TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
Game three of the East Merrill Newman United (EMU) Bluejacks Varsity Hockey season was Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, at Marathon Park Ice Rink in Wausau. The Bluejacks played SPASH in their first conference game of the season, and it was a tough way to start off in-conference play. SPASH scored the lone goal of the first period and then went on to score three goals in the second and two goals in the third, with the Bluejacks remaining scoreless throughout. The Bluejacks made at least 13 attempts on goal, but SPASH’s Goalie was able to prevent them from scoring. SPASH was aggressive in their play, but the Bluejacks’ Goalie, Senior Jake Furrer, made a total of 77 saves in the game, helping to keep their goal numbers down.
“Although we didn’t win it was a very, very good fight to the end,” said Assistant Bluejacks Varsity Coach Greg Glovinski. “Jake Furrer ended up with 77 saves.”
Box Score
SPASH 6 @ East Merrill Newman United 0
On Thursday, Dec. 8, the Bluejacks played Wausau West in a Tournament at the Greenheck Field House. West came out playing hard and racked up three goals in the first period. Bluejacks Goalie Furrer fought back hard with 22 saves in that period to keep their goals down but those three slipped through, and the Bluejacks weren’t able to get a goal in. In the second period, Wausau West again racked up another three goals, despite Furrer’s hard push back, making 18 saves in the period. The Bluejacks offense still wasn’t able to get on the board.
In the third period, the Bluejacks came in fierce and Bluejacks #18 Kaden Grusnick put one in the net, unassisted, at less than 30 seconds in, and Bluejacks’ Goalie Furrer fought back against West, making another 18 saves and keeping West from scoring at all in the final period. But it wasn’t enough.
“All in all the Bluejacks kind of had a slow start and couldn’t catch up,” Glovinski said. “We need to be able to play a complete game.”
“Kaden Grusnick had the lone goal for EMU. Jake Furrer had 58 saves.”
Box Score
East Merrill Newman United 1 @ Wausau West 6
Saturday, Dec. 10, found the Bluejacks at the Greenheck Fieldhouse Ice Arena playing against the DC Everest Varsity Hockey Team.
This one was a tight game with lots of defense on both sides. The Bluejacks defended their goal fiercely, with their Goalie Jake Furrer making 14 saves in the first period alone, but offensively just couldn’t get a goal. The first period remained entirely scoreless for both teams, but finally, at 16:55 into the second period, Everest got one past Furrer to score. Furrer made seven other saves in the second period.
In the third period, Furrer made 16 saves, but Everest got another one past him to score at 4:07, and that was the end of scoring for the game. The rest was all defense on both sides.
Three Everest players had penalties for roughing, elbowing, and cross checking. The Bluejacks also had three penalties, with #3 Andrew Franken cited for interference in the first period and hooking in the third, and #12 Brody Trantow penalized for tripping in the second period.
The “Bluejacks could not find enough offense to get the job done,” Glovinski said in summary about the game. “We are getting better and still looking for improvement.”
Box Score
East Merrill Newman United 0 @ DC Everest 2