SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – United States Premiere Hockey League (USPHL) action returns to the Tahoe Ice Arena the weekend of Oct. 3 as the Lake Tahoe Lakers make their home debut against the Fresno Monsters.  The two teams are rivals in the Pacific Division of the USPHL, a junior hockey league comprised of 16-21 year olds aspiring to become part of the next generation of college hockey players. 

In fact, multiple members of the 2024-2025 Lakers squad recently turned those aspirations into reality. USPHL All-Star Scott McNulty committed to NCAA-D3 Western Connecticut University. Joining McNulty at the NCAA-D3 level is bruising Finnish defender Patrick Lindbohm, who signed with New England College. Five others landed roster spots at the ACHA level, including Taylor Sloan (Washington), Perry Jacobs (Alabama), Ryder Rondeau (Colorado St.), Zander Badger (West Virginia), and Lance Spencer (Michigan).

Along with those success stories comes the challenge of replenishing the Lakers’ roster for the upcoming season, a task tackled during the offseason by newly promoted General Manager Andy Radke.

“We have some key returners that give us one of the best defensive corps in the league but our biggest task was rebuilding the offense. So we brought in players like Kade Packer (Tahoe Hockey Academy), Matt Duggan (California Wave), and Lewis Beddow (Shattuck St. Mary’s) that we expect to bolster the offense,” explained Radke. 

The 2025-2026 Lake Tahoe Lakers roster consists of 15 American-born players from nine different states, three Finns, two Canadians, and one Lithuanian, returning defenseman Ugnius Simbellis who won a gold medal for his native country during the 2025 Tier-II World Junior Ice Hockey Championship Tournament last season. 

Also among those returning to the team again this season is defenseman Chayce Tuton, a shot-blocking machine and rising star out of White Horse, Yukon Territory, Canada who was recently named the Lakers’ Team Captain.

Behind the bench, the team will be led by rookie Head Coach Tyler Dill, a man who needs no introduction in local hockey circles.  Last season, Dill attended training camp with the Tahoe Knight Monsters of the ECHL, but did not initially make the pro team.  He then turned to coaching, joining the Lakers staff as an assistant coach.  Then in early February the Knight Monsters ran into a rash of injuries. Tyler Dill’s phone rang.  

So on February 7, 2025, Tyler Dill made history by becoming the first person from South Lake Tahoe to play an ECHL game for the Tahoe Knight Monsters. And for one night at least, even if it was only vicariously, the whole Lake Tahoe hockey community made it with him.

With that Cinderella story complete, Coach Dill begins a new chapter as Head Coach of the Lakers this season. Undoubtedly, he will serve as a daily reminder to his players that their dreams can also become a reality; that they too can follow in their coach’s footsteps from the USPHL, to the NCAA, and perhaps even all the way up to professional hockey.

The offensively talented and physically punishing defenseman Carver Alford, also a local product of South Lake Tahoe, naturally comes to mind.

But before any individual goals can be achieved, the Lake Tahoe Lakers must learn to be successful together.  

So far so good.  The Lakers won their first three games of the season by scores of 6-3, 6-4, and 9-4 on the road against the Rogue Valley Royals two weekends ago.  The three wins were bookended by hat tricks from newcomers Lewis Beddow in the first game and Matt Duggan in the third game.  The three wins were backstopped by three different starting goaltenders (i.e. Ryder Selbee, Aaron Ing, & Brooks Smyrski).

Next up, the Lakers face the perennial powerhouse Fresno Monsters who beat the Lakers out for first place in the Pacific Division last season.

The two teams will clash at the recently renovated Tahoe Ice Arena for three days in a row:

• Friday, Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, Oct. 5 at 12:00 pm.

In addition to some fresh coats of paint, working heaters, and better lighting, the new and improved arena also features a brand new sheet of ice with freshly painted red and blue lines.  Indeed, the milky white ice of the old barn shines a lot brighter these days.

And the future also seems very bright for the Lake Tahoe Lakers.

Dickie Dunn is the Lake Tahoe Lakers beat writer for the Tahoe Daily Tribune