January 16, 2015 at 2:50 p.m.
RHS boys' hockey handled by No. 6 Antigo
RHS boys' hockey handled by No. 6 Antigo
The Red Robins dominated Rhinelander, winning 7-0.
Coach M.J. Laggis said the Hodags were able to keep things competitive through the first period, the score was 1-0 at that point, but things changed quickly after that.
"My overall impression is that I thought we played a really, really competitive first period," he said. "I thought we did some good things on the defensive end. Clearly Antigo was controlling the tempo and the game, but we didn't break down in the defensive zone nearly as badly as we did later in the game. We kept our head(s) in there and made some plays. That's what you have to do against a really good team. You have to stay home and make plays in the defensive zone."
Antigo opened things up in a big way in the second period, scoring four goals and widening the gap to 5-0. The Robins scored twice more in the third period.
Laggis said some weaknesses were exposed in the second period when he couldn't make the switches he wanted. Antigo took advantage.
"In the second period, we had a combination of things," he said. "Number one, you have that odd change. The line change was much different in the second period and against Antigo, it's very difficult to hit the puck deep and make a solid line change because their transition game is just through the roof. They're a phenomenal transition team. They get the puck and it's right back up the ice immediately and it turns into an offensive chance. We did a good job of not letting guys get behind us in the first period. I though we played a solid 25 minutes of hockey.
"The other 26 minutes, Antigo completed dominated," Laggis added. "They got behind us and we broke down a lot in the defensive zone. Some untimely penalties didn't help us either."
Hodag goalie Jake Arno had his hands full all night, saving 42 of 49 shots on goal. By contrast, Antigo's Ryan Schmidt faced only nine shots all night, saving them all.
Laggis said it was a bit problem for his team and they're without an excuse. Antigo was simply better.
"We were clearly outshot dramatically tonight," he said. "I'm not going to hide about that. We were. Part of that is credited to them for some extremely talented kids. We took three penalties tonight which isn't really crazy by any stretch, but three penalties resulted in two power play goals. Before the game, we stressed not taking penalties against those guys because they have a great power play and you saw that tonight."
Rhinelander has been inconsistent all season long. Laggis said part of the problem has been an uneven roster, but he's hoping with that issue resolved his team can string together some wins.
"From day one, we've been battling not having a full roster for this reason and that reason," he said. "We have a chance to maybe get another player back and be in a position where we can put our lines together to the best of our ability. We're about .500. Now we're a game below that (6-7-1, 2-6-0 Great Northern). All year long we've been at .500, or a game above or below .500. We have to be at .500 at the end of January and give ourselves a chance in February. It's a battle every day and we need to keep trying to get better in the defensive zone and get better in the other areas of the rink as well."
It was a disappointing loss, but Laggis said there's plenty to correct and it starts with chemistry.
"I'm not going to go in there ranting and raving, yelling and screaming, because that's not productive," he said. "We'll talk about what we need to do, how we need to move forward, how we need to pull together on the bench and be positive at the moments when things get tough and not fall apart. We're working on character and we're working on doing the right things every day. We have to get better at that stuff. Part of character is pulling together as a team when things get rough. Part of character is supporting each other when things go wrong on the ice. We have to get better at that."
The Hodags will travel to Eagle River Tuesday to take on Northland Pines.
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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