By jeremy ratliff
reporter
A spirited rally by the Bluejay varsity hockey squad came up short at D.C Everest on Thursday, falling 7-4 to the Evergreens.
Everest came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders en route to a 5-0 lead, right away in the first. The Jays made it on the board early in the second on a score by Brian Root (A-Ben Brown).
The Evergreens fired back with a pair of goals midway through the second to mount a 7-1 lead.
Merrill closed out the 2nd with a power-play goal from Root (A-Joe Ladewig, Austin Burgener).
The third would prove to be all-Merrill as the guys fired in another pair from Santiago Rodriguez (A- Brown) and Taylor Hipke (A-Brown, Rodriguez).
“We let up toward the end of the first period and they took advantage of it,” commented coach Bill Hauswirth. “They scored five goals in the last part of the first period. We regrouped well and played well the rest of the way through.”
MRL: 0 2 2-4
DCE: 5 2 9 -7
Saves: Bryce Broeking (18-13-12–45)
Walloped by the Warriors
The Jays opened up the doors of the Smith Center Tuesday, welcoming the top-ranked team in the state Wausau West. The Warriors prevailed 9-1.
West would mount a 7 point lead before the Jays would get on the board from a goal by Burgener (A-Brown, Hipke) midway through the second.
“They are a very good team and move the puck well. The team showed character and played hard the whole game,” Hauswirth added.
WW: 5 3 1-9
MERR: 0 1 0-1
Saves: Will Schlegel (15-9-*–24, 8G); Broeking (*-*-7–7, 1G)