February 15, 2019 at 12:48 p.m.
SPASH KO's Hodags' upset bid
Panthers score 4 in third to end RHS boys' hockey season
SPASH KO's Hodags' upset bid
Stevens Point scored a couple of power play goals and then pulled away with a four-goal third period to knock off the Hodags 7-1 Thursday night at K.B. Willett Arena in a WIAA regional final contest.
Rhinelander went only 3 of 5 on the penalty kill Thursday, one night after going 7 of 8 while down a skater as it defeated Wausau East/Merrill 5-1 at the RIA to advance to the regional finals.
"We didn't help ourselves by taking foolish penalties," Rhinelander coach M.J. Laggis said. "We just didn't. We could live with it last night, but we couldn't live with it tonight. It wasn't in the spirit of being cheap. We were trying to be physical and knock them off the puck but, when you do that, you've got to dot your Is and cross your Ts or you're going to take penalties."
Down 2-1, a rash of penalty fever spread over the Hodags late in the second period and changed the complexion of the game. Rhinelander was penalized four times over the final 10 minutes of the period and the infractions finally came back to bite them as Jake Minch scored on the power play with 1:19 remaining in the second to give SPASH a 3-1 lead.
The momentum spilled into the third. Barrett Brooks scored 2:47 into the period and the floodgates opened from there. SPASH scored three more times in the next 5:01 to send the game into running time with a six-goal lead.
"We just got into penalty trouble there and that really turned the tide," Laggis said.
SPASH's top line of Dayne Hoyord, Brooks and Trey Zagrzebski - which combined to score 71 goals in the regular season - gave the Hodags fits all night and finished with a combined eight points.
Hoyord scored both of SPASH's goals in the opening period as the Panthers took a 2-0 lead after one. Brooks scored twice in the third and Hoyord completed a hat trick 4:58 into the final period. All three players on Stevens Point's top line recorded one assist.
"We had a solid game plan of trying to shut them down and body them," Laggis said. "When it was 2-1 we were doing the right things. It was going the right way. We were doing what we wanted to, which was keep it tight, keep it close and give yourself a chance at the end for something to happen."
Rhinelander took momentum early in the second period. Freddy Wisner scored on a rebound just 13 seconds into a power play to cut the lead to 2-1. The Hodags seemed to be at least on equal footing with SPASH early in the second period, forcing the Panthers to expend a timeout midway through the period.
"I thought we made some good adjustments and through we had them on their heels there. It was 2-1 we were gaining chances," Laggis said.
SPASH, which moves on to face second-seeded Northland Pines in Tuesday's sectional semifinal round, outshot Rhinelander 34-15 in the contest.
Hodags 5, East/Merrill 1
Special teams bailed the Hodags out Wednesday night in the regional semifinals. Rhinelander was 3 for 4 on the power play, and 7 of 8 on the penalty kill as it knocked off the Bluejacks at the Rhinelander Ice Arena.
East/Merrill's lone power play goal - a Christian Matson rebound on a 5-on-3 4:33 in the second - had a chance to swing the game in the Bluejacks' favor. Not only did East/Merrill cut Rhinelander's lead to 2-1 at that point, the Hodags were assessed another penalty in the scramble in front of the net putting East/Merrill back on the 5-on-3.
But Rhinelander was able to thwart off the two-man disadvantage, the Bluejacks took themselves off the power play with a couple penalties of their own and Harlan Wojtusik scored 7:30 into the period, putting momentum back in the Hodags' corner.
"I thought we did a really nice job on the kill and on the power play, we're moving the puck," coach Laggis said. "We converted three times. We're moving the puck well and doing some good things there."
Goals by Conor Pequet and Abe Laggis gave Rhinelander a 2-0 lead after one period. The Hodags tacked on insurance in the third with goals by Jake Losch and Max Spaulding. Rhinelander outshot East/Merrill 34-19 in the contest.
"It's a team we should have beat, and we did," coach Laggis said. "I wish we would have made it a little easier on ourselves, but that's the nature of the beast. We did enough good things and had enough good energy to win and, like I said, I'm happy for the seniors to win the last game in their building."
After Thursday's loss to SPASH, Laggis elaborated on what this year's class of six seniors meant to the program.
"I thanked them, not just for their effort, but the kind of people that they are, each with their own strengths, the fun they brought to the locker room. It was a really fun group to be around all the way around," he said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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