ELY – After years of struggle on the ice, the Timberwolves hockey team is showing signs of new life.
The team has already scored 17 goals in its first six games of the season, nearly doubling its scoring total from all of last year.
On Saturday, they notched a 6-0 home-ice shutout of Moose Lake Area, for their first win of the season.
They followed up on Tuesday with a 4-2 loss to Lake of the Woods. Details for that game were not available by the Timberjay’s press time.
At last Saturday’s matinee game, Ely and Moose Lake went scoreless in the first period. The Timberwolves managed to get just five shots on goal against a smaller, faster Rebels team that peppered senior goalie Chase Sandberg with 10 shots to the net.
Ely Coach Jake Myers said he was disappointed with the way his team came out in front of the home crowd. “We came out slow and weren’t making smart hockey plays,” he said. “I saw a lot of unnecessary passes After the first intermission, they came out like a team. They started moving their feet, and started to shoot the puck. They started to crash the net.”
At 9:43 in the second period, Deegan Richards put Ely on the board with an assist by Logan Loe. Just a minute later, at 10:54, Kole Macho lit the lamp to give Ely a 2-0 advantage.
With an Ely player in the penalty box, sophomore defenseman Wes Sandy hit a short-handed goal at 12:14, with assists by Tommy Homer and Macho, to give the Timberwolves a 3-0 lead after two periods. “That was awesome,” Myers said. “Wes just fired the puck from the top of the circles.”
Ely came out in the third period looking for more goals, and it took just 25 seconds for Macho to hit the back of the net on a power play on an assist from Zupancich. Loe scored back-to back goals just ninety seconds later to give the Timberwolves a 6-0 lead.
Ely was three-for-seven on power plays, and the Timberwolves defense kept the Rebels from scoring on five power plays. “I see a lot of improvement on our power plays, and they’re buzzing lately,” Myers said.
Ely had 27 shots on goal compared to 31 for Moose Lake. The Timberwolves served 10 minutes in the penalty box on five infractions. Moose Lake was called for four penalties for 14 minutes. “It was nice to see senior goalie Chase Sandberg’s first career shut-out,” Myers said.
Moose Lake brought just ten players to Ely due to some academic ineligibilities and injuries, according to Myers. “They are a hard-working team, and they had a lot of close games this year. My players kind of thought they could get an easy win but realized after that first period, they still have to work their butts off for every game. They woke up and started playing hard.”
Last Tuesday, Dec. 7, the Timberwolves lost to North Shore, 3-1, to lose their third game of the young season. The Storm held a 1-0 lead in the third period when Ely sophomore Sam Leeson lit the light to even the score. He was assisted by Brady Eaton and Chase Anderson.
North Shore came back 30 seconds later, with just over a minute to play, to take the lead, and added another quick score 15 seconds after that. Ely goalie Chase Sandberg stopped 44 shots on the night, while Ely launched 24 shots to the net.
The Timberwolves were called for five penalties. North Shore had four.
The Timberwolves (1-4) are scheduled to host Burnett, Wis., on Saturday, Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. nInternational Falls will visit the Ely Ice Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 21, before taking a break over the holidays.