The West Bend Power faced off with the Wausau Cyclones in a home and away series and came away with a sweep, 4 points and a tie for first place in the Central Division.
Friday the packed Kettle Moraine Ice Center was treated to a 5-1 home team victory. The Power came out with momentum in a strong, fast paced first period. Owen Drake started the scoring at 10:53 of the first period with his 8th goal of the season off a Mike Sobaski (5) assist. The Power took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. The second period was all Power as they lit the lamp three times in a 4-minute stretch. Bryce Garber scored his 18th goal of the season at 14:24 off assists from Zach Wolverton (11) and Nik Johnson (18). Cole Fenske (14) fired from long range at 13:07 off a Jace Fitzgerald assist for the Power’s third goal of the night. Nik Johnson (15) scored the Power’s fourth goal at 11:49 off assists from Bryce Garber (19) and Zach Wolverton (12). Wausau was able to tally one goal in the third period, but Jace Fitzgerald (11) battled the puck away in the Power zone and put it into the empty net to seal the game.
Jesse Easterwood earned the victory in the Power net, stopping 22/23 Wausau shots on goal. The Power had 42 shots on goal.
The Palermo’s Screamin’ Sicilian Three Stars of the Game were: third star Nik Johnson second star Bryce Garber, and first star Jesse Easterwood. The Versi-foam Hard Hat hardest worker of the game was Odin Klebba.
Saturday the Power traveled to Marathon Park to attempt to break Wausau’s 16 home-game winning streak and in a close battle and full house, they did just that, taking down the Cyclones 5-4. The Power got out to a fast start, scoring three times in the first 9 minutes of the game. Tommy Kundinger (3) got the scoring started at 14:38 off assists from Gavin Riedy (1) and Lucca Weinkauf (5). Bryce Garber (19) quicky tallied another goal at 16:18 off an Andrew Butler (20) assist. Jace Fitzgerald (12) scored the Power’s third goal at 12:52 off assists from Nik Johnson (19) and Mike Sobaski (6). Wausau pulled starting goaltender Brady Faille for Colin Lemanski. Wausau responded with a goal from Adam Wiggins at 10:56 to bring the score to 3-1 after the first period. Wausau battled back scoring the first goal of the second period at 12:38. Teagan Scheurer (14) then scored an amazing highlight reel goal at 13:33 to put the Power back up by 2. He was assisted by Max Mudge (20) and Cole Fenske (15). Wausau was able to tie things up with goals at 5:22 (Christian McKinley) and 5:00 (Adam Napravnik) for a 4-4 score after two periods of play.
The third period’s lone goal came at 15:40 when Bryce Garber fired a shot past Lemanski for the 5-4 lead and eventual game winner. He was assisted by Nate Cohen (10) and Andrew Butler (21). The Power outshot the Cyclones 39-27. Jesse Easterwood was credited with his second win in as many nights, stopping 23/27 shots on goal.
The Kundinger Fluid Power Player of the weekend goes to Bryce Garber with three goals and an assist on the weekend.
The Power is now 28-9-1-2 with 59 points tied with the Cyclones for first place in the Central Division. The Cyclones have one game in hand over the Power and are 29-9–0-1 with 59 points.
The Power return home to Kettle Moraine Ice Center Friday, February 9 and Saturday, February 10 to take on the Wisconsin Woodsmen for Hockey Fights Cancer Weekend sponsored by Westbury Bank. Both games are at 7:30 and will be broadcast on NAHLTV.
