By Greg Seubert

WAUPACA – Antigo ended up on the short end of a 3-2 score Feb. 4 in the opening round of the Great Northern Conference boys’ hockey tournament.

Waupaca handed the Red Robins the one-goal loss Feb. 4 at the Waupaca Ice & Expo Center. The Red Robins entered the tournament seeded fifth out of eight teams, while the Comets are a No. 4 seed.

The Red Robins will get a home game in the second round of the tournament, as they will host eighth-seeded Tomahawk at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11 at the Langlade County Fairgrounds. The Hatchets fell to top-seeded Northland Pines 15-0 Feb. 4.

Waupaca’s Davis Levine opened the scoring with 2:11 remaining in the first period. Antigo tied the score with 59 seconds to go in the period on a goal from Dylan Lewis off of assists from Tyler Schroepfer and Joe Bartletti.

Jack Erspamer’s goal with 7:55 left in the second period gave Waupaca a 2-1 lead and the Comets added to their lead with a minute remaining with Vin Nikolai’s goal.

A pair of Waupaca penalties gave the Red Robins a 3-on-5 opportunity with just over six minutes to go in the game and Antigo took advantage with Isaac Wickersheim’s goal with 6:01 remaining. However, that was as close as the Red Robins would get.

Waupaca outshot the Red Robins 37-23.

• Greg Seubert is the sports editor of the Waupaca County Post, a Multi Media Channels publication in Waupaca.

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Brody Bunnell makes one of his 34 saves for Antigo Feb. 4 in the Red Robins' 3-2 loss to Waupaca in the opening round of the Great Northern Conference boys' hockey tournament. The Red Robins are a No. 5 seed for the tournament and Antigo will host eighth-seeded Tomahawk at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, in the second round. Greg Seubert Photo