Hodag hockey competitive in final regular season games

The Rhinelander High School boys’ hockey team snapped a 10-game losing streak on Thursday and came a whisker away from finishing the regular season Saturday with a two-game winning streak.

Dylan Shefveland scored twice and the Hodags knocked off the Chequamegon/Phillips Screaming Eagles and Loggers (SEaLs) 4-1 Thursday night in Park Falls. Rhinelander then rallied back from a 3-1 deficit for extra hockey Saturday in the seventh-place game of the GNC hockey tournament against Medford before falling 4-3 in the second overtime. 

“I like the way we played Thursday night,” Hodag coach M.J. Laggis said after Saturday’s loss. “It would’ve been awesome to string together another win today. You know that would’ve felt really good. We battled hard. We liked our composure as coaches. Coach (Wil) Losch talked a lot about all the positive things that we did but when we did a negative, it really bit us.” 

Medford 4, Rhinelander 3, 2OT

Rhinelander scored twice in the final 5 minutes, 42 seconds of regulation to force overtime with the Raiders, only to allow the game-winner 27 seconds into double overtime Saturday at the Rhinelander Ice Arena. 

Tucker Phillips had the game-winner for Medford. He scored twice and added two assists for the Raiders. 

“On the first shift they walked in off the half board and shot top shelf and it went in. It was not a fun way to lose, but it was a great battle coming back,” Laggis said. 

It was Rhinelander’s first overtime game of the year and the first time the Hodags have played double overtime since the WIAA instituted a five-minute 3-on-3 second overtime session prior to last season if a game remains tied following an eight-minute 5-on-5 overtime. 

“It’s a totally different game,” Laggis said of playing 3-on-3. “You don’t worry about having two (defensemen) with a forward, you have three players out that are playing man-on-man. They’re trying to create puck possession and get a chance and we had a bit of a look early on that and then they just walk off the half boards and let one go it was over.”

Trailing 3-1 after two periods the Hodags made a rally late. Freshman Carson Plehn scored his second goal of the season, knocking a puck in down low from Logan Leonard at the 11:18 mark of the third period. Shefveland notched his ninth goal of the year, and fourth of the week, with 1:55 left in regulation as he put in a rebound from close range off a shot by Drake Nelson. 

“I thought we did a really nice job at getting momentum,” Laggis said. “It was 3-1 with eight minutes left and we scored a goal to make it a one-goal game so you know now we had a chance and a plan for pulling the goalie and trying to play the last minute half to two minutes with six skaters and with a couple minutes left we popped another.”

Medford scored the lone goal of the first period, a Logan Koski tally 7:43 into the first period. Phillips made it 2-0 2:29 into the second before Nelson scored his team-leading 11th goal of the year at the 11:33 mark of the period. Medford retook a two-goal advantage on a Cole Pernsteiner tally with 2:15 remaining in the second period. 

Rhinelander lost despite outshooting Medford 50-27 in the contest. Both teams registered four shots on goal in overtime. 

Rhinelander 4, Chequamegon/Phillips 1

The Hodags completed a sweep of the SEaLs in non-conference play Thursday night. The Hodags, which defeated Chequamegon/Phillips 6-2 in Rhinelander back on Dec. 3, took a 4-0 lead after scoring once in the first, twice in the second and once more in the third. 

“Your not going turn away anything about a win that’s for sure,” Laggis said of Rhinelander’s first win since Jan. 11.

Sophomore Kadin Rodziczak got the Hodags on the board with just more than five minutes to play in the opening period, creating a turnover just in front of his blue line and cashing in on the ensuing breakaway chance.

Shefveland scored both of Rhinelander’s goals in the second period, the first on the power play at 1:31 and one more at the 7:21 mark. Senior Van Tulowitzky notched his first goal of the year, scoring top-shelf 5:40 in the third period. 

“Dylan Shefveland buried a couple of pucks. That was nice to see and Van Tulowitzky got his first of the year, I think maybe second career goal and the other goal was scored by Kadin Rodziczak. It was good to see him back on the roster tonight, somewhat healthy, and playing hockey,” Laggis noted. 

Rhinelander’s chances for its first shutout of the year went by the boards with 10:14 left in regulation as Kalan Chuzles fired top shelf past goalie Asher Rivord on the power play. It came following the sixth of seven penalties the Hodags took on the evening. 

“We took penalties that we don’t want to take, but we did kill off of 5-on-3. That was a outstanding penalty kill. Just a great crazy team effort there on the kill,” Laggis said. “I thought Asher did a really nice job tonight. You know the shot that they scored was a hard shot, a good shot so he did a really nice job.”

Rivord made 22 saves in the win as Rhinelander outshot Chequamegon/Phillips 27-23.

Playoffs ahead

The Hodags (3-21-0) will have a tough draw to open the WIAA playoffs on Thursday as they travel to Tomahawk to face the Hatchets (19-3-0), who are not only the No. 1 seed in the regional, but the No. 1 team in the state according to the Wisconsin Prep Hockey Division 2 coaches poll. 

The Hodags have lost twice to the GNC-champion Hatchets — 10-0 back in December during the GNC regular season and 9-0 earlier this month at the start of the conference tourney. 

“You know obviously we’re going to play a big, big team on Thursday so we got to use (practice) Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and get ready to compete as hard as we can,” Laggis said. “We’re going to probably do a few unorthodox things Thursday night. We’re going in with a  little different game plan just trying to keep our body in front of them and not let them walk in.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].