Hodag Highlights: Hockey team faces steep challenge in season-opening games

The Rhinelander High School boys hockey team opened their season with a pair of difficult matchups, falling to Northland Pines at home on Dec. 2 before traveling to face defending state champion Tomahawk on Thursday.
Before Tuesday’s home opener against the Eagles, the Hodags took time to celebrate the community’s youngest champions. The state champion PeeWee 3A team was introduced on the ice, with head coach Randy Ostrom and assistant coaches Dan Baumann and Ryan Gartmann leading out their squad of Owen Wallerman, Nick Schneider, Teagan Drake, Sawyer Peters, Collin Jorata, Ben Gehrmann, Gage Chavez, Max Cahee, Quinn Burton, Jacob Baumann, Hugh Anunson and Easton Ostrom. Coach Chris Burnis and player Cason Burnis were unable to attend the ceremony.
The celebration, however, gave way to a challenging night for the high school squad. Northland Pines came out flying, netting three goals in the opening period and never looking back. The Eagles added five more in the second period and another six in the third to cruise to a commanding victory.
The lone bright spot for Rhinelander came late, when last year’s leading scorer Drake Nelson found the back of the net with 1:29 remaining in the game, preventing the shutout but doing little to change the lopsided final score.
Thursday brought no relief for the Hodags, who made the trip to Tomahawk to face the reigning state champions. The Hatchets set the tone immediately, scoring just 15 seconds into the game off the opening faceoff. From there, Tomahawk poured it on, tallying 13 goals across the first two periods, with the final tally of that stretch coming at 9:34 of the second.
Jack Turek provided the only offense for Rhinelander, scoring with 5:02 left in the second period. With the mercy rule in effect and the game well in hand, Tomahawk appeared content to simply control possession for the remainder of the contest rather than add to their total.
The Hodags will look to regroup as they continue their season, hoping to find their footing after a difficult opening week against two of the area’s strongest programs.