The Shawano/Bonduel high school hockey team was looking to bounce back Tuesday night from an extended losing streak.
The Ashwaubenon Jaguars weren’t about to let that happen, taking control in the second period for a 4-1 victory at the Crawford Center in Shawano.
Shawano/Bonduel outshot the Jaguars 13-10 in the first period, but Ashwaubenon took a 1-0 lead on a Jake LaVallie goal with 5:30 remaining. LaVallie tallied his second goal of the night just 22 seconds into the second period to double the lead.
The Hawks, who have lost six consecutive games, had a chance on a power play to tighten the game, but could not find the back of the net.
The Jaguars used one of their 10 power plays to take complete control of the game, 3-0.
“Our kill was relatively efficient,” Hawks head coach Garrett Smith said. “I wasn’t happy we were on the penalty kill as much as we were. That’s something we’ve got to get a little more discipline in the team, but our kill really was effective tonight.”
After Ashwaubenon (3-8-1) scored for a third time in the second period, the Hawks were able to put pressure on Ashwaubenon junior goalkeeper David Michaelson.
“We started to get a little tired in the middle of the second period, and I think that’s when their goals happened,” Smith said. “We kind of shook it off, regrouped and got the second wind and started playing hockey again.”
Junior Nick Boardman made a steal in the offensive zone at the beginning of the third period and beat the goalkeeper for the Hawks’ only goal of the night.
“We came out and practiced hard,” Boardman said. “We tried our hardest, as hard as we could, kept skating and took no breaks.”
At the end of the night, the Hawks had 32 shots on goal, compared to the Jaguars’ 33.
Brendan Chapman-Jacobs finished the game with 29 saves.
The Hawks (2-8) had fallen to the Jaguars 6-0 in December.
“We definitely played a lot harder. We played as a team,” Bonduel senior Blake Stoss said. “I think these guys were surprised how much we brought to them.”
Smith changed some of the lines since the previous game to see how the players would react, and he believes the team is starting to gel at just the right time.
“We were getting more team play, which is where a lot of those shots came from. We’ve had problems in the beginning of the year having too much individual effort,” Smith said. “I think that was cut down and we were more focused on not trying to get the perfect opportunity every time, just trying to get the shots on goal.”
Ashwaubenon 4, Shawano/Bonduel 1
First period: A - LaVallie (Gillis assist) 11:30.
Second period: A - LaVallie (Gillis assist) 0:22; A - Roethlisberger (LaVallie assist) 3:58 (PP); A - Wied (Gillis assist) 14:08.
Third period: S - Boardman (unassisted) 2:27.
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