RHS wins 5th straight

STAR JOURNAL REPORT

Two first-period goals tallied less than 6 minutes after the opening faceoff ended up being all the scoring the Rhinelander High School varsity boys hockey team needed Tuesday night when the Hodags won their Great Northern Conference matchup at Tomahawk, 4-1.

“That was a really good win for us,” said RHS head coach MJ Laggis. “Tomahawk has been traditionally a difficult place for us to play and we have had a tough time there the past seasons. They are a well-coached team and they always give us a lot of trouble. To sweep them this year was a really nice accomplishment for us and something we haven’t done in a long while.”

The Hodags had shut out the Hatchets, 6-0, in this season’s first game between the two teams Dec. 14 at the Rhinelander Ice Arena.

In Tuesday’s game, the Hodags got on the scoreboard 4:03 into the first period on a goal from Cole Spaulding assisted by Hunter Hicks. RHS scored again at the 5:35 mark with an unassisted goal from Freddy Wisner.

The lead remained at 2-0 until less than 5 minutes remained in the second period when Wisner scored again with an assist by Abe Laggis. Tomahawk broke the shutout with 20 seconds left in the period on a goal from Jordan Tomaszewski assisted by Aaron Evans and Max Bembinster.

The Hodags closed out the scoring with 7:16 left in the game on a goal from Hicks assisted by Spaulding and Brandon Kolasa.

Shots on goal favored RHS, 28-24, with Seth Stafford making 23 saves to record the win in net. Shawn Dirkx stopped 24 shots in picking up the loss in goal for the Hatchets.

The Hodags, who won their fifth game in a row to improve their season record to 6-4 in the GNC and 12-7 overall, return to action Thursday by hosting a conference game against Lakeland Union High School.

Hodags 4, Hatchets 1

Hodags                 2              1              1 – 4

Hatchets              0              1              0 – 1