Waupaca boys drop two of three

Comets fourth at GNC tourney

By Greg Seubert

After opening the Great Northern Conference boys’ hockey tournament with a win over Antigo, it was all downhill from there for the Waupaca Comets.

A 7-1 loss to Lakeland on Feb. 8 placed the Comets in the third-place game against second-seeded Rhinelander Feb. 12 at the Lakeland Ice Arena in Minocqua.

The Hodags overcame an early 1-0 deficit and went on to hand the Comets a 4-1 loss.

Rhinelander 4, Waupaca 1

The Comets took a 1-0 lead in the first period, but never found the net again as the Hodags came up with four unanswered goals.

Lakeland 7, Waupaca 1

Lakeland scored five unanswered goals after the teams headed into the third period tied at 1-1.

The Thunderbirds opened the scoring in the second period on a goal from Brayden Warchol, but Braeden Ryan tied the game.

In other tournament games on Feb. 12, top-seeded Lakeland fell to No. 3 Mosinee 3-0 in the championship game; No. 4 Antigo beat No. 6 Tomahawk 6-4 in the fifth-place game; and No. 8 Northland Pines topped No. 7 Medford 8-2 in the seventh-place game.

Waupaca will open WIAA state tournament play at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17, at Antigo. The Comets received a No. 5 seed in their Division 2 sectional bracket, while the Red Robins are seeded fourth.

The winner of that game will likely face Lakeland Tuesday, Feb. 22, in Minocqua. The top-seeded Thunderbirds will open tournament play Friday, Feb. 18, against eighth-seeded Northland Pines.