January 5, 2018 at 2:04 p.m.
Hodags can't keep up with Red Robins in 6-2 defeat
Hodags can't keep up with Red Robins in 6-2 defeat
Antigo scored four unanswered goals in the second and third periods to defeat the Hodags 6-2 at the Rhinelander Ice Arena in the teams' only meeting of the season.
The Hodags (7-4-0, 4-3-0-0 Great Northern) were tied 2-2 after the first period, but Jack Shinners scored on a wrister two minutes into the second and the Red Robins tacked on a pair of power play goals to pull away.
Rhinelander was penalized only twice in the contest, but Antigo capitalized on both of their chances with the man advantage after senior defenseman Matthias Schneider was called for a major boarding penalty and a tripping call in the second.
"The penalty trouble was definitely the turning point in that game," Hodag coach M.J. Laggis said. "It's something we've got to learn from and grow from. We're not going to be able to kill seven minutes of penalties in a period against a team like that. We're just not. For that seven minutes of kill we actually killed pretty well for six minutes of it and then just ran out of gas. We're already short-handed a D, so when a defenseman takes a penalty, now we're pulling Freddy Wisner back right away and pulling Abe (Laggis) back right away. We're in scramble stance and just trying to find our way through it."
Though Antigo outshot Rhinelander 16-8 in the first period, the Hodags were even on the scoreboard. Abe Laggis scored off an assist from Nick Sandstrom at the 7:49 mark and Harlan Wojtusik scored with 1:25 remaining in the period, both goals tying the game.
"We had a nice pass from Nick Sandstrom to Abe that he buried and it was a nice play to Harlan that he buried," coach Laggis said. "When it was 2-2 there after one I thought we were matching their tempo pretty well. We were getting chances of our own."
Antigo's CJ Levis, who scored a hat trick in the game, gave Antigo a 4-2 lead just 12 seconds into the Schneider major. Garrett held tacked on a second power-play goal at the 12:38 mark. Levis tacked on one more 1:17 into the third.
The win moved Antigo to 4-7-1 on the season, but that record is a bit deceiving given the Red Robins' tough non-conference schedule. They elected to play the majority of the Great Northern Conference teams only once, a move condoned by the GNC principals, to schedule more non-conference contests.
"They play a top 10 schedule in the state," Laggis said. "Watch who they play and they play big teams ... They load up their schedule with the Superiors and Hudsons and those schools and they play that top competition. They're a good team."
Because Thursday's game was the only meeting between Rhinelander and Antigo this season, the Red Robins picked up six conference points for victory.
Rhinelander was outshot 46-15 in the contest. Seth Stafford made 40 saves for Rhinelander as the Hodags dropped their fourth straight game following a 7-0-0 start.
"We're in a real difficult part of the schedule and that's got to be a good thing. That's got to be a challenge," Laggis said.
The Hodags had Cole Spaulding (shoulder) back in the lineup for the first time in four games, but defenseman Danny Zuiker was still out with a shoulder injury and junior forward Bridger Flory missed the game due to illness.
Rhinelander hosts Kingsford, Mich. tonight at 7 p.m. at the RIA, the feature event in the Ice Association's open house event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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