The Hatchet boys hockey team converted a pair of power plays in the first period of Thursday’s home game with Rhinelander, but the Hodags rallied for a 4-3 win.
The visitors tied it up in the second, before Alex Ungerer (A-Steven Renn, Jared Kiander) made it 3-2 with 1:46 gone in the third. But Rhinelander’s Dylan Roeser netted two more in regulation, including the game-winner with just 20 seconds left.
Ungerer (A- Tanner Bartz, Cayton Scholz) and Kisander (A- Bartz, Renn) scored the early goals.
“I have to give it to my seniors they gave me all they had in the tank to try to get the win,” THS coach Rick Myre said. “Danny Hanke also had a hell of a good game he gave his heart to the senior boys tonight in this game.
“All the boys played real good in our last home game, as they should defending the home rink. We started strong in the first period and skated neck-’n’-neck with the Hodags in the first. The second we let our foot of the gas and the Hodags clearly out-skated my guys. The third period, we were out-numbered and out-of-gas – the first time all year we had empty tanks.”
Saves–THS–Dan Hanke 8-19-9–37. RHS– Alex Littleton 9-15-5–29.
Tomahawk (6-16, 5-9) visited N. Pines (11-11-2, 9-4-1) on Tuesday night for the opening round of the playoffs. The winner plays at SPASH, sixth-ranked in state until this week, at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.