and he basically collided with another kid, and the puck shot out. It was like the perfect timing with 40 seconds left, and jet skated in and tied it, and that's the same team I believe we beat 14 to 1 like two weeks prior.

SPEAKER_01 25:36

I was just gonna say that. I'm sitting here looking at your season, and two weeks prior, you beat them 14 to 1, and then that February 22nd game was uh was two to one, it was a nail biter. So I I gotta ask, Coach, was your team uh maybe sleeping a little bit that second second time around?

SPEAKER_08 25:56

I think it was hard to get them up for a game like because we just had it so easy, yeah. And we had everything to lose, and they had nothing to lose. And I'll hand it to Kurt. I mean, they they played us incredible. I mean, they clogged up the neutral zone so well and tied up our players. I mean, it was it was so frustrating, and then the panic sets in, right? Like, we're we're we should be winning this game. Uh we're out shooting them by 30 shots, nothing's going in. They're they're they're collapsing around, and we just couldn't get any penetration. They played great, and uh, and and I was gonna hand it to them. I mean, I was ready to walk off and after that game and say, hey, you guys got us, you know. Um, they came to play, and it was it was like I said, it was hard getting the kids um amped up for that game, I felt like. And honestly, that rink is kind of yeah, it's tough. It was early morning, we're not an early morning team. It we had a lot going against us, I felt like, but yeah, it was quite a statement by them, and I'll handle it.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

That was great. I I think beating them 14 to 1 didn't help us getting them amped up, right? Like they just thought it'd be a cakewalk, and yeah, it worked.

SPEAKER_08 27:06

But we tried to warn them. I mean, we we we knew this because it's hockey, right? Like it's a game of just little a millimeter can change the outcome of so many things, and and that's what happened. It was just like it's like we couldn't get a lucky break. They never called one penalty against them, and all we need if we would have had a five on four, I felt so confident. But we, I mean, it was it was a physical game, and the refs put the whistle in their pocket, and it and it made it really hard for us. That was that was a good on them.

SPEAKER_07 27:33

Cooper, what do you think?

SPEAKER_04 27:36

Um, probably one of the biggest upsets was so we had the second place St. Peter's team we we were like back and forth on. Um, like I'm pretty sure we beat them three times and we lost them twice. But like they, I'm pretty sure they got out by the there was two St. Peter's team teams. I'm pretty sure they got out by the third to last St. Peter's team. That really helped us out.

SPEAKER_03 28:04

And we started celebrating. What was the game before us?

SPEAKER_07 28:08

So yeah, you gotta be in, and that's that's what it's all about. You know, you have to watch and see who you're playing. You know, NHLers are looking at the standings very closely right now, I can tell you that. And they're looking to see who those teams are playing every night, and so that's what it's all about. You know, it's about loving the game and being a hockey player.

SPEAKER_01 28:26

So, coaches, how uh what what was the mood on the bench like when you were playing that game that was tight like that? You beat them 14 to 1 before. Now you're in a tight game. Were the kids dialed in? Where it was was there any nerves? What was going on?

SPEAKER_08 28:42

Man, I felt like we were uh pulling the right levers. I mean, I just felt like we were doing um the right stuff. We like I said, we were getting the shots, they just weren't they were um yeah, they weren't high, high, high scoring chances, really.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

They were just didn't I didn't feel the energy like they've had in other games, like they weren't hitting, they were not going to the dirty areas. They were yeah, we were getting a lot of shots, but I wouldn't say they were like real great shots, at least high danger areas. But when we went down a goal, yeah, the energy was uh was not great, but they weren't they weren't negative, like they weren't turning on each other, um, you know, blaming each other. It was just very tight, and I think that's kind of how we played in that game is tight until Jet got that goal, and that just freed us up.

SPEAKER_01 29:40

What do you think, Cooper? We're uh well how how are you feeling on the bench when that was going on?

