January 22, 2020 at 12:48 p.m.
Hodag hockey falls to Antigo, drops to 6th in GNC
Hodag hockey falls to Antigo, drops to 6th in GNC
A pair of unanswered goals midway through the third period proved to be the difference as the Hodags fell to the Red Robins 5-3 at the Rhinelander Ice Arena, dropping to sixth in the GNC standings in the process.
Rhinelander (6-11-0, 2-5-0-0 Great Northern) had rallied back from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to tie the game on two separate occasions, but Chris Krueger scored what proved to be the game-winner on the power play 7:18 into the third period and Frank Volpentesta added an insurance goal for the Red Robins (6-11-1, 2-3-0-1 Great Northern) two minutes later.
"It's just a hard one to lose to Antigo. It's a great rivalry and goldarn it, we wanted to win it," Rhinelander coach M.J. Laggis said. "We just can't quite close the deal against a good team. We can't go out there start it and finish it. We just have a lot of lulls."
The problem for the Hodags was allowing too many quality scoring chances. The final three Antigo goals were all scored from point-blank range with players positioned on the back side of the play, ready to take a pass from a teammate.
Krueger's go-ahead goal came with him stationed on the back post on the power play, in position to tip in Calvin Jansen's blast from the left point.
"I feel like our kill has gotten so much better and goldarn it, we have a chance to clear it and we wrap it up the boards," Laggis said as the Hodags went 0 for 2 on the penalty kill Tuesday night. "They get it, they just fly one down to the back door and the kid's just standing there and bounces it home. That's very unfortunate."
Isaac Wickersheim created a turnover at neutral ice that generated a 2-on-1 breakaway moments later. He slid a pass to Volpentesta for the finish to put Antigo ahead 5-3 with 7:49 remaining.
Harlan Wojtusik recorded his team-leading 21st and 22nd goals of the season for Rhinelander while Conor Pequet scored his 10th of the year and added his team-leading 21st assist.
Down 2-0 with less than five minutes to play in the second period, Rhinelander came storming back as Joe Schneider hit Pequet on the fly. Pequet got around the last defender at the blue line and then beat Antigo goalie Brody Bunnell with a backhander to make it 2-1. Wojtusik tied it at the 14:40 mark of the period as he took a drop pass from Pequet, walked in from the right faceoff circle and beat Bunnell through the 5-hole.
The Hodags couldn't maintain the momentum, however, as Antigo won a faceoff in the Rhinelander zone, that sprung a 2-on-1 converted by Dylan Lewis with 9.0 seconds remaining in the second.
Wojtusik tied it again for Rhinelander 4:29 into the third as he went three-quarters of the length of the ice to score unassisted on the power play.
The Hodags thought they had a power play goal in the first period as well as Pequet tipped in a Jake Losch chance from Jake Losch but the goal was waved off and the play blown dead as the pack was deemed to have never crossed the goal line.
"They just said that it didn't cross the goal line," Laggis said. "We had a forward out there that was close by that said that he thought it was a good call, he didn't think it was in. That's just kind of the way it goes. I thought it was in, but I had a horrible angle on it."
Rhinelander controlled the first period, outshooting the Robins 19-6 but trailed 1-0 after one as Paden Michalick rifled a shot from the left point that beat a screened Garrett Kulhanek top shelf with 1:20 remaining in the period. Lewis tacked on a power play goal off a rebound at the 11:49 mark of the second to put the Red Robins ahead 2-0.
Kulhanek, a sophomore, made his second start in three games for the Hodags and recorded 22 saves in defeat.
"Garrett is a kind that's a steady personality in practice and in games," Laggis said. "We've learned that about him this year. He's a guy that's got a lot of future because he's going to have height. He hasn't filled out yet and he's pretty quick. There's a lot of positives there."
The Hodags lost despite outshooting Antigo 45-29. Rhinelander has outshot its opponent in each of the last five games, but is 1-4-0 in those contests.
"It's common for us to outshoot a team and lose and it's very common for us to not give a lot of scoring chances, but really quality chances," Laggis said. "That's just something that we do. It's like we're really solid, we're really solid, we're really solid and then we just give up the ship and give up a great opportunity. We're trying hard not to do that, but that's just kind of the way it's rolling for us."
The loss locks Rhinelander into the No. 6 seed for the upcoming Great Northern Conference tournament. The Hodags will travel to take on third-seeded Mosinee Tuesday, Feb. 4.
Rhinelander returns to action Saturday to take on Jeffers, Mich. for the second time in eight days. The Hodags defeated the Jets 5-1 in the semifinals of the East-Merrill tournament this past Friday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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