February 3, 2017 at 4:07 p.m.
Hodag hockey falls to Lakeland in OT
Hodag hockey falls to Lakeland in OT
The Hodags have put together their best week of hockey this season and a win against a rival would have just added to it.
It was a roller coaster night for Rhinelander, which fell behind 2-0 in the second period before roaring back to tie it up moments later.
The two teams couldn't settle it in regulation and the Hodags appeared to have momentum on their side, but Lakeland came up with a hard-working goal with 4:07 left in overtime as Kyle Wuestenhagen found a wide-open Max Wohlleber in front of the net as the Thunderbirds came away with a 3-2 win.
"We were tired and just tried to regroup a little bit three minutes in," Rhinelander head coach M.J. Laggis said. "We got pinned in our own end and we did something that we talked and talked and talked about not doing and that's throwing it up the boards. We threw up the boards to their defensemen a couple times in that scenario and it wound up in the back of the net. You have to take care of the puck in your own end, especially in those situations."
Lakeland came out hot to start the game - which was senior night - and controlled much of the first period and a half.
Rhinelander was outshot in the first two periods but managed to keep it scoreless, until Wohlleber broke free on a Hodag power play.
He lost control of the puck at the Rhinelander blue line, but managed to regain control from the defenseman and beat goaltender Cody Pratz to strike first.
Just three minutes later, the T-Birds struck again as Beau Ertl slipped one by Pratz low on the glove side and it was 2-0 with 4:57 left in the second.
"They totally took it to us in the first period and a half," Laggis said. "We were really struggling to find our way and I thought we were playing a little bit on the intimidated side, and then we just came out of it."
Rhinelander came out of it in a big way, as it took just 29 seconds for a response.
Freddy Wisner found Dylan Roeser, and the co-captain got the Hodags on the board to halt the Lakeland momentum.
The same duo would hook up again as Wisner found Roeser sneaking in the backdoor to tie it up on the power play with 58 seconds left in the second period.
After that Rhinelander began to take control a bit, outshooting the T-Birds 6-3 in the third period.
"It was huge to do that," Laggis said. "That was a good thing to break their momentum and get us on the offensive, then of course we had a nice finish on the power play."
The Hodags had some opportunities in overtime, but were not able to put anything on the net and eventually defensive zone turnovers doomed them.
This was the third time that Rhinelander had gone to overtime this season and each of them ended with the same result.
The loss snaps the Hodag winning streak, but there is some solace in digging themselves out of a hole on the road and having a chance to win the game in overtime.
"It's a tough loss, but especially this time of the year, you have to keep it all positive," Laggis said. "What we're going to talk about is, when we get in trouble on a shift, we cannot throw it up the boards. That absolutely kills us. We have to take care of the puck in our own end at crunch time. We have to grow from that and keep getting better."
Pratz made 22 saves in net for the Hodags.
Rhinelander (6-11, 2-9 GNC) travels to Wausau on Saturday to take on Merrill/Wausau East at Marathon Park at 7 p.m.
The WIAA playoff seeding meeting is also scheduled to be held on Sunday before the Hodags host Lakeland on Monday night.
Nick Sabato may be reached at [email protected] or via Twitter @SabatoNick.
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