Hodag Highlights: Hockey season ends with 10-2 loss at Northland Pines

The Rhinelander High School boys hockey team saw its season come to an end Thursday as the eighth-seeded Hodags were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by top-seeded Northland Pines, 10-2, in Eagle River.
The Eagles wasted little time asserting themselves, building a commanding lead with four first-period goals before Drake Nelson put Rhinelander on the board at 15:28 of the opening frame to make it 4-1.
Any Hodag hopes of a comeback were quickly extinguished in the second period as Pines poured in four more goals. Nelson struck again with 36 seconds left in the period, but the Hodags trailed 8-2 with run time already in effect. Northland Pines added two more in the third to close out the 10-2 victory.