January 17, 2018 at 1:57 p.m.
Pines powers past Hodag hockey 10-1
Pines powers past Hodag hockey 10-1
The Eagles scored three times in the final six minutes of the first period and cruised to a 10-1 victory over the Hodags at the Rhinelander Ice Arena.
Rhinelander took only three penalties in the contest, but they were costly. Freshman Harlan Wojtusik was assessed a five-minute major, plus a 10-minute misconduct, for a hit into the boards that injured Pines' sophomore Gunnar Schiffman midway through the opening period.
Harmon Marien and Jack Rhode scored power play goals for the Eagles during the major and Pines never looked back.
"They took control during the five minutes, there's no doubt," Laggis said. "They did what they've done to a lot of teams this year. I've seen their scores. I've seen the 15-0s and I see the whippings they've put on people but it still doesn't change, you don't want it to be you. You want to play a lot better than that."
In the first period the Hodags, who appeared to lack energy in a 6-0 loss on Saturday at Ashwaubenon, got back to playing the more physical brand of hockey they were employing at the start of the season. They held the Eagles in check for the opening few minutes.
Wojtusik's hit was a continuation of that theme. Laggis said there was nothing malicious about the freshman's check, rather a matter of unfortunate timing.
"He came in for a good hit and the kid from Pines, Schiffman, turned a little bit and it happened," Laggis said. "It's not laying fault, but we have a propensity to get in trouble like that and you can't do that against teams of that caliber. You just can't."
Rhode scored his second goal on a 2-on-1 breakaway with 1:06 remaining in the first at the Eagles took a 3-0 lead after one.
The lead quickly double to 6-0 win the first six minutes of the second. Marien fed Brady Snedden for a goal at the 1:32 mark and scored himself 25 seconds later for the Eagles. Jack Brown scored at the 5:55 mark to send the game into running time. Snedden and Tyler Hunt pushed the lead to 8-0 later in the second.
Rhinelander finally got on the board with 1:33 remaining in the second as Abe Laggis carried the puck behind the Eagles' end line and made a pass to Freddy Wisner at the top of the crease for the Hodags' lone score of the night.
"He made a nice move to the outside and found Freddy. We need to have more of those," M.J. Laggis said.
Max Brown and Lochlan Siegmeier scored for in the third for the Eagles, who outshot the Hodags 40-13. Seth Stafford made 30 saves in defeat for Rhinelander. Backup goalie Anthony Kowalski got into the contest late in the third period, but did not face a shot over the final 3:48 of play.
After winning seven straight games to start the season, the Hodags have dropped seven in a row to fall all the way back to .500.
"We've got a lot to try to prove now," Laggis said. "We're a .500 team and we've got to try to get a win. We desperately need a win and we need one soon."
The team may be getting a bit of good news on the injury front. Laggis said sophomore defenseman Danny Zuiker could be back in the lineup as early as Friday. He injured his shoulder during a win over Tomahawk Dec. 14. The Hodags were 7-0 with Zuiker in the lineup and are 0-7 without him.
"It's going to allow me to move Abe back up front and get some lines a little more settled and get us stronger all the way around," Laggis said.
The Hodags will play Medford in a non-conference game Friday night in Merrill in the semifinals of the East/Merrill Tournament. Depending on the outcome of that game, the Hodags will face either Wausau East/Merrill or L'Anse, Mich. on Saturday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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