Waukesha edges Kettle Moraine/Mukwonago.
Larsen stops 15 shots in third
DELAFIELD - Waukesha was missing one of the state’s top goal scorers Tuesday night due to a concussion. But thanks to the Wings’ top-shelf goaltender and a stingy defense they continue to advance in the WIAA hockey playoffs.
Sophomore Garrett Larsen made 15 of his 34 saves during a frenetic third period that saw the Wings deny the Kettle Moraine co-op on a 5-on-3 power play and overcome an end-of-game rush to preserve a 3-2 win in a sectional semifinal at Nagawaukee Ice Arena, in front of a spirited crowd on the home ice for both teams.
Waukesha (23-3) was dominating early, jumping out to a 3-0 lead before Kettle Moraine/Mukwonago/Oconomowoc scored two power-play goals in a combined 19 seconds to close within a goal. The fifth-seeded Lasers (11-13-1) kept the pressure on the entire third period, but Larsen and his defense never faltered.
“He was huge,” said Waukesha coach Raja Aylsworth of Larsen, who carries a 1.80 goals against average. “We’ve got one of the best goalies in the state and he proved it tonight. (KMMO) played a hell of a game and the goalie was ready to go. We did just enough to beat a good team tonight.”
Waukesha advances to Saturday’s 1 p.m. sectional final at Janesville Ice Arena against the sixthseeded Beloit co-op (1211-1), which shut out the Kenosha Bradford co-op, 6-0, in the other sectional semifinal. The Wings are hoping for their second straight trip to state and second in the history of the program.
“It doesn’t matter what seed they are, we’ve got to come out as hard as we did this game and beat them like we can and get to state,” Larsen said. “That was our goal at the beginning of the season.”
The Wings hope to have the services Saturday of high-scoring forward Ian Malcolmson, who has missed the postseason and is in the concussion protocol. Malcolmson was tied for the state lead in points with 79 and was third in the state in goals with 47 heading into Tuesday’s action.
Larsen hopes Malcolmson can play but knows his team is ready to pick up the slack in case he can’t.
“Everybody comes ready to play,” Larsen said. “When he’s gone everybody else is here and we just need full dominance from everybody else. That’s what we did tonight.”
Waukesha jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind firstperiod goals from Garrett Wilderman and Kevin Broda and a second-period score from Chad Larsen. But two KMMO power-play goals within two minutes from defenseman Jacob Carfanga tightened it up. But the Wings didn’t panic despite the quick strikes.
“I thought they were gaining momentum more than us, and we were getting into a struggle,” Garrett Larsen said. “But once we got to the third we just wanted to lock it down on defense and that’s how we came away with the win.”