February 15, 2017 at 1:28 p.m.
Playoff opportunity lost
Hodag rally falls short in OT loss to East/Merrill in WIAA tourney opener
Playoff opportunity lost
Ty Bailey banged home a rebound goal 2:04 into the extra session as East/Merrill defeated the Hodags 3-2 in a WIAA regional semifinal Tuesday night at the Smith Center.
Rhinelander (8-15-0) overcame a 2-0 first period deficit to force overtime, but gave up a 2-on-1 breakaway in transition off a blocked shot. Freshman goalie Seth Stafford stopped Christian Matson's initial shot but Bailey, a freshman, crashed the net as the rebound bounced right on to his stick for the game winner.
It was the third straight time the Hodags entered the playoffs as the No. 9 seed, and their third straight first-round exit. They keep getting closer each year. After losing 3-1 at Pacelli two years ago, the lost a 1-0 game to Pacelli last season. Thursday night they forced overtime with the Bluejacks but that offered little solace to the team afterward.
"It's so brutal to lose a playoff game but when you're pouring your guts into it and you lose it in overtime, unless you're on that bench and on that ice, you really don't understand," Hodag coach M.J. Laggis said. "You truly don't. When you're in the locker room with those kids and it's over, it's brutal. It's a punishing way. All you have after that is just time to think about it, to dwell on it, to wish it would have went differently, but it's over. That's a very difficult thing to face."
Odd-man rushes proved to be the difference. The game-winner came after Jake Bailey blocked a Logan Wild shot from the point, threw the puck up the boards and sparked a 2-on-1. Austin Burgener scored with 22.8 seconds left in the opening period after stealing the puck away from defenseman Matthias Schneider at the Bluejacks' blue line, creating a breakaway. The goal gave East/Merrill a 2-0 cushion heading into the first intermission.
"When you let them get behind you, they're going to kill you," Laggis said. "We did a very poor job of it in the first of keeping them in front of us and it showed. We were much better in the second. In the third, it was back and forth. I thought we had the better of it for sure. In the overtime, we get a shot blocked that's really what generated that. Unfortunate the way it ended for us, for sure, but credit to them for scoring the goal."
Schneider atoned for the late first-period goal with one of his own in the second. Brandon Kolasa won an offensive zone faceoff to Schneider, who was stationed on the inside of the faceoff circle for a one-timer that beat goalie Bryce Broeking 3:30 into the period.
A pair of seniors - Ethan Pequet and Tyler Kolasa - hooked up for the game-tying goal with 9:29 left in regulation. Kolasa took the puck away deep in the Bluejacks zone and fed it to Pequet for a finish in the slot.
"Ethan Pequet worked incredibly hard at the end of that shift, giving it all he had," Laggis said. "He turned to the middle and fired it, just like we were talking about on the bench - walking it to the slot and shooting it."
Both teams had opportunities in the final minutes of regulation. Broeking made a nice kick save on a Cole Spaulding shot with 3:45 remaining and the Hodags were unable to capitalize on a slash by Phil Peacy, one of thee Bluejack penalties on the night. Stafford, who finished with 18 saves in the loss, made a nice stop seconds into overtime, before Rhinelander began to sustain a forecheck.
"It was our fourth trip to overtime this year and our fourth loss in overtime," Laggis said. "That's hard to take. We're not the kind of them where we're, 'Oh, I hope we never go into overtime again.' Truthfully, when it got to overtime, our bench felt good and we were being as confident as we could about getting the job done and finishing it. It would have felt unbelievable to have failed three times in OT and then have done it, but we didn't. They made a play and put it in the back of the net."
James Pawlicki put East/Merrill ahead 6:34 into the first, banging home a rebound of a Steven Mortell shot. The Hodags nearly tied the game about 2 1/2 minutes later when Hunter Hicks had an open look from the left faceoff circle that caromed off the crossbar and went out of play.
Laggis said the postgame locker room talk was difficult, especially when it came to saying goodbye to a large senior class.
"I'm proud of the seniors for their attitude throughout Christmas when they had two weeks without ice," he said. "I'm proud of their effort. Every time we had a bad setback or a loss the locker room pulled together even more. They've been a resilient group and I just so badly wish we had one more go at it on Thursday."
Instead East/Merrill will get that opportunity, taking on top-seeded Wausau West at Marathon Park.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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