Winter Sports

Highlanders thwart Ice Hawks

Connor Hanson, Sports Writer|February 18, 2015

A host of Highlanders celebrate after Jake Elchert’s goal in the second period of last nights game.

53-12, that might be the number that stands out in Homestead’s 5-2 win over Grafton on Feb. 17. Homestead’s active offense tallied up 53 shots on goal, and its stifling defense only allowed a minuscule 12 shots on its end.

Most of the first period was spent tossing up shot after shot for Homestead, but to no avail, as it failed to score on any one of its 18 attempts. However, Grafton ran into the same problem as it was unable to crack Homestead’s rugged defense, only shoveling out four shots in the period.

Apart from the first period, Homestead lit up the scoreboard in grand fashion. 3:08, 3:42 and 5:05, those were key time stamps for Homestead as it tallied three goals in less than two minutes of work. Cole Simpson, senior, tagged one from the deep middle, Jake Elchert, junior, tipped in Sean Driscoll’s, junior, shot and lastly, Joseph Verespej, junior, deflected Alex Puhl’s, senior, shot to put the Highlanders up three in the second.

“It feels great to contribute in the playoffs. Right now it’s not about individual things but about doing whatever you can to help the team advance,” Verespej said.

Jake Ruhkick, Brock Pasternak and Ben Gust celebrate after a goal. — Emma Zander
Jake Ruhkick, Brock Pasternak and Ben Gust, seniors, celebrate after a goal in the second period.

However, Homestead’s offense would go stagnant and with under five minutes left, Grafton’s captain, Jeff Wade, senior, slammed one home to stymie Homestead’s would be shutout.

Firing away with ease, the Highlanders followed up the second period with two early scores at the 2:06 and 3:53 mark. Max Henry, senior, was called upon as he knocked in a rebound from Simpson and Driscoll. Elchert would follow up Henry with a turnaround shot dished out by captain Adam Hobbs, senior and Verespej.

Emma Zander
Adam Hobbs takes a breather during a down period of the game. “Winning in the first round felt great because we played a good overall game. Especially after the loss in our first playoff game last year, this win gave us the confidence we need to play our best in our upcoming game,” Hobbs said.

Only able to fling five shots on goal, Grafton’s opportunities were limited during the third, but in a state of desperation, the Ice Hawks’ assistant captain, Nate Perez, senior, crammed one in to levy Homestead’s outstretched lead. Unfortunately for Grafton, that was as close as it could get, as it was unable surmount Homestead’s lead. The game would end with both teams skating around in a constant stalemate, neither team being able to pounce on a defensive lapse.

“I thought overall we played really well together, one of our main strengths of the game was the ability to get a lot of shots on net, but there is still a need to play more physical next game,” goalie, David Hathaway, senior, said.

As the five seed, Homestead now moves on to the second round of the playoffs, facing off against the four seed, Fon Du Lac, on Thursday at the BlueLine Ice Center. Homestead played home against Fod Du Lac last week, a game that ended in a 3-3 tie after overtime. However, this time Homestead ventures into enemy territory with the stakes at an all time high, hoping to get one step closer to state.