For Wausau Pilot & Review
WAUSAU – The Wausau Cyclones Junior Hockey team split a pair of games over the weekend against the top team in the Central Division of the North American 3 Hockey League at Marathon Park.
Wausau fell 2-0 to the Rochester Grizzlies on Friday night and won 3-2 in the final seconds on Saturday, which moved their season record to (5-12-3-0).
On Friday, Rochester got on the board first at 7:33 of the second period when Austin Meers netted his team-leading eighth goal of the season. The game would remain 1-0 all the way until 19:01 of the final frame as Austin Meers scored an empty-net goal to secure the win for the Grizzlies. Mitch Miscevich took the loss for Wausau after stopping 32 of 33 shots faced. Wausau had a total of 24 shots on goal and just four in the third period searching to tie the game.
Saturday’s thrilling win was an instant classic that could end up turning the tides of a season. After falling behind 2-0 to Rochester, the Cyclones got on the board at 18:04 of the second period with a goal by forward Ricky Nelson. The goal was Nelson’s seventh of the season.
Wausau trailed heading into the third period before quickly tying the game at 2-2 just 1:48 into the period when Cyclones forward Gage Vierzba scored his team leading 10th goal. After a Rochester charging penalty at 17:55 of the third period, the Cyclones went on the man advantage with an opportunity to knock off the 15-5-0-1 Grizzlies. Wausau did just that in thrilling fashion as forward Hayden Shoemake netted the game-winning goal with 3.2 seconds left as he found a bouncing puck in front of goalie Tate Cothern. The win was the Cyclones’ first when trailing after two periods as they were 0-12-1-0 heading into Saturday’s game. Miscevich picked up the win for Wausau after stopping 38 of 40 shots.
Wausau will be back in action at the St. Louis Jr. Blues on Friday and Saturday.
The Cyclones next home games will be Dec. 29 and Dec. 30 against the Oregon Tradesmen. The Dec. 29 game will be Cyclones Hat Giveaway presented by Pizza Ranch and the Dec. 30 game is Youth Hockey Night presented by AmFam Jim Clemens Agency. (All youth hockey players receive free admission by wearing their game jerseys). Tickets for both games are available online at wausaucyclones.com.
The Cyclones are members of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL), one of three USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior leagues, which 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.
