Raiders get Saturday shutout to earn a split at Marshfield
MEDFORD HOCKEY
AJ Adleman needed to make just 11 saves to record his fourth career shutout and second of the season Saturday and the Medford Raiders equaled their win total from a year ago just seven games into this season with a 4-0 win over the Regis-Altoona-McDonell Co-op in Marshfi eld.
The game was the second for the Raiders in the two-day Marshfield triangular. They lost Friday’s opener to the host Tigers 6-1. Marshfield finished the triangular Saturday evening with a 13-0 win over the RAM Co-op.
The Raiders controlled the puck for most of Saturday’s win, outshooting RAM 45-11. The play of goalie Dane Engstrom and significant time spent shorthanded kept the Raiders from putting big numbers up on the scoreboard.
But they killed off all eight of RAM’s power plays and did more than enough to improve to 3-4 overall for the season, well on pace to improve upon last year’s 3-19 finish.
Brayden Machon scored twice and senior defenseman Dalton Hraby had a goal and an assist for the Raiders. Five other Raiders got into the mix with one point respectively.
Austin Waldhart scored the game’s first goal 4:21 into the first period with an assist by Colton Gowey. Hraby’s goal 3:13 into the second period off a Carter Pernsteiner assist doubled the lead, which stood through the rest of the period despite a flurry of penalties on the Raiders.
When RAM was whistled for interference at the 15-minute mark, the Raiders took advantage, just before the power play and the period simultaneously expired as Brayden Machon put the puck past Engstrom with four seconds left off a Kyle Petrick assist to make it 3-0.
Machon closed the scoring with his goal 6:50 into the third period. Hraby and Blaine Seidl had the assists.
Medford outshot RAM 14-5 in the first period, 14-1 in the second despite being short-handed for much of it and 17-5 in the third. The Raiders were one for three on power plays.
Marshfield 6, Medford 1
Back-to-back goals by Payton Smith in a span of 40 seconds in the second period broke open Friday’s 6-1 win for Marshfi eld in the tournament opener.
Smith’s goals at 5:48 and 6:28 turned a 1-0 game into a 3-0 game. Nick Urban assisted on both of Smith’s goals. Tristian Reissman also assisted on the first one, while Seth Peterson got an assist on the second.
Urban’s goal at 13:30 of the period, assisted by Max Heller put the game out of reach.
Down 6-0 midway through the third period, Medford got on the board with a Colton Gowey goal, assisted by Pernsteiner. At the end of the weekend, Gowey and Pernsteiner were Medford’s season scoring leaders with 13 points apiece. Gowey had 10 goals and three assists, while Pernsteiner has seven goals and six assists.
Medford is at Viroqua Saturday for a 3 p.m. non-conference game before returning to Great Northern Conference play Jan. 2 with a 7 p.m. home game with Waupaca. The Shawano Co-op is at the Simek Center Jan. 3.
