side, was there to punch ….

side, was there to punch it in.

Gowey broke the record of 66 career goals held by 2017 graduate Jack Schaefer.

Gowey’s goal capped a five-goal run by the Raiders, who trailed 2-0 until Gowey’s first goal of the night 10:13 into the second period finally broke the ice.

“We maybe had our best offensive

GREAT NORTHERN CONFERENCE BOYS HOCKEY STANDINGS GNC GNC Overall W-L-T Pts. W-L-T Lakeland 8-1-0 36 16-3-0 Mosinee 8-1-0 36 16-6-0 Rhinelander 6-3-0 27 15-5-0 Tomahawk 6-3-0 21 16-5-0 Antigo 3-6-0 19 10-12-0 North. Pines 3-6-0 11 7-15-1 Medford 1-8-0 3 7-14-0

Waupaca 1-8-0 3 3-17-0

Feb. 2: Rhinelander 5, S.P. Pacelli Co-op 2; Tomahawk 13, Barron Co-op 1; Northland Pines 6, Shawano Co-op 2; Antigo 10, Chequamegon Co-op 0. Feb. 3 GNC quarterfinal: Lakeland 5, Waupaca 1.

Feb. 3: Tomahawk 7, West Salem-Bangor 1.

Feb. 4: Rhinelander 4, Ashland Co-op 1; Antigo 6, West Salem-Bangor 3.

Feb. 6: Medford 7, Shawano Co-op 4. Feb. 7 GNC semifinals: Mosinee 3, Rhinelander 0; Lakeland 5, Antigo 1.

Feb. 7 GNC consolation semifinals: Northland Pines 5, Medford 4; Tomahawk 4, Waupaca 2. Feb. 9: Merrill Co-op at Rhinelander, Frederic Co-op at Tomahawk.

Feb. 11 GNC finals at Medford: 1st –– #2 Mosinee vs. #1 Lakeland. 3rd –– #5 Antigo vs. #3 Rhinelander. 5th –– #6 Northland Pines vs. #4 Tomahawk. 7th –– #8 Waupaca vs. #7 Medford. Feb. 16 WIAA Div. 2 regional finals: Medford at Rice Lake, S.P. Pacelli Co-op at Lakeland, Northland Pines at Tomahawk, Antigo at Rhinelander, Waupaca at Mosinee. game of the season,” head coach Galen Searles said. “We had good pressure all night and played a very clean game.”

The pressure resulted in 47 total shots on goal and, though it took awhile, resulted in all seven goals being scored in the last 24 minutes.

The Hawks and their goalie Dylan Prochaska dodged several bullets before that. Gowey hit a post two minutes in, Mason Harris was denied after scooping up a loose puck right in front six minutes in and Searles had a chance right in front that was deflected 10:30 into the first period.

Despite being outshot 12-6 in the period, Shawano went into the first intermission leading 1-0 thanks to Owen Curran, who scored at 13:25 off a centering pass from Karson Stoss after Aidan Beauileu won control of a loose puck in the corner. Medford had another push two minutes later, but Logan Koski’s backhand try slid through the crease, just missing the post and Gowey’s shot was saved.

Gowey hit iron again two minutes into the second period to keep it 1-0. A power play for Shawano at 8:49 resulted in the Hawks’ second goal at 9:45. Albers stopped the initial shot by Louis Hrabik, but the puck deflected into the air right to Gavin Hundt, who knocked it to the ice, got his stick on it punched it past Albers.

The two-goal lead, however, lasted just 28 seconds. Medford got the puck into the offensive zone with Gavin Phillips putting a shot on net that was stopped. He won the race to the puck behind the net, pushed it to Searles, who back-tapped it to Gowey, who was waiting at the doorstep.

With the seal broken, Medford pounced on the momentum. Searles intercepted a pass from behind Shawano’s net and backhanded it in to tie the game at 14:48. With 23 seconds left in the period, the Raiders won a face-off in the defensive zone. Gowey pushed the puck ahead to Searles just into neutral ice and the senior did the rest, beating the defense for a breakaway goal that gave Medford a 3-2 lead.

Searles put Medford up by two 5:57 into the third period when he perfectly deflected a shot by Gavin Phillips.

Bull got the first of his two goals at 11:34, answering a Stoss goal from nearly three minutes earlier. Bull flipped a hard wrist shot that got by Prochaska’s blocker and inside the far post. After Hrabik scored on a five-on-three power play at 14:19, Bull put the game away with a short-handed goal with 45 seconds left. Tucker Phillips put the initial shot on Prochaska and with both players scrambling for the loose puck, Bull’s stick finally found it and tapped it in.

Albers had 17 saves in the win for Medford. Prochaska finished with 40 saves. The Hawks were successful on two of three power plays. Medford did not score in three chances.

Post-season play

On Sunday, Medford emerged from the seeding meeting with the sixth seed in the WIAA Division 2 sectional tournament, which starts Thursday, Feb. 16. The Raiders will visit third-seeded Rice Lake in a regional final that night at 7 p.m.

The Warriors are the defending WIAA Division 2 state champions, but much of last year’s roster moved on and they’ve struggled this year, sitting at 5-16 overall and 1-11 in the Big Rivers Conference. However, head-to-head wins over Hayward, Spooner and Frederic Co-op Blizzard as well as the Big Rivers strength of schedule helped propel them to their seed.

Conversely, Medford’s bid for the fifth seed may have been affected by an 8-6 loss at the Blizzard (5-18).

The state’s top-ranked Division 2 team, New Richmond, holds the bracket’s top seed and deservedly so. The Tigers are 18-4 overall, lead the Big Rivers Conference at 12-1 and will clinch the outright title if they win at Rice Lake tonight, Thursday.

The Amery Co-op is a solid second seed. The Warriors are 17-4 overall and 7-2 in the Middle Border Conference, tied for first place with Baldwin-Woodville, who they split with. Amery beat New Richmond 3-2 on Jan. 17 and also owns wins over Rhinelander, Lakeland and Hayward (twice). Hayward is the fourth seed and sits at 10-12 overall and 3-7 in the Middle Border. The Hurricanes split two games with Rice Lake.