SPEAKER_04 29:46

Um, I honestly when that I think that first goal went in, I was like, it's happened to us before we've came back. A lot of our games we've actually started down and we've came back, but like I knew we have a ton of good goal scorers and super fast kids on our team who can get some goals for us quickly. And I was and then I saw them all celebrating. I was like, okay, I don't really care.

SPEAKER_08 30:17

They they're gonna get one for they're gonna get one for us, and then it just didn't happen, so it was yeah, and then I started freaking everyone the panic set in.

SPEAKER_07 30:28

Yeah, every minute counts. A goal you score in the first minute's worth the same as you score in the last one.

SPEAKER_00 30:32

Not how you start, it's how you finish, right?

SPEAKER_07 30:35

Ava, what was your favorite part of the whole season? If you could go back and take a look at this season, your first Blue Note Cup, um, changing positions. What did you have the most fun or what was your favorite part of the season?

SPEAKER_02 30:51

Okay to defense, I had way more fun on defense.

SPEAKER_07 30:56

And you had fun on defense because you I love it.

SPEAKER_01 30:58

She had more fun on defense, I think, than playing forward is what you were saying. Is that right, Ava?

SPEAKER_07 31:04

That's right. Rowan, who's got the smelliest gear?

SPEAKER_04 31:10

Oh god. Um Liam.

SPEAKER_08 31:19

I could see that.

SPEAKER_07 31:21

Cooper Cooper, I want to get a I want to get your best coach Schwab impression.

SPEAKER_04 31:27

Um, probably. And we had this one game in Kansas City. Um him and I thought Coach Chad were about to get us, um, surprisingly, us all kicked out. He um, especially DJ, he was like, Man, are you gonna call F and whistle?

SPEAKER_08 31:52

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_04 31:55

This is a bad impression, Cooper.

SPEAKER_08 31:57

We can edit this up.

SPEAKER_04 31:59

Um, and I was just like, Come on, DJ, calm down.

SPEAKER_08 32:05

Um yeah, I had a I had a player get hurt, and yeah, it was a dirty play, and I was a little frustrated, so I saw myself out.

SPEAKER_07 32:15

Canon, what's the pregame song, Canon?

SPEAKER_03 32:18

What?

SPEAKER_07 32:19

What's the pregame song?

SPEAKER_03 32:21

Um honestly, it's random songs, but um, before this game we do um a thing that's after the coaches talk, before we leave, um I say what time is it, and then the rest of the team says game time, and then we do it one more time, and then um and then I say I can't hear you, and then they say game time, like super loud.

SPEAKER_06 32:48

There you go.

SPEAKER_03 32:50

So that's it's not really a song, but it's like what gets us hyped.

SPEAKER_07 32:54

That gets me hype. That's awesome. Who who's got the best selling? Oh, no, you do not.

SPEAKER_04 33:06

I do the heartbreaker every time. I do the heartbreaker every time.

SPEAKER_06 33:10

Show us the selfie stick one time.

SPEAKER_00 33:17

Yeah, that was pretty ridiculous.

SPEAKER_08 33:20

I think it was like a tie game. Yeah, it was like um, I had to actually teach them how to celebrate goals uh halfway through the season because they would score and just skate off as fast as they could back to the bench. It was so weird. And I'm like, hey guys, like there's five of you on the ice that worked really hard for this to happen. Why not congratulate everyone after you score and then go through the line, you know, and then it was kind of funny. Then they all changed, but uh that was a funny little uh conversation because it was I don't know, I think Clayton was doing it the worst, even to score and shoot off. And it was like, what is that?

SPEAKER_00 34:03

Like it was always like a competition to like who could skate off the quickest and do the cell, and then then it would turn into like kids that had the assists and secondary assists, and they're all selling and six, seven, two more, all that stuff.

SPEAKER_01 34:18

Cooper's got something to say. What you got, Cooper?

