TOMAH, Wis. — It was what appeared to be a dominating offensive performance for the
Wisconsin Woodsmen Friday evening.
The Woodsmen scored five goals — their second five-plus goal showing in the last three games
— and held a commanding 39-15 edge in shots on goal in their NA3HL matchup against the St.
Louis Jr. Blues.
Unfortunately, things aren’t always as they appear.
St. Louis made the most of its 15 shots on goal, scoring six times — including the game-winning
tally with 3:32 remaining in regulation — as the Jr. Blues dealt the Woodsmen a 6-5 setback at
the Tomah Ice Center.
The Jr. Blues’ Ben Cameron played a game of Beat the Clock to account for the game’s only goal
of the first period, beating Wisconsin goalie Lleyton Jaschke with 21 seconds left. To give St.
Louis a 1-0 lead after one period.
Pierson Zitte knotted things up for the Woodsmen with his fifth of the season 3:56 into the
middle ram, but the Jr. Blues answered with back-to-back goals by Teagan Lee and Brayden
Davis less than a middle apart midway through the period to regain the lead, 3-1. Vincent
Greene would net his 10th of the year at 13:20, pulling the Woodsmen within one heading into
the game’s final period.
And what a third period it proved to be.
Joseph LoPicccolo extended the St. Lous lead to 4-2 four minutes into the final stanza, only to
have the Woodsmen respond with goals by Viktor Budik and Maxim Lazo to knot the game at 4-
4. The two teams then traded goals — Wisconsin’s coming off the stick of Hugh Deinema (his
team-high 23rd of the year) to make it 5-5 with seven minutes remaining.
Ryan Hogan iced the win for St. Louis, scoring the game’s sixth goal of third period with less
than four minutes on the clock.
Jaschke finished with nine saves between the pipes for the Woodsmen, while St. Louis goalie
Travis Visvedra kicked out 34 of Wisconsin’s 39 shots on goal.
The Woodsmen and Jr. Blues will return to the Tomah Ice Center on Saturday for the second
game of their NA3HL weekend series. Puck drop is slated for 7:15 p.m.
