Prep boys hockey: Old Abes dominate Huskies in crosstown showdown
Feb. 2—In a crosstown showdown, the North Huskies hosted their rivals, the Memorial Old Abes on their shared home ice at Hobbs.
The Abes ultimately took the victory 6-0 over the Huskies.
"We knew it was gonna be a tough battle," Memorial coach Mike Collins said, "and we just played hard enough to wear them down and then we just took advantage of all our opportunities."
The Abes made North goalie Tristan Bock work hard in the first, with several shots taken in the first few minutes.
When the Huskies got ahold of the puck in the first, they had good plays, but the Abes were faster, so none of the plays panned out quite the way the Huskies had hoped.
North's Jacob Bestul spent two minutes in the penalty box right before the twelve-minute mark. About a minute and some change later, the Abes made use of the powerplay and Nolan Ottum ushered the puck into the net.
Twelve seconds later, the Abes scored again, and this time Nick Masden put it away for the Abes, giving them a 2-0 lead.
The Abes kept up their intensity heading into the second period, and only 34 seconds in, Blake Ahnemen tapped the puck into the goal.
Only 36 seconds later, Benji Roberts put in the fourth goal of the night for the Abes.
North upped their intensity at this point, playing harder defense and holding the Abes off for the rest of the period, and the Abes answered back with equal intensity.
"I'd be silly to think that they're not going to put an extra shoulder in or an extra strike," Collins said. "That's just the nature of it. And why not? That's what makes sports great right rivalries."
Memorial led their rival, heading into the third 4-0.
Despite North ramping up their defense in the second, Memorial took advantage of the Huskies' loss of momentum after the break. Mack Diggins put the puck away at 1:06, and again at 2:06, bringing the Abes up to a 6-0 lead.
Despite their best efforts, the Huskies weren't able to get themselves on the scoreboard, and Memorial goalie Reed Rybak added another shutout to his career.
Heading into the end of the season, the Abes are feeling good and are not taking anything for granted.
"We just keep trying to improve and get the job done," Collins said.
Up next for the Abes, they are set to host Menomonie Mustangs on Tuesday. Puck drop at Hobbs is 7:30 p.m.
As for the Huskies, they are slated to host Wausau West on Saturday at 2 p.m.
