Marinette Youth Hockey Association

BANTAM

The Bantam team traveled to Fond du Lac on Sunday. After playing 90 minutes of hockey the two teams reached no decision, battling to a 3-3 draw in game one and a 2-2 score in game two.

In game one, the Thunder trailed 1-0 entering the third period after a first-period goal from Fond du Lac. In the third, the Thunder finally hit paydirt on their fourth of seven power play opportunities when Luke Skala scored with an assist from Blue Haley. The team then surged ahead 3-1 with goals from Haley at 11:16 and 10:44. Fond du Lac scored with just under four minutes to play and then levelled the contest less than a minute later. Ava McDonald made 20 saves to preserve the tie.

In game two, Damien Winterbottom started the scoring off an assist from Brayden Rounds in the second period. Fondy’s Emilio Lopez tied the game early in the third. Rounds got the lead back with 10:40 to play, but Riley Yeskie tied the game again just 39 seconds later. With 1:13 to play Fond du Lac was whistled for tripping. Then, in the closing seconds the Thunder pulled their goalie to hold a 6-on-4 advantage but they could not find the net for a game-winner. McDonald again handled the duties between the pipes, saving 12-of-14 shots.

The Bantams will return to action on Friday when they travel to Green Bay.

PEEWEE

The PeeWee team averaged five goals per game on their way to the semifinals of the Battle at the REC. The team opened with an 8-4 loss to Waupaca on Friday, then topped Ozaukee 8-6 and Wausau 6-0 on Saturday before falling to Green Bay 7-2 in Sunday’s semifinal game.

A hat-trick from Collin Campbell and a fourth goal from Wyatt Denny were not enough to overcome six goals from Waupaca in the first two periods of play on Friday.

On Saturday, the team hit its stride. Against Ozaukee, goals from Chase Nerat and Denny led to a 2-2 tie through one period. Denny struck again in the second, but Ozaukee put two on the board and opened the third with another to go up 5-3. Wesley Baty made it 5-4 with 9 minutes to play with assists from Logan Sakovitz and Denny, but Ozaukee scored again to make it 6-4. Sakovitz and Denny fed Chuckie Bird to cut the margin to 6-5 with 7:26 to play. The Thunder then put three goals on the board in the final four minutes. Another Denny goal was followed by a score from Michael O’Connor, and Denny put the game out of reach with his fourth score of the contest.

The Thunder entered bracket play as the fourth seed and shutout Wausau 6-0. Denny bookended the scoring with Campbell also finding the net twice and Sakovitz and Bryce Vincent scoring as well. Ethan King stopped all 10 shots he faced to pickup the shutout.

In Sunday’s semifinal game, Green Bay went up 3-0 before Courtney and Collin Campbell assisted a Nerat goal in the closing minutes of the first period. The Bobcats pushed ahead 5-1 before the Thunder scored again, this time and unassisted strike from Campbell.  Green Bay went on to defeat Waupaca for the tournament championship.

For the weekend, Denny led the way with 7 goals in 4 games while Collin Campbell scored six times and King racked up 70 saves.

The PeeWees are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Green Bay.

12U GIRLS

The 12U Girls traveled to Tomah on Sunday and fell with scores of 8-0 and 7-0. Katie Olson had 40 saves in game one and 49 in game two giving her a save percentage of .856 (89-of-104) for the weekend.

The 12U and 10U Girls will host a tournament at the Community REC Center this Friday-Sunday.

SQUIRT

The Squirts also participated in the Battle at the REC advancing to the semifinal round as well. The team opened play with a resounding 8-1 win over Ozaukee on Friday, lost to Sheboygan 7-2 Saturday morning, but rallied for a 2-0 win over Antigo Saturday evening. They later fell 5-0 to eventual tournament champion Oshkosh on Sunday.

Against Ozaukee, Owen Shaffer got the scoring started. Owen Haley and Connor Eastman added first-period goals while Easton Baty, Jesse McClarren and Calvin Schroeder had helpers to put the team up 3-0 through one period. Parker Perket and Eastman had a pair of goals each in the second period, and the lead swelled to 7-1 before Eastman capped the scoring with his fourth goal of the game, this time assisted by Perket in the third period. Jack Aftanas stopped 9 of the 10 shots he faced.

Against Sheboygan, Shaffer once again started the scoring, but the Thunder could not slow the Lakers’ offense. Sheboygan went up 6-1 before Lucien Thayer scored off assists from Carter Erdman and Haley in the third period.

Against Antigo, Perket and McClarren scored unassisted goals. The Thunder controlled the puck throughout the game letting loose 36 shots while allowing Antigo five shots including just one in each of the first two periods. Thayer recorded the shutout, turning away all five Antigo chances.

The tables were turned in the Oshkosh game as the Thunder were outshot 25-3 on the way to a 5-0 shutout against the eventual tournament champion. Aftanas was good for 20 saves in the contest.

For the tournament, Eastman led the offense with his 4-goal performance while Shaffer and Perket each had a pair. Aftanas finished with 44 saves in three games while Thayer had five saves in his shutout.

The Thunder will return to play Saturday, January 30, when they host Manitowoc.

10U GIRLS

The 10U Girls travelled to Eau Claire on Saturday, earning a 1-1 tie in game one before falling 3-1 in game two.

Whitney Haile scored both Thunder goals with an assist from Kendal Truckey in game one and Erin Vincent in game two. Gracelyn Loomis kept the team in striking distance with outstanding play in goal in both contests.

The 12U and 10U Girls will host a tournament at the Community REC Center this Friday-Sunday.