January 20, 2020 at 12:24 p.m.
Two late goals cost Hodag hockey East/Merrill tourney
Two late goals cost Hodag hockey East/Merrill tourney
Medford scored twice in the final 1 minute, 50 seconds of regulation - including Austin Waldhardt's winner on a breakaway with 28.7 seconds remaining - and the Raiders stunned the Hodags 5-4 Saturday in the championship game of the four-team tournament at the Smith Center in Merrill.
Medford, which had been held to only three shots on goal over the first 15 minutes of the third period, tied it on a Colton Gowey goal in a scramble in front of the Rhinelander net and then took advantage when Waldhardt jumped a pass near his own blue line, intercepted it and went the rest of the way to beat Hodag goalie Seth Stafford.
Just like that, the entire complexion of the weekend changed for the Hodags (6-10-0, 2-4-0-0 Great Northern), who defeated Jeffers, Mich. 5-1 the night before to earn a spot in the championship game.
"You go from it being a weekend of fun and everyone's in an upbeat mood to just disintegrating and everything going 18 different directions and emotions," Rhinelander coach M.J. Laggis said. "That's just how it goes."
It was a roller coaster of a final couple of minutes for the Hodags, who nearly scored the game-winner first. Harlan Wojtusik got loose along the far boards, giving Rhinelander a 2-on-1 chance with roughly 1:15 to play. He slid the puck to Joe Schneider for a point-blank chance in front of the net that was denied by Medford goalie AJ Adelman. The Hodags, who outshot the Raiders 45-21, spent the next 40 seconds in the Raider zone before Waldhardt's breakaway.
"You're not going to get a better chance than right there to pop it, but they make a big save and it goes back the other way," Laggis said. "(Waldhardt) comes in, made a nice move, went 5-hole. The wheels were off the wagon there, no doubt about it."
Neither team led by more than a goal in the contest.
Carter Pernsteiner got loose in front of the Hodag net to put the Raiders on the board and opened the scoring 9:34 into the contest, but Rhinelander answered as Jake Losch put in a rebound on the power play at the 12:55 mark as the first period ended in a 1-1 draw.
Connor Gowey scored to make it 2-1 Medford 5:12 into the second as he got open in the slot and fired in a one-timer off a Pernsteiner pass from behind the end line. Schneider answered to tie it for the Hodags, tipping in a Danny Zuiker shot at the 8:06 mark and Leo Losch scored from the bottom of the right face-off circle less than 90 seconds later to give Rhinelander a 3-2 lead.
Dalton Hraby scored from the slot to tie it for Medford with 1:10 remaining in the second period, but Wojtusik finished off a 2-on-1 with Conor Pequet to give Rhinelander a 4-3 lead after two periods.
"We put 45 shots on them, outshot them 45-21. That's an upside, but we've got to put more pucks home, no doubt about it, and we've got to do a better job in our own end overall," Laggis said. "That's what happens in those kinds of games. If you don't make the right play and take care of it late in the game, it goes that way."
Stafford made 16 saves in defeat for Rhinelander.
Rhinelander 5, Jeffers 1
It was a much different outcome for Rhinelander Friday night against Jeffers. The Hodags scored twice in each of the first two periods and cruised past the Jets 5-1. Rhinelander outshot Jeffers 34-20 in the contest.
"We played a really nice game last night, 5-1, and took care of that puck and finished on the other end and back-checked like crazy," Laggis said.
Rhinelander's top line recorded points on all the goals. Wojtusik scored twice, as did Schneider, who was moved from defense to the front line prior to the game. Pequet chipped in four assists.
"Joe went up there last night and was an immediate impact with that line," Laggis said.
Sophomore Garrett Kulhanek got the start in goal and made 19 saves in victory. A goal by Luke Marcotte 6:14 into the third period prevented a shutout for the Jets.
"He was very effective, did a nice job, kept his composure and made some nice saves, so good on him," Laggis said. "I was proud of the way he played, proud of the way the team played."
Goals by Schneider and Wojtusik five minutes apart in the first period gave Rhinelander a 2-0 lead. Schneider and Wojtusik scored again in the second period for Rhinelander and JC Adams tacked on a goal with 5:38 remaining.
Trainer's room
The Hodags did not leave the weekend healthy. Adams was injured less than a minute into Saturday's game as he took the brunt of an open-ice check from Medford's Blaine Seidl, leaving Rhinelander thin at defenseman.
When the Hodags moved Schneider to forward, they dropped senior Harrison Shinners back to defense. After Adams went out of the game, Wojtusik split time between forward and defense.
"With JC looking like a rib issue there, we'll see what shakes out with him and adjust," Laggis said. "I'd love to leave those three together - Joe, Harlan and Conor. I think it gives us some punch, but we weren't able to do it tonight from early on with the injury to JC."
There was a second injury before the game as Kulhanek was hit in the head by a puck that left the rink toward the end of the East/Merrill-Jeffers game Saturday afternoon. Laggis said Kulhanek was not schedule to start, despite his performance the night before against Jeffers, and would not have been able to go following the freak situation.
Up next
The Hodags host Antigo tonight at the Rhinelander Ice Arena, still mathematically alive for the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Great Northern Conference tournament. Rhinelander needs to beat Antigo in regulation and then have Tomahawk upset Waupaca on the road Friday night to be able to host a first-round game.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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