January 27, 2022 at 10:38 a.m.
Mosinee magic
Hodags double up Mosinee 6-3, remain alive for GNC No. 1 seed
Mosinee magic
"Our motto all year has been have fun," defenseman Sam Schneider said. "We're the best team we can be when we're out there having a blast just going up and down the ice. That's what we did today."
Schneider scored twice, Joey Belanger added a pair of power play goals and Rhinelander knocked off Mosinee 6-3 in the Mosinee Rec Center.
Cal Laggis added three assists as the Hodags (13-4-0, 5-1-0-0 Great Northern) stayed alive for the No. 1 seed in the upcoming GNC tournament with the win, while denying Mosinee a chance to clinch the top seed.
Rhinelander jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second period and then held on after the Indians twice got back to within a goal.
"We got the job done. I thought we pushed the right buttons at the right time," coach M.J. Laggis said.
The biggest response came after AJ Buenning converted on a 2-on-1 breakaway to pull Mosinee within 4-3 at the 4:29 mark of the third. Rhinelander won the ensuing draw and took it down the ice as Leo Losch finished off a Hodag 2-on-1 chance to restore the two-goal margin in a matter of nine seconds.
Belanger scored on a wraparound goal on the power play later in the third and the Hodags held on despite Mosinee pulling goalie Aiden Karst with 4:21 remaining in an effort to erase the three-goal deficit.
The Hodags were the second GNC team in a week to stun Mosinee in their own building, after Antigo upset the Indians 6-4 the previous Tuesday.
Schneider got Rhinelander on the board 8:31 into the opening period as he went from his blue line, up the boards and scored on a breakaway.
Layne Roeser added a goal 8:46 into the second, as his blast from the top of the right faceoff circle found its way home. Belanger then scored on the power play to put Rhinelander up 3-0 with 4:36 remaining in the second.
"If you're going to beat them, and especially if you're going to beat them in this rink, you've got to tap it first. You've got to get in there first and score. We did do that," coach Laggis said. "When we were up 3-0 you absolutely knew that game wasn't over and you knew that there was a comeback coming. That's Mosinee and that's how hard they play and how deep their lines are. They're just a dangerous team to play."
True to form, Mosinee responded late in the second period. Ondrej Napravnik poked home a rebound goal on the power play with 2:23 remaining in the second and then Grant Kuklinski threw a puck on net that beat Rhinelander goalie Garrett Kulhanek through the 5-hole just 31 seconds later to trim the lead down to one.
Schneider restored the two-goal lead for Rhinelander 2:08 into the third on a blast from the blue line that got past a screened Karst.
"I thought we did a really good job of responding every time they gained momentum tonight," coach Laggis said.
Schneider said a team that has found ways to win all season long despite injury and adversity was able to dig deep Tuesday, taking lessons from a 6-3 loss at Lakeland earlier this month.
"We can't let one goal get us down, one penalty just ruin the entire period," he said. "We've got to play it shift by shift and make the next play and I think that's what we did tonight."
Rhinelander also got strong play in net from Kulhanek, who turned aside 28 pucks in victory, including nine of 10 shots he faced in the third as Mosinee attempt to crank up the pressure with an extra attacker late.
"He had a lot of scramble-stance type saves," Laggis said. "He was fighting for his life in there a number of times and somehow found a way to kick it, or get a paddle on it, or get a blocker or a glove on it. He did everything he had to do tonight and I'm really proud of his effort."
The Hodags skated eight forwards most of the night against a deeper Mosinee team, but was able to keep pace due to a creative line rotation and a neutral zone trap that slowed Mosinee down most of the third period.
"I thought our kids did a really good job with the flow of our scripted 20 shifts and how we roll guys through that," coach Laggis said. "I was really happy with the way we ran that trap. When we ran the trap in the third, I thought we shut down (Mosinee) really well. We took lanes away, took pucks away, got them deep and I thought we did a lot of good things with that trap."
Mosinee outshot Rhinelander 31-24 for the contest.
It was Rhinelander's first win in Mosinee since 2017, snapping a string of five straight defeats at the Mosinee Rec Center that included last year's WIAA D2 sectional final loss to Lakeland.
The victory all but assured Rhinelander at least a top four seed and a home game to begin the Great Northern Conference tournament. Entering Thursday's play, there was still a scenario that could create a five-way tie for first in the GNC between Rhinelander, Lakeland, Mosinee, Antigo and Waupaca at 5-2-0-0. In that case, goals allowed would be the used as tiebreaker and the Hodags sat second in the conference in that statistic going into the day.
Rhinelander also had a chance to still earn the No. 1 seed in the conference with a win at home Thursday night over the Red Robins and any result other than a Lakeland regulation win over Waupaca on Friday.
Rhinelander will skate at Hayward on Saturday to round out the week.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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