Eagles outscore Comets 6-1 during final two periods in win

The top-ranked Northland Pines boys hockey team scored six goals to Waupaca’s one in the final 36 minutes of the game Monday night at Waupaca. The final score ended with a 7-3 victory for the Eagles after trailing 2-1 after the first period. This was a makeup game between two of the top three teams in the Great Northern Conference so far this year. 

Both teams were 4-1 inside the GNC before the game, and the home Comets found the back of the net twice on nine shots in the first period. 

Waupaca cashed in on a power-play goal at 1:25 of the opening period to grab an early lead. Another tally by the home team at 6:21 put the Eagles down 2-0 before Pines senior Michael Schmidt cut the lead in half at 10:36 on an unassisted goal. That was the score at the first intermission, as the Eagles outshot the Comets 16-9 in the period. Pines came out fast in the second, as Schmidt tied things at 2-2 on his second of the night at 1:25 with assists by Jazek Jantzen and Josh Graves. 

Things went back and forth for the rest of the period, as Waupaca broke the tie with a goal at 3:33 of the second, before Graves went back-to-back at 9:05 and 10:19 to take a 4-3 advantage after two periods. The scoring continued in the third, as Pines finished off five unanswered goals with tallies from Nicolas Hahn and Oliver DePuydt, along with Graves picking up the hat trick. 

Pines fired 58 shots on net in the victory, compared to Waupaca’s 31. Pines junior goaltender stopped 28 of those to pick up his 11th win of the season.