Wausau, WI – The Wausau Cyclones took on the St. Louis Jr. Blues over the weekend as the Cyclones looked to continue their winning ways facing St. Louis. Wausau came into the weekend with a 5-1 record in the season series. Wausau picked up a 5-2 win on Friday and a 4-3 shootout win on Saturday, which moved their season record to (13-17-0-1). Saturday’s win combined with a Milwaukee loss gives Wausau a five-point lead for the final playoff spot with just 16 games remaining.
Friday night Wausau was held scoreless until 7:42 of the second period when forward Aidan MacDonell netted his third goal of the season. MacDonell’s goal tied the contest at one after St. Louis got on the board first thanks to forward John Dapron. Wausau took a 2-1 lead after Dane Johnson scored at 16:50 of the 2nd giving the Cyclones a 2-1 lead after 2 periods.
St. Louis tied the game at two just 2:18 into the final frame, but Wausau retook the lead for good just 5:20 later with a goal from CJ Zins. Cyclones forward Hayden Shoemake added a pair of insurance goals late to give Wausau the 5-2 win. Zach Dosan earned the win by stopping 22 of 24 shots he faced.
Saturday night’s game didn’t look like it would go the way of the home team as the Cyclones trailed 3-0 after two periods of play. Wausau started their crazy third period comeback thanks to a CJ Zins goal at 57 seconds of the period. Hayden Shoemake then made it just a one goal deficit at 4:43 of the third, which was his third goal of the weekend series. The Cyclones pulled their goalie with under one minute remaining in the game as a faceoff came in their offensive zone. It paid off as Dominick Bourdon tied the game with just 39 seconds left.
After a back-and-forth overtime period the game went into a shootout. Cyclones leading scorer Gage Vierzba netted the game winner as the first shooter and Mitch Miscevich stopped all three of the St. Louis skaters to give Wausau the 4-3 shootout win.
Wausau goaltender Mitch Miscevich picked up the win by stopping 40 of 43 shots. Netminder Espen Reager took the loss for St. Louis.
Cyclones Hockey single game tickets are on sale now via wausaucyclones.com. Stay connected this season by following the Cyclones @wausaucyclones on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and online at wausaucyclones.com. Join us January 21 and 22 at Marathon Park as the Cyclones return home to face the Willmar WarHawks. Subscribe to the Cyclones podcast “Inside Cyclones Hockey”, available on your favorite podcast network.
The Cyclones are members of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL), one of three USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior leagues, serves as one of the top training grounds in the country by providing the best coaching, exposure and developmental vehicles available for student-athletes in its classification. The primary mission of the NA3HL is to provide a structured developmental environment for student-athletes who have aspirations of playing in the NAHL or United States Hockey League and eventually the NCAA or American College Hockey Association. For more information, visit wausaucyclones.com.
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
