Northland Pines took on home team Rochester Mayo in the second round of the Rochester Kiwanis Holiday Tournament on Tuesday, December 30. Rochester Mayo came off of a 7-0 win vs Ashwaubenon the previous night and Pines was victorious over Rochester Century in a shootout. 

Pines and Mayo had never faced each other before, and both teams were hungry for a win. The winner of the game would move on to the championship game to face New Richmond, while the loser would play for third place vs Rochester John Marshall. 

The game was highly energetic and fast paced right from the start. Quick shots were prevalent from the very first attempt. 

Rochester Mayo found themselves celebrating the first goal of the night, on only their second shot, after only 3:34 had elapsed. Only two minutes later one of their players was sent to the box for cross checking. 

Mayo found themselves on the score board another two times before the period ended. Both goals were scored by Anthony Oliveto, including an unassisted goal as well. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Rochester finished out the period. 

Pines came out with force in the second period, ready to prove that they were still in the game. Nick Dean put Pines on the board just under 4 minutes into the period with an incredible back hand pass from Carson Cox. Bailey Ramesh also assisted on the play. 

Seven minutes later, Noah Wittkopf scored a goal from a two on one created by an off the glass shot by Connor Cox  Wittkopf had help on the goal from not only Connor Cox, but from his brother Carson Cox as well. 

Only two penalties were called in the period, the first against Jake Jantzen for interference. 

Jantzen’s younger brother Cody Jantzen made a visit to the box as well, also for interference. 

Newey Spencer missed the net on a breakaway attempt to round out the period. 

Five minutes into the third period of the game, Rochester Mayo scored their fourth goal of the night. Newey Spencer made a big hit that needed a trainer to make a visit on the ice and resulted in him serving a 5 minute major for elbowing to the head. 

Rochester Mayo used the power play to their advantage and scored a power play goal, their final goal of the night. Just 12 seconds later, Connor Cox intercepted a pass at he red line and took a slapshot from the blue line, using a defenseman as a screen and snuck it in low blocker. 

Pines called a timeout with 1:41 left in the game to regroup and talk strategy. Sammy Spencer made a close shot on the net as the time was close to expiring, but was unsuccessful. 

Northland Pines ultimately fell to Rochester Mayo 3-5, sending them to the 3rd place game tomorrow vs Rochester John Marshall.