MEDFORD BOYS HOCKEY - Another slow start costly in Medford’s Friday loss to Shawano

MEDFORD BOYS HOCKEY

MATT FREY

SPORTS EDITOR

Being down three goals early and being without three of their best players by game’s end made things tough for the Medford Raiders Friday when they got to their mid-season holiday break with a 5-2 home hockey loss to the Shawano Co-op.

Already down sophomore defenseman Gavin Phillips, the Raiders started the game without senior defenseman Cameron Bull due to a knee injury suffered in practice the day before. The Hawks took advantage building a 3-0 first-period lead that Medford wasn’t able to put a serious dent in while falling to 1-9 overall.

“The guys played hard for two periods,” Medford head coach Klayton Kree said. “We came out flat again in the first period. We’re trying to address that, coming out with some fire and getting the guys going right away in the game. Giving up three goals in the first period kind of cost us.”

Slow starts have been something Kree and the Raiders have been trying to address for much of the season, but they have yet to find a successful formula.

“It was 5-2,” Kree said. “We gave up three goals in the first period. Take those away it was a 2-2 game. Go back to (Dec. 19 against the Frederic Co-op), we gave up two goals in the first period, we got one back in the second and third. It was a 1-0 game after that. It’s just about coming in and actually making plays right away. They showed some heart today coming back.”

Shawano got goals from three different players while building its early lead. The Hawks scored right off the bat, just 36 seconds in, with Hunter Jones finding the back of the net with assists from Cameron Schroeder and Karson Stoss. At 6:59, 40 seconds into a power play, the Hawks made it 2-0 with Michael Dillenburg firing in a shot off a face-off won by Stoss. Tyson Lyons’ well-placed shot from slot made it 3-0 at 9:37.

The Hawks outshot Medford in the first 17 minutes 10-5.

Things evened out in the second period despite Medford playing shorthanded for much of the period. Medford’s top scoring threat, Tucker Phillips, was called for a five-minute boarding penalty just 12 seconds into the period. The Raiders successfully killed that power play and scored just after it ended.

Phillips carried the puck in close on Shawano goalie Kaiden Thornborrow, starting a prolonged battle for the puck in the crease area. Mason Harris finally got a low shot through the traffic and into the net to cut the deficit to 3-1 exactly six minutes into the period.

“Mason had a great garbage goal,” Kree said. “He cleaned up a rebound and kept whacking away at it.”

Unfortunately, a second major boarding penalty on Phillips led to his dismissal from the game at 8:24. The Raiders, for all intents and purposes, killed off that penalty as well. Jones was called for a tripping penalty at 12:09, creating a four-on-four skating period where Lyons scored with a Dillenburg assist at 12:42, less than a minute before the major penalty expired.

The Raiders got within 4-2 on Logan Koski’s unassisted goal 8:12 into the third, but it was answered by Schroeder’s goal off a Stoss assist at 11:22. Koski got his goal after disrupting a Shawano pass and turned defense into offense.

“He got the puck back onto his stick and got around a defenseman,” Kree said. “I think he almost lost the puck at the same time, but then he got a shot on net and got it over the goalie’s right shoulder. It was a good goal.

“We talked in the locker room about just controlling the puck,” Kree added. “A lot of times when our guys get the puck, they’re frantic with it. On that play he was kinda frantic with it, but he was able to control it and he hit the net with his shot, which is another thing we talk about, hitting the net when you shoot it. He did a great job of putting it in a great spot when he shot and he scored a goal. That was big for him.”

Talan Albers finished with 34 saves while Thornborrow had 19, including nine in the second period.

Medford is off until Thursday, Jan. 4 when it hosts Rhinelander at 7 p.m. in Great Northern Conference play.

“We’re working on the fundamentals really hard in practice and hopefully it starts showing up,” Kree said. “Guys are frustrated, but there are a lot more guys speaking up in the locker room, trying to get stuff figured out, so it’s going good in that aspect.”

Jacob Doyle beats Shawano’s Karson Stoss to this loose puck Friday night.