Rough start to GNC tourney follows OT win over Rails

MEDFORD BOYS HOCKEY

Two weeks after getting humbled 13-1 by Mosinee at the Simek Center, the Medford hockey team was dealt a similar defeat Tuesday in the first round of the Great Northern Conference’s seasonending tournament, falling 13-0 to the second-seeded Indians in Mosinee.

The Indians scored five goals on 16 shots in the first period, added three more in the second and kept adding on with five more goals in the third to improve to 15-6 overall. Mosinee advanced to a semifinal matchup against thirdseeded Rhinelander on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

The seventh-seeded Raiders fell to 6-13 overall and will travel to sixth-seeded Northland Pines Tuesday in a consolation semifinal. The Eagles fell 4-1 at Rhinelander Tuesday, their second loss to the Hodags in as many days.

Spencer Swiderski and Caden Schmirler recorded hat tricks for Mosinee, while Grant Kuklinski had two goals and three assists. Aiden Karst had 14 saves in the shutout victory.

Talan Albers had 35 saves in the loss for Medford.

Mosinee got its first goal just 1:13 in from Ethan Oatman off a Schmirler assist. Kuklinski scored on a power play at 6:42 and that started a flurry that put Mosinee in early command. Swiderski scored at 8:49, Schmirler followed 55 seconds later and Elliot Yirkovsky scored on another power play at the 12-minute mark. Those two power plays were the only ones either team had in the game. The second one was a five-minute major.

Kuklinski scored 1:05 into the second period and Schmirler and Swiderski added goals at 7:10 and 7:55. Schmirler and Swiderski each scored once in the third period. Mosinee also got goals from Mason Ford, Brady Lokken and Gavin Obremski.

Before the Pines trip, Medford will host the Shawano Co-op Monday in the make-up date of a Jan. 19 postponement. Face-off for both games is at 7 p.m.

Medford is the host team for the Feb. 11 placement games in the GNC tournament. Game times that day at the Simek Center are 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. for the championship game.

Fifth-seeded Antigo sprung an upset Tuesday, beating fourth-seeded Tomahawk 5-2. The game between eighth-seeded Waupaca and top-seeded Lakeland won’t be played until Friday.

Overtime win

Connor Gowey started things Friday with two goals and Miles Searles finished it in dramatic fashion with the tying and game-winning scores in a 4-3 overtime win over the visiting Spooner Rails.

The game-winner came 2:40 into the eight-minute sudden-death overtime as Searles gained control of the puck after a face-off in the offensive zone, skated around the net, got some room to fire from in front of the crease and didn’t miss.

“That was an exciting finish,” Medford head coach Galen Searles said. “Miles went in there and basically said, ‘I’m going to the net and I’m going to score this goal.’ I guess he said ‘I gotta do this myself.’” Simply looking at puck possession time and shots on goal, this was a game Medford controlled, but Spooner had an equalizer in senior goalie Travis Johnson, who collected 46 saves, including an amazing glove save to rob Searles of a game-winner just nine seconds before he actually did win it.

Penalties also were a factor in the Raiders not being able to break the game open. The Raiders fought off four out of five power plays the Rails had in the last two periods.

Medford outshot Spooner 15-6 in the first period but had just 1-1 tie to show for it going into the first intermission. Gowey got the Raiders’ goal 3:04 in, zipping a shot over Johnson’s right shoulder and under the crossbar. Searles had the assist.

Searles hit the crossbar seconds later and the Raiders had a couple more good chances that Johnson and the Rails denied. At 11:37, Spooner’s Trayden Wilson just launched a shot from between the blue and red lines and it went in to tie it. Other than that glitch, Galen Searles said it was a solid night in net for Albers, who had 14 saves.

“He was better after that shot,” Searles said. “He’s been improving greatly. At Lakeland (three days earlier), he was great.”

Medford killed off an early penalty in the second period and then Gowey hit the crossbar at 2:45, keeping the game tied. Spooner got a second power play at 3:30 and capitalized with Alexander Kissack cleaning up on a scramble in front of the net. Gowey, however, answered just 26 seconds later, firing one with pinpoint accuracy past Johnson.

“I think it was a little bit deceptive in the way the game started,” coach Searles said. “We had it in their end for over half the period. I thought they were a bit more of a capable team and their goalie was very capable. A game like this players can get lulled in the offensive zone, which they did. I think just about everybody had a scoring opportunity. We might have just underestimated them a little bit at the end of the first period.

“I thought the second period was played well,” he added. “Their goalie kept them in the game and it ended up coming down to the wire. It was nice to get that tying goal. That was almost a re- lief.”

Spooner took a 3-2 lead, converting on an odd-man rush at the 8:32 mark of the third. Trent Lindstrom got credit for the goal with an assist from Mason Seifert. Searles and Tucker Phillips were denied by Johnson on a couple of good chances. Searles broke through with 2:31 left in regulation, trickling an unassisted shot through the five-hole from Johnson’s left side.

Spooner fell to 2-8 at the time and the win should help Medford in sectional seeding Sunday as the teams are in the same bracket.