MONROE — A five-minute boarding penalty turned the tide in Monroe’s 6-2 loss to Kenosha in boys hockey Dec. 21.
Trailing 3-2 in the closing minute of the second period, Monroe’s Blaze Janecke was called for a 5-minute major boarding penalty. While the Cheesemakers made it to the second intermission without allowing another goal, that fate wouldn’t last once the puck dropped in the third.
“When you get into a situation with a five-minute penalty like that, it’s five minutes no matter how many goals they score,” Monroe coach Barry Einbeck said.
Kenosha’s Ethan Mahaffee scored 36 seconds into the third period, and Kenosha added another goal 30 seconds later. Right when Monroe thought it could get some relief, Haden Barker entered the penalty box on a tripping penalty with 10 seconds left on Janecke’s penalty, forcing the Cheesemakers to play 5-on-3 in their own zone. Just 10 seconds later, as the door was opening for Janecke to return to play, Kenosha’s Owen Williams snapped another shot beyond the reach of Xander Obert, Monroe’s goalie.
The loss was a tough blow on what was dubbed “Teddy Bear Toss”, a charity event in which fans hurled teddy bears onto the ice after Monroe’s first goal. Cheesemaker fans didn’t have to wait long, as Janecke scored off a Gavin Roth assist just 2:30 into the first period to go ahead 1-0 early on.
“I just wanted to get all the schools involved in our co-op, to get more kids from the schools to come. I thought, ‘Hey, why not do a Teddy Bear Toss and donate them to charity?’” Einbeck said. “Our kids got really into it and picked up the teddy bears. Kenosha was really good about it, too. I think it’s something we’re going to start doing to give back to the community — not only Monroe, but we can always send those out to all the other schools in our co-op. We’re very new at it, so we’re going to find some local charities and start handing them out.”
Kenosha tied it at 1-1 on a power play goal at the 8:16 mark of the first half, with Seth Brandt putting the home team back on top at 2-1 with just over six minutes to play in the first, with Josh Haight assisting.
“I thought the forecheck was working great — we got a quick goal. I don’t think we let up, there was some back-and-forth, but the biggest thing is we’ve been struggling putting the puck in the net. We’re getting shots, we’re getting some good things, but we’re just not putting it away right now,” Einbeck said.
Kenosha’s Cam Anderson scored his second goal of the game minutes later to even the score again. Anderson netted his hat trick goal in the second period. Obert had 26 saves. Monroe out-shot Kenosha 33-32.
“We’re getting more consistent in how we are playing. I like what we’re doing, but what we have to work on in practice is scoring goals — hitting the net, going into the dirty areas in front of the goaltender and winning the one-on-one battles in front of the net. I think once we start doing that it will be contagious and we’ll start scoring more. But until we get over that edge, it’s going to be the same,” Einbeck said. “They’re working hard; I think we’re doing some good things. It’s just that we have to be a little bit stronger in front of the net.”
Monroe is set to play Dec. 30 and 31 at the Stoughton tournament, and return home Jan. 4 and 6 for a pair of Badger Conference games against Beaver Dam and Sauk Prairie.
