TOMAH, Wis. — It may not have been the Fourth of July, but there were plenty of fireworks in
the Tomah Ice Center Friday evening.
The Wisconsin Woodsmen and Wausau Cyclones combined for 13 goals in their NA3HL
showdown — including five by the Woodsmen in the first period alone.
Unfortunately for Wisconsin, a five-goal first period would not be enough, as Wausau scored six
of the seven goals scored over the final two periods in dealing the Woodsmen a 7-6 setback.
The Woodsmen came out firing on all cylinders from the opening face-off, getting a pair of
goals from Tyler Osborne as part of their five-goal first period.
Osborne kicked off the first-period offensive barrage with his first of the season 3:46 into
period No. 1. Maxim Lazo made it 2-0 three minutes later, and, after Wausau’s Brady Knutsen
had cut the Woodsmen lead in half, Parker Holloway, Osborne, and Ethan Foles would find the
back of the net in the period’s final nine minutes to give Wisconsin a 5-1 cushion heading into
the first intermission.
The second period was all Wausau, as the Cyclones got goals from Jackson Haddock, Elji
Hoffman, and Mario Savino to cut the Wisconsin lead to one, 5-4, with 20 minutes to play.
Wausau picked up where it left off to open the final period, getting back-to-back goals from
Lucas Hankoff and Knutsen — Knutsen’s second of the night giving the Cyclones their first lead
of the game, 6-5.
Tristan Pownall picked the perfect time to net his first goal as a Woodsmen, scoring on the
power play with 27 seconds remaining in regulation to knot the game at 6-6, only to have
Wausau’s Elijah Von Gunten net the Cyclones’ second shorthanded tally of the evening 14
seconds later to seal the Cyclones’ come-from-behind victory.
Aidan Vanderweele, making his first start between the pipes for Wisconsin, finished with 40
saves, while a pair of Cyclone goalies combined to stop 20 of the Woodsmen’s 26 shots.
The Woodsmen (1-2-0-0) get another shot at the Cyclones on Saturday, as the two teams
return to the Tomah Ice Center for the second game of their NA3HL weekend series. Puck drop
is slated for 7:15 p.m.
