February 21, 2020 at 11:55 a.m.
Upset special
Rhinelander stuns second-seeded Lakeland 3-1 in WIAA boys' hockey tourney opener
Upset special
Jake Losch scored twice, Seth Stafford made 30 saves and the seventh-seeded Hodags shocked the second-seeded Thunderbirds 3-1 Thursday night at the Lakeland Ice Arena.
"To do it in this building, they didn't expect it," said Losch, whose two second-period goals staked the Hodags to a lead. "They came in thinking it was going to be an easy game because they beat us earlier in the year, but we came out and played exactly how we wanted to and we got the win."
The plan, according to Rhinelander coach M.J. Laggis, was simple. First, get a lead. Second, keep GNC player of the year Max Toijala in check for Lakeland. The Hodags did both, scoring the first three goals of the contest and keeping Toijala off the scoresheet.
"We had a forecheck plan for (Toijala) and keeping him in front of us. In neutral ice, we really focused on wings on wings and just trying to clog them up," Laggis said. "They're a very fast team, a very well-coached team. They're going to take advantage of anything you do wrong. We did some good things there and were able to keep the puck out of our net.
"It was a really hard-fought game. We had Harlan Wojtusik throwing up for the whole half of the game. We're just on thin legs, two guys home sick. We just rallied and played really great, team hockey. I'm really proud of our guys, proud of their effort, proud of the class they showed at the end."
After a scoreless first period, Jake Losch broke the ice for Rhinelander, banging home a rebound off an initial shot from his younger brother, Leo, 1:40 into the second period. Jake Losch scored his second at the 12:41 mark of the period on another rebound. Though it appeared the net had come off its moorings prior to the puck crossing the goal line, the officials awarded Losch the goal anyway.
"I can't say enough about Jake. He's just absolute confidence," Laggis said, noting the team has worked with the junior in regard to staying more disciplined on the ice. "When he does that, he's just an excellent hockey player. I don't know how many two-goal games he's rung up here in the last seven. He's just on fire and he's got to stay that way."
It was the third consecutive two-goal came for Jake Losch, who now has 14 goals on the season. He said it was simply a matter of being in the right place to cash in on opportunities when Lakeland goalie Collin Guelcher could not secure a rebound.
"The goalie was giving them up all night. We just had to get pucks on him and crash the net, and that's what we did," he said.
Despite battling illness, Wojtusik ripped a shot from the left faceoff circle past Guelcher 5:58 into the third period to give Rhinelander a 3-0 lead. The Hodags needed that extra insurance goal. Defenseman JC Adams was hit with a cross-checking penalty midway through the third and Lakeland cashed in for its only goal, a Teag Wagner tally on the power play at the 8:01 mark.
The Hodags found themselves in penalty trouble again later in the period after Joe Schneider was taken to the box for a cross check with 4:13 remaining, but Stafford stood tall on the power play and kept it a two-goal game.
"Just staying focused, singing the songs that were going on over the intercom, focusing on the puck, doing my part," Stafford said as he made 14 of his 30 saves in the final period. "That's all I had to do."
"When Seth needed to play the best hockey that he's played all year, he did tonight," Laggis said. "He was calm in there and what I love is that during timeouts and between periods, he was calm and just assured his teammates. It was the other way around (too), 'Seth, you're doing great.' It was that flow that you've been looking for. Seth did a really, really nice job. He got a game puck. Any time that you give up one goal and any time you keep (Toijala) off the scoreboard, I think your goalie's got to get a game puck."
Rhinelander called time out with 2:18 remaining and seconds left on the Schneider penalty while Lakeland pulled Guelcher for an extra attacker. The T-Birds weren't able to amount much of a threat on the Hodag goal, however, and an icing call with 90 seconds left forced Guelcher back into his cage for a defensive zone faceoff. Lakeland did not threaten much after that and saw any chance of a miracle dashed when River Nicklaus took a hooking penalty with 11 seconds left.
"I don't want to say it's comparable to the Stanley Cup, as that'd be a little extreme, but it's pretty sweet," Stafford said. "It felt great. It's something we've been itching for all year, great playoff win and it was just a good team effort out there tonight. It was beautiful hockey."
The victory was a highlight in what has been an up and down season for the Hodags. Ironically, Rhinelander started the regular season with a 6-3 win over the T-Birds back in November, but struggled at times - especially in close games - as it went 11-13-0 and finished tied for sixth in the GNC. But the Hodags came into the game on a two-game winning streak. Lakeland, on the other hand, appeared to plateau entering the postseason. Though the T-Birds finished the year 16-4-1, they went 3-3-1 over their final seven games - four of which were decided in overtime.
"It's been up and down. We've had good and bad all year. The fact that at one point we'd never be close to .500. I think we came in tonight 11-13. There we are 12-13," Laggis said. "For right now, for a few hours, we can just celebrate a great win. To be the seven-seed and beat the two-seed is a thrill."
The Hodags advance to the sectional semifinal round against Mosinee after the Indians took care of Antigo 8-3 on Thursday night. It will be Rhinelander's third game of the season against Mosinee - all of which have been in Mosinee. The Indians won the first meeting 5-2 back on Dec. 16 and then opened the Great Northern Conference tournament with a 7-5 win over Rhinelander Feb. 4.
On the other half of the sectional bracket, top-seeded Northland Pines routed Tomahawk 14-0 and will face fifth-seeded Waupaca on Tuesday after the Comets knocked off fourth-seeded Marshfield 5-1.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.