First hockey win comes easily; Raiders fall 9-3 in GNC opener

MEDFORD BOYS HOCKEY

The Medford Raiders found themselves in the rare position of being deeper than the opposition Tuesday and they took full advantage in a 12-2 rout of the Chequamegon Co-op in a game played in Park Falls.

Six different players scored goals, led by senior Connor Gowey who had four goals and four assists. Linemate Miles Searles was right there as well with three goals and five assists in Medford’s first win of the 2022-23 season. Isaac Schaefer had three assists and junior Noah Machon had the first multi-goal game of his three-year career.

Talan Albers stopped 16 of the 18 shots he faced to pick up his first varsity win in goal. The Raiders got their 12 goals on 40 shots that they put on two goaltenders from Team SEaL.

The game was close until the Raiders started wearing Chequamegon out late in the second period. Gowey gave the Raiders the lead 13:42 into the opening period with a power-play goal off a Searles assist. Searles got the assist on a Tucker Phillips goal just 26 seconds later to give the Raiders a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Schaefer was called for interference 18 seconds into the second period and Team SEaL needed just nine seconds to take advantage on a Will Krause goal. Searles answered by scoring off a Gowey assist at 3:42, but Chequamegon again crept within one at 3-2 with an unassisted goal from Frank Kief at 8:21.

But very quickly after that, at 9:06, Cameron Bull knocked in his second goal of the season, with help from a Searles assist and the momentum stayed with Medford the rest of the way. Searles scored right off Gowey’s win on the faceoff after a Chequamegon penalty at 9:13, Gowey scored off a Schaefer assist 10:44 and Machon got his first goal of the night with assists from Schaefer and Gowey with 43 seconds left in the period to give Medford a comfortable 7-2 lead going into the second intermission.

Gowey scored just 1:04 into the third, assisted by Searles. Searles had the assist on Jake Noland’s first goal of the year at 7:55, Gowey got his fourth goal at 8:48, assisted by Schaefer and Searles capped his hat trick with an unassisted power-play goal at 10:50. Noland and Gowey had the assists on Machon’s second goal of the night at 12:47.

Albers collected seven saves in the second period and six in the third. Nolan Niehoff had 24 saves on 31 shots in the first two periods, while Tonya Dul had four saves on nine shots for Chequamegon in the third. The Raiders converted on three of six power plays. Chequamegon was one for three.

The Raiders head to Tomahawk for a Great Northern Conference matchup with the rival Hatchets tonight, Thursday, at 7 p.m. Medford is at the Pacelli Co-op on Tuesday, then hosts Waupaca on Dec. 15 and Marshfield on Dec. 16 in 7 p.m. games at the Simek Recreation Center. The Dec. 15 is game two of a double- header with the girls, who host the Hayward Co-op at 5 p.m.

Antigo 9, Medford 3

On Thursday, Medford had things going their way for a second-period stretch and tied Antigo 2-2, but the Red Robins took the momentum back and never let it go after that to spoil the Raiders’ home opener 9-3 at the Simek Center.

Owen Dickman had a hat trick for Analso tigo, while Eli Kassler scored twice and had three assists while leading the Red Robins to their second win of the season over Medford. This one, however, counted as the Great Northern Conference opener for both teams.

Kassler’s goals put Antigo up 2-0 at the first intermission. He got his first at 4:08 and the second at 13:41 as the Robins out- shot the Raiders 9-4 in the period.

But bridging the two periods, the Raiders, according to head coach Galen Searles played their best hockey of the night, matching the Robins physically and creating offensive chances.

Gowey put Medford on the board just 36 seconds into the second period, getting an assist from his linemate Miles Searles. The top line struck again when freshman Tucker Phillips got his first varsity goal at 3:08, with assists from Gowey and Searles to tie the game.

Unfortunately for Medford, Antigo wasted little time in getting the lead back, getting a goal from Landon Nelson off a Payden Michalik assist at 4:35. That started a six-goal spree that put the game away.

Galen Searles credited the Robins with finding some cracks in Medford’s defense and exploiting them, using crisp passing to create shots that Medford goal tender Talan Albers had little chance of stopping.

Dickman got the first of his goals 10:17 into the second period to give Antigo its two-goal lead back. It came on the second of Michalik’s three assists in the game. Kassler and Parker Chaney set up Michalik in front of the crease and he tucked his shot under the crossbar at 15:51 for a 5-2 lead heading into the second intermission.

Dickman scored a minute into the third period off a Michalik assist, Jack Hilger hit the upper corner over Albers’ left shoulder at 8:30 and Nelson skated in unmolested to tap the puck in off a perfect pass from Kassler at 10:19 to briefly put the running clock into effect at 10:19.

The Raiders took the running clock off just 22 seconds later when Bull put a blast past Antigo goalie Nolan Bunnell with assists from Searles and Schaefer, but Dickman capped his hat trick just 36 seconds later.

Albers finished with 24 saves, including 11 in the third period, while Bunnell had 20 saves for Antigo, including seven in the second period and nine more in the third.

Antigo had the only two power plays of the game, but Medford kept the Robins off the board on each of them in the first period.

Medford skip Brett Lundy tries to sweep a D.C. Everest rock out of the house during Tuesday’s 10-3 win over the Evergreens at the Medford Curling Club.BRIAN WILSON/THE STAR NEWS