SPEAKER_04 34:21

Um, I'm pretty sure Clayton wants so he put the stick in between and he started waving it around in between his legs. Um and I was he was on the hole. Who went on? And yeah, he it's crazy. I don't know what he was thinking.

SPEAKER_07 34:43

So, Ava, let's get your feelings like minute left in the blue note cup. You guys are about to win the blue note cup. What's going through your head? What are you feeling at that moment?

SPEAKER_02 34:58

Excited. Um, I I was in the penalty box though, so I I was trying to figure out if I was asking to go out and play forwards or go back to defense because the penalty box is across the ice and they don't really you know they don't really know, and I just usually tell them you gotta hit the ice because I gotta get a player back, you know, as quick as possible.

SPEAKER_07 35:23

So you guys on the NHL ring or the plague or the U or the USA ring?

SPEAKER_08 35:28

Yeah, it was uh was the plague, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

It's funny, like the other side. Yep. So then they're like at one time we had all three of them in the box. There's three of them at one point. I think they thought they were gonna get to skate more, so like we were taking more penalties because they could get two shifts at once.

SPEAKER_05 35:47

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_08 35:49

It's funny the things that you don't realize you have to teach until it happens, stuff like that. Like, I would have never thought, you know, hey, you know, if you're across the ice, you know, don't skate, don't skate all the way across if there's a play in front of you and try and come to the bench, like go go play, you know. And for a defenseman, of course, that's tough because then you have three defense out there.

SPEAKER_07 36:08

But well, I mean that's that's the that's the unique thing when you play out at uh at Centeen because the majority of the rings you play at, your penalty box is right next to the bench.

SPEAKER_06 36:19

Yeah, yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_07 36:21

You know, it's it's a unique uh setting, and it's you're not alone. You know, you know, you it was funny you mentioned pulling your goalie. It didn't look like you guys had to pull your goalie too much this season, so that was probably something figure out.

SPEAKER_08 36:34

So we had a bad stretch in January. I don't know what. I think everyone's coming off Christmas break, and um it was weird. One of our one of our Connor wasn't with us um for a couple games, and we were in Merrimack, it was like eight o'clock at night on a school night. It's I think it's and like we go into it like 30 seconds into the game, a shot goes off Ava's leg pad and goes in, and it was like we just couldn't crawl out of that, and we lost that game 5-4, and then the next game, the next game was the was that Saturday we played St. Peter's, who they've always just gave us trouble for whatever reason, and I mean they scored right off the bat again, and it was like deja vu. And I mean, that was that was the low point of the season. Those two losses was just like what is going on.

SPEAKER_00 37:29

That first loss was to the sharks team we played in the championship. So yeah, they knew they could beat us, they could beat us for sure, and we didn't start out like we didn't start out dominating everybody in deck season, so like it's not like we were dominating and they didn't move us up or anything, like they're just they just kept getting better, like it was kind of impressive to watch.

SPEAKER_01 37:55

Yeah, so where where did you go as a team after you won the cup? Did you uh go to a restaurant? Did you go out to what where'd you where'd you head to Saint Charles bowling alley?

SPEAKER_00 38:11

That was awesome.

SPEAKER_01 38:12

That's a lot and then and and who's who's who's the pro bowler on the team?

SPEAKER_03 38:18

I think they all had bumpers on, so I accidentally broke my bumper, yeah, because you threw it instead of throw it, it bounced, yeah. And then we had a competition to see who could roll the bowling ball the slowest, and we got like six of them stuck on one lane.

SPEAKER_00 38:37

Don't take hockey kids from bowling alleys. No, really don't take hockey kids anywhere but hockey ranks.

SPEAKER_03 38:43

It was hilarious. And then guys started getting all mad, the manager, and then it was he was about it looked like he was about to kick us out.

