Verona 5, Middleton 3

The Wildcats built a three-goal lead in the third period but needed Garhett Kaegi and their defense to close out a 5-3 conference win inside Capitol Ice Arena.

Senior captain Jack Anderson scored the game-winning goal with 2 1/2 minutes left, skating down the right side of the ice and slipping the puck past Middleton’s David Vodenlich inside the near post.

Verona led 4-1 following a Brockton Baker top-shelf wrister 4 1/2 minutes into the third period. The Wildcats took some big penalties then as Middleton’s Zach Heidel and Connor Julius scored power-play goals 20 seconds apart midway through the third period to cut Verona’s lead to 4-3.

Jack Keryluk scored the game’s first goal 5 1/2 minutes into the first period off a 2-on-1 break with Anderson, and Jake Keyes pushed Verona’s lead to two goals 49 seconds later.

Kaegi finished the game with 23 shots on goal, including 13 in the first period.

“Garhett made some huge saves for us and we built off that,” head coach Joel Marshall said. “I thought tonight was the best hockey he’s played so far.”

Anderson helped the Wildcats take advantage of their power play, scoring a goal 14 minutes into the second period.

Vodenlich finished with 25 saves for Middleton, which lost 4-3 at Verona last month.

Memorial 2, Verona 0

A pair of special team goals sank Verona in a 2-0 shutout against Madison Memorial at home Monday.

The Spartans scored on the power play midway through the third period and later added an empty-netter with 25 seconds remaining for a 2-0 victory.

The Wildcats kept the puck in Memorial’s end most of the second and third periods but could not get the puck by Spartan senior goalie Ryan Kenny. Madison Memorial had three conference wins entering the game.

Brandon Schaeffer scored on the power play six minutes into the third period and Colin Supple added the short-handed goal.

Kaegi stopped 25 of 26 shots on goal in the loss, while Kenny stopped all 40 he faced for Memorial.

Verona, which is chasing its first conference title since the 2013-14 season, has five conference games left against Beloit, Madison Memorial, Janesville, Sun Prairie and Madison West.

“Losing to West was kind of a reality check,” Anderson said. “I believe in this team, and these guys, and I think we can play with anyone.

“We need to get back to basics and stick to our skills and what we do well.”

Having lost to Madison West and Memorial, running the table won’t guarantee Verona a No. 1 seed in the playoffs, though.

“We’ll have to see how things play out,” Marshall said. “We’re still in the driver’s seat for the Big Eight. I kind of thought the conference champion would have two or three losses this season.”

Verona 9, Lakers 0

Mason McCormick scored twice and assisted on another and Drew Yaeger added two goals Thursday as the Wildcats regained some confidence with a 9-0 victory against the Madison La Follette/East Lakers co-op.

AJ Augello stopped all 10 shots he faced for his second shutout against the Lakers. Sean Gross continued to be a bright spot for an otherwise difficult season, stopping 62 of 71 shots on goal by Verona.