Cyclones win two thrillers at Marathon Park
(Wausau, WI) – Six thrilling periods was not enough to decide a highly anticipated weekend series between the Cyclones and the West Bend Power. It took a shootout Saturday night for Wausau to complete the weekend sweep and pull themselves within one point of first place.
Friday evening the Cyclones faced the most important 60 minutes of their season. They responded with a hard fought 3-0 victory, largely on the back of an impressive 44 save shutout performance by goaltender Tanner Bonjenoor, who has now won 19 games as the starter this season. It took 36 minutes before the game’s first goal. Owen Gohm took a pass from Brady Ernst and turned it into a highlight finish, for what would ultimately be the game winner. Connor Dvorak scored his 20th goal of the season with less than a minute remaining in the middle period, assisted by Micah Saxon and Mario Savino. West Bend’s coaching staff would decide to get aggressive late in the game. After taking a timeout with about four minutes remaining, their goalie would remain on the bench, setting up an empty net opportunity for the Cyclones. Landon Bechtolt would cash in for the insurance goal, assisted by John Kriz and Thomas Gerum.
On Saturday the Cyclones turned once again to the hot hand between the pipes. Bonjernoor and the Cyclones were able to recover from an early 2-0 Power lead just over ten minutes into the game, shutting them out the rest of the way through regulation and the overtime period. Wausau scored two unanswered goals to force overtime. Jake Garrow lit the lamp early in the second on an incredible play that started with an outlet pass from the goaltender Bonjernoor, finding defenseman Jack Dawley who left it for Garrow just inside the blue line. The elite display of puck movement put a spark into the building, and that momentum carried over into the 3rd period where Spencer Dahl would net his first goal as a Cyclone on a crazy redirect off the stick of a West Bend defenseman. That goal was assisted by Dvorak and Alec Mellon. Bonjernoor made 42 saves including three in overtime and stopped two of three shooters in the shootout. After giving up the first goal, Wausau’s own Thomas Gerum kept the Cyclones hopes alive, scoring on his former high school teammate Adam Prokop. Landon Bechtolt would play the hero with a shootout goal of his own to cap off the weekend sweep.
Your Wausau Cyclones are back on the home ice this weekend! Fans will save up to 20% on tickets during Family Night presented by Festival Foods Friday! The first 250 fans Saturday will receive a Cyclones retro hat giveaway presented by Bantr. Puck drops at 7:10 both nights. Visit wausaucyclones.com for tickets today!
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]
