It was a feast-or-famine sort of week for Ely’s high school hockey team.
The feast came Saturday, when the Timberwolves scored a season- high 11 goals in an 11-3 romp over visiting Lake of the Woods.
But just three days later, offense was much more difficult and nearly impossible to find against the unbeaten International Falls Broncos. International Falls prevailed 4-0, but amassed a whopping 64-3 advantage in shots on goal and held Ely without a shot in the opening frame.
Ely (3-6) stayed close thanks to a stellar outing between the pipes by freshman goaltender Henry Fetterer, who recorded an astounding and career-high total of 60 saves.
The Wolves actually trailed 2-0 against Lake of the Woods (1-11) before erupting.
Senior Rhett Johnson’s power play goal late in the first period got the hosts on the board, and the tide shifted in an eye-popping second period.
That’s when the Wolves scored seven times, including five goals in a span of less than nine minutes. Senior Hunter Halbakken had two of the second-period tallies, while the Wolves also benefited from a five-minute major penalty against the Bears, which resulted in three goals.
Sophomore Cooper Mayranen’s third-period goal sent the game into running time and the rout was on. Junior Owen Marolt had a sixpoint day for the Wolves, collecting five assists to go with his second-period goal.
Johnson had a five-point game with a goal and four assists, and Halbakken, Mayranen and senior Jayden Zemke all finished with four points, on two goals and two assists each.
Sean Merriman, a junior, recorded a pair of goals and sophomore Lucas Stalboerger had another. Stig Majerus added an assist and winning goalie Lewis Powell finished with 26 saves.
Carson Brouse, Jack Bessler and Lincoln Kasprowicz scored goals for the Bears.
• International Falls (9-0-2) controlled all phases of the game Tuesday at Bronco Arena, but Fetterer kept the Timberwolves competitive. It was 0-0 after one period, and it was the first time this season the Broncos were held without a goal in the opening frame.
International Falls had a 20-0 edge in shots after the first period. The Broncos broke through in the second frame.
While Fetterer was busy all night, winning goalie Kane Thompson only had to make three saves.
• The Wolves are at Bagley Saturday on the back end of a weekend road swing that started with Friday’s game at Wadena.
A rematch with International Falls is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday in Ely, and the Wolves host rival North Shore at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
