Disclaimer: All opinions expressed in this article are solely those of Matt Carey and do not reflect the opinions of Wisconsin Prep Hockey or its partners.
In the second game of the NIT, with Christmas coloration, Wisconsin Seniors wearing all red, faced North Dakota in all green.
The boys in red came out flying. In the first shift of the game, Joeph Coghlin scored a beauty of a goal with 17:18 on the clock with brilliant assists by Caden Feinstein, and Vincent Greene.
At 12:29 North Dakota scored with a shot that got through traffic and snuck passed a screened Devin Rustlie. North Dakota’s goal provided them momentum. A turnover in the neutral zone led to North Dakota’s second goal. With 5:14 remaining in the first, North Dakota scored its second goal with a blast short side under the crossbar over Devin Rustlie’s glove side shoulder. The first period ended with North Dakota up 2-1.
The second period started with North Dakota controlling the puck in Wisconsin’s D-zone. The tone of the period changed with 14:42 on the clock when the refs sent a player from each team to the penalty box for roughing. The remainder of the period each team had scoring chances, but the back and forth play that occurred in the first period became scarce as penalties took over. No scoring in the second period.
The third period began with North Dakota having an excellent scoring chance but Rowan White, as he did during the WIAA season, made difficult saves look easy. Rowan White was on his game today. He made multiple Sports Center highlight saves. However, with 3:07 remaining on the clock North Dakota finally got a puck past Rowan. North Dakota’s third goal started with a great pass from behind the net to the back door guy that blasted a shot for a 3-1 lead.
The second half of the third period was full of end-to-end action. Wisconsin had some chances late, but they were unable to score. North Dakota won 3-1 and outshot Wisconsin 45-30. With the loss, Wisconsin Seniors fall to 0-2. Wisconsin Seniors next game is vs. Michigan Juniors at 2:30PM on Saturday, April 27.