MILWAUKEE — Monroe scored first against Muskego in a WIAA Division 1 regional quarterfinal on Tuesday, Feb. 13, but the Ice Force scored seven unanswered goals to pull out the 7-1 victory.
The loss was the second in three games for the Cheesemakers, who had a six-game winning streak from Jan. 23 to Feb. 6.
“A lot of it comes from consistency,” Monroe head coach Barry Einbeck said. “When we were winning games, we were really consistent. We had puck possession, we had offensive zone time, we had clean exits out of our defensive zone, we were good through the neutral zone — all the things were working well. That was our success. Tonight, we got away from that.”
Despite the result, Monroe got on the board first. Brody Koehn skated down the ice on a breakaway and dished it to Hans Brandt for a goal three minutes into the game.
“Once we got that goal, the kids were really excited,” Einbeck said. “There was a sigh of relief. I told them, ‘We have nothing to lose. We are the underdog. There’s no pressure on us.’”
The Cheesemakers kept the pressure up, nearly scoring on a 2-on-1 opportunity with Carter Nemergut and Brody Goode.
Muskego aided Monroe’s momentum, as Rylan Bradshaw went to the box for hooking. Gavin Roth put a shot on the Ice Force’s Rylan Venne, who let up a rebound, but the puck was cleared before the Cheesemakers could score on the second chance.
Six minutes later, Wyatt Janecke had a chance to extend his team’s lead on a breakaway, but Venne kick-saved the shot.
Although Monroe had all the energy, Muskego’s Gavin Hipenbecker won a faceoff inside the Cheesemakers’ zone and passed to Austin Drayna, who put it passed goalie Kyle Theorin to knot the game at one.
An Ice Force turnover in the neutral zone led to another penalty, as Ayden Maves cross checked a Cheesemaker in front of the net.
Monroe was unable to score on the power play, again, despite multiple shots on goal.
“If we could score on one or maybe two of those power plays, it’s a totally different feeling of the game and gives the kids more of a jump,” Einbeck said. “Power plays are huge, just like killing a penalty. You can gain so much momentum on those.”
With two successful power-play kills, Muskego took the edge. With just two seconds left in the first frame, an Ice Force shot hit the top pipe and ricocheted out.
Despite being outshot in the first period 11-8, Muskego went full steam in the second, scoring four goals.
Four minutes into the frame, Brandon Ziemanski-Dolezal put one over Theorin’s shoulder. Monroe was able to stop Robbie Spielmann’s initial attempt with a stick lift, but Ziemanski-Dolezal was there for the second-chance opportunity. Two minutes later, Drayna took a shot beyond the circle that crept under Theorin’s pads. He then picked up a hat trick with an assist from Ziemanski-Dolezal to make it 4-1. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Ziemanski-Dolezal scored his second goal of the period. Brown picked the puck out of the air, set it down in front of the net, then quickly passed to Ziemanski-Dolezal for the score.
“We have to learn how to deal with adversity a little bit better,” Einbeck said. “When we get to that point where things aren’t going well, we have to figure out a way to get out of that slump. There’s nothing we can say to the kids to get them out of that. They have to want to do that. (Assistant coach) Cary Bush says, ‘Are you going to give us that extra one percent that’s going to push us over?’”
Down 5-1 entering the third period, Monroe needed all the help it could get. But not even luck proved to be on the Cheesemakers’ side, as Drayna was credited with his fourth goal. Theorin made the save, but, as Carson Kurschner was attempting to clear the defender in front of the net, the puck hit off his skate and into the net.
Alex Krowski capped the game with a goal off a Cheesemaker turnover for the 7-1 final.
Ziemanski-Dolezal (2G, 2A), Brown (4A) and Drayna (4G) led Muskego (12-11-1) with four points. Venne picked up the win, tallying 20 saves.
Brandt and Koehn recorded Monroe’s only points. Theorin suffered the loss, recording 32 saves.
Despite the loss, Monroe ended its season 14-8-1 with its best conference finish in program history. Although the Cheesemakers have yet to win a playoff game, they are taking steps each year.
“Every year we’ve made steps to improve. This was another good year,” Einbeck said. “For our returning players next year, they still have to keep improving. They have to feel what it’s like to come to these playoff games and lose. They have to get over that hump. I think with the core of the group we have coming back next year, we can put another good run together.”
BELOIT 7, MARQUETTE 4
BROOKFIELD — With a four-goal second, 11-seeded Beloit upset 6-seeded Marquette in a WIAA Division 1 regional quarterfinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Nathan Fiebig led the Purple Knights with a hat trick.
The Hilltoppers (13-8) controlled the first period, scoring two goals on 11 shots. Marquette extended its lead to 3-1 early in the second with a score from Mick Kaminsky.
That’s when Beloit responded with four goals. Brayden Lane started the rally with assists from Preston Mayberry and Dylan Naugle. Fiebig knotted the score at four six minutes into the frame, and Marcus Allen’s unassisted goal gave the Purple Knights their first lead. Fiebig capped the period with his second goal, giving Beloit a 5-3 edge entering the third.
Murphy Monreal scored 21 seconds into the third period, making it a 4-5 game, but Beloit received goals from Nathan Anastasi and Fiebig to secure the win. Fiebig recorded his hat trick on an empty netter.
Fiebig (3G) and Anastasi (1G, 2A) led the Purple Knights with three points. Gentry Grant picked up with win with 17 saves.
With the win, Beloit (9-15) faced Kettle Moraine (14-7-1) in a regional semifinal on Thursday, Feb. 15. The last time the two teams met on Jan. 29, KMMO edged Beloit 8-7. There were 63 penalty minutes with seven power-play goals between two teams.
Results of the game will be printed in the Wednesday, Feb. 21 edition of the Monroe Times.
