January 10, 2022 at 10:21 a.m.
Hodag hockey falls to Lakeland
Joe Schneider sidelined again by practice injury
Hodag hockey falls to Lakeland
The Hodags fell behind early Thursday night, spotting Lakeland four goals in a 6-3 loss to the Thunderbirds at the Lakeland Ice Arena.
That proved to literally be insult added to injury for the Hodags, who saw senior Joe Schneider suffer another setback with his left knee earlier in the week in practice, that is expected to sideline him for the rest of the season.
It was a latest adversity for a team that had found success despite a myriad of injuries and illnesses through the first 10 games of the season. However, coach M.J. Laggis said a lack of consistent depth finally caught up with the Hodags Thursday against the team that denied Rhinelander (8-3-0) a spot in the WIAA Division 2 state tournament last February.
"We're frustrated. We're trying to find a way to have three lines with some continuity and we have very little continuity on the forward side right now," he said. "When you're playing a better team it rears its head, and it did tonight."
That continuity was thrown in to even more flux in the second period on Thursday, as the Hodags spent the better part of the period on the penalty kill. Lakeland scored two power play goals as a result to go up 4-0, a hole from which Rhinelander could not recover.
Cooper Fink scored twice for Lakeland, including a power play goal off a face-off win seconds after Rhinelander's Joey Belanger was whistled for hooking 1:31 into the second period.
A Carter Detienne checking from behind major and a Sam Schneider delay of game penalty had the Hodags at a two-man disadvantage later in the period. Rhinelander killed off the majority of the penalty, but Matt Haggart was able to find the top right corner on a screened shot at the 12:09 mark to give Lakeland a 4-0 lead.
The rival teams were both penalized seven times in the contest.
"Their power play and us being short-handed was a big turning point in the game, frankly," coach Laggis said. "You're killing a 5-on-3 with a 5-minute and a 2-minute. That's ridiculous and we didn't get it done. We worked hard. We tried hard, no doubt about it."
Lakeland led 2-0 after one period thanks to rebound goals by Aaron Wanta and Gray Wagner that came 3 minutes, 50 seconds apart in the midway portion of the frame. Though Lakeland held only a 10-7 shot advantage in the period, they capitalized on their opportunities.
"Early in the game I thought we played very reserved and tentative and didn't win races to pucks like we could have, and we threw the puck around a lot," coach Laggis said. "That was very disappointing to me."
Leo Losch got Rhinelander on the board late in the second period, tipping home a Cody Everson shot from the blue line. Fink answered with his second goal, scoring from a tough angle off the right end line to give Lakeland a 5-1 lead after two periods.
Junior AJ Turek netted his first career goal for Rhinelander midway through the third period. He gathered in a rebound off a Losch shot and went to the backhand to beat Lakeland goalie Max Masayesva.
Coach Laggis said players like Turek are key as Rhinelander tries to piece together three consistent lines.
"He's a guy that was out of hockey completely. He's back now and we're trying to find a consistent spot for him on a line and he scored a big goal tonight," he said. "I'm hoping a guy like that gets a ton of confidence."
Braydon Warchol added a short-handed goal for Lakeland with 4:54 remaining. Sam Schneider answered with a wraparound goal on the same power play to round out the scoring.
Lakeland outshot Rhinelander 34-26 in the contest.
The loss dropped Rhinelander from first to third in the GNC standings. Mosinee (3-0-0-0) now has a half-game lead on both Lakeland and Rhinelander in the standings (3-1-0-0), but Lakeland would hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Rhinelander for seeding purposes for next month's conference tournament.
It's very conceivable Rhinelander and Lakeland could meet again in the GNC tournament and/or the WIAA playoffs. Coach Laggis said the team needs to take lessons from Thursday's game for any potential rematch.
"We do realize is that we've got to play with poise in those kinds of games. You've got to realize you belong on that ice sheet and go out and make plays," he said.
Schneider's injury
Joe Schneider's latest setback occurred during practice Sunday, Jan. 2 and it is expected to cost him the remainder of the season.
Schneider first injured his knee Aug. 13 in a football scrimmage. After missing the remainder of the football season, he was on the ice at the start of the season for the Hodags, but re-injured the knee in a Nov. 23 game at home against Ashland.
First feared lost for the season, Schneider opted against surgery at that point and returned Dec. 23 and scored two goals in a game against Tomahawk. Schneider added one more goal in a Dec. 29 rematch against the Hatchets before suffering his latest setback.
Joe Schneider scored a team-high 32 goals for Rhinelander last season.
"It's saddening," coach Laggis said. "He's the heartbeat of your team. He has so much energy and so much go and plays so hard that you want that guy in your lineup, obviously. That's a captain and a senior that you don't have, so you play hard for him, you play hard for each other and you pull together. That's all you can do."
Busy week ahead
Rhinelander is slated to play four times this week, beginning with a non-conference game against D.C. Everest tonight at the Rhinelander Ice Arena. The Hodags will host Antigo on Thursday and then travel to Merrill for the annual East-Merrill United tournament on Friday and Saturday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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