Boys’ skaters split in BRC play

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The Raider boys’ hockey team scored five second-period goals on its way to a 10-2 victory at Menomonie last Tuesday, Jan. 24 before coming up just short in a 4-2 loss to Big Rivers Conference leader Eau Claire Memorial on Thursday.

Dylan Haskins had four goals, including two shorthanded goals less than a minute apart, in Tuesday’s rout of the Mustangs.

Hudson took a 3-1 first period lead on goals by Josh Dardine, Lawrence Pruitt and Taylor Casey. Haskins scored an unassisted, shorthanded goal 2:30 into the second period and netted another shorthanded goal at the 3:22 mark, assisted by Pruitt and Daniel Tripicchio.

Casey extended the Raider lead to 6-1 with a power play goal at 4:52 of the second, and after Menomonie scored its second and final goal of the game Haskins finished off his hat trick at the 9:20 mark to put the Raiders ahead 7-2. Haskins’ fourth goal of the period with less than five minutes remaining made it an 8-2 game.

Pruitt picked up his second goal of the game at the 9:24 mark of the third and David Kein made the final 10-2 with under a minute remaining.

Tripicchio had three assists in the victory while James Fall dished out two and Haskins, Pruitt, Casey, Steven Burke, A.J. Romanoski and Ben Lewis had one helper apiece. Raider goaltender Josh Mattis finished with 13 saves as the Raiders outshot the Mustangs, 45-15.

Two nights later in Eau Claire, Hudson had the Old Abes on the ropes until Memorial got a power play goal with 3:28 remaining and held on for a 4-2 victory.

Up until then, Hudson had kept the Old Abes scoreless in four power play opportunities, including a pair of 5-on-3 advantages. Raider goaltender Matt Strachota also stopped a penalty shot early in the second period to keep the score tied at 1-1.

Memorial struck first, at the six minute mark of the first period, before Pruitt stole the puck at mid-ice and skated in alone before rifling a hard wrist shot into the upper far corner to knot the score with under six minutes remaining in the period.

Two minutes after Strachota denied the Old Abes on a penalty shot, Memorial scored two quick goals to take a 3-1 lead. Hudson cut the margin in half on a power play goal by August Nuutinen, assisted by Tripicchio, at the 11:15 mark of the second.

Memorial, the No. 6-ranked team in the state, hung on to its one goal lead until its power play goal with 3:28 remaining that made the final 4-2. Strachota finished with 24 saves as Memorial, which improved to 14-4-2 overall, 7-1-0 in the BRC, outshot Hudson, 28-27.

The Raiders, now 8-7-1 overall, 5-3-0 in the BRC, hosted River Falls (5-13-1, 2-7-0) this past Tuesday, Jan. 31 and will travel to Rice Lake (15-4-0, 7-1-0) Thursday, Feb. 2. Hudson will visit Chippewa Falls (10-8-0, 6-3-0) Tuesday, Feb. 7, before returning home for the regular season finale next Thursday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. against Eau Claire North (1-16-1, 0-9-0).

Tags: sports, hockey, raiders, prep