For Wausau Pilot & Review

The Wausau Cyclones took on the St. Louis Jr. Blues over the weekend in Missouri. Wausau won 5-4 on Friday and lost 5-4 on Saturday night to move their season record to 8-5-0-0

On Friday night, Wausau got off to a slow start and trailed 2-1 after first period. Wausau woke up in the second period with goals from Isaac Baker and Jack Dawley. Heading into the third, Wausau held a 3-2 lead. Defenseman Easton Plachetka added a goal at 4:43 of the final frame.

St. Louis would answer back just one minute later, but Wausau put the game to bed when Christian McKinley scored his first of the season after a perfectly timed shift saw him open right in front of the net. Collin Lemanski earned the win after allowing four goals on 23 shots. The win also extended the team win streak to four games.

Saturday night’s game was a different story for the Cyclones as the defense and goaltending struggled to play up to their solid play for most of the early season.

After Gabe Randel scored his eighth goal of the season at 13:02 of the second period to tie the game at 2-2 the Jr. Blues took control of the game to take a 4-2 lead after two periods of play.

Wausau would get back within one goal at 5:05 of the third period after a goal from forward Anderson Brien, but were never able to get the contest back to even. Tanner Bonjernoor took the loss in net. Bonjernoor was pulled in the second period after allowing three goals on nine shots.

Wausau Cyclones Hockey is back at home this Friday and Saturday night versus Willmar at the Marathon Park Ice Arena. The game on Friday, Nov. 3, is one of just two $2 beer nights this season presented by Busch Light. Saturday’s game is Family Night as fans will save up to 20 percent on tickets presented by Festival Foods. Puck drops at 7:10 p.m. both nights. Visit wausaucyclones.com for tickets.

The Cyclones are members of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL), one of three USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior leagues, 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.