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Wittig notches hat trick in Bay Area win

By Michael Trzinski, 12/01/12, 3:15PM CST

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Ice Bears score three in third to come back against Red Panthers



Courtney Wittig scored three times and added an assist as the Bay Area Ice Bears came from behind--scoring a trio of final period goals--to beat the upset-minded Point-Rapids Red Panthers 4-2 Saturday morning.

In the opening game of the Wisconsin River Classic tournament held at the South Wood County Rec Center in Wisconsin Rapids, the Ice Bears scored first midway through the first period on Wittig's shot that trickled between the pads of Red Panthers goalie Emily Bubla.

Three minutes later, Katrina Hassig scored from the slot for her first varsity goal for the Red Panthers at the 11:59 mark to tie the game. Molly Kuckkahn earned an assist on the play.

That would be the last goal scored until the third period.

The Ice Bears outshot the Red Panthers 14-4 in the first period, and had a 10-9 edge in the second stanza.

Just over one minute into the final period, Sarah Peplinski snapped a shot from the slot that beat Ice Bears goalie Audrie Murphy to give the hosts a 2-1 lead. Amanda Milanowski got an assist on the goal at the 1:29 mark.

Exactly three minutes later while on the penalty kill, the puck ended up on Wittig's stick and she snuck the puck past the Red Panther goalie for a short-handed goal with four seconds left on the kill. 

The sophomore star would tally her third goal on a shot from the low right circle that found the back of the net at the 10:01 mark, with an assist to Kelsey Rafferty.

Allie Brunner concluded the scoring at the 11:30 mark when she tapped home a loose puck to make the score 4-2. Wittig and Rafferty earned helpers on the play.

For the Ice Bears, who held a 13-7 final period shot advantage, Murphy stopped 18 pucks in the game. 

Bubla faced 37 shots, stopping 33 of them for the Red Panthers.

The Ice Bears (5-1) will face New Richmond this evening at 6:45 in the championship game, while the Red Panthers (1-2) face off against the Fox Cities Stars in the consolation match-up at 4:30pm Saturday.

WiPH Game Summaries