Neenah/Hortonville/Menasha outlasts Fox Cities Stars in WIAA boys hockey sectional semifinal

AppletonSportsPage.com

APPLETON – The Fox Cities Stars boys hockey team saw its season come to an end with a hard-fought 5-3 loss to Neenah/Hortonville/Menasha in a WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinal Tuesday at the Community First Champion Center.

Following a scoreless first period, Preston McGinnis scored 3:20 into the second to give the Stars a 1-0 lead.

After NHM scored twice, Andrew Ostermann tied the game up at 2-2 with a goal with 1:20 to go in the period, but the Rockets scored with just three seconds left to go up 3-2.

Clay Laabs added another goal for the Rockets, before Parker Janssen countered for the Stars with a goal to bring them to within a goal. However, that would be as close as the Stars would get.

The Rockets added an empty net goal with six seconds left to finish off the scoring.

Elliot Reichenbacher had 15 saves in goal for the Stars, who finish the season 21-4.

Neenah/Hortonville/Menasha (21-5) moves on to a sectional final Friday at Cornerstone Community Center in Ashwaubenon against De Pere/West De Pere (20-4-1), with a berth in next week’s WIAA state tournament on the line.

Rockets 5, Stars 3
Fox Cities   0   2   1   –   3
Neenah/Hortonville/Menasha   0   3   2   –   5
Second period: 1. FC, Preston McGinnis (Andrew Ostermann), 3:20; 2. NHM, Cartyr Simonson (Mark Sutton, Keegan Krueger), pp., 6:31; 3. NHM, Sutton (Simonson), 12:22; 4. FC, Ostermann, 15:40; 5. NHM, Simonson (Sutton), 16:57.
Third period: 6. NHM, Clay Laabs (Drew Drach, Preston Liedke), pp., 10:27; 7. FC, Parker Janssen (Jake Koller, Blayke Adamovich), 12:17; 8. NHM, Sutton, en., 16;54.
Saves: FC, Elliot Reichenbacher 15; NHM, Matthew Nelson 11.
Records: Fox Cities 21-4; Neenah/Hortonville/Menasha 21-5.