New Richmond boys hockey battles Superior to overtime
Four teams are quickly establishing themselves as leading contenders for the WIAA boys sectional hockey title game.
- Aaron Chwialkowski
Four teams are quickly establishing themselves as leading contenders for the WIAA boys sectional hockey title game.
Two of them met in Superior on Saturday and the battle between New Richmond and Superior had the look and intensity of a tournament game. The teams battled into overtime before Superior was able to pull out a 5-4 victory.
These teams have been down this road before and the players were ready for the demands of a game of this magnitude. Superior scored 1:12 into the game, quickly testing whether the Tigers were ready for the battle.
The Tigers proved they were. Six minutes after the opening goal, the Tigers tied the score when Jeremy Leavens knocked in his own rebound after a feed from Michael Bodsberg.
New Richmond took its first lead of the game when Tanner Wisemiller scored on the power play 1:34 into the second period.
Superior tied the score at the 9:10 mark. The Spartans would follow with three power plays in rapid succession. The Tigers fought off the first two power plays, but Superior’s Aaron Miller scored with 57 seconds left in the second period to put Superior in front, 3-2.
Seconds after Miller’s goal, Superior was called for a penalty. Wisemiller struck again, getting his second goal with three seconds left in the period, meaning the third period would start 3-3.
The Tigers struck first in the third period. Bodsberg got the puck behind the Superior net, skated out and cleanly beat Spartan goalie Paxton Paine with a backhand shot.
Superior would get the tying goal with 5:21 left in regulation, scoring short-handed.
The Tigers controlled the puck for most of the overtime period, putting three shots on goal and having another hit the pipe. Superior then carried the puck into the Tigers’ zone. Aaron Wakefield-Zubiate was able to work free from a Tiger defender near the crease, redirecting a teammate’s pass past Tiger goalie Aaron Chwialkowski for the deciding goal.
Tiger coach Adam Swanda was upbeat about the Tigers’ effort, especially the team’s work killing penalties. Swanda praised the efforts of seniors Hunter Cox, Ben Norman and Josh Manske for their defensive efforts.
The coaches feared they wouldn’t have senior Kaleb Kier for this game, but Kier was able to play in a limited role after recently spraining his ankle. He only played in five-on-five situations, because the coaches didn’t want him doing the fast starting and stopping that are required on specialty units.
Swanda said this game shows that the Tigers are capable of playing with the best teams in the section.
“Superior is still the top team in the section until somebody beats them,” he said.
Superior also has a 5-4 win over Hudson to their credit. Hudson was beaten by Somerset 5-2 on Saturday. Swanda said that game means Somerset has to be viewed as a threat for the sectional title too.
The Tigers are now into the first round of their Middle Border Conference schedule. The Tigers will get their first look at Somerset next Tuesday, when the two teams meet at the New Richmond Sports Center.
Tags: sports, tigers, hockey, prep
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