Team Wisconsin U16 dominance continues
Shattuck and Team Wisconsin U16's battled in Faribault over the weekend
Team Wisconsin U16 team played Shattuck's U16 team Saturday evening in a tune-up for the nationals. Both teams are in the field at Green Bay. The Badger State team had played Shattuck eight times in the "before" phase of their season positing a 5-3 record and are ranked #5 in the nation with a 26-8-2 record. They continued their dominance over the Sabres beating the #18 ranked Shattuck team 4-2 Saturday. It was Team Wisconsin's first game since last October. The Badger State team had not played as a team in the past four months. Their games at Shattuck would be the only two games they would play in their "after" phase before the nationals. The players on ther roster disbanded in early November to play Wisconsin HIgh School hockey.
Period One-Shaking the Rust
The question would be after not playing together as a team for months, would Team Wisconsin show up rusty and not deserving of their #5 ranking. After all, TW would be playing their first game as team against a top ranked Shattuck team. The Sabre team had struggled since the start of February posting a 2-9-1 record and they needed some wins to turn their season around before they hit Green Bay.
For the first seven minutes of the opening period the two teams went into an attitude adjustment phase. They slowed the puck and slowed the aggressive play. It resulted in few shots on net. Team Wisconsin did not get their first shot on net until the 10 minute mark though the Badge State had some pressure in the Sabres' zone.
At the 8 minute mark, Shattuck started to roll; they started to hit the breakout pass in neutral ice with the wings beat TW's defense along the boards. After being stopperd on two breakaways, Shattuck's Mitch Dolter beat the Badge State defense on the right side, broke left cutting into the faceoff circle and buried the puck high in the net to put the Sabres up 1-0. Liam Schioler/Winnipeg MB and Benjamin Lown/Newport Beach CA got the assists.
A minute later, Shattuck drew a penalty and killed it. But while on the power play, Team Wisconsin showed some different rushes bringing the puck across the Sabre's blue line. One rush had all five Badger State forwards crossing the Sabre's blue line at the same time with a defenseman carrying the puck.
At the two minute mark, Team Wisconsin finally scored. They trapped the puck along the left boards in the Sabres' zone and fed a pass to Sam McCormick breaking high in the slot. McCormick buried the puck to tie the game 1-1. Ty Pelton-byce and Anthony Stillwell got the assists. The period ended with the Sabres in a retreat, sending one forward deep and playing four across trying the slow the every increasing fast play of Team Wisconsin.
Shattuck's Mitch Dolter/Woodbury celebrates scoring to put Shattuck up 1-0 in the first period.
Team Wisconsin scores
Period Two-Connecting the Passes
One minute into the second period, Team Wisconsin's Kevin Conley beat the Sabre defense crossing the blue line, broke left and beat Shattuck's goalie Drew Speckman/Fairfield CT with a high hard shot to the right corner from the left faceoff. The Badger State team led 2-1. Carver Watson got the assist.
Shattuck came roaring back and had some of their best pressure in the next five minutes, but they couldn't beat Team Wisconsin's Henry Cutting and they didn't score.
Halfway through the period, Team Wisconsin's quick play off their two deep forwards on the attack behind the Sabres' net resulted in good shots on the net. Their passing was connecting and their game pace was up. Team Wisconsin had hit that high gear. With a little over 5 minutes left in the period, the puck ended up in a melee behind the left of the Sabres' net. Team Wisconsin's Alec Broetzman made a quick pass to the open weak side for a one-timer to Pelton-byce. He buried the puck. Team Wisconsin fled 3-1. Broetzman got the assist. The period ended with no change in the score.
Period Three-Both Teams Tire
The third period opened with Shattuck on the attack. The Team Wisconsin players slowed allowing Shattuck to set up in the Badger State zone. The Sabres got two good scoring opportunities including one from the slot a Sabre forward had with time to shoot. TW's goalie Cutting had to make the big stop.
Five minutes gone in the period, Team Wisconsin settled into playing one forward deep in the offensive zone and sending two deep only if they could tie up the puck. Shattuck countered sending two deep and keeping three across at the Team Wisconsin blue line. At the 10 minute mark, TW drew a penalty.
SSM's power play did not score, but thirty seconds after the power play ended, Pierce Crawford/Alpharetta GA moved the puck out from behind the net to Lown open on the weakside. Lown flipped the puck in the net over Cutting's slidding leg save attempt to cut the score to 3-2.
Seven minutes left in the game and Team Wisconsin tired. Their passes were not connecting in the offensive zone. Shattuck was starting to control the puck low in TW's zone. At the four minute mark, both teams tired. The play became loose with neither team mounting much of an attack. The Badger State players seem to have the edge in play in the final minutes, but couldn't connect well on their passes. Shattuck pulled their goalie. With a minute left in the game, the Badger State team scored an empty netter from the Sabres' right point to end the scoring 4-2.
Team Wisconsin's Kevin Conley (partially screened by a Shattuck defenseman) scores on this shot to the low right corner to put TW up 2-1 in the second period
What is next?
The two teams play one more game on Sunday in Faribault before heading to the U16 nationals in 10 days. Team Wisconsin proved worthy of their #5 ranking; Shattuck will be scrambling at the nationals to get out of pool play.