January 15, 2018 at 1:00 p.m.
Hockey: Slumping Hodags blanked by Ashwaubenon
Hockey: Slumping Hodags blanked by Ashwaubenon
The Hodags surrendered two goals in the first seven minutes and eventually lost to the Ashwaubenon Jaguars 6-0 at the Cornerstone Community Center.
The Jags controlled play from the drop of the opening puck, outshooting the Hodags 39-12 overall, and sent the game into running-time with a three-goal barrage in the first seven minutes of the third.
"They're a good team. They're solid, but we just didn't play well, at all. What I'm really most disappointed with is our lack of compete," said Hodag coach M.J. Laggis, whose team has now lost six straight after starting the season 7-0-0.
Kaden Appleton scored twice for Ashwaubenon (11-5-0) which had its way in the Rhinelander's defensive zone much of the afternoon.
"Our D-zone, it's hard to even describe with people standing around," Laggis said. "We were in a really good coverage system with the center low and the wings high. Not only is it a good D-zone coverage, it sets the table for quick transition with wings in that high realm and we're not doing it at all. We're not playing away from the puck. We're not playing on top of the puck, what I mean by that is playing up ice and playing on top of the puck ready for the pass. We're working on that stuff all the time in practice and it just doesn't translate into games at all right now."
Appleton scored what Laggis described as an "unorthodox" goal in the first period as he won a puck in the corner and threw an awkward shot along the end line that somehow snuck between goalie Seth Stafford legs.
Joey Hamielec cashed in on a rebound at the top off the crease off a Graham Manders shot from the point 6:39 into the first and Manders tacked on a power play goal 2:59 into the second.
Ashwaubenon tacked on three more in short succession in the third as Tyler Roethlisberger scored at the 4:27 mark and Appleton scored again on a rebound at 6:05. Laggis spent a timeout after the Appleton goal to try to rally the troops, but Joe DeBoth scored just 23 seconds after the stoppage to send the game to run-time.
Things weren't much better for the Hodags on the offensive end of the ice. The team registered only one shot on goal in the first period.
"At that point, we just started (changing) the lines around, trying to find something different, trying to find guys to get something sparked," Laggis said. "That was our mindset. You can't keep doing the same exact thing when it's not working at all. Without juggling everything all the time, we tried to move our lines around and that didn't work. We did get seven shots in the second, but we're just not getting the puck to the net and not generating any offense. What it comes down to is a lack of making a pass and catching a pass. We were just really, really deficient in that area today."
Stafford made 33 saves in the loss for Rhinelander.
The road doesn't get any easier for the Hodags, who face GNC-leading and 10th-ranked Northland Pines Tuesday at the Rhinelander Ice Arena.
"We're trying really hard to get the train back on the track and we're just not there right now," Laggis said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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