Peewee Bs take 3rd, As 6th at state

Both Rhinelander Ice Association Peewee hockey teams played for hardware on Sunday in their respective WAHA state tournaments.

The Hodags walked away with the third-place trophy as the host team in the Peewee 3B state tournament while the Peewee As ended up falling short in the consolation championship game, taking sixth in an eight-team tournament in Somerset.

The Peewee Bs opened the tournament with a third-period rally to take down Marinette/Menominee 5-4 in Saturday afternoon’s quarterfinals. The Hodags fell to eventual state champion Waupun 4-2 in the semifinals on Saturday night and then blew out Sauk Prairie 7-2 Sunday in the third-place game.

“It’s a nice feeling to get the kids a win in last game is always a nice feeling,” coach Jon Forster said.

    The Rhinelander Ice Association’s Peewee B team poses with its third-place trophy following the WAHA Peewee 3B state tournament at the Rhinelander Ice Arena Sunday, March 10. Pictured, laying on the ice, is Owen Wallermann. In the first row, from left the right, are Emmerich Crass, Nash Swartz, Alec Pilat and Max Miljevich. In the back row are coach Tyler Pyrchalla, William McCone, Carson DeBay, Caleb Rudis, head coach Jon Forster, Collin Jorata, Ben Gehrmann and Marshall Besaw. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

Down 4-2 less than four minutes into the second period of Saturday’s opener, the Hodag Bs came storming back with three unanswered goals, including a pair by defenseman Collin Jorata. The second of Jorata’s goals tied the game with 9:56 to play in the third. Emmerich Crass netted what proved to be the game-winner for the Hodags with 5:21 remaining.

The Hodags outshot the Thunder 29-19 in the game but found themselves down 2-0 until a Max Miljevich goal with 17 seconds left in the opening period. The Thunder went up two again early in the second but the Hodags quickly answered with a tally by Carson DeBay.

“We came back and won it. That was great. We persevered. We’ve been through a lot this season, a lot of ups and downs,” Forster said of the opener.

Ultimately, a tough second period was too much for Rhinelander to overcome in the second game. The Hodags led 1-0 after one period thanks to a goal by Miljevich, but Waupun scored three times in the second — including a short-handed goal by Owen Schears that made it 3-1. William McCone got the Hodags back within a goal early in the third, but Waupun answered and the Hodags were unable to draw closer after pulling goalie Owen Wallermann late in the third period.

“We were close. If the puck would have bounced a different way or something else would have happened, we would have won that game and that’s OK,” Forster said.

Rhinelander turned the tables in Sunday’s placement game against Sauk Prairie thanks to a dominant second period in which it outshot the Flyers 12-4 and scored five unanswered goals.

That torrent started right away as Caleb Rudis scored off a rebound just 19 seconds into the period. Just 30 seconds later, and moments after a Sauk Prairie penalty, Marshall Besaw scored from close range to give Rhinelander a 3-0 lead. 

Alec Pilat added a goal at the 8:38 mark of the period and back-to-back goals by McCone gave the Hodags a six-goal lead. Crass had the Hodags’ goal in the opening period while Miljevich scored in the third. 

“Today we came out and took it to Sauk Prairie and took third, which is a great feeling. The kids are excited,” Forster said.

Crass and Ben Gehrmann both received playmaker patches from WAHA for their performances on Sunday, recording three assists each in the contest. In all, nine of the 10 skaters the Hodags had for Sunday’s game had a goal and/or an assist. 

“That was my biggest focus of the year was to move the puck,” Forster said.

Peewee As

The Hodags came in as the No. 7 seed in the Peewee 3A bracket and had a tough draw out of the gates against Waupaca. The second-seeded Comets led 4-1 after two periods and finished the game with five unanswered goals as part of a 10-2 victory. Gage Chavez and Nick Schneider had the goals for Rhinelander. 

“Waupaca is a fast team with a lot of older kids,” Hodag coach Randy Ostrom said. “They do a really nice job of moving the puck up the ice. The way the score was, I don’t think we played that poorly. I don’t think the score was indicative of the way we played at all.”

Rhinelander bounced back with a 6-4 win over Beaver Dam in the consolation bracket. The Hodags broke a 2-all tie with three unanswered goals in the second period and then held on for the win in the third. 

“The second game against Beaver Dam was a really good game for us,” coach Ostrom said. “We came out, played a complete game and had a good time there. The kids played really well, played hard. They played like they didn’t want to play (in the seventh-place game) at 8 o’clock on Sunday.”

Easton Ostrom scored twice for the Hodags in the Beaver Dam contest. Lena Chiamulera added a goal as the Hodags led 2-1 after a period. Beaver Dam tied it four minutes into the second period, but the Hodags got goals from Evan Rodziczak, Chavez and Hung Anunson to pull away. Ostrom added his second goal of the game in the third period, giving Rhinelander a 6-3 lead.

The Hodags couldn’t dig out of an early hole against Hayward in the consolation championship on Sunday. After spotting the Hurricanes four goals in the first period, Rhinelander clawed back within 6-4 midway through the second period, but then gave up five unanswered goals in an 11-4 defeat.

Rhinelander got goals from Anunson, Chavez, Jacob Baumann and Easton Ostrom in the contest. 

“The kids played well. I don’t think it was a bad weekend for us,” coach Ostrom said. “We came in (seeded) seventh, leave sixth. With as young of a team that we have, I don’t think that was a bad thing. I look forward to seeing what this team does next year. The majority of this team is first-year peewees, with a couple of kids that were supposed to be playing at the U10 level that moved up.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].

Peewee B state photos

    Carson DeBay (11) celebrates a goal, surrounded by teammates Marshall Besaw (18), Ben Gehrmann and Collin Jorata (40) during Saturday’s game against Marinette/Menominee. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

    William McCone (36) plays the puck along the boards, supported by teammate Emmerich Crass (53) during Saturday’s game against Waupun. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

    Alec Pilat fires from close range and scores a goal during Sunday’s game against Sauk Prairie. (Bob Mainhardt for the River News)
  

    Goalie Owen Wallermann prepares to make a save during Sunday’s game against Sauk Prairie. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

    Caleb Rudis chases the puck along the boards in the defensive zone during Sunday’s game against Sauk Prairie. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)
  

    Ben Gehrmann fires the puck out of the defensive zone during Sunday’s game against Sauk Prairie.
  

    Emmerich Crass reacts after scoring the opening goal during Sunday’s game against Sauk Prairie. (Jeremy Mayo/River News)