SPEAKER_07 38:52

So I'm detecting the theme. We almost get kicked out in Kansas City, almost get kicked out of the hotel for playing too much knee hockey. Yeah, I think we've kind of seen that this team, the team that wins together, gets in trouble together. Well, hey, we're joined here again by coach DJ Schwab, uh Coach Kyle Gehrig and his son Canon Gehrig, Ava Bremer, Rowan Steinmeier, and Cooper Dibley of the Twin Bridges 10U B1 Blue Note Cup Championships 2026 style. Um guys, as we're winding out winding down here, you know, what are some things that you'd like to say to your coaches about the season um, you know, that made the most impact for you? You know, these coaches, and I'm gonna as a coach, I'm gonna tell you they put a lot of time and effort into into helping you guys be good hockey players, but hopefully humans. What are some things you'd like to say to your coaches about the fun and what what was your favorite part of the season and how much you're appreciative? Go ahead, Cooper. You go first. I see you. I see ya.

SPEAKER_04 39:56

Um from like at the start of the year, I saw like a lot of our coaches as like a lot of things, like one is like a role model. Um definitely uh like someone who if we got the drill wrong, they'd show us how to do it and how to do it right. And probably one of the funniest coaches I've had. Um, to all of them basically. They were all super funny and fun.

SPEAKER_07 40:28

Ava, what about you?

SPEAKER_02 40:32

DJ, thank you for making me play defense.

SPEAKER_08 40:36

I was a no-brainer.

SPEAKER_00 40:39

You were getting much choice there.

SPEAKER_04 40:47

Um I mean, they helped us a lot throughout the season, but like my funniest memory of our coaches was when my dad he was using me as an example of boxing someone out, and he went to box me out, and I shoved him over and he almost broke his neck.

SPEAKER_07 41:11

Let me show you how it's done, coach.

SPEAKER_08 41:13

Yeah, yeah, that was pretty funny.

SPEAKER_07 41:16

Canon, you know, you've got your dad there, but you also have coach Flaw and you know, DJ.

SPEAKER_03 41:21

Um, I wouldn't normally say this during the stream, but uh thanks for letting thanks for making us skate sideboards. It really helped like in the third period.

SPEAKER_07 41:34

Wow, that now is recorded forever.

SPEAKER_08 41:40

I really didn't I don't feel like we skated that hard, do you?

SPEAKER_00 41:43

Well, we could have skated them harder.

SPEAKER_08 41:45

Oh, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_07 41:47

It's like Bert Brooks.

SPEAKER_00 41:49

Yeah, yeah. We'll lock up. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 41:52

Turn up the lights. Cooper, you got more, and uh what else you got?

SPEAKER_04 41:57

Um, also one thing I've heard is is last year I wasn't definitely I didn't have as much confidence. I didn't have nearly as much goals as I had this year and like assist. Um thank you, coaches, for like getting my confidence back and do it help some more players. And then at the end of you, buddy.

SPEAKER_03 42:19

And at the end of the season, bro, you started screaming, bro. It was it was awesome.

SPEAKER_01 42:27

Hold on, Rowan had something he wanted to add there too. I saw his hand up.

SPEAKER_04 42:31

Uh I I was gonna add to the sideboards thing. This year, they were like slacking on the sideboards. Last year, if we didn't want to do sideboards, they would like scream at us like, get your foot on the sideboard.

SPEAKER_08 42:48

I tried to make sorry, I was gonna say I tried to make the practices, I would go over the coaches, I tried to keep as many kids involved, like not a lot of standing around. Like I didn't like the drills with just two kids going, and so I didn't have to skate them so much. And like I was I was getting kind of crazy about it. Like I'd be counting how many kids I'd have standing at one time if I did this drill, and and I you know, you just you gotta maximize the maximize the ice time, and then I felt like I didn't have to skate them so much because I kept them moving. That was my strategy. I wasn't perfect. Obviously, we had some some pretty bogus drills, but uh for the most part they worked out.

