The Kenosha Unified hockey team gave Waukesha Catholic Memorial/Milwaukee Pius XI a battle before falling 3-2 in a Classic 8 Conference game on Monday night at the IcePlex in Pleasant Prairie.

The Crusaders (13-8-1, 4-1-1 Classic 8) were one of six teams to receive honorable mention in the latest state poll.

“We played a really good game today,” Unified coach Phil Wade said. “We were focused. We wanted to make sure we played a solid defensive game and that worked really well for us.”

The Thunder (8-9-2, 0-5-1) led 1-0 after one period when Jacob Dawiec scored an unassisted goal with 8:05 left.

Catholic Memorial scored twice in the second period and made it 3-1 with 10:57 left in the third period.

Kenosha’s Max Pierson made it a one-goal game with 8:46 left, but the Thunder could not tally the equalizer.

Thunder goaltender Nick Hollendonner stopped 38 shots.

In the WIAA pairings released Monday, Kenosha received the No. 9 seed in its sectional and will play No. 8 Greendale in a regional final Tuesday, Feb. 16 at Wilson Park. The winner will play at top-seeded and second-ranked Stoughton.

Big night for Nelson

Chris Nelson scored a season-high 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Wilmot boys basketball team lost to visiting Union Grove, 74-57, in a Southern Lakes Conference makeup game on Monday night.

Nelson, who is averaging 19.2 points in his last six games, finished 9-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range.

“He’s been consistently improving,” Wilmot coach Terry Bruton said. “He came to play tonight. He played his heart out.”

The Panthers (3-13, 0-9 SLC) held a 13-12 lead after one quarter and trailed 29-25 at halftime. Nelson scored 15 of his points in the first two quarters.

Union Grove (7-10, 4-6) pushed its lead to 14 points after outscoring Wilmot 20-10 in the third quarter.

The Broncos went 9-of-14 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

Brendon Hayden and Landon Tenhagen added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Wilmot.

By Andrew Horschak