WIAA DIV. 2 BOYS HOCKEY - Amery Co-op overwhelms Raiders in hockey tournament opener
WIAA DIV. 2 BOYS HOCKEY
A mismatch on paper proved to also be a mismatch on ice Thursday when the Medford Raiders were no match for the second-seeded Amery Co-op in a 13-1 WIAA Division 2 hockey regional semifinal.
The Warriors, 22-2 coming in and the undefeated champions of the Middle Border Conference, had a 40-1 edge in shots on goal at one point in the second period and more than doubled a 4-0 firstperiod lead by scoring six times in the second to easily advance to Tuesday’s sectional semifinal against third-seeded Hayward, which it won 6-1.
Amery will play top-seeded New Richmond in the sectional final Friday at Rice Lake.
Medford’s 2023-24 season ended at 2-20 with both wins coming against the sectional’s eight-seed, the Chequamegon Coop, who lost its regional final Thursday at New Richmond 15-1.
Tucker Phillips got Medford’s goal with 5:28 left in the game. He tied seniors Isaac Schaefer and Cameron Bull for the team lead with his 11th goal of the season. Bull pushed the puck around Medford’s defensive net to Mason Harris, who tapped it to Phillips. The sophomore forward carried the puck along the left boards, getting around one defender and then whistled a shot that got past the glove of Amery goaltender Carter Meyer and inside the opposite post.
Medford goal tender Talan Albers was busy from start to finish, making several difficult sprawling saves among his 49 stops on the night. Amery finished with a 62-11 advantage in shots on goal.
“They’re a very good team,” head coach Klayton Kree said after completing his first season at the helm. “Most of their team has skating, puck handling, playmaking and shooting ability. Tough to hang with them. We played hard and put an effort out there. I was happy with how they played the game.”
The Warriors got their first goal at the 4:24 mark of the first period when Cayden Meyer stole a puck in the offensive zone and passed it to Fredrick Henningsgard in the crease. He made one fake and got the puck past Albers.
The Raiders hung tough, keeping it 1-0 for almost nine minutes. They nearly had a goal when Cameron Bull’s hard shot from just inside the blue line on a breakout chance hit the post. But after that, the dam started to break.
Logan Doten’s pass from the corner found Jacob Maxon for a quick shot and goal at 13:11. Just 38 seconds later, Meyer’s shot through traffic found its mark. With 26 seconds left in the period, Henningsgard passed the puck up the left boards to Stuart Hellie, who flipped the puck over Albers’ left shoulder to make it 4-0.
With just 11 available skaters, the Raiders wore down in the second period. Doten got his second goal just 37 seconds in, sneaking one in through the short side. Vincent got a backhanded, top-shelf goal at 2:49. Henningsgard’s deflection of a Jasic Manning shot made it 7-0 on a power play at 5:01. Meyer scored twice more before Noah Machon got free to get a shot on Amery’s starting goalie Aaron Mork at 12:28. Greene got his second goal of the period at 14:30 to make it 10-0.
Levi Tylee got a rebound goal 3:16 into the third, Manning snuck one through the short side at 7:46 and Jacob Welu added a rebound goal at 8:40.
Mork had three saves in two periods, while Carter Meyer had six saves in the third. Amery did not commit a penalty. Medford had three with two successful penalty kills.
The Raiders say goodbye to four seniors –– Kaden Kennedy, Machon, Schaefer and Bull –– while hoping to infuse some more young talent and get healthier next season.
