MIDDLETON, Wis. — Amery’s hopes of its first state hockey title vanished in about a minute and a half.

Top-ranked Tomahawk scored twice in a short span midway through the third period for a three-goal lead and held on for a 5-3 victory over Amery in the Wisconsin state hockey Division 2 final on Saturday.

Amery led 2-1 early in the second period, but the Hatchets rallied for a 3-2 lead entering the final period.

Sawyer Hanna tapped in a rebound goal with 8½ minutes left to extend the lead to 4-2. Jett Reilly followed 1:27 later with his second goal of the game to make it 5-2.

Gavin Humpal brought the Warriors within 5-3 with a power-play goal with seven minutes remaining.

“I really felt like we were doing a good job in the third period, and then the fourth and fifth goals that they got were kind of back-breakers,” Amery coach Matt Humpal said. “They’re hard skaters, and we really tried to play physical with them and take it to them, but they outlasted us in the end, the third period, and won that period, as well.”

Amery (21-7-1), ranked fourth in Division 2, was making its first state tournament appearance. Tomahawk (24-4) closed the season with 16 consecutive victories. Amery, which lost three of its first five games, lost to Tomahawk 6-3 in the second game of the season.

“They’re a great team. They’re No. 1 in the state all year for a reason,” Matt Humpal said. “Getting a chance to play them today was obviously pretty special for us.”

Carter Meyer had 29 saves for the Warriors, who were outshot 34-25. Trevor Seliskar had 22 saves for the Hatchets, including 10 in the third period.

Elliot Green put the Amery in front 2-1 with a power-play goal three minutes into the second period, slotting it from left circle over the near post shoulder of goalie Trevor Seliskar.

The Hatchets tied it with 9 minutes left in the period when Jett Reilly passed from the left circle to Jonah Dickens directly in front of the crease for the tap-in.

Tomahawk regained the lead at 3-2 on a power play goal with just under six minutes left in the period when Dickens passed all the way across from the left side to Brayden Lamer, whose shot from the right circle found the near side upper corner.

Tomahawk grabbed the lead just 42 seconds in when Reilly crossed in front of the crease and backhanded it in from the right side.

Amery tied it four minutes later when Logan Doten gathered in a pass at the right circle and punched it into the left side of the net for his 2st goal of the season.

Meyer preserved the tie with a pair of key saves over the next four minutes, turning away a breakaway and then stopping a straight-on attempt by Dickens, who got loose in the slot.

“We knew we could come back and do what we needed to do,” Matt Humpal said. “We never quit. We had the lead in the second period, and thought we might be able to do it. They’ve got a lot of firepower and it’s tough to keep them down too long.”

Related Articles

Class A boys state hockey: East Grand Forks works overtime for championship

Boys state hockey tournament: Moorhead beats Edina with goal in final minute to advance to 2A final

Boys state hockey tournament: Stillwater advances to Class 2A title game by beating St. Thomas Academy

Boys hockey tournament: St. Cloud Cathedral, East Grand Forks to meet in Class A final

High school girls basketball section roundup: White Bear Lake, Eastview, Cretin-Derham Hall punch tickets to state