The West Bend Power and Fox Cities Forge met for the first time this season in a home-and-away series, and the Power came away with the sweep after two commanding victories. Friday night, the Power cruised to an 11-1 victory on home ice before completing the sweep with an 8-3 win Saturday at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
With the two victories, the Power improved to 6-0-0-1 with 13 points, remaining in first place in the NA3HL Central Division.
FRIDAY
The Power found the back of the net 11 times in their home opener in front of the Power faithful, rolling to an 11-1 victory.
Reece Beckwith got the scoring barrage started at 11:24 of the first period with a shorthanded breakaway goal — his first of the season. Beckwith was assisted by Josh Graves (5) and Zach Halling (2). Shaun Paulson added a power-play goal at 9:11, with assists from Adam Sexton (4) and Josh Graves (6), giving the Power a 2-0 lead after the opening period.
The second period featured six Power goals, highlighted by a four-goal performance from Beckwith. Beckwith scored his second of the night at 18:33, assisted by Blake Kohnen (3) and Luca Doremus (4). At 10:06, Beckwith struck again with another shorthanded goal, assisted by Zach Halling (3) and Tristan Hearley (1). Armani Fisher scored at 8:48 off assists from Josh Graves (7) and Evan Burchardt (1), followed by Elias Holan at 5:40, assisted by Adam Sexton (5) and Nathan Antti (6). Otis Berge added another Power goal, assisted by Fisher (2) and Antti (7). Beckwith completed his four-goal night with just three seconds remaining in the period, scoring off assists from Kohnen (4) and Paulson (4). The Forge’s Jonah Dickens scored the visitors’ lone goal of the night in the second period, sending the Power into the third with an 8-1 lead.
The Power added three more goals in the third period. Paulson completed his hat trick, while Tomas Kobela scored his first goal as a member of the Power. Drew Sparacino, Josh Graves, Adam Sexton, Paulson and Elias Holan all recorded assists in the period.
The Power dominated the shot clock 65-8. Jacob Iallannardo earned the victory in net, while Robin Sejba shut out the Forge in the third period.
SATURDAY
There was no shortage of scoring in the series finale Saturday night, as the Power traveled to Appleton Family Ice Center and came away with an 8-3 victory.
The home-standing Forge struck first at 14:41 of the opening period, but the Power quickly answered with three goals. Elias Holan scored at 12:18, assisted by Shaun Paulson (6) and Adam Sexton (7). Blake Kohnen followed with a goal at 9:46, assisted by Zach Halling (4) and Reece Beckwith (2). Halling then gave the Power a 3-1 lead with his goal at 4:19, assisted by Kohnen (5) and Josh Graves (10).
Sexton added two goals in the second period, while Drew Sparacino tallied his first goal of the season. Paulson recorded two assists in the period, while Maloy Lomheim, Tomas Kobela and Brandon Behnke also picked up assists as the Power took a 6-1 lead into the second intermission.
Kobela scored his second goal of the weekend in the third period, assisted by Evan Burchardt, and Tristan Hearley added another Power goal. The Forge scored twice in the third, but the Power held on for the 8-3 victory. The Power outshot Fox Cities 45-22. Crew Staudacher earned the win in net for the Power and Hunter Clark finished the game in the win.
POWER PLAYERS OF THE WEEKEND
The Culligan Water of West Bend Power Players of the Weekend are:
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Shaun Paulson — 9 points
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Reece Beckwith — 7 points
Both players played a major role in the Power’s offensive explosion, combining for 16 points during the two-game sweep.
UP NEXT
The Power will have an off weekend before returning to Kettle Moraine Ice Center on Saturday, October 17, for First Responders Night and WCYHA Alumni Day, sponsored by Graff Masonry. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m., but the fun begins earlier in the day with a full slate of WCYHA activities. The WCYHA Alumni Game will take place from 2:10-3:45 p.m., followed by the Milwaukee Police/Fire Hockey Team taking on the Minneapolis Police/Fire Hockey Team at 4:00 p.m. The Great Outdoors Supper Club will be serving SmashBurgers beginning in the afternoon and continuing until 7:00 p.m.
The Power will also recognize and honor local first responders throughout the evening. All first responders receive free admission to the game.