The Season Ends
Alpena Falls to Negaunee 7-5 In  Playoff Opener

The Alpena Wildcats season ended with a 7-5 loss to the Negaunee Miners in District 2 pre regional action. In a game best described as crazy... there were three lead changes over the final two periods and both teams battled back to tie the score four times. 

Alpena came out and took control of the first period with Ben Henry picking up two of his four goals. Both of Henry's goals were pretty, pulling goaltending Miner net minder Justin Farley to his right and firing low just inside in the open post.
Dominating play territorially, Alpena out shot Negaunee 15-3 in the first. 

The second period would see Negaunee come roaring back. Tyler Desjardins cut the deficit to 2-1 at the 6:47 mark and then tied the game at 9:01. Alpena's Henry would swing momentum back to his squad as he completed a hat trick and put his team up 3-2.

But Negaunee, whose players showed determination all game long came right back. Ken Kinnunen tied the game at 11:54 and Tyler Nault gave his team its first lead at 11:54. 

But Henry, as he did all game long kept his team in the game getting his fourth of the night which tied the game at 4. Jared Cloft would reclaim the lead for Alpena at the 7:33 mark. The lead was short lived, as Nault tied the game at 5 just 49 seconds later and Nathan Alexander put Negaunee up 6-5 at 9:22. Nault put the finishing touches on the victory with an empty net goal at 13:51.

"It came too easy in the first period", Alpena Head Coach Chris Limback said. "Our kids thought the game was over. When momentum changed, we started to panic, stand still and not skate. Negaunee came out and played great in the second and third periods and were the better team today", Limback concluded.

Farley picked up the win in net for Negaunee stopping 29 of 34 Alpena shots, Doug Snow took the loss facing 21 shots.