Boys Hockey: Mahtomedi 7, Red Wing 1

Red Wing played a dreadful second period at Mahtomedi -- allowing five goals, including their second short-handed goal of the game -- and lost to the Zephyrs 7-1 Thursday.

"We came out in the second period and we didn't have any life," said Red Wing coach George Nemanich, adding, "As they piled up the points our effort dwindled. That's not characteristic of our program."

It was so dire that Nemanich burned a timeout with about three minutes to play in the second period.

Red Wing was on the power play seven times and didn't score once. However, Mahtomedi senior Charlie Adams scored the game's first goal at 3:48 of the first period short-handed. Adams finished with a hat trick and a pair of assists.

Junior Mike Rose also scored a short-handed goal at 6:22 of the second period. He also scored an even-strength goal 43 seconds into the second period.

"On the power play you have to protect the puck and they were aggressive in trying to kill," Nemanich said.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the Zephyrs also had a sizable advantage in shots on goal, finishing with a 42-19 edge.

"We just got dominated," Nemanich said.

The play of junior goalie Sam Amendolar was one of the bright spots for Red Wing. He played the entire game and recorded 35 saves.

"He made some incredible saves, we just didn't help," Nemanich said.

The third period also was a positive for the Wingers. Sophomore Jack Strusz scored the only goal of the period at 2:16 off an assist from classmate Dayton Johnson.

"I thought our effort was much better," Nemanich said. "If we played like that from the beginning it would have been a different story. It would have been much closer."

Red Wing (0-2 overall) plays host to Breck on Saturday. The Mustangs are the defending Class A champion and beat Mahtomedi 7-1 on Tuesday.

Nemanich expressed concerns about Breck's experience. As he pointed out, there are 12 seniors on the Mustangs' roster and 10 sophomores on the Red Wing roster.

Tags: red wing, boys hockey, sports, wingers