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Moose Lake/Willow River’s Bryceton Butkiewicz (8) takes a pass from Nick Wegge (9) and puts the puck past Ashland goaltender Brandon Hudson during the first period of Tuesday’s game at the BACC.

Opportunistic Rebels edge Oredockers

By Garett Greenwald Ashland Daily Press, 01/20/16, 5:00PM CST

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Opportunistic Rebels edge Oredockers By GARETT GREENWALD/ Sports Editor 17 hrs ago 0 Go-Ahead Goal Garett Greenwald/Staff Photo Moose Lake/Willow River’s Bryceton Butkiewicz (8) takes a pass from Nick Wegge (9) and puts the puck past Ashland goaltender Brandon Hudson during the first period of Tuesday’s game at the BACC. Check out the 11-picture photo gallery from this game at www.ashlandwi.com. The Ashland Oredockers continued to play quality hockey Tuesday night, but the Moose Lake/Willow River Rebels took advantage of their chances to pull out a 4-2 victory at the BACC. The Rebels (4-13-1) scored a pair of goals 36 seconds apart late in the first period to erase a 1-0 deficit and take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. “This was probably one of the better games we’ve played in a long time,” said Ashland coach Darryl Penner. “We just had two bad minutes. I told the guys you can play well for 49 of the 51 minutes and lose. We made mistakes, and they capitalized on them.” The Oredockers (8-7) dominated the first 14 minutes of the game. Matt Gregor pounced on a Rebel turnover and fired a shot that Rebel goaltender Logan McNulty saved. But Jake Moe was there for the rebound to give Ashland a 1-0 lead 5:41 into the game. Bryceton Butkiewicz got Moose Lake/Willow River back to even when he controlled a loose puck in the Ashland end and beat Brandon Hudson with 1:26 remaining in the first period. Nick Wegge got the assist. That duo struck again 36 seconds later as a 2-on-1 developed in front of Hudson, and Wegge slid a pass over to Butkiewicz in the slot, and Butkiewicz delivered to give the Rebels a 2-1 lead after one period. Following a scoreless second period, the Rebels took a two-goal lead 9:45 into the third period. Devon Bonkoski initially fanned on a shot from the high slot, but that bought him enough time to regain control of the puck away from traffic, and he fired a high shot past Hudson to make it 3-1. The Oredockers went on the power play shortly after the goal. Neal Benson, the school’s all-time leading goal scorer, skated in on a tough angle and beat McNulty for an unassisted goal with 5:29 remaining. Ashland took a penalty with 2:07 remaining, and Penner used the team’s timeout with 1:27 left. The Rebels were content to move the puck around the Ashland zone and burn clock. The Oredockers were finally able to pull Hudson for an extra attacker with 36.0 remaining, but the puck never got deep into the Rebel zone. Devin Murphy wristed home an empty-netter from just outside the blue line to make it 4-2 with 22.6 ticks left on the clock. “I felt we had the momentum when we cut it to one,” Penner said. “But we took an untimely penalty, and that took the momentum away. I felt we had a chance to tie it, but we didn’t get many chances. “It was a good hockey game. We just came out on the short end tonight.” McNulty finished with 26 saves, and Hudson had 20. Ashland’s homestand continues Saturday when the Northwest Icemen come to the BACC at 7 p.m. The Oredockers won the earlier meeting 6-4. Moose Lake/Willow River 4, Ashland 2 Moose Lake/Willow River 2 0 2 — 4 Ashland 1 0 1 — 2 First Period: Ashland, Moe (Gregor) 5:41; 2. Moose Lake/Willow River, Butkiewicz (Wegge) 15:34; 3. Moose Lake/Willow River, Butkiewicz (Wegge) 16:10.1. Second Period: No scoring. Third Period: 4. Moose Lake/Willow River, Bonkoski (unassisted) 9:45; 5. Ashland, Benson (unassisted) 11:31, pp; 6. Moose Lake/Willow River, Murphy (unassisted), 16:37.4, pp, en. Saves: Moose Lake/Willow River, McNulty 11-3-12—26; Ashland, Hudson 4-8-9—20. Penalties: Moose Lake/Willow River 6 for 12 mins; Ashland 4-8. Power Plays: Moose Lake/Willow River 1 for 4; Ashland 1-6