February 28, 2022 at 8:21 a.m.
Mosinee manhandles Hodags again
Rhinelander falls 7-1 in sectional semifinal contest
Mosinee manhandles Hodags again
Carter Daul scored four times, including three in the third period, as Mosinee raced by Rhinelander 7-1 last Wednesday night in a WIAA Division 2 sectional final matchup at the Rhinelander Ice Arena.
The loss marked the second time in three years Mosinee knocked off Rhinelander in the sectional semifinal round. This time around it was a emphatic drubbing, similar to Mosinee's 8-2 victory over the Hodags Feb. 7 in the Great Northern Conference tournament semifinals.
"It's a tough mood to say the least. Those guys battled all year," Rhinelander coach M.J. Laggis said afterward. "We had about four, five guys that showed up with nails in their boots and were ready to go and we had some guys that really didn't come out, really didn't answer the bell they way they needed to."
Mosinee's top line of Daul, Caden Schmirler and exchange student Ondrej Napravnik proved to be a lethal combination on Wednesday night. The line scored six times and accumulated 13 total points in the game. Rhinelander simply could not slow down the trio.
The theme of the night for Mosinee was creating odd-man rushes and crashing the net hard on rebounds. All seven Mosinee tallies were the result, directly or indirectly, of point-blank chances in front of senior goalie Garrett Kulhanek.
"They're as good of a line as we've faced all year," coach Laggis said. "I think that (our top line of) Leo (Losch), Cal (Laggis) and Gavin (Denis), when they're humming, are as good as any line that we've been around but, other than that, I think that line's been the most productive and dominant that we've seen, for sure.
"We had some of those plays where we just broke down in the D zone and we let guys slip behind us. That was a big focus of ours tonight, not letting them get oddies and get guys behind us, but we didn't execute that very well."
Tied at one late in the first period, Mosinee scored twice 19 seconds apart to seize control. They never relinquished it.
Napravnik and Daul skated in on a 2-on-1 and Daul slipped the puck between Kulhanek's legs to give Mosinee a 2-1 lead at the 13:55 mark of the first. Moments later, Mosinee came crashing in on another breakaway chance. Kulhanek stopped Daniel Gildain's initial effort, but AJ Buenning gathered the loose puck on the rebound and scored to make it 3-1.
Napravnik scored 4:02 into the second to extend Mosinee's lead. Daul dashed any hopes of a Hodag comeback with three goals in the first eight minutes of the third period. He scored from Schmirler at the 3:25 mark, scored again 45 seconds later and set the game in to running clock with one more goal at the 7:55 mark.
Mosinee got on the board first, 3:13 in the contest, as Daul dispossessed Hodag defenseman Cody Everson in the defensive zone, leading to a 2-on-1 chance. Schmirler put home a rebound on the back post to put the Indians in front. Rhinelander answered to tie the game at the 11:47 mark as defenseman Sam Schneider, who scored twice in Rhinelander's 6-3 win at Mosinee Jan. 25, intercepted a puck near his own blue line and went the rest of the way for a breakaway goal.
Mosinee outshot Rhinelander 27-19 in the contest. Kulhanek made 18 saves for the Hodags before giving way to fellow senior goalie Caleb Shefveland midway through the third period. Shefveland made two saves the rest of the way.
It was a somber scene afterward as many of Rhinelander's five seniors stayed on the ice, soaking in their final moments in a Hodag hockey uniform. The group of five - Kulhanek, Shefveland, Cal Laggis, Joe Schneider and Carter Detienne -were a part of a program-best 60 wins during their RHS careers, including an 18-7-0 mark this year.
"The seniors battled hard all year," coach Laggis said. "I want to go back to (the fact) that 18 wins is a great season. It doesn't feel like it tonight, that's for sure, and it won't tomorrow. It won't for a while, but an 18-win season is huge ... a lot of winning and that's good.
"Some of these seniors are going to be real difficult (to replace). (Shefveland is) the kind of guy you realize what he brought to you the year he's gone. That's exactly the kind of kid he is. Garrett, you're not going to replace a guy of his caliber right away. Carter Detienne, he's a character and we're going to miss him in a lot of ways. He was a lot of fun in that locker room. Cal, I'm going to be honest, he's the best playmaker I've ever been around. He's constantly dishing the puck. You're not going to replace that guy. You just won't."
The Hodags won 18 games this year despite losing the fifth senior in that group - Joe Schneider - to a knee injury in the season opener. Schneider, the Hodags' leading scorer last season, came back for two games in late December before reinjuring his knee, sidelining him for the remainder of the season.
"You lose Joe Schneider going into the year (to a knee injury) and Joe Schneider is just one of the backbones of that team, just motor all the time," coach Laggis said. "I'm not gonna say, 'Oh, we just went on without Joe. It was no problem.' We fought and scrapped and found a way to keep going, wishing we had Joe. That forced guys to step up and play and do things they might not have done (otherwise)."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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