Friday night in Tomahawk started with recognizing the area Special Olympians, a very nice gesture made by the Tomahawk Hatchets hockey team. Better yet was the fact that all proceeds--from the gate fee, bake sales, raffles, chuck-a-puck--would go to the Special Olympics. 

Team USA Coach Bonnie Kahn was moved to tears when she was handed a check for $500 before the game.

After the heart-warming introduction, the visiting Point-Rapids Red Panthers faced off with the host Hatchets. On the line for the Red Panthers: a Great Northern Conference title.

A win would give the Red Panthers their first GNC title, while a loss would drop them to third place. A tie meant splitting the top spot with Northland Pines and Marshfield.

They would have none of that, and went on to take a 10-5 win and finish at 10-2 (20 points), just one point ahead of Pines and Marshfield, who both finished at 9-2-1 (19 points).

Kendall Nelson made it 1-0 just 26 seconds in when she scored from close range with an assist to Kacey Iwen.

Makayla Lee tied the game with her shot from the left point at 3:10, with an assist to Rachel McNamara.

The Red Panthers grabbed a 2-1 lead at 12:03 when Rachel Metz banged home a rebound past Hatchet back-up goalie Hannah Beiler, who was filling in for the ill Destiny Hanke. 

Not to be outdone, Nelson knotted the game at two just over two minutes later with a rocket from the right point that whizzed past Red Panthers goalie Emily Bubla's right ear just under the crossbar, with Iwen earning an assist on the play.

Lee earned her hattie with two goals in a span of 1:11--including a power play goal--late in the period to give the guests a 4-2 lead heading into the first intermission. Rachel Nolan, Nicole Hassig, and Sarah Peplinski earned assists.

The hosts were outshot 10-6 in the period.

The Red Panthers scored four times in the second on goals by Hassig (2), Peplinski, and Brianne Huettner.

Run time was instituted midway through the period and the game seemed to be well in hand with an 8-2 margin after two periods. The Red Panthers outshot the Hatchets 11-9 in the period.

Metz scored her second power play goal of the game for the Red Panthers with a rebound at the 4:26 mark to increase the lead to 9-2.

The home team would soon cause the visitors' pulses to race a bit faster, as Nelson (2) and Erika Vallier scored in a span of 3:08 in the middle of the period to cut the lead to 9-5.

Lee knocked home her fourth goal of the contest at the 10:20 mark to end the scoring. 

The home team pelted Bubla in the final period, but she managed to stop 10 of 13 shots fired on her. Beiler stopped 5 of 7 in the stanza.

Game totals showed Bubla stopping 23 shots, while Beiler played well in relief, stopping 18 shots for the Hatchets.

Next up for the Red Panthers is a first round playoff game, as they host the Northern Edge next Friday. Tomahawk will reprise last week's game as they challenge Northland Pines at The Dome in Eagle River the same evening.