The Baraboo/Portage boys hockey team wrapped up the regular season in winning fashion.
The Thunderbirds scored three third-period goals to pull out a 5-2 Badger North Conference win over DeForest on Saturday at Poppy Waterman Ice Arena in Lake Delton.
Baraboo/Portage (7-16, 4-6 Badger North) never trailed for the second straight game, taking a 1-0 lead when Gabe Larson scored 6 minutes, 55 seconds into the first period.
DeForest’s Bryce Jacobsen tied the score at 1 just 40 seconds into the second period. Baraboo/Portage quickly took the lead back, as Cameron Logan and Joe Zemanovic assisted Josh Beale 1:37 into the period.
The T-Birds took the 2-1 lead into the third period before breaking the game open. Beale scored at 4:26, while Zemanovic scored a pair of goals — at the 5:38 mark and the 14:27 mark — to give Baraboo/Portage a 5-1 lead. DeForest’s Jack Hagen wrapped up the game with a goal in the final minute.
Goalie Christian Bault made 30 saves for DeForest (4-17, 0-9), while Baraboo/Portage’s Dane Hinz tallied 22 saves.
With the regular season wrapped up, the WIAA playoffs will start Tuesday. Baraboo/Portage is seeded seventh and will host 10th-seeded Viroqua in a regional semifinal at Pierce Park Hockey Rink in Baraboo. The T-Birds recorded an opening-round win over Sparta last season before dropping a 5-2 game at Reedsburg/Wisconsin Dells/Mauston.
Baraboo/Portage 1 1 3 — 5
DeForest 0 1 1 — 2
First period: BP — G. Larson (Koseor, Logan), 6:55.
Second period: D — Jacobsen (Hagen), 0:40. BP — Beale (Zemanovic, Logan), 1:37.
Third period: BP — Beale (Rath), 4:26. BP — Zemanovic (Brown), 5:38. BP — Zemanovic (Fitzwilliams), 14:27. D — Hagen, 16:00
Saves: D (Bault) 30, BP (Hinz) 22.
