ONALASKA — Onalaska/La Crosse co-op boys hockey coach Drew Kjos was hoping the third period would play out in a different manner than the first two in a Western Wisconsin Hockey Conference game against West Salem/Bangor on Thursday.
While the Hilltoppers’ defense was certainly up to its recent standard, two goals in the first two period left Kjos wanting to see more from his offense in the third.
He saw plenty during a two-minute stretch that gave Onalaska/La Crosse a 6-0 victory over the Panthers at the OmniCenter.
The Hilltoppers scored four times during that portion of the game to put an exclamation point on their eighth straight victory and third consecutive shutout.
“I like having the firepower we have and watching them play intense,” Kjos said. “We thrive off of having a hard forecheck, and it was nice to see us get back to the way we should be playing in that third period.
“The expectation for team is to always be playing hard, so it was nice to get that offense there in the third.”
It started with a goal from Onalaska sophomore Rylan Tomashek with an assist from Central junior Liam Branson at 11 minutes, 22 seconds of the third. One minute, 6 seconds after that, Onalaska sophomore Hudson Smith struck with assists from Onalaska senior Carter Johnson and Onalaska junior Grayson Andel.
Twenty-eight seconds later, it was Onalaska freshman Zach Marso converting a pass from Central senior Logan Sauter, and 26 seconds later Sauter converting a goal that included assists from Onalaska senior Jackson Egan and Logan junior Jesse Lycke.
That burst pushed a 2-0 advantage to 6-0 with 9:22 left in a game that included 47 shots on goal for the Hilltoppers.
Central junior Parker Tripp stopped all 14 shots directed his way for his third straight shutout and fourth in five games.
Andel also score unassisted in a short-handed situation in the first period, and Central sophomore Sam Hansen scored with an assist from Marso in the second.
Avalanche 10, Viroqua 2
VIROQUA — The Holmen/Aquinas co-op stopped a two-game losing streak and beat the Blackhawks to push its overall record to 8-8 and its conference mark to 3-2.
The Avalanche have won six of their past eight games as they prepare to host McFarland (11-2) at the OmniCenter on Saturday.
