February 8, 2017 at 1:58 p.m.
Hodags settle the score
Rhinelander fends off Lakeland 2-1 in GNC rematch
Hodags settle the score
The Hodags got goals from Matthias Schneider and Dylan Roeser, and a 25-save effort from Seth Stafford, as they hung on for a 2-1 victory over the Thunderbirds at the Rhinelander Ice Arena.
Rhinelander (7-12-0, 3-9-0-0 Great Northern) knows what its like to be in a close game against Lakeland (8-11-1, 4-6-0-1 Great Northern), having rallied from down 2-0 against the T-Birds last Thursday in Minocqua only to lose in overtime 3-2. This time around the Hodags got out to a 2-0 lead and had to withstand a strong Lakeland push late in the second and throughout the third.
The game was fast and physical, as one would expect with the playoffs just around the corner for both teams.
"When you're in a one-goal game like that, that's how it feels at the end," Hodag coach M.J. Laggis said.
The T-Birds made things interesting with 1:06 remaining in the second period when Max Ertl banged home a rebound goal following a prolonged scrum in front of the Hodag net. Though Rhinelander outshot Lakeland 8-4 in the third, the Hodags weren't comfortable until the very end when they knocked a defensive zone faceoff with 2.5 seconds remaining out to center ice.
"We kept them running around a little bit and on tired legs," Laggis said. "They had good pressure at the end and, you know, you've got to salt those games away and take care of the puck in your own end. We ran around a little bit, but we found ourselves.
"We had a really nice clear. Tyler Kolasa chipped it out. Cole Spaulding chipped it out and Freddy Wisner was a beast on the boards right there toward the end of the game. We made some good plays right there and did what it took to hang on."
The Hodags were sluggish out of the gate in their previous contest, a 4-0 loss to East/Merrill last Saturday in Wausau, but started strong Monday. Schneider took a feed from Wisner into the zone, skated to the end line left of the Lakeland cage and beat goalie Nathan Pitek with a backhander that snuck between Pitek's leg pad and the left post 2:29 into the contest.
"We kept talking that whole time about a fast start tonight, not coming out and playing in our own zone the first three or four minutes," Laggis said.
"We started Logan Wild and Dylan Roeser together at D, even though they weren't paired up, to try to get the puck deep early and I thought we had some good momentum," Laggis added. "The Spaulding line came out with some good shifts and (Tyler) Blomdahl's line came out and followed it. Tyler Kolasa's line came out and followed it. We had some good shifts and some good pressure. We were trying to get momentum going and not play on our heels like we did at Lakeland."
But after a fast start, and despite spending seven minutes on the power play in the first period, the shots leveled out. Lakeland was beginning to seize momentum in the second when Roeser unleashed a blast from the left point that beat Pitek top shelf at the 8:43 mark. Blomdahl got the assist on what Laggis said was a smart play in the offensive zone.
"He started walking through the zone and, instead of making a goofy move or turning the puck over, he drew the coverage to him, he bumped the pass to Dylan. Dylan shot off, what I think was a screen based on the way that Pitek reacted, and Dylan hit that top corner. Just a beautiful shot. That was a really pretty goal," Laggis said.
The lead held up as Stafford, making his first start in five games, turned aside all but one shot he faced. After riding Cody Pratz's hot hand during a three-game winning streak, the Hodags turned to Stafford down 3-0 early in the second at East/Merrill and gave him the starting nod again Monday.
"We all kind of decided today that we were going to give Seth the start tonight and see how he reacts and he played pretty darn good," Laggis said. "He made some nice saves. He wants that first goal back that they scored, I can tell you that. He kind of misplayed that, and he knows that, but we made a lot of plays in front of him and he made some big saves for us. I was really happy for the effort out of him."
Lakeland outshot Rhinelander 25-21 in the contest. Pitek made 19 saves in the loss for the T-Birds.
The Hodags close out the regular season with home games on three consecutive nights beginning Thursday with GNC-leading and ninth-ranked Antigo at the Rhinelander Ice Arena. Laggis said the game will be an excellent tune-up for the playoff opener next Tuesday in Merrill.
"We've got a mindset that we're going to win our first playoff game. We're going to practice against Antigo like how we want to play in that situation against a really good, top-notch Antigo team," he said. "They're very good. They're fast. They're everything."
Rhinelander will host Ashwaubenon Friday and Chequamegon/Phillips on Saturday. All three home games begin at 7 p.m. at the Rhinelander Ice Arena.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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