July 12, 2017 at 2:13 p.m.
Hodag hockey concludes summer ice on positive note
Hodag hockey concludes summer ice on positive note
The Hodags held their final scrimmage of the summer Sunday night at Lakeland, their only road date in a summer slate that included several nights with and against players from other programs.
"It's been really good to see some younger guys getting confidence on the ice - and some returning younger guys too," Hodag coach M.J. Laggis said last Wednesday during a mixed scrimmage between Rhinelander, Tomahawk and Chequamegon/Phillips. "We have some new faces that are out there playing and some improved faces out there from last year. That's good to see in the summer. It's a time to get confidence and it's a time to improve on your game.
"I hope it translates well. What I'm concerned about as we wrap up summer ice (is) I'm really concerned about getting guys to keep joining me in the weight room in the mornings, because that gives kids confidence."
With a number of young players returning from last year's squad, and an influx of players coming in from the Rhinelander Ice Association's bantam team, Laggis said there's reason to be optimistic. He said a core of "14 to 15 kids" have been at scrimmages, practices and weight room opportunities consistently during the summer. That's more skaters than Rhinelander had on the varsity squad less than five years ago.
"You've just got to keep growing and building on that," Laggis said. "Summer ice is very little of the banging and the big hits and a lot more about skill development and it's a blast. You always want more but I'm happy with the kids that we have."
The Hodags lost a core of key players to graduation including leading scorer Dylan Roeser and lead defensemen Logan Wild and Tyler Blomdahl.
Freddy Wisner, Cole Spaulding and Brandon Kolasa, who combined for 22 goals last season, are the team's top returning scorers while senior-to-be Matthias Schneider is expected to take a larger role on the blue line the winter as the elder statesman amongst the defensemen.
"I feel real good about the leadership of seniors Matthias Schneider and Cole Spaulding," Laggis said. "They have really poured it on in the weight room and they're playing very hard in the summer. I'm very impressed with those two guys.
Some of the returners that were sophomores last year are going to be juniors and I think you're going to see a different player out of them."
Also back is netminder Seth Stafford, who logged the majority of the minutes in goal last winter. However, Laggis said the lack of depth behind Stafford is a concern entering the second half of the offseason.
"Having one goalie is a difficult way to start the year," he said. "I feel good about Seth, don't get me wrong. I feel very good about how hard he works and were he's at but, boy, that's just a shaky situation to have one goalie in the program."
Official practice for the 2017-18 season will begin Nov. 6. Rhinelander is scheduled to open the season at Chequamegon/Phillips Nov. 21.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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