Medford denies Hodag hockey first win in OT

A Rhinelander High School boys’ hockey team that has struggled to have things go its way this season was less than two minutes away from breaking into the win column Thursday, Jan. 8, before things took a heartbreaking turn on the road.

Luke Hartl tied the game for Medford with 1:34 remaining in regulation and then fired a shot that Cole Pernsteiner tipped home 55 seconds into overtime as the Raiders rallied from behind to defeat the Hodags 3-2 at the Simek Center. 

A short-handed Rhinelander squad (0-12-0, 0-5-0-0 Great Northern) got a pair of goals from Kadin Rodziczak and was in position to get its first win until the Raiders (2-8-1, 1-4-0-0 Great Northern) scored with an extra attacker late in the third period. 

“We skated the majority of that game with nine skaters. And we battled really hard. I’m really proud of the kids — from our goalie, to our defensemen, to the effort of our forwards — but they got the bounce in the end,” Hodag coach M.J. Laggis said.

That lack of depth appeared to catch up with Rhinelander late in the contest, as the Raiders outshot the Hodags 14-8 in the final period and a flurry of activity in front of the Rhinelander net prior to the equalizer. Ian Roiger won a puck down low for the Raiders and threw it out to the left point where Hartl fired past a screened Connor McGee in the Rhinelander goal to tie the game.

Rodziczak had a couple of looks in the first shift of overtime that went just wide of the net. Medford rushed down to the other end. Hartl made a play at the blue line to hold the zone and threw the puck to the net where Pernsteiner tipped home the game-winner. 

“We talked a lot the last three, four minutes about running a 1-2-2 forecheck, getting pucks deep, getting it over our blue line … We did a lot of that, but  we got caught in our own zone. We had a chance to make a play, didn’t quite make the play and the puck squirreled around in the middle of the zone. And, before you know it, it winds up in a shot and a goal,” Laggis said. “We had a fantastic opportunity in the first minute, but then they came back and scored. That’s an nature of an overtime game … I thought we played hard. We obviously want the bounces. We want the game to go our way.”

    Rhinelander’s Dylan Shefveland taking control of the puck in front of Medford’s bench during the second period of a GNC boys’ hockey game in Medford Thursday, Jan. 8. (Matt Frey/Star News)
  

Rhinelander took the lead 3:41 into the third period on Rodziczak’s second tally of the night, scoring from the right circle on a rebound chance off a Jack Turek shot. Rodziczak had the first goal of the night, firing home a feed from Dylan Shefveland on a 5-on-3 power play 11:20 into the opening period. 

“Kadin Rodziczak had two goals. I thought he played a really hard game. Jack Turek played a fantastic game up front. Really played a two-way game, and Drake Nelson had a lot of chances. That line played together,” Laggis said. “Senior Logan Leonard did a really nice job centering two freshmen on the other line. And I got to say that senior (forward) turned defenseman right now, Dylan Shefveland really played his guts out tonight, and I thought Braydon Lorman played really hard, too. Everybody played hard,  but I just thought those guys had really great efforts and good games.”

Rhinelander’s initial lead was relatively short-lived. Pernsteiner tied the game at the 13:25 mark of the first after Max Losiewicz won a battle along the boards and centered a pass to Pernsteiner, who walked free through the slot. 

Shots were 29-27 in favor of Medford in the contest. McGee stopped 26 pucks in defeat for the Hodags.

Rhinelander concludes the first round of GNC play this week. It began Monday with the make-up of a game against Mosinee that was postponed Jan. 6 due to poor road conditions. That game concluded after press time for today’s edition. The Hodags will be home again to face Lakeland Thursday night before traveling to Marshfield for a non-conference matchup on Saturday. 

“It’s gonna be a tough week, and we just have to gear up and again, I’m gonna go back to what I liked tonight is the locker room pulled together,” Laggis said. “It was a very, very good bench to be a part of, and everyone really was on the same page, and trying together and supportive of each other. So we’re gonna have to do a lot of that next week.”

Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].