Twenty-two seconds into the sectional semi-final game between visiting Northland Pines and the host SPASH Panthers, Nick Larson crashed into the left post of the Eagles goal and went down in a heap, clutching his lower left leg as he writhed in obvious pain on the ice.
A hush fell over K.B. Willett Arena as the junior sparkplug was helped off the ice.
That would be the final piece of bad news the home team would receive as they scored five times on special teams and flew past the Eagles 5-1 Tuesday night in a Sectional 3 match-up on a cold, crisp evening in central Wisconsin.
SPASH had a couple of quality chances in the first few minutes, but Pines goalie Jacob Stephan turned them aside to keep the game scoreless in the early going.
The Panthers got on the board first with 1:31 left with a goalie from Austin Haas. The sophomore forward beat Stephan blocker high from the low left side to give the home squad a 1-0 lead. Grant Czaikowski and Jacob Dufresne earned helpers on the play.
The period ended with Pines holding an 8-6 shot edge.
Pines had 98 seconds worth of 5-on-3 early in the middle period, but was unable to convert, scratching out two shots on the man advantages without putting the puck in the net.
A mid-period Pines penalty gave SPASH a power play and they were able to convert.
Jake Jaworski grabbed a rebound off the right post and punched it in to give the home team a 2-0 lead at the 9:52 mark. Tyler McHugh and Jared Hucke were credited with helpers on the play.
On the next trip down the ice, Dufresne just missed on a rebound, pushing it wide. He would have more success later on.
With just under six minutes left, Conner Simmers went off for a slash, but that infraction would not prove harmful to the hosts.
Matthew Dufresne grabbed a loose puck on the right side and moved up ice before spotting Hucke skating free in the middle. One nice pass and shot later, SPASH held a 3-0 lead with slightly less than five minutes left in the period.