Jared Schmeltzer
Reporter
The Bluejacks hockey team hosted the Red Robins of Antigo on Thursday, Oct. 5. The game was fairly uneventful throughout the first two periods, however a high scoring third period saw EMU trade blows with Antigo, forcing an overtime period where neither team would score, ending the contest with a 2-2 draw.
“Antigo has established a reputation as being as hard working as anyone,” said EMU head coach Chris Marlowe. “They always have great goaltending. It takes more than luck against them to succeed.”
Both teams came out strong on the defensive side of the ice with neither team finding the back of the net until the third period. Coach Marlowe believes that his teams intensity may have given the Robins a bit of a shock.
“We wanted to match their intensity, speed, and effort, and we succeeded on that,” Marlowe added. “We may have surprised them early but by the second period they knew they had their hands full.”
When the third period came around Antigo would strike first, with a goal coming 9:25 into the period. It took the Bluejacks only 30 seconds to respond with a goal of their own. With a one man advantage, Eli Pagel found Greg Glovinski who fired a shot passed the Antigo goalie to even the score at 1-1. With 8:42 left on the game clock the Red Robins would take the lead on a Joe Volpentesta goal. The Bluejacks never wavered, as it only took them 40 seconds to come up with the equalizing goal to tie the game at 2-2. EMU’s Isaac Young passed the puck to Jack Piskula who blasted passed the Antigo defense and found the goal for to send the game to overtime.
The overtime period was another defensive stand-off between the teams, with neither team able to score the winning goal as the game ended in a 2-2 tie. Coach Marlowe points to his teams goaltending as the main reason for the teams success.
“Generally when a team is doing well they have good goaltending,” he said. “We got outshot against both Lakeland and Antigo. Our freshman goalies, Jake Furrer and Truman Shull, have kept us in games and challenged us in practice, they are a big reason the team is doing well. Our leadership has been outstanding also. We have had a decent non-conference run the last week. This week we begin conference play and hopefully our run can continue into conference.”
As coach Marlowe eluded to EMU was outshot 54-27 against the Red Robins, however freshman goalie Jake Furrer came away with 52 saves in the game to keep the Bluejacks alive.
The Bluejacks will begin the quest for the Marathon Cup on Thursday, Dec. 12, as they travel to Greenheck Field House for a match up with Wausau West. Puck drop is slated for 5:30 p.m.
Bluejacks fall to Lakeland
The EMU (East Merrill United) hockey team hosted the Lakeland Thunderbirds at the Marathon Park Ice Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 3. EMU got off to a good start in the game, scoring the first goal of the contest, however a three goal second period was good enough to give the T-Birds the lead and 4-2 win.
The Bluejacks seemed to be in control throughout the first period, out possessing the T-Birds and out scoring them with one lone goal. A pass from Greg Glovinski to Blake Raddatz was then forwarded on to Jared Heller, who wasted no time getting his team on the board with the first goal of the game.
The second period saw a dominant performance by Lakeland, who took over the game with a three goal swing. Just five minutes into the period the T-Birds found the net for a goal, tying the game at 1-1. Later with 10 minutes remaining in the period, Lakeland scored again to take the lead. A Bluejack penalty with five minutes left in the period gave the Thunderbirds a one man advantage, which they would capitalize on with their third goal of the period.
With a two goal deficit going into the final period, the Bluejacks would show some signs of life. With 12:57 remaining in the game EMU’s Jack Piskula found the Lakeland net, following a T-Birds penalty that left the Bluejacks with a one man advantage. Now just trailing by one goal EMU would look to get the equalizing score, however Lakeland would shut the door on the game with one final goal in the last minute of action.
Merrill’s stat leaders for the game include: Jack Piskula (1 goal), Jared Heller (1 goal), Blake Raddatz (1 assist), Greg Glovinski (1 assist) and Jake Furrer (30 saves).