The Antigo Red Robins kicked off their Great Northern Conference campaign on Thursday night with a thrilling victory over their archrivals, the Rhinelander Hodags. The game was a fast-paced, intense battle that kept fans on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

Rhinelander struck first, just 2:30 into the game, as Drake Nelson capitalized on an assist from Carson Plehn and Gabriel Kennedy to give the Hodags an early lead. But the Robins wasted no time responding. Six minutes later, Liam Burt fired back, collecting a loose puck off a faceoff in the Robins' zone, speeding down the ice, beating a defender, and slipping the puck past the goalie to tie it up.

Rhinelander regained the lead when Nelson scored his second goal of the night, with assists from Nathaniel Cordy and Kennedy. The Hodags would carry that 2-1 advantage into the first intermission, having outshot Antigo 11-6.

In the second period, the Robins found themselves a skater down due to a penalty, but it didn't stop Ian Brittenham from tying the game. The period saw both teams exchanging physical play and fast breaks. At the 10:37 mark, Nelson completed his hat trick, putting the Hodags back on top 3-2, with an assist from Van Tulowitzky. Just three minutes later, Carson Plehn extended Rhinelander's lead to 4-2, with assists from Dylan Shefveland and Karter Massey.

But Antigo responded quickly. Carson Rhode scored with an assist from Parker Chaney to make it 4-3, keeping the Robins within striking distance.

Heading into the third period, the Robins were on the power play. Just one minute in, Owen Dickman set up Jack Siegman, who calmly put the puck in the back of the net to tie the game at 4-4. With the momentum shifting, Antigo dominated the play in the final frame.

At the 8:30 mark, the dynamic duo of Dickman and Siegman connected again, this time with Dickman scoring on a beautiful feed from Siegman to give the Robins their first lead of the game. The Hodags battled back hard, but Antigo sealed the win when Dickman and Siegman found each other for the third time in the period, with Siegman scoring off another perfect pass from Dickman.

The final whistle blew, and the Red Robins secured a hard-fought 6-4 victory, marking their first win of the season while sending the Hodags home empty-handed.