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Appleton United take Badgerland Conference Crown

By Bill Berg, WiPH Staff, 02/08/15, 9:30AM CST

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Down Oshkosh Ice Hawks 6-3

Appleton United took home the Badgerland Conference Championship trophy by downing a scrappy Oshkosh Ice Hawks team 6-3 on Saturday afternoon in Fond du Lac.

The Ice hawks got on the board first, just four minutes into the game. Ryan Mantz put a hard shot on United goalie Dylan Phinney. The puck hit Phinney in the shoulder and bounced straight up, attracting a large crowd when it eventually fell to the ice in the crease. Phinney managed to repel the first two attempts to put the puck in the net, but Ben Jaeger was able to get it in for an early Oshkosh lead.

Mantz came close to doubling the lead a few minutes later when he came barreling down the right side and powered his way to the front of the net. Mantz got Phinney to commit and went around him to the far side of the net. Mantz' attempt to tuck the puck into the net came up just short as Phinney's out-stretched leg pad reached toward the post.

Appleton tied the game with 2:30 to go in the first period. Erik Horman and Trent Bliss attacked on a 2-on-1. Horman crossed in front of the Oshkosh defenseman and made a behind-the-back pass to Bliss, whose quick wrist shot beat Ice Hawks goalie Zach Holliday.

Appleton out-shot Oshkosh 13-8 in the first period, but each team scored just one.

United took the lead in the second when Trent Bliss stole the puck from an Oshkosh defenseman in the corner, stepped out front and fired a shot under Holliday.

With Mantz in the penalty box for head contact, Nathan Zilisch increased the lead for Appleton when he roofed a shot from the left face off dot.

Late in the period, Oshkosh had a chance to close the gap after a couple of United penalties gave the Ice Hawks 43 seconds worth of 5 on 3 advantage. It took them 45 seconds to score.

Mantz caught a cross ice pass, came in along the right side of the slot and and put a hard shot on net. Mantz continued toward the net, and the rebound came back in his direction. He had to reach back for the puck and got off another shot as he was falling to the ice. This one found the back of the net to close the gap to 3-2.

Holliday stopped 10 shots in the second, while Phinney recorded 12.

The two teams traded goals to start off the third period. Nathan Zilisch passed to Connor Zilisch in the slot. Connor went 5-hole to put United up by two.

At the other end of the ice, Mantz passed from behind the net to Jaeger in the slot. Jaeger's one-timer reduced Appleton's lead to 4-3.

But that was all that Oshkosh would get. United got goals from Horman and Bliss to make it a 6-3 final.

WiPH Game Summaries