By Jeremy Ratliff
Reporter
Bluejay hockey tallied win number six at Rhinelander Saturday night, and their second in as many weeks en route to a 4-2 win over the Hodags.
Rhinelander jumped out first with a score just shy of the 4-minute mark. Austin Burgener and Joe Ladewig responded for Merrill near the end of the first, then the duo came back to assist Brian Root with another score early in the third, setting the Jays up 2-1.
The Hodags answered again near the five-minute mark in the 3rd, only to have Burgener come back a minute later with a solo goal and another in the waning minutes of the contest to seal the deal.
“This was a great team win,” commented coach Bill Hauswirth. “We fell behind, but we battled back. It was a gutsy team effort. This win showed our kids have a lot of character.”
MRL: 0 1 3- 4
RNE: 1 0 1- 2
Saves: Bryce Broeking (36, 12-8-16, 4G).
Tangling with the Tigers
The Jays wouldn’t fare quite as well on Thursday when they traveled to Marshfield, falling 3-1 at the hands of the Tigers.
The Jays opened up the contest with a score from James Pawlicki, assisted by Christian Matson late in the first. Unfortunately, the Tigers would take it from there with a pair of scores in the second and another in the third to steal the win.
“This was a disappointing loss,” Hauswirth added. “We got away from our systems and when we do that we get in trouble. When we ran our systems we had opportunities.”
MFD: 0 2 1- 3
MRL: 1 0 0- 1
Saves: Broeking (44,18-18-8, 3G).