West downs SPASH in OT in sectional hockey thriller

MOSINEE - The Wausau West boys hockey team adopted the motto, ‘Get Greasy,’ late in the regular season. The phrase describes the team’s desire to not score just the highlight goals, but the ugly ones as one — the scores that come off players working hard and going to the net.

West senior Paul Weise etched the saying into a small board that the Warriors players stick tap on their way out of the locker room before each period.

It was a ‘greasy goal’ that is sending Wausau West to the WIAA state tournament again.

Christian Bardarson went to the net and scored off a feed from Nick Techel to give the Warriors a 3-2 win in overtime over Stevens Point Area Senior High in a dramatic sectional title game at the Mosinee Recreation Center.

“A lot of it was done by Nick Techel,” Bardarson said. of the game-winner “He got the puck down low and made a great look back up. I just got lucky and finished it.”

It was a finishing play between two linemates and longtime teammates.

“Me and Bardy have been playing together since we were like 12 and have been on the same line, so that’s like a normal play for us,” said Techel, who assisted on all three West goals. “We always seem to find each other somehow.”

Bardarson’s power-play goal came at the 5:33 mark of overtime and less than a minute after SPASH was penalized for too many men on the ice during a line change. The winning goal came in the end of the rink where the West student section was sitting, with the crowd waving white hankies that had ‘Greasy’ printed on them.

“It was anyone’s game today and both teams put themselves in a situation to win. One penalty in OT cost us,” SPASH coach Brandon Busse said.

The Warriors earned their first state trip in two years and seventh since 2010. The Warriors will play in the final session of the state quarterfinals Thursday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Madison.

“It’s just an incredible feeling,” Techel said. “I can’t preach enough about how close of a team we are this year.”

West and SPASH tied for the Wisconsin Valley Conference title this winter and the two teams had combined for 33 goals in four postseason games coming into Saturday.

“We’re two teams that have a history of putting the pucks in the back of the net, but today was rather defensive,” West coach Brian Brandt Jr. said. “This time of the year you look to your seniors and it started for us with Jacob Warnke in net and finished with the game-winner from Christian Bardarson.

“(The game winner) was very fitting for what these guys have tried to establish over the last six games. They have done a really good job of owning the area in front of the other team’s net,” Brandt Jr said. “It’s very fitting that is how we ended it.”

West outshot SPASH 50-20, but the Panthers tied the game at 2-2 with 5:15 left in regulation on an outstanding individual effort by Cole Caufield.

The Panthers sophomore and state’s leading goal-scorer reached high and batted a deflected puck down and settled it and then ripped a shot from between the two faceoff circles past West goalie Warnke.

Cauflield then was inches away from winning the game in the closing seconds of regulation as he bolted down the right boards and fired a slapshot which hit the left post as time expired.

West had a one-goal lead twice in regulation. Josh Bohlin scored roughly six minutes into the first period on a rebound off an initial shot by Max Techel.

SPASH tied the score at the 12:27 mark of the first as Dane Hoyord scored four seconds into a Panthers power play off a faceoff in the West zone.

Cade Lemmer gave the Warriors a 2-1 lead just 24 seconds into the second period near the end of a West power play. Lemmer camped in front of the SPASH net redirected a shot from Kellen Tharaldson past Panthers goalie Phil Trzebiatowski.

“I was just trying to get it to the net to maybe get a rebound,” Tharaldson said of his shot from just inside the blue line. “Cade was alone in front (of the net).”

Trzebiatowski kept the Panthers in the game as West had a 17-4 shot advantage after the first period and 33-10 cushion after two. The senior goalie made a diving save to rob Bardarson at the left post early in the second period.

“He’s been strong for us all year long. He is the backbone for our squad,” Busse said. “He was blocking almost everything that (West) threw at him. He played well and put us in position to win.”

Tim Johnson: 715-845-0731, or timothy.johnson@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter @timmyjo11

First period: 1. WW, Josh Bohlin (Max Techel, Nick Techel), 5:51. 2. SP, Dayne Hoyord (Barrett Brooks), 12:27 (pp).

Second period: 3. WW, Cade Lemmer (Kellen Tharaldson, N. Techel), 0:24 (pp).

Third period: 4. SP, Cole Caufield (Hoyord), 11:45.

OT: 5. WW, Christian Bardarson (N. Techel), 5:33 (pp)

Saves: SP, Phil Trzebiatowski 16-15-13-3-47; WW, Jacob Warnke 3-6-8-1-18.

Records: Wausau West 23-3-1; SPASH 21-3-1