Third-period lapse bites Hodag hockey at Pacelli

In what seemed like a blink of an eye Tuesday night, the Rhinelander High School boys’ hockey team went from being tied with Pacelli to facing an insurmountable third-period deficit.

The Cardinals scored four times in a matter of 2 minutes, 53 seconds midway through the third to break open a 3-all tie as they went on to win 7-4 in a non-conference matchup in Stevens Point.

Balin Wojtalewicz scored the go-ahead goal for the Cardinals with 6:40 remaining in regulation. That triggered an avalanche where it seemed any puck Pacelli threw at the net found its way home. 

Avery Black walked in of the ensuing faceoff and scored just seven second later and the Cardinals scored twice more in short order. 

Though Rhinelander made some moves to shore up its defense following an 11-4 loss at Tomahawk last Thursday — including moving forward Zach Edyvean back to defense — breakdowns in the third period were too many to overcome.

“To sum up how we’re playing, we’re just really rough D zone,” Hodag coach M.J. Laggis said. “We’re not covering in front of our net at all very well. We’re banging pucks up the boards to their defensemen, not handling breakout passes — not making them and not handling them, kind of both. It’s just turnover after turnover after turnover in the D zone and giving up a lot of chances. In neutral ice we’re just swinging out stick, not playing the body at all and we just gave up a ton of odd-man rushes.”

Joey Belanger had a four-point night for Rhinelander, scoring twice and assisting on the Hodags’ two other goals. He put the Hodags on the board 1:33 into the contest, scoring on the power play as he walked in from the right point and fired home a wrist shot. 

Pacelli answered at the 4:19 mark of the first as Brady Foster poked in a loose puck in front of the net and the Cardinals used a pair of breakaways to take the lead later in the period. 

Payton Ledocq blocked a shot in the defensive zone that led to a 2-on-1 chance the other way for the Cardinals. Ledocq finished the play from point-blank range off a pass from Drew Bandy at the 9:17 mark. The inability to hold the zone led to a 3-on-1 chance a few minutes later and though Rhinelander goalie Tyler Kimmerling stopped the initial rush, the rebound was fed back to Michael Benjamin for a one-timer that put Pacelli ahead 3-1.

Rhinelander fought back to tie the game in the second. Timber Cronauer scored his first of the season at the 10:51 mark of the period as Belanger won an offensive zone faceoff and threw it in front of the net for a Cronauer deflection. Denis added a tip-in of his own from a Belanger shot from the point on the power play at the 14:31 mark.

Rhinelander outshot Pacelli 47-41 for the game, including a 24-9 edge in the third period, but couldn’t stop the Cardinals onslaught. Balin Wojtalewicz was on the receiving end of a cross-ice breakout pass that led to the breakaway goal. After Black’s quick addition, Axel Rintala was stationed in front of the net and poked home a loose puck at the 11:01 mark and Cade Wojtalewicz scored from close range at 12:53.

It marked the third time in five games that the Hodags have given up seven or more goals. Laggis said the struggles in the defensive zone are multi-faceted. 

“We’ve got to be better at every position in the D zone,” he said. “Our defensemen have got to get a whole lot tighter. In net, we’ve got to get a whole lot better and our forwards have do to do a much better job of supporting the puck. It’s not any one guy but I can say with absolute clarity, every single position in the defensive zone has to get a lot better.” 

Belanger capped off the scoring at the 13:22 mark while the Hodags had an extra attacker, but took a cross-checking minor moments later that suppressed any chances of a miracle rally.

Rhinelander (2-3-0, 0-1-0-0 Great Northern) hosts Waupaca tonight in Great Northern Conference play at the Rhinelander Ice Arena. The Comets are off to a 5-2-0 start after doubling up Fox Cities 4-2 on Tuesday night.

“They’ve been young the last two years and we’ve been able to take care of them. Now they’re a pretty good team. It’s going to be a difficult game,” Laggis said.

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].