Pacelli Co-op Hockey Advances in WIAA Tourney
By Ken McKenzie
The Pacelli Co-op Hockey team staked themselves an early lead, then withstood a strong third period push by the visiting Rhinelander Hodags to win 3-1 in the opening round of 2015 WIAA hockey tournament competition.
The win allows the Cardinals to advance to face #1 seed and the state’s seventh ranked team, Wausau West, at 7:15 Thursday at the Marathon County Ice Arena in Wausau.
Teagan Vezina (Almond/Bancroft senior) struck quickly for the host Cardinals, scoring just :28 seconds into the first period action, with assists attributed to Carson Kedrowski and Davis Cowden (Amherst).
Pacelli senior Luke Yenter added a second goal at 2:59 of the opener as Pacelli co-op team took 2-0 lead and seeming control of the contest. Yenter’s goal saw assists granted to Chris Karch and Joel Oney (Amherst).
Pacelli registered eight shots on goal in the first to only four shots for Rhinelander. The Cardinals then cranked things up even further in the second with 17 shots on goal with Yenter gaining his second goal as his shot got past Hodag goalie Jacob Arno for a 3-0 lead at 3:06 on the power play with a second assist to Oney.
The Hodags got six shots on goal in the second, giving them 10 for the game at that point as compared to 25 for Pacelli co-op.
But Rhinelander seemed to realize their predicament, as they came out with renewed energy in the third; turning the tables and outshooting Pacelli 17-9 for the period and dominating play for much of the period.
The Hodags lone goal came at 11:05 on a goal by Brett Estabrook at even strength with assist to Kurt Zuiker.
The Hodags were thwarted in all five of their power play opportunities on the night with Pacelli scoring in one of four opportunities. Vezina’s goals was his 18th on the season while Yenter is both goal and total points leader now with 32 goals and 60 points.
Joe Fuller was solid in the net Tuesday, registering a .963 on 26 saves of 27 shots on goal with Arno finishing with 31 saves on the night for Rhinelander.
Pacelli logged six penalties for the game, with interference and two cross-checking penalties in the third period nearly costing them their lead.
“We need to play with more discipline,” said Pacelli head coach Rusty Mitch. “We had quite a few opportunities in the first two periods but then we got a little over-aggressive and our penalties nearly proved costly. Our lack of depth showed a bit in the third when they (Rhinelander) came at us with great energy. We can’t allow ourselves to be short-handed for too long in those situations.”