MOOSE LAKE— The Timberwolves put another win on the board in their regular season finale here last Friday, hopefully taming the demons that had left them in a skid the past couple weeks. It was all Ely in the early going as the Wolves built a 4-0 lead they held until late in the second period.
Senior Wes Sandy, with assists from Garrett Rohr and Jayden Zemke, put the Wolves on the board at the 5:16 mark of the first to put Ely up 1-0. That was all the scoring until seven minutes into the second period, when sophomore Hunter Halbakken lit the lamp with an assist from Ty Walker. Three and a half minutes later, while on a power play, junior Jace Huntbatch put Ely up 3-0 with Deegan Richards on the assist. Again, on the power play just over four minutes later, Richards made it 4-0 with Sandy on the assist.
The Rebels finally responded just seconds later to narrow the gap to 4-1, but less than two minutes later, freshman Owen Marolt punched it in for Ely, with an assist from Drew Marolt to put the Wolves back up by four.
Goaltending was one of the keys to Ely’s victory as goalie Ben Leeson fended off a whopping 48 of 52 shots on goal during the contest for a .923 save percentage. That was pivotal in the final period, as Ely’s offense appeared spent, and the Rebels counterattacked for three straight goals to close the gap to one. But Ely, thanks in large part to Leeson’s efforts, held on for the win.
Senior Brecken Sandberg spent a total of nine minutes in the box, including a five-minute major for head contact and a two-minute charge for unsportsmanlike conduct. Sandberg drew 15 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct a week earlier during a game with St. Paul Johnson.
The Section 7A playoffs get underway on Saturday, Feb. 17 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth. Bracket assignments weren’t available as of the Timberjay’s Wednesday presstime.