MEDFORD HOCKEY - Team’s search for 51 minutes of consistent play continues

MEDFORD HOCKEY

It’s not always easy when the Medford Raiders don’t have the depth most hockey teams have, but finding consistent play and effort over a full 51 minutes remains the key challenge for the team as it quickly nears the mid-point of its 2024-25 season.

The first periods of back-to-back games hurt the Raiders late last week, including a 5-2 home loss Friday evening to the Frederic-based Burnett County Blizzard Co-op. The Blizzard scored two quick goals early on and led 3-1 after one period and held that lead from there to improve to 3-2 overall. Medford slipped to 1-9 heading into a bit of a holiday break.

“I tell them every game you have to play all three periods,” Medford head coach Klayton Kree said. “It’s always one period or five to 10 minutes out of one period that costs us a game. Like the Rice Lake game (a 7-2 loss on Dec. 14), one bad 10-minute stretch takes us out of that game.

“I told these guys, if you guys played that first period (Friday) like you did most of that second and third period and we erase those first two goals, it’s a 3-2 game right now.”

The Blizzard’s first goal came on a turnover in the defensive zone just 43 seconds into the game. The Blizzard’s Landyn Randt picked up the mishandled puck along the left boards and skated in for a one-on-one chance with Medford goalie Talan Albers and tucked his shot just inside the opposite post over Albers’ glove.

Albers got the save on a point-blank shot by Aiden Johnson at 3:19, but a fluke goal snuck past at 5:57 when a shot by Grayson Hendricks-Baxter was deflected into the air and Albers lost sight of the puck as it bounced past his right side.

The Raiders got that one back fairly quickly. At the 7:01 mark, Ian Roiger stepped in front of a bad pass and centered the puck to Cade Wellman, who got the puck past Blizzard goalie Levi Randt for his first goal of the season.

“That was a great goal and that started with Cole Pernsteiner,” Kree said. “Cole hustled hard behind the net, put pressure on their D. They turned it over to Ian and Ian got the pass across to Cade and he was able to slam it home. Effort works. Without that effort, you don’t get that goal.”

Unfortunately for Medford, Landyn Randt put the visitors back up by two at the 10:18 mark with his second unassisted goal of the period. He got to the puck before Medford could clear the zone and was allowed to skate in on Albers and got one through on the stick side.

Randt had the assist on a back-handed centering pass to Johnson that made it 4-1 at the 8:54 mark of the second period.

The Raiders struck back just 1:01 later. Tucker Phillips, who spent a good chunk of the game on defense helped Medford fill a gap there, won a face-off in the defensive zone and eventually pushed the puck through neutral ice where freshmen Grady Crass and Tanner Hubbard took over. Hubbard got control of it in the corner and got it to Crass right on the doorstep and he didn’t miss, scoring his second goal of the season.

“A lot of things that we’re working on in practice are starting to show up,” Kree said. “We tried doing a new power play where they try to do a drop pass and it’s opened up the zone a lot more. That goal by Tanner, Grady and Tucker was perfect. Things are starting to click. It’s just finding that effort all game.”

The Raiders had some opportunities in the second period, including three power plays, but weren’t able to get any closer.

Landyn Randt completed his hat trick and put the game out of reach 3:10 into the third period. Johnson initially shot the puck wide off the back board. It bounced to Clayton Shutt who passed to Randt right in front for the game’s last goal.

Albers was credited with 34 saves, including 13 in the first period alone. Levi Randt had 12 saves for the Blizzard, who burned off all five Medford power plays in the game, including a couple of brief fiveon- threes. Medford had just three penalties in the loss, two of which came in the last 30 seconds.

The Raiders will travel to Barron Friday to take on the Northwest Icemen Co-op at 6 p.m. They’ll host the Chequamegon Coop, who they beat 5-2 earlier this season, on Friday, Jan. 3.

“Good things are there,” Kree said. “We’re just trying to find that last fit to the puzzle to just make it a complete game.”

Hatchets 10, Raiders 1

It would’ve taken a huge effort and some luck to get a win Thursday at Tomahawk, the state’s top-ranked Division 2 team going in. But a rough first period put them in a 4-0 hole that Kree felt was the difference in a 10-1 loss.

“We had a couple of bad defensive coverages and allowed the first four, but I thought we played well the rest of the day with a limited bench.”

Logan Koski scored Medford’s goal, which was unassisted. It came on a power play 1:51 into the second period. It followed a quick two-goal flurry out of the intermission by Tomahawk that had bumped its lead to 6-0.

Albers had 20 of his 46 saves in the first period. He collected 15 saves in the second period and 11 more in the third.

Tomahawk’s Jett Reilly had three goals and an assist. Sawyer Hanna had two goals and two assists and Brayden Lamar had a goal and three assists.

Reilly scored the game’s first goal of the game at 4:29. Jonah Dickens got the next one at 9:28 and Landyn Seymour scored at 13:01. Three goals in a span of 1:54 broke it wide open. Cole Peterson made it 4-0 with 43 seconds left in the opening period. Reilly and Jake Albert scored 26 and 71 seconds into the second. Reilly’s third goal was a short-hander with 41 seconds left in the second period that made it 8-1.

Medford defenseman Easton Mosentine puts a short pass on the stick of forward Tanner Hubbard, who then goes on an offensive attack during the third period of Friday’s game with the Burnett County Blizzard Co-op. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS