Blades steal two from the Riverkings

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – The Steele County Blades were unpleasant to host Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings, securing back-to-back victories in front of a packed home crowd. The Blades won 5-3 on Dec. 5 and tallied a 2-1 overtime win Dec. 6. The Riverkings were forced to compete without their leading scorer, forward Noa Diamond, sidelined with an upper-body injury; it is uncertain when he will return.

Riverkings fall short on Friday night

The Riverkings wasted no time striking first in the Dec. 5 game, scoring just 11 seconds into the first period. Mateo Ruffolo disrupted a pass in the neutral zone and fed Felix Ahlstrand, who slipped the puck to Mikhail Ilyin. Ilyin spun through the crease and lifted a shot over Blades goaltender Braedyn Sullivan for the early 1-0 lead.
The game settled into a tug-of-war with neither team able to gain the advantage. The standoff was broken late in the opening period when the Riverkings were unable to clear the zone. Alexander Wilkey tracked down the puck behind the Riverkings net and set up Zachary Stinski in the slot. Stinski buried a wrister to tie the game 1-1.
The second period mirrored the first. Ilyin intercepted a pass at center ice, sped down the right wing and beat Sullivan for his second goal of the night. But once again, the Blades answered late. Michael Longmire circled the net, drawing defenders before finding John Scott, who fired a sharp-angle shot past Deaken Shaw to knot the score 2-2.

The Blades grabbed the lead midway through the third on a two-on-one rush. The Riverkings responded five minutes later when Olivier Bolduc hammered home a power-play slap shot from distance. With the game winding down, Kade Phillips broke the tie at 2:34, and Stinski’s empty-netter sealed the 5-3 Blades victory.
The Blades goaltender, Braedyn Sullivan, had 31 saves on 34 shots; Deaken Shaw went 37 of 41.

Saturday night slips away

The rematch on Saturday, Dec. 6 was another grind. Both teams converted on second-period power plays, though controversy loomed when a Riverkings defenseman was forced out of the game on a contentious call. The Riverkings killed the initial five-on-three but the Blades capitalized on the remaining powerplay advantage when Dante Zaffarano ripped a shot past Shaw to give Steele County the edge.
The Riverkings answered during their own five-on-three chance at the 12-minute mark. Ayden Welch pounced on a rebound from Ilyin’s blistering shot to tie the game 1-1.

Regulation ended deadlocked, but overtime was not kind to the home team. With 1:29 remaining, the Riverkings failed to clear their zone, and Stinski found a deflected puck with an open net waiting. His goal gave the Blades the win, 2-1.
The Riverkings are off for the holidays and ready to return to action when they take on the Northwest Express Jan. 9-10 in Spooner, Wis.