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Comets win hockey tournament

Waupaca places first in Sheboygan

By Greg Seubert


It didn’t take long for the Waupaca boys’ hockey team to win a tournament.

The Comets handed Oregon a 5-1 loss Nov. 25 in the championship game of the Kyle J. Neurohr Memorial Tournament at the Sheboygan Blue Line Ice Center in Sheboygan.

Waupaca opened the 2018-19 season with three games at the tournament. The Comets and Brookfield skated to a 1-1 tie Nov. 23 and Waupaca also picked up a 5-3 win over Sheboygan Nov. 24.

“I didn’t really know what to expect as far as the opponents,” coach John Erspamer said. “I knew they would be pretty solid no matter who we played. We’ve never played Brookfield, I don’t remember playing Sheboygan and I don’t remember playing Oregon. It was a good, quality tournament with three really good opponents, especially for your first three games of the season.”

Waupaca 1, Brookfield 1 (OT)
Jack Menzies gave the Comets the win with a goal in a sudden-death shootout after the teams were tied at 1-1 after regulation and an eight-minute overtime period.

Brookfield opened the scoring on Parker Esswein’s goal in the first period, but Waupaca’s Cody Rasmussen tied the game with an unassisted goal in the second period.

Brookfield outshot the Comets 31-25.

Waupaca 5, Sheboygan 3
Davis Levine scored a pair of power-play goals in the third period for Waupaca in a game that included 23 penalties between the two teams.

Jack Erspamer and Jack Menzies gave the Comets a 2-0 lead with goals in the first period.

The Red Raiders tied the game with second-period goals from Ty Petzke and Caleb Gauthier.

Levine gave Waupaca the lead for good in the third period before teammate Jed Vanden Bush made it 4-2.

Sheboygan’s Jack Louka scored to cut Waupaca’s lead to one goal, but Levine scored again to give the Comets a two-goal lead.

Waupaca outshot the Red Raiders 36-29.

Waupaca 5, Oregon 1
Menzies scored a pair of goals against Oregon, while Rasmussen, Erspamer and Vin Nikolai added solo goals.

“It was 1-1 at the end of the first period and I would say they probably outplayed us,” Erspamer said. “We slowly began to take things over in the second period and in the third period, I don’t know if they got tired or what, but then they got frustrated and started taking some penalties. That was pretty much the end of it.”

Waupaca outshot the Panthers 26-14.

Menzies, Erspamer and goalie Brett Berens were named to the all-tournament team.

“We had balanced scoring from top to bottom,” Erspamer said. “We had Menzies, Rasmussen, Levine and Erspamer all with four points on the weekend and (Eli) Bartel and Vanden Bush with two. Four guys averaging just over a point a game, that’s pretty good. The one person you don’t see there is Mitch Trzebiatowski and he had a good tournament. He made a lot of things happen.

“I was looking for how my defense was going to play,” Erspamer said. “I know I have two lines that can put the puck in the net and a pretty sturdy third line with a couple of guys just chomping at the bit to get onto that third line. I didn’t know how the seventh and eighth defensemen were going to be able to put up with the speed of the opponents. I was not surprised, but a little relieved with how they played overall. Timely saves by Brett Berens made a huge difference.”

Waupaca’s junior varsity team also returned home with a tournament championship, as the Comets tied with Brother Rice of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and beat Whitefish Bay.

“Overall, it was a good team victory,” Erspamer said. “Nothing really stood out, except for good leadership, good goaltending and our defense played solid all weekend long. Did we go down and expect to win? Yes, we did. It’s always nice when you can follow through with those expectations.”

The Comets will again compete in the Great Northern Conference with Antigo, Lakeland, Medford, Mosinee, Northland Pines, Rhinelander and Tomahawk, but a new twist is being added to the schedule this season.

Each team will be seeded for the first-ever conference tournament, which will begin in mid-January and wrap up Saturday, Feb. 2, in Eagle River.

“I don’t know how this is all going to pan out, but the conference champion is the winner of the tournament,” Erspamer said. “You could go through a bout of the flu going through your locker room or an injury early in the year and lose a game, but it’s still not going to pull you out of the conference championship. It gives everybody a pretty good shot based on all the things that happen during a hockey season.

“Everybody goes through the sicknesses, everybody goes through the injuries,” he added. “It gives the team that’s just on the cusp of being good something to look forward to. You can come out in the conference tournament and surprise somebody. I think that’s exciting. It’s fun because every game matters.”

Waupaca will open Great Northern play at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, as the Comets host Lakeland at the Waupaca Ice & Expo Center.

At this point, Erspamer believes Northland Pines, last season’s champion, is the team to beat.

“Northland Pines is going to be the cream of the crop until someone steps in and says, ‘No, you’re not,’” he said. “Antigo’s going to be solid again this year. Mosinee’s going to be much improved and Rhinelander’s much improved. I would throw us in that group of teams. I anticipate us being in that top four. I would hope to be one or two, but we have to take care of business.”

The Comets’ schedule includes two other home conference games in December against Antigo and Medford, as well as road trips to Tomahawk and Rhinelander.

“They matter for seeding purposes,” Erspamer said. “If we beat Lakeland, Antigo, Tomahawk and Medford that first time through, we get a higher seed, which means we have the possibility of two additional home games with the conference championship in Eagle River.”

Waupaca Boys’ Hockey 2018-19 Schedule

Varsity
Friday, Nov. 23 – at Sheboygan tournament

Saturday, Nov. 24 – at Sheboygan tournament

Sunday, Nov. 25 – at Sheboygan tournament

Tuesday, Nov. 27 – at Wisconsin Rapids, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 1 – vs. Lakeland, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 4 – vs. Antigo, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 6 – vs. Appleton United, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 8 – at West Salem, 3 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 11 – at Tomahawk, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 18 – vs. Medford, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 20 – vs. Marshfield, 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 21 – at Rhinelander, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 27 – Waupaca holiday tournament, TBA

Friday, Dec. 28 – Waupaca holiday tournament, TBA

Saturday, Dec. 29 – Waupaca holiday tournament, TBA

Friday, Jan. 4 – at Community Parks Foundation Tournament, Stevens Point, TBA

Saturday, Jan. 5 – at Community Parks Foundation Tournament, Stevens Point, TBA

Friday, Jan. 18 – at Northland Pines, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 24 – Great Northern Conference tournament, TBA

Monday, Jan. 28 – at Ashwaubenon, 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 29 – Great Northern Conference tournament, TBA

Saturday, Feb. 2 – Great Northern Conference tournament, Eagle River, TBA

Tuesday, Feb. 5 – at Fox Cities Stars, 8 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 7 – at D.C. Everest, 7 p.m.

Junior Varsity
Friday, Nov. 23 – at Sheboygan tournament

Saturday, Nov. 24 – at Sheboygan tournament

Sunday, Nov. 25 – at Sheboygan tournament

Saturday, Dec. 1 – vs. Lakeland, 5 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 4 – vs. Antigo, 5 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 21 – at Rhinelander, 4:45 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 24 – Great Northern Conference tournament, TBA

Tuesday, Jan. 29 – Great Northern Conference tournament, TBA

Saturday, Feb. 2 – Great Northern Conference tournament, Eagle River, TBA

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