SPEAKER_00 43:26

I'd say we worked on, you know, we were because the team was so well, a they had such good hockey sense and they they gave it their all every practice, like we were able to like actually implement some systems, you know, that you know you wouldn't normally even think about doing with with a 10 U B1 team, but that's that's all because of they bought in, and you know, like I said, the harder we pushed them, the more they kept responding. So it's like, okay, let's keep going.

SPEAKER_07 44:00

Yep. It's a player led team. You guys were you guys were you know just kind of getting them out there. And some of the best coaching is when you let the kids lead and you get a little bit out of their way, and next thing you know, you're winning a blue notecom. What do you got there, Shannon?

SPEAKER_03 44:13

Um uh this um earlier when we were talking about By the way, what an awesome hockey name.

SPEAKER_07 44:20

He's got a Canon. I love it.

SPEAKER_03 44:24

Um uh when we were talking about favorite drills, um, my two most favorites were something called the one-on-one-on one. It's where everyone for themselves, and then whoever scores gets to stay out there. And then there was also something that we like made up through like my dad made it up like halfway through the year. It's called the corner drill, I think. It's where there's two.

SPEAKER_07 44:52

I didn't pick it up. Hey, go with the dad, just go with it.

SPEAKER_03 44:56

And then um, so there's two people. So we're in the corner, there's a net, there's no there's two nets, and then there's like there's four lines, two um people in each line go out and battle, and they're teammates, and then there's two or four other people at like being points, but they're like closer, and all they could do is shoot, and then it was like you were allowed to check and battle.

SPEAKER_00 45:25

It's a however you want to small area drill, you know. You can shoot at any net, like it's just very fast, and it's it's more about compete and battle, quick shots.

SPEAKER_01 45:37

Ron, you got something you want to add there?

SPEAKER_04 45:40

Yeah, we also did this one drill where it was only one net and there was only two people, and you'd like fight until you said go, and I'd just like hold the kid on the wall the whole entire time until he said go.

SPEAKER_00 45:54

If you don't hear what you don't say, you know, Ron's a big body, so he he can definitely uh box out some people.

SPEAKER_01 46:02

Well, this has been a lot of fun. Uh, congratulations to your Blue Note Cup win. What a fun group of kids. And uh, coaches, you're doing something right because these kids are smiling, they're having fun, and it looks like they had a great season. So thanks for joining us tonight. Uh on the Too Many Men on the Mike Show.

SPEAKER_06 46:22

Thanks, guys. Thanks for having us.

SPEAKER_01 46:24

Yep, thank you.

SPEAKER_06 46:25

See you later now. See you.

SPEAKER_07 46:29

You guys got some great coaches, some great teammates, and it's gonna be some great years ahead of you. Thanks for everything you do, and uh, congratulations again and best of luck in the coming seasons.

SPEAKER_00 46:39

Thank you. Thanks for having us. I don't I don't know about the wheel behind you, but let's go blues.

SPEAKER_06 46:44

Uh yeah, you gotta go back and listen to all the shows, and you'll thanks everybody. Good fun, guys. Thanks.

SPEAKER_01 46:58

Just because the winter weather is coming to an end doesn't mean hockey stops. So sign up for your team with Big Bear Tournaments for one or more of their spring 2026 events. Starting April 24th through May 15th, join them at their prime spring locations, which include Chicago, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Lake Tahoe. Exact dates and full details can be found at BigBarTournaments.com. As always, tell them, Too many men on the mic sent you to receive exclusive savings. That's BigBarTournaments.com.

SPEAKER_07 47:38

Real quick before we jump back in, if you're enjoying Too Many Men on the Mike, hit like and subscribe on our YouTube channel. It's a quick click for you, but it helps us grow the show and keep bringing you great hockey conversations. You can also follow us on Instagram by scanning the QR code on the top right corner of your screen if you're watching us on YouTube. And be sure to download, follow, and rate the podcast on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts, or directly on our website, too many menonthemic.com, the number two. These are small things from you that help keep us delivering new guests, downloadable coaching content, and more from the rank. All right, back to the show.

