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Graaskamp’s Hat Trick Launches ECM Past New Richmond

By Mollie Cook, 12/11/13, 3:15PM CST

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7-1 win for ECM in boys GOTW

In Tuesday’s GOTW matchup at Hobbs Ice Arena, the Eau Claire Memorial Old Abes utilized scoring in the first period to propel them past an aggressive and physical New Richmond team. Many were interested to see how the Tigers fared coming off of a 3-2 win over Superior.

New Richmond came out of the gates strong, controlling the puck for the first four minutes of play with the exception of a breakaway opportunity by Charley Graaskamp that got chopped up before it reached the net.

Just 4:28 into the first period, Graaskamp swung around the back of the net and slipped the puck between goaltender Adam Dilley’s skate and the post. Kadin Machusak earned an assist on the goal, ECM’s second shot of the game.

The Old Abes seized control after that first goal, and they wouldn’t let up, banging three more in the back of the net within the next three and a half minutes. Jacob Bresser would be the next to score, just 26 seconds after the first goal, and Austin Bunce scored the following goal, unassisted, just 1:09 after that.

An interference penalty on New Richmond’s Nick Lubow for interference gave ECM an advantage, which Sean Taylor utilized to advance the lead to 4-0. Bret Schwengler and Rafael Ponty earned the helpers on that powerplay goal.

When both teams returned to full strength, New Richmond seemed to regain some of the footing that they had in the first few minutes of the game. Both teams were aggressive getting to the puck, but the ECM defense held them off for the rest of the period.

With just a minute and 10 seconds left in the first period, the refs assessed a slashing penalty to Tigers’ Brady Maus, giving the Old Abes a one-man advantage coming into the second.

While the Tigers successfully killed the penalty, freshman Jonathan Bennis launched the puck past Dilley just eight seconds after the penalty had expired. That goal was his first varsity goal, and his big brother, Chuck Bennis, got the assist on the play as well as Bresser.

Another New Richmond penalty, this time assessed to Tanner Wisemiller for tripping, caused Graaskamp to find the net for the second time that night from almost exactly the same location. Austin Phippen took a shot from the left point, Bunce tried to get the rebound from the slot and Graaskamp sent it home over the top of a sprawled out Dilley who had tried to cover Phippens original shot.

Shortly after, two ECM penalties on Phippen and Madison Larson for hooking and tripping, respectively, gave the Tigers a 5-on-3 advantage.

Bresser had several shorthanded opportunities while Dilley was out of position, but Wisemiller wanted to make up for his time in the sin bin, so it seemed. He rushed into the ECM zone with a new speed and added intensity and shot the puck glove side, taking away Schreiter’s chance of a shutout.

The third period found a lot more even play, New Richmond tallying lots of shots on net and tussling with several ECM players in the offensive zone. The only goal was scored by Graaskamp, his third goal of the night, 8:02 into the period with assists from Bresser and Machusak.

WiPH Game Summaries