Rapids gets 4-3 win at Expo
By Greg Seubert
Wisconsin Rapids spoiled the season opener for the Waupaca boys’ hockey team by handing the Comets a 4-3 loss Nov. 28 at the Waupaca Ice & Expo Center.
Nick Campbell gave Wisconsin Rapids a 1-0 lead with 2:37 remaining in the first period, but the Comets tied the game less than a minute later on Mitchell Trzebiatowski’s goal off of an assist from Josh Kocovsky.
The Red Raiders regained the lead 34 seconds into the second period on Campbell’s second goal.
Waupaca tied the game with 11:06 to go in the period on a Jack Menzies goal. Cody Rasmussen and Trzebiatowski picked up an assist on the play.
Waupaca took its only head of the game on Trzebiatowski’s goal off of Menzies’ assist with 10:23 to go in the period.
Michael Olson tied the game at 3-3 with 6:32 left in the period and Red Raiders took the lead for good on Cobe Acker’s goal 1:08 into the third period.
“The top two lines had scoring opportunities in the first period and then the second line kind of got lost in the shuffle in the second and third periods,” coach John Erspamer said. “They played OK defensively, but they weren’t putting the puck on net at all. We just need to get some points from the other lines and we’ll work on that.”
Four penalties hurt the Comets’ chances, according to Erspamer.
“The penalties really took the steam out of us,” he said. “We’re starting the third period off short-handed and ending the second period short-handed. I think we had four (penalties) and they had one. They had a power-play goal and that was the difference.”
Waupaca goalie Brett Berens stopped 29 of the Red Raiders’ 33 shots.
“Your goalie has to give you and chance to win and he did that for us,” Erspamer said. “We didn’t take advantage of the chance that he gave us and he gave us a couple of them.”