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#1 Raiders Roll Through Warriors

By Bill Berg Jr, WiPH Staff, 01/30/22, 9:30AM CST

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Because Wausau is right in our backyard and generally play all of the state's top teams, the Wausau West Warriors have become our measuring stick to judge most of the top teams in the state. If Saturday's Hockey Fights Cancer game is any indication, the Hudson Raiders have more than earned their #1 ranking in division 1.

Max Giblin opened the scoring at 6:38 of the first period. He received the puck high in the offensive zone from Reese Richardson on a three-on-two, and used a nifty toe drag to split the Warrior defenseman and went up and over goalie Adam Prokop to give Hudson the 1-0 lead.

Hudson would score again just 50 seconds later. Alex Pottratz picked a Wausau defenseman's pocket behind the net and scored an easy wrap-around goal to take a 2-0 lead.

Ben Parent added the third goal of the first period for the host Raiders. Richardson and Carter Mears worked the puck along the left side of the offensive zone and found parent at the point. Parent had time to walk into the high slot and pick his spot, which was just inside the pipe on the low-blocker side.

"They were giving us some room up top, so we took what we were given," said Hudson coach Davis Drewiski. "You've got to be able to create off of both. There should be some room somewhere. Today we had some room up top so the D did a pretty good job of working with each other."

West came out with a lot more fire to start the second period, playing much more aggressively and not waiting for the play to come to them. Unfortunately it all unraveled on a disastrous power play for the Warriors.

The Raiders picked up two short handed goals in the span of 33 seconds to extend the lead to 5-0.

On the first, Mathew Mauer caught the Warrior blueline flat footed and got behind them. He got a long lead pass from Giblin, and came in all alone on Prokop to make it 4-0.

On the second, after Hudson managed to get the puck deep into the Warrior zone, Prokop came out to play it and fired for the forward on the far blue line, but one of his own players deflected it at the near blue line and the Raiders immediately turned it into a 3-on-2. Harrison Ross buried it with assists to Brody Dietz and Carter Mears.

"It was nice to see even though we were shorthanded, it was a good zone entry," said Drewiske. "It was a 3-on-2 that turned into a 2-on-1 and we had good middle lane drive, and he continued to the net and we were able to kick it over to him for the goal."

Prokop had the man down ice wide open, and had the puck not been deflected he'd have been all alone against Raider goalie Aiden Tepper-Engh. 

After the fifth goal Wausau West changed goalies to junior Colin Mertes. 

Hudson added their final goal just 24 seconds into the third period. Mears and Mauer went tick-tack-toe around the zone and hit Zach Kochendorfer in front for the goal to make it 6-0.

"We had good contributions from everybody today," said Drewiske. "I'd like us to be more consistent with our scoring, but generally everybody is playing the right away and putting pressure on the puck."

Wausau West drops to 12-7-2 with the loss. Hudson improves to 15-3 with the win. Aiden Tepper-Engh had 11 saves in the shut out.

WiPH Game Summaries