PEORIA, Ill. — If the Wisconsin Woodsmen’s season-opening game against the Peoria Mustangs
Friday evening was an adaptation of the children’s story “The Tortoise and the Hare”, the
Woodsmen would have assumed the role of the Hare, while the Mustangs would have
represented the Tortoise.
The Woodsmen, aka the Hare, got out of the blocks quickly, erupting for three goals in the
game’s first 11 minutes, and scoring the first five goals of the evening.
The Mustangs, aka the Tortoise, however, assumed its “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” mentality,
responding with six unanswered goals, including the game-winner with 1:11 remaining in
overtime, to lift Peoria to the 6-5 NA3HL victory at the Owens Center.
Wisconsin showed no signs of early-season rust — in fact the Woodsmen’s offense looked to be
in mid-season form, getting goals from Myles Bible, Jayden Hervey, and Damien Calzada before
the 11-minute mark of the opening frame.
Paxton Raymond would push the Woodsmen advantage to 4-0 before the first period ended
and Ty Paulios added Wisconsin goal No. 5 six minutes into the middle frame to make it 5-0, but
from there, the Wisconsin offense stalled.
And Peoria’s had yet to shift out of neutral.
Breyon Maroney got the Mustangs on the board just 18 seconds after Paulios’s second-period
tally, and by the time regulation ended, Carter Charron, Brady Babcock, Brendan Miller, and
Zach Staelgraeve had all found the back of the net to knot the game at 5-5.
Landen Smith capped the Peoria comeback — and sealed the Mustangs’ third win in three
games to open the season — scoring with 1:11 to play in the overtime session.
Nicholas Foy suffered the loss in goal for the Woodsmen, despite stopping 62 of the Mustang’s
68 shots on goal. Nolan Sanderson and Jaemeson Keith combed to make 43 saves between the
pipes for Peoria.
The Woodsmen will get another shot at their first win of the 2026-27 season on Saturday, when
they return to the Owens Center for a 5:30 p.m. rematch with the Mustangs.
