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Hudson downs University School

By Tom Geilfuss, USM assistant , 02/16/20, 9:00PM CST

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Raiders get 6-2 win

In a battle between two of the top-ranked Division 1 boys hockey teams in the state on Friday, February 14th at the Hudson Sports and Civic Center, Hudson soundly defeated University School 6-2.

The Raiders, ranked second in the state, outshot the sixth-ranked Wildcats 44-24 in the encounter.  Braden Meyer, Hudson’s goalie, made 22 saves while USM’s net minder, Patrick Kelly made 39 saves.

Jason Woods, USM’s head coach said, “It was one of those end-of-the-season games. At times we played great, but at other points, we failed to finish plays.  The end result didn’t really indicate how close the game was. We were right in it, just didn’t play the whole 51 minutes you need to. Still, it’s another great opponent on our schedule. You have to believe that the difficult schedule we play pays off in the end. We have another really tough one tomorrow. These are all just exhibitions.  The real reason we play starts next week.”

Hudson took the lead at 5:52 in the first period.  Taking a faceoff in the right circle of the USM zone, Bryce Handberg won the draw back to Hunter Danielson at the edge of the circle.  Without hesitation, Danielson shot and put the puck past Kelly.

USM tied the score in the second period. Blake Carey carried the puck out of the USM zone.  In center ice, the puck slipped away from his stick, but went straight to Noah Eghbali on the right boards.  Eghbali passed it right back.  Carey skated down the boards fending off a defender.  He cut in on Meyer and jammed the puck past him at 13:26.

The Raiders wasted no time in retaking the lead. Harvey Dove stopped a USM breakout pass on the sideboards in the USM zone.  He passed it to the corner to Peyton Hanson who skated out of the corner from the circle and zinged a shot past Kelly at 13:45.

Hudson scored what would become the game-winning goal just over a minute later. Handberg collected a loose puck in the Wildcats’ left corner and passed it to Danielson in the near circle.  Danielson passed it across the slot to Nick Jilek who one-timed it in.

Hudson went further ahead early in the third period while on a power play.  From the right corner in the USM zone, Dove passed the puck to Hanon on the mid-boards.  Dove skated toward the slot, then dropped passed the puck to Max Giblin.  Giblin skated with it into the right circle, then fired a shot through a screen.  It went past Kelly at 2:08.

USM moved a bit closer on their own power play.  In Hudson’s left circle, Carey won a faceoff draw to the boards to Ethan Thombs who passed it to Tyler Herzberg at the point.  Herzberg whipped a shot into the net at 4:01.

The Wildcats got no closer.  Hudson put the game away with two more goals. Zach Kochendorfer scored an unassisted short-handed goal at 6:16, and at 8:29 Dove scored a goal with assists going to Giblin and Hansen.

After the game, TJ Fenton, one of USM’s captains, said, “It was a big game for us. Coming out we found a way to match the intensity of Hudson. However, Hudson was able to execute on special teams, which allowed them to gain an edge over us. Overall it was a solid effort by the team. We’re looking to bounce back against Onalaska.”

The game was the last of the regular season for the Raiders; they finished with a 19-5 record.  At 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, February 20th, Hudson will play the winner of Tuesday’s game between SPASH and Wisconsin Rapids at the Hudson Sports and Civic Center in a Sectional 1 quarter-final of the WIAA Division 1 boys ice hockey tournament.

The Wildcats are now 16-6-1. They play Onalaska at 2:00 p.m. in a non-conference game on Saturday, February 15th at the Omni Center in Onalaska.

WiPH Game Summaries