SPEAKER_01 48:18

Well, they were a lot of fun. It was great. I mean hands up, I have some words to say, um, big smiles. Uh love it.

SPEAKER_07 48:32

I mean that we had to keep our head in a swivel. We were like, who's got the puck? Where's it going? Where's it going?

SPEAKER_01 48:39

And the coaches had just as much fun too. They were they wanted to get uh words in. So what a fun group.

SPEAKER_07 48:44

You know, I think that you said it, but we couldn't go, I don't think, 10 or 15 seconds without somebody saying the word fun. And I just think of, you know, as we have our conversations with directors of hockey and coaches and players and parents all around the country, all around the world, you know, that through line for successful, and successful isn't always wins, but it's it's it's those kids saying, hey, these coaches care. And you know, for some 10-year-olds, you could kind of tell that they they had some insight and they understood exactly um how important those coaches and the time they give, how that how how much that meant to them. And I thought that that came through, you know, with you know, flying colors.

SPEAKER_01 49:31

Yeah, I liked uh all the different perspectives, everything from confidence uh as a player to uh I found my position, I found the uh the spot for me on the team. So I felt like each player had something that uh that they really got out of it from this group.

SPEAKER_07 49:49

Yeah, and I think if you're if you're listening to that group and and look, you know, they had a a very successful season. This wasn't something where things came together for them at the end. You know, this was like from the jump, they were they were you could tell they were all friends, they were supporting each other. Like I love the story about how they were clapping and getting excited because Ava took a penalty. Oh, yeah. And you even saw it on the screen as we're talking to them as they're kind of nodding their heads or they're covering their mouths, trying not to laugh about the different stories. And you know, if I'm a coach, which I am, but if I'm a um, you know, if you're able to build that dynamic and that environment where the kids are in it for each other, I mean, coaching then really, really becomes easy.

SPEAKER_01 50:35

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see these kids all stick together and move along.

SPEAKER_07 50:39

Yeah, you know, Twin Twin Bridges, we've talked to Tyler Elbrecht, who's their director of hockey, and um, you know, they've got some great programs over there. Their elite program is something that they tout very, very uh heavily, and they've got some successful players. Um, they've graduated some kids to Central States, whether they're playing for the Sting or the Americans or for Chesterfield. Um, and they've certainly had their fair share of uh of tier one players, whether it's for Car Shield or for the Blues. So they're doing something right over there. And I just for me, it's just so cool to see um, you know, you get a group of four players and two coaches, and I don't think they could wipe the smiles off their faces if they tried. It was just such a great memory that you know they're gonna be 30 and 40 years old to remember this year.

SPEAKER_01 51:24

They're gonna have a great spring.

SPEAKER_07 51:26

Absolutely, great, great spring.

SPEAKER_01 51:27

So so is uh um is the uh wheel behind uh behind you gonna have a good spring? What's uh what's what's happening there?

SPEAKER_07 51:36

You know, they've uh they're 3-3-1 since Dylan Larkin got hurt, not that I'm counting. Um, they had a big win against against the Habs on uh on Thursday, and then they took it to Boston and they ran into this dude called Jeremy Swayman who made like 50 saves. And uh word on the street is that Dylan Larkin was practicing today with the first power play unit. I think he's probably gonna be on the ice tomorrow when when uh when we, I mean they, but we play Ottawa. Um, you know, we'll see. I'm right now my focus is is kind of split between you know the Red Wings, University of Mission, the number one hockey team in the country, number one seed. They won the Big Ten tournament. Um, and then I've got this team that I'm getting on an airplane with tomorrow to fly out to Philadelphia to play in the national tournament, the African American ATU team.

SPEAKER_01 52:30

That's for all the marbles, that'll be fun stuff.

