January 25, 2021 at 8:26 a.m.
Hayward tames Hodag hockey in tourney tune-up
Hayward tames Hodag hockey in tourney tune-up
Cole Asp recorded a hat trick and the Hurricanes scored seven goals in the first two periods as they routed the Hodags 7-3 in a non-conference game at the Rhinelander Ice Arena.
The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Rhinelander in which it was averaging 10 goals per game. After putting each of its opponents into running time with leads of six goals or greater in each of the pervious four contests, the Hodags had the tables turned and found themselves down 7-1 after two periods on Saturday.
"I think we could have kept that game a lot closer than 7-3, I really do, but it didn't go that way," Rhinelander coach M.J. Laggis said. "We've got to get better and we've got to use it as a challenge moving into next week. We've got to start fast and finish fast all week long."
Hayward got on the board just 2:05 into the contest on a Ryland Achtor goal and then took a 2-0 lead at the 9:34 mark as Logan Asp intercepted a Rhinelander clearance attempt at the blue line and finished a 2-on-0 breakaway.
Joey Belanger got the Hodags within a goal, tipping in a Sam Schneider centering pass at the 12:16 mark, but Cole Asp answered with the first of his three goals a minute later to give the Hurricanes a 3-1 lead following a period.
Things went from bad to worse for Rhinelander in the second as Cole Asp and Achtor both scored in the first 90 seconds of the period to make it 5-0. Cole Haack and Cole Asp tacked on goals later in the period to push the lead to six.
"I knew they were really strong on the puck and you saw that today I knew they were good at just kind of slipping guys up ice on their breakout," Laggis said. "It was nothing crazy, just the center and the strong side wing just rolling out past the defensemen. We were just unable to make an adjustment."
"They were very good in front of our net. They had a lot of traffic - tip, screen, rebound. They were always in front of the net," Laggis added. "Then in our defensive zone the one thing they really exposed on us was just the fact that we ran around and we were unable to cover their points. They used their points a lot early in the game and it stung us."
Hayward outshot Rhinelander 34-28 in the contest. Garrett Kulhanek made 13 saves on 18 chances for being relieved by Caleb Shefveland early in the second period. Shefveland made 14 saves the rest of the way.
Joe Schneider recorded his team-leading 23rd goal of the season for the Hodags midway through the third to get the game out of running time and Jake Losch added a power play goal later in the period.
"We played with a different edge in the third period than we did in the first," Laggis said "Our first periods have just been difficult for us and we've got to find a way to start fast on Tuesday or we won't like the outcome."
The Hodags are home tonight to begin the Great Northern Conference tournament as they host fifth-seeded Waupaca. Rhinelander defeated Waupaca 4-2 back on Dec. 11 at the RIA. The Hodags will either travel to top-seeded Northland Pines or host eighth-seeded Tomahawk on Thursday depending on the outcome of tonight's contest.
"We've got a big conference opponent in the GNC tournament Tuesday," Laggis said. "One thing I mentioned to the team is you've got to have a short memory right now. You just turn around and get back to winning. We had four wins in a row. We've got to get back to a winning streak right now, and do it this week."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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