Senior forward Reece Cordray became Verona’s all-time leading scorer and senior forward Conrad Moline netted a hat trick to lead Verona to a 6-2 win over University School of Milwaukee in a battle of top-six ranked teams on Tuesday, Jan. 31, in Milwaukee.

Verona (17-5), ranked fifth in the Division 1 Wisconsin Prep Hockey state poll, rallied from a one-goal deficit with five straight goals to topple sixth-ranked University School.

Cordray had three assists and now has 184 career points, which eclipses the previous record set by Charlie Parker in 2014. Cordray leads the team in points (60), goals (25) and assists (35) this season.

“Reece is a special hockey player,” Verona coach Joel Marshall said. “I knew it from the beginning. He was a contributor as a freshman on our team that won state in 2020. He knew he was creeping in on the record. It was a goal for him to reach that milestone.”

Cordray is part of a starting line that features Moline – who is second on the team with 24 goals – and senior forward Jack Marske who has 18 goals and 18 assists.

“That line has been one of the most dynamic in the state all year,” Marshall said. “They are hard for other teams to contain with Reece’s speed, Marske’s all-around play and Conrad’s puck control and finishing.”

The Wildcats followed that up with a 7-3 victory over Kenosha on Friday, Feb. 3, at the Verona Ice Arena. Verona then had its eight-game winning streak snapped in a 4-1 loss to Stevens Point on Saturday, Feb. 4, in Verona.

The Wildcats received a No. 1 seed in the WIAA Division 1 tournament and will play the winner of Aquinas (No. 9 seed) or Reedsburg (No. 8) on either Feb. 16 or Feb. 17.

Stevens Point 4, Verona 1

Stevens Point senior defenseman Mason Keller scored two goals to lead the Panthers past Verona on Feb. 4, in Verona.

The Panthers scored two goals in the second period to take the lead. Keller scored on assists from Jackson Schroeder and Kade Smigaj at 6 minutes, 41 seconds in the second period. Smigaj then scored at 15:41 to give Stevens Point a 2-0 lead. Marske scored with 46 seconds left in the second to cut the Panthers’ lead to 2-1. Cordray and junior David Dina assisted on the score.

Keller scored his second goal at 6:35 in the third period. Stevens Point’s Grant Molski then capped the scoring with a goal on the power play at 12:47 in the third.

Verona outshot Stevens Point 37-27. The Panthers went 1-for-3 on the power play and the Wildcats finished 0-for-1. Verona had six penalties and spent 31 minutes in the penalty box.

Verona junior goaltender Blake Craven had 23 saves.

Verona 7, Kenosha 3

Cordray scored two goals and the Wildcats rolled by Kenosha on Feb. 3, at the Verona Ice Arena.

The Wildcats scored three first-period goals. Dina put Verona on the board first with a goal at 2:29. Kenosha’s Liam Von Elm-McKenna answered with a power-play goal at 13:31 to tie the game at 1. The Wildcats responded with senior defenseman Viktor Mitchell scoring on an assist by Moline at 15:08. About a minute later, Marske scored on assists from Cordray and senior Lars Brotzman to give the Wildcats a 3-1 lead.

Verona tacked on three more goals in the second period to build a 6-1 lead. Junior forward Charlie McGinnis scored on assists from junior forward Garrison Codde and senior forward Blake Herburger at 9:21.

Cordray scored about three minutes later on a pass from Marske. Senior forward Charlie Scadden then scored on assists from junior forward Henry Mizelle and sophomore Michon Dina at 13:30 to give the Wildcats an insurmountable 6-1 lead.

Corday scored his second goal on assists from Marske and Moline at 11:16 in the third period. Verona outshot Kenosha 54-21, including 22-2 in the second period. Craven posted 18 saves.

Verona 6, University School 2

Moline scored three goals to lead Verona past University School on Jan. 31, on the road.

University School’s Tyler Cook scored a power-play goal at 9 minutes, 10 seconds in the first period. Verona outshot Milwaukee 9-7 in the first, but had a penalty that University School capitalized on.

“We thought we outplayed them the first five minutes and then we had a penalty,” Marshall said.

Codde scored on assists from McGinnis and Herburger at 2:43 in the second period. Moments later, Moline scored a go-ahead goal on assists from Marske and freshman defenseman Grady Miller to take a 2-1 lead.

Only 15 seconds into the third period, Moline scored his second goal on passes from Marske and Cordray. About two minutes later, Marske scored on assists from Moline and Cordray to extend the lead to 4-1. Herburger scored a short-handed goal midway through the third period on a pass from Codde.

Marshall said any time a team scores a goal it can be deflating for the opponent.

“To get one short-handed makes it even more inflating for your team,” he said. “We had nice contributions from all of our lines. It’s nice to see them peaking at the right time of year.”

University School’s Jack McGregor scored a goal on a power play to cut Verona’s lead to 5-2 at 8:08. Moline scored a short-handed goal on an assist by Cordray at 11:51. Both Verona and University School had 27 shots. Craven had a game-high 25 saves. University School went 2-for-4 on the power play and Verona finished 0-for-2.