SPEAKER_07 52:33

Yeah, yeah, we're gonna have some Philly cheesesteaks. We're gonna, you know, and what's really nice about this year, um, one game per day only. Oh, nice. So, you know, the game starts, they they play their uh a lot of sitting around. Yeah, they play their round robin pods Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and then uh quarter semis and finals are Saturday, Sunday. So, you know, fingers crossed, they've got a chance because they're there. So that's good.

SPEAKER_01 52:58

Well, the blues are making things interesting as always, because uh coming out of the uh Olympic break, uh they've been one of the better teams that's out there, and so I'm not saying it's me. I've just heard some St. Louisans say things like, What are they doing? Winning games.

SPEAKER_07 53:14

Come on, we want to get that high draft pick. You know what? Players don't care about draft picks. The players, you know, they they look at those guys as coming to take their jobs, and and rightfully so, but I think it tells you a little bit, right? You know, you you had all these rumors swirling around, whether it was Bennington, Franco nearly gets traded. I think Robert Thomas and Kairu's name came up, and you know, I went to a game, yes, I went to a blues game. Um I know you went to the Edmonton game OT. That OT snipe from from Thomas with like less than two seconds left.

SPEAKER_01 53:48

That's why you can't trade the man.

SPEAKER_07 53:50

You you really can't. I think you've got uh, you know, how do you trade a number one center who's under 30? How do you do it?

SPEAKER_01 53:57

We're past the trade deadline, so it didn't happen.

SPEAKER_07 53:59

That's right, did not happen. Um, you know, you know, we're down the stretch here though in the NHL. Um, you know, the West is wide open, you know, for in terms of that Pacific division. Uh, you know, I can't, you know, you you think about young teams turning around that are having fun, you know, similar to the Twin Bridges team. You look at that Anaheim team, you know, they get a coach in there like Joel Quimble, who's who can be a disciplinary and who can do the sideboards like DJ and Kyle, but then you can also have a lot of fun with those with those players. And you look at Anaheim, you know, they're gonna make some noise, I think, in the West.

SPEAKER_01 54:31

Oh my gosh, if you're in the Pacific, it's anybody's game.

SPEAKER_07 54:34

Well, I keep, I keep, I think everybody keeps waiting for this the golden knights, or I'm sorry, knights. Yeah, yeah, the knights and the oilers to kind of grab it. You said it earlier, the oilers barely have 80 points. Like, I mean, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 54:49

When Connor McDavid says uh playing in the Pacific right now is uh being in a pillow fight. I think that's all you need to say.

SPEAKER_07 54:57

Well, we've got uh we've got a lot of hockey still left to play here. Obviously, the NHL, you know, nationally you've got USA tier one, tier two, nationals going on. The hockey uh high school, uh high school tournament is just now finished up. Um, and then this week we've got uh the girls, you know, uh girls tournament here in St. Louis. Um, so if you're in St. Louis and you're looking to go watch some good hockey, get over to Send Team this week um because you're gonna see some excellent hockey uh at a national level with uh I think it's uh is it our 19U and 16U 19U girls hockey, which is um phenomenal. And and you know, I still can't say this enough. We went triple goal with with Team USA with men's para and the women's hockey. Um, so it's great hockey. It's when I was listening to XM Radio on the way in, and they were talking to um, she plays at the University of Wisconsin. She's the number one player, she's expected to be the number one draft pick in the PWHL. Um, just a phenomenal, like there's just so much good hockey going on right now, and the game I don't think has ever been stronger, unless you're George Parrows director of player safety. And you got to deal with the slings and arrows from the likes of Conor McDavid and Alan Walsh.

unknown 56:14

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_07 56:15

So, but I I mean I uh I'm excited for our opportunity here on this show. Hopefully, we're gonna be talking to some more Blue Note Cup winners, and you know, hopefully we'll be able to talk to some national winners as well.

SPEAKER_01 56:28

Go out and watch some hockey. There's some great hockey left, and uh, we're gonna put a uh Taibow on this one right now, put a fork in it, and get out and enjoy some warm weather and go watch some great hockey. It's out there for you.