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Dodge County Wildcats Captain Colin Sherden with Head Coach Eric Hofmann & Assistant Coach Nick Fatis

‘Cats back on the ice for Kiwanis, Austin'

By Mitch George, 01/11/15, 9:00AM CST

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On Monday, December 29, the Dodge County Wildcats boys hockey team was

On Monday, December 29, the Dodge County Wildcats boys hockey team was back on the ice. Skaters took to the rink and goaltenders parked in the cage at the annual Kiwanis Hockey Tournament in Rochester at Graham Arena.

            In the first game, the Wildcats were put to the test by New Richmond. Dodge County had a rough time getting into a groove, putting a minimal number of shots on goal. For this reason, they were shut out by a score of 7-0 at the final horn.

            The day after this contest, the Wildcats were beaten by the same margin, only with different numbers in the box score. Dodge County lost this game 8-1.

            The lone goal scored by Dodge County came from the stick of Chris Roberts, which was his second of the year. Max Kundert notched his first assist of the season on the play as well.

Fortunately, the next day the team was able to find the back of the net early and often in their third and final game of the tournament against the Ashwaubenon Jaguars. This game featured an all-around passing display in which nine separate Wildcats recorded a point.

Drew Kirmse and Grant Badger dished to Colin Sherden for the first goal of the day, followed by a goal from Kylo Courteau coming off assists from both Charlie Steinberg and Max Blaisdell. Later in the same period Colton Goodman joined the scoring party with a goal of his own, assisted by Nic Leisen and Daytin Freerksen.

The scoring would not stop there. Half way through the second period, Leisen netted a goal to push the score to 4-0 in favor of the Wildcats. Once again, in the same frame, Drew Kirmse and Christ Roberts assisted on a goal by Charlie Steinberg.

            One futile goal was scored against goaltender Mitch Sobotta in the closing period by the Jaguars, which was obviously not enough to plunder Dodge County. Sobotta stopped a total of 16 shots in this game. The final score of the match was marked at 5-1.

            Captain Colin Sherden reflected on the tournament. “We played hard in every game,” he said. “The last game let us get back on track and we got back to playing good hockey.”

            Last Tuesday, the Wildcats traveled to Riverside Arena for a matchup against Austin.

            Out of the gates, Austin took the early advantage by putting up two goals in the first period. In the period following, neither team found that back of the net.

            In the third period, however, Dodge County took the ice and jumped right back into the game. Two minutes into the period, Christ Roberts found Drew Kirmse for the first Wildcat goal of the game. Roughly ten minutes later in the period, Kirmse dished to Nic Leisen for a powerplay goal, and the tie game.

            Unfortunately, two Wildcats were sent to the penalty box on calls of tripping and elbowing, which sent Austin on a five vs. three powerplay. Austin took advantage of this opportunity, and netted the go-ahead goal for the lead and the win. The final score was 3-2.

            So far this season, Nic Leisen and Drew Kirmse are tied for the team lead in goal with six apiece. Chris Roberts leads the team in the assist column, tallying seven.

            Dodge County will travel to Le Sueur for their next game on Saturday, January 17 at 3 p.m.