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Strong third, Abric lead 'Canes past Abes in S2 semi

By Michael Trzinski, WiPH Staff, 02/19/19, 8:00PM CST

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Hayward goalie stops 45 in 5-3 victory

The Hayward Hurricanes scored four goals in the final period to overcome a one-goal deficit and got stellar play in net from goalie Gavin Abric on a full moon Tuesday night at Eau Claire Hobbs Ice Arena to take a 5-3 sectional 2 semifinal win over second-seeded Eau Claire Memorial.

The 'Canes—seeded number three in the sectional—grabbed an early lead when defenseman Connor Abric sent a shot from the left dot past ECM goalie Joe Berg just over six minutes in to give Hayward a 1-0 lead. Blake Loder got the first of his three assists in the contest.

Throughout the game, Memorial was working hard to connect on a successful backdoor attempt, and they did just that 106 seconds after the Hayward goal.

Max Savaloja tallied from the right of the goalie before he could slide over to make the stop. Carter Ottum and Will Sherry had helpers on the play.

Late in the period, Abric kicked out his left pad at the last second to stop a deflected shot that was headed for the net to keep the score tied, and seconds later the teams skated off for the first break. Shots were 9-8 in favor of ECM, but the Abes were just getting warmed up.

Memorial scored the only goal of the middle period on their third power play attempt in the stanza. Once again, working the backdoor play to perfection, Gunnar Leary drove hard to the net and one-timed a pass from Savaloja into the net to give the Abes a 2-1 lead. Joe Kelly also had an assist on the play with 2:08 left in the period.

Shots were 23-5 in favor of the Abes in the period.

It was the Hurricanes that took advantage of playing against four skaters early in the final period.

Just before an ECM penalty was set to expire, the 'Canes came in on a 3-on-1 rush and when it appeared the Abes and goalie Berg were overplaying the pass, Cole Asp launched a missile from the left circle that tickled the twine and tied the game at two. Loder and Gavin Abric got assists on the play with 12:09 left.

WiPH Game Summaries

Less than two minutes later, it was Asp again as he punched in a rebound from the low right side to put Hayward into the lead. Loder and Cole Haack each earned a notch on the scoresheet for their assistance in the matter.

The teams traded good scoring opportunities when a Hunter Strapon effort was rejected by Berg at close range, and then a wraparound attempt by Savaloja was kicked away by Abric a minute later.

But it was the Abes that would tie the game with just under five minute remaining. Kaden Kohlhepp somehow threaded the needle on a shot between the post and Abric's blocker to make it 3-3 and send the ECM side of the bleachers into hysterics. The unassisted goal came with just 4:49 left.

As play wound down, the Hurricanes had the puck deep in the zone and attempted a wrap, but the shot was turned away. Unfortunately for the Abes, Gibson Walsh was in the right place at the right time and tapped the biscuit past the ECM goalie to put Hayward ahead for good at 4-3 with 1:12 left.

The Abes took a timeout with just under a minute left and pulled Berg for an extra attacker, but just six seconds later, Connor Abric had the puck and fired a 70MPH missile from his own defensive zone that smacked the back of the net dead-center, sounding the death knell for ECM's 2018-19 season.

Fifty-three seconds later, it was the time for Hayward's fans to go crazy as their team advanced to the sectional 2 final game for the first time since 2015 with the 5-3 victory.

Shots in the period were 16-7 in favor of ECM. Abric finished the game with 45 saves, while Berg had 15 on his end.

The Old Abes finish the season with a mark of 16-8-2 while Hayward improves to 20-4 and will take on Eau Claire North Saturday morning at 10am for the chance to represent Sectional 2 in Madison.