December 8, 2021 at 2:10 p.m.
Hockey: Hodags dominate SEaLs, win third straight
Hockey: Hodags dominate SEaLs, win third straight
Leo Losch had three goals and three assists, three other Hodags scored twice and Rhinelander cruised to a 10-0 victory over the Screaming Eagles and Loggers at the Rhinelander Ice Arena.
The Hodags got some good news on the injury front with both Carter Detienne (hand) and Cody Everson (arm) back in the lineup. The SEaLs, meanwhile, had three scratches on a roster that had only 12 skaters to begin with.
"They're really short-handed. They're short-handed to begin with and they have two guys injured," Rhinelander coach M.J. Laggis said. "They skated with eight guys tonight, that's tough. I've been there before and that's difficult. Their kids played hard, given that situation.
"I don't think we played particularly well tonight, to be honest with you, but we put pucks home, obviously, and we had some guys finish around the net."
The line of Losch, Gavin Denis and Cal Laggis continued its torrid start to the season, combining for seven goals and four assists on the night. Denis got things started just 59 seconds in as he sat on the back post and redirected in a Sam Schneider feed from the point. Cal Laggis scored to make it 2-0 just 29 seconds later as he finished a one-timer from the low slot off a pass by Losch.
Everson made it 3-0 as his shot from the red line found its way home at the 7:26 mark of the period before Losch scored back-to-back goals, both on backhanders, 39 seconds apart to give Rhinelander a 5-0 lead after one period.
Denis capitalized on a 2-on-1 chance to put the game into running time just 4:21 into the second and the Hodags added another scoring flurry late in the period. Everson had another red-line blast find the twine at 12:53, Laggis scored at the 13:37 mark and Losch finished his hat trick at the 16:28 mark as he gathered a loose puck in the high slot area for a one-timer.
Dalton Fritz scored the Hodags' lone goal in the third period, corralling a rebound off a Losch shot with 3:17 remaining in the contest.
Rhinelander outshot Chequamegon/Phillips 42-20 in the contest.
"We had some scoring going on in bunches, and that's a good thing, but we've got to get a lot better on Friday night against Waupaca," coach Laggis said.
Senior Caleb Shefveland and sophomore Tyler Kimmerling combined for the shutout in goal on Tuesday. Shefveland stopped 11 pucks through the first two periods before turning it over to Kimmerling, who made nine saves in his first appearance of the season.
"Caleb Shefveland was outstanding in net. He wasn't facing a lot of shots but the shots he did were point-blank," coach Laggis said. "He, himself, made 11 saves through two periods, but the saves that he made were point-blank, so I thought he did a great job. Then Kimmerling came in and did a great job in the third period himself, getting his first action of the year. Our goalies played really, really well tonight."
Rhinelander (4-2-0, 1-0-0-0 Great Northern) has now won three straight contests and jumps back into GNC play Friday night at Waupaca - a team the Hodags defeated three times a season ago.
"Waupaca's always physical and fast. You know they're going to play fast," coach Laggis said. "We're just going to have to get a lot more out of all three of our lines, if we play three lines Friday night. We've got to take care of the puck better in the defensive zone and we're going to have to finish when we have chances."
Freelancer Bob Mainhardt contributed to this report.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
WEATHER SPONSORED BY
E-Editions
Latest News
E-Editions
Events
August
To Submit an Event Sign in first
Today's Events
No calendar events have been scheduled for today.
Comments:
You must login to comment.