February 14, 2018 at 1:59 p.m.
Undeniable
Hodags rally to beat Mosinee 5-4 in OT, advance to regional finals
Undeniable
Danny Zuiker buried a shot from the top of the slot 5:53 into overtime as the Hodags completed a wild comeback, defeating Mosinee 5-4 in a WIAA regional semifinal game at the Rhinelander Ice Arena.
The Hodags rallied from a pair of two-goal deficits in the game and will move on to face second-seeded Northland Pines tonight at the Eagle River Sports Arena in a regional final matchup.
"We've battled a lot of adversity this year," Hodag coach M.J. Laggis said. "To come from behind twice in that game sums up a lot of what we worked on. That was win No. 16 for us and that's huge. I'm proud of the kids."
The game-winner came late in a first overtime session that the Hodags controlled. As part of a sustained forecheck, Harlan Wojtusik gained the puck in the corner and threw it to Freddy Wisner behind the end line. Wisner sent it out to Zuiker near the blue line and the rest is Hodag hockey playoff history.
"It was kind of a scramble in front of the net, I picked it up on the rebound and I didn't really have an angle so I (passed) it up to Daniel," said Wisner, who had a goal and four assists on the night.
"I got the puck, I looked up and saw there was not much room at all," Zuiker said. "So I just wound up and took the shot, saw that it snuck past the kid's leg. That's pretty much all I could see and then I saw the net move and then everyone started cheering."
It was an amazing finish, especially considering how the game started. Three minutes into the contest the Hodags were less concerned about winning the game than they were about getting blown out at their own rink by the 10th-seeded Indians.
Abe Laggis gave up a turnover in a defensive zone that ended up right on the stick of Mosinee's Max Beste, who shot the puck between Seth Stafford's legs just 22 seconds into the contest.
Mosinee made it 2-0 just over two minutes later when Trey Fitzgerald beat Stafford on a wraparound attempt that hung on the goal line before Keign Charneski tapped it in.
"We couldn't have started any worse, falling down, throwing pucks around, giving up soft goals - as a team just soft goals - but we found our way and came back," coach Laggis said.
Rhinelander got a goal from Wisner late in the first period and tied it on an Abe Laggis backdoor chance 11:29 into the second, but the momentum was short-lived. Fitzgerald got a late pass from Beste in a 3-on-2 situation and buried the shot to put Mosinee back in front at the 12:52 mark of the second and then made it 4-2 as Charneski poked in a bouncing puck just 40 seconds into the third.
"When they made it 4-2, you thought it was over," M.J. Laggis admitted.
But, as they have time after time this season, the Hodags rose to the occasion.
The Hodags pulled within a goal with 9:12 remaining as Rhinelander caught Mosinee netminder Standford Swid out of position and Abe Laggis buried a shot from a tough angle at the bottom of the left faceoff circle.
Then, following a Brodie Murray interference penalty, the Hodags finally took advantage of a power play. Wisner fed Wojtusik on the back door and the freshman finished for his 15th, and undeniably biggest, goal of the season with 3:53 remaining in regulation.
"As the third period wore on and into overtime, we controlled the zone a lot and we made (Swid) move," coach Laggis said. "We looked back door and we had a number of back door looks that could have, would have, should have (gone in) and didn't and, finally, we get one to go."
The Hodags dodged a few bullets in the final moments of regulation. Spencer Schmirler walked in and missed a backhand opportunity with under three minutes left in the third. Mosinee nearly had a breakaway chance with less than a minute to play. Danny Zuiker hit the ice to prevent a shot by Fitzgerald from the right faceoff circle, but ended up taking Fitzgerald down and receiving a tripping penalty with 23 seconds left.
With Zuiker in the penalty box and moments left in regulation, Fitzgerald got the puck, slipped two Rhinelander defenders and walked in on Stafford, who tipped the shot away with his glove just before the buzzer sounded.
"That's the competition penalty you live with," coach Laggis said of Zuiker's trip. "He bumped wide and Danny made the play he had to make. You don't want that kid walking 1-on-0. Then Seth made an incredible save, a big-time save for sure. We did some little things right, right there."
Just as was the case four days earlier in their regular season meeting, the No. 1 lines for Mosinee and Rhinelander dominated the game. The Mosinee line of Fitzgerald, Beste and Charneski accounted for four goals and four assists.
"That line of Mosinee, I'm confused how they've only won four games," coach Laggis said. "They were all over us Friday night and it wasn't a fluke. That line was all over us tonight. We had trouble with them and if you said how many games has that team won, I'd said that's a 10-12 win team."
Rhinelander's top line of Wisner, Abe Laggis and Flory was equal to the task, however, responsible for three goals and five assists.
"We just moved the puck very nicely. Our heads were always up. We just worked really nicely together. It flowed nicely on the ice," Wisner said.
Wisner may have been the benefactor of the most fortuitous bounce of the night. His goal in the first period came on a soft backhander that deflected off Schmirler's skate and into the back of the net.
"It boosted the team, but definitely one of the luckiest goals I've had in my career," Wisner admitted.
It was a joyous celebration for the Hodags who won their first playoff game since notching a 1-0 upset at Mosinee in 2014. The Hodags have had a string of three straight one-goal playoff losses since then, including a 3-2 overtime defeat at East/Merrill last year.
It was also Rhinelander's first home playoff win since 2009 when they beat Antigo in overtime, 4-3.
"I got to watch my brother win in Mosinee when he was in high school so to come out and do it against Mosinee again was great," said Danny Zuiker, referring to his brother, Kurt, who was a member of the team that beat Mosinee back in 2014.
A large student section packed into the RIA to watch the contest. Even members of the RHS boys' basketball team, fresh off defeating Medford 60-44 to earn a share of the Great Northern Conference title, got to the arena in time to watch the overtime heroics.
The Hodags head to Eagle River tonight to take on a Northland Pines team that controlled the regular season series between the two teams. Pines defeated Rhinelander 6-0 in Eagle River Dec. 21 and 10-1 in Rhinelander Jan. 16 as part of the Hodags' midseason seven-game losing streak.
"That's an incredibly difficult play to play against a team that's got, what, 18 wins? They're just a very good hockey team," M.J. Laggis said. "We're looking it as a challenge and an opportunity to play great hockey and that's what we're going to do."
Faceoff is set for 7 p.m.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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