Ely’s high school hockey team is jockeying for playoff position as the regular season winds down.
Section rival Greenway downed the visiting Timberwolves 5-0 on Tuesday, but Ely gets another crack at its Section 7A rival this Monday at home.
That contest, together with Friday’s clash at Moose Lake and a Feb. 9 rubber match with North Shore, will likely determine if the Wolves climb as high as sixth or fall to as low as eighth in the 7A playoff seedings, which are announced next week.
Ely, now 6-11, will travel and play in a 7A quarterfinal if it is sixth or seventh.
If the Wolves wind up at number- eight, they’ll host a play-in game on Feb. 14 with the winner getting the dubious task of going to Hermantown for a Feb. 17 quarterfinal.
A shorthanded Greenway goal proved to be the backbreaker in this week’s matchup at Coleraine.
Ely was trailing 1-0 but on the power play late in the opening period, when the Raiders’ Brayden Nielsen broke free and scored a shorthanded goal.
It gave the Raiders a 2-0 cushion and that was more than enough.
Ely managed eight shots on goal in the middle period but couldn’t solve winning goalie Blayne Kelley, who wound up with 16 saves while pitching the shutout.
Goals by Vinnie Denucci and Bryce Nielsen added to the Raiders’ edge and Logan Hammer scored midway through the third to close things out.
Both Bryce and Brayden Nielsen had matching three-point nights with a goal and two assists, and Aiden Fillman added two assists for the winners.
Ely goaltender Henry Fetterer was busy, recording 45 saves.
• The Wolves scored five first-period goals and rolled to an 8-1 win last Saturday at Spooner (Wisc.)
Junior Evan Leeson notched two goals including Ely’s first just two minutes into the contest.
Hunter Halbakken and Sean Merriman added goals before the hosts got on the board.
Later in the period, Owen Marolt and Halbakken both scored and the Wolves took a 5-1 lead after the opening period.
Senior Rhett Johnson scored 54 seconds into the second period, and both Leeson and Cooper Mayranen added third-period tallies.
Fetterer came up with 31 saves and the Wolves did an outstanding job on the penalty kill, erasing nine Spooner power play chances.
Leeson, Halbakken and Merriman all had three-point games, and senior Jayden Zemke finished with three assists.
Johnson finished with a goal and an assist, as did Marolt, and Ryland Sandy came up with two assists.
Sawyer Hegman had an assist, as did Fetterer from the goalie spot.
• After Monday’s home tilt with Greenway (6 p.m.), the Wolves make their final regular season home appearance on Saturday, Feb. 7, taking on Park Rapids at 2 p.m. at the Ely Arena.
• This weekend’s home game with the Burnett Blizzard, set for Babbitt, was cancelled by the visiting team.
