PEORIA, Ill. — For the second day in a row, the Wisconsin Woodsmen found themselves in the
midst of an NA3HL nail-biter.
And for the second day in a row, the Woodsmen came away unscathed.
Less than 24 hours after scoring two goals in the game’s final two minutes to secure a 6-4
victory over the Peoria Mustangs, the Woodsmen were at it again, netting two goals in a one-
minute span early in the third period, erasing a 4-3 deficit and lifting Wisconsin to a 5-4 win
over the Mustangs at the Owen Center.
Wisconsin struck first in Saturday’s rematch, getting a goal from Brandon Slasor just 6:04 into
the opening period. Peoria, however, had an answer, getting goals from Owen Gruden and
Breyon Maroney — the latter with just 37 seconds to play — to give the Mustangs a 2-1 lead
through 20 minutes.
The Woodsmen knotted things up on a goal by Josh Kauppinen early in the second period, and,
after Brendon Miller put Peoria back on top 3-2, Wisconsin’s Alexander Elsner netted his first of
the season to make it a 3-3 game with 20 minutes to play.
Gruden netted his second of the night just 2:22 into the final frame to give the Mustangs a
short-lived 4-3 lead, as the Woodsmen answered with back-to-back goals by Parker Holloway
and Ty Paulios in a 56-second span less than one minute after Gruden’s tally to give Wisconsin
the lead for good.
Lleyton Jaschke finished with 37 saves between the pipes for the Woodsmen, while Jakub Stary
kicked out 32 of Wisconsin’s 37 shots on goal for the Mustangs.
The Woodsmen (7-14-2-1) — winners of three of their last four games — are back in action next
weekend, when they square off against the West Bend Power in a home-and-home NA3HL
series. The two teams will kick off the weekend with a 7:15 p.m. matchup at the Tomah Ice
Center on Friday, before heading to Kettle Moraine, Wis., for a 7:30 p.m. rematch.
