SIREN, Wis. – Ely’s Luke Olson scored eight goals last Friday night, Jan. 10, to lead the Timberwolves to their first victory of the season over a combined Wisconsin team known as the Blizzard.
“The puck went in the net easily for him that night,” said Ely Head Coach Ben Johnson about Olson’s efforts, which lifted the Wolves to a 10-1 final margin. The senior standout started his scoring early, with just 1:38 gone in the first period. Sean Prigge added a power play goal at 9:07 in the first period on an assist by Jimmy Zupancich and Olson. The Timberwolves needed just the two shots on goal in the first period to take the 2-0 lead.
In the second period, Ely scored five more times. Dalton Schreffler opened the second period with a goal in just 48 seconds, with an assist by Zupancich and Prigge. Olson added four more to the net in the second, with an assist by Prigge and three more unassisted. He added two more unassisted goals in the third period before the Blizzard got on the scoreboard. Olson added his eighth goal of the night at 16:30 to close out Ely’s scoring.
Ely defenders kept the Blizzard away from goalie Chase Sandberg during the first two periods, not allowing a single shot on goal. Sandberg turned away a flurry of 32 shots on goal in the third period. Ely took 31 shots at the net in the entire game.
“It felt good for the whole team to get their first win of the season,” Johnson said. “They have been working so hard every week and have continued to stay positive. A win really changes the energy for the whole team, especially for the younger players who are competing at the varsity level for the first time.”
Ely hosts Red Lake Falls on Friday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. They travel to Mora on Saturday, Jan. 18 and return home on Tuesday, Jan. 21 against Proctor at 6 p.m.