The Point-Rapids Red Panthers traveled to Antigo Friday night to face the Northern Edge, hoping to extend their lead in the Great Northern Conference.

The Edge, a much-improved team from last season, had other ideas.

In the end, the Red Panthers skated off with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over the home team at the Langlade County Ice Arena.

Within the first two minutes, an estimated crowd of 100 knew this was going to be a battle royale. Although there was no scoring in the first period, both teams had opportunities and also showed some feistiness, testing the contact limits to the...limit. Three penalties in the period (Edge with one, Red Panthers with two) showed the players were going to play.

At the end of the stanza, the scoreboard showed zeroes for both squads despite the fact that the hosts held a 10-5 shot edge.

The Red Panthers took advantage on an early second period penalty and took a 1-0 lead on Molly Kuckkahn's goal from the slot area for the power play tally. Amanda Milanowski and Katrina Hassig earned assists on the play at the 1:57 mark.

Just over two minutes later, the Red Panthers took a two-goal lead on a score from Milanowski. The junior defenseman launched a shot from the top of the left circle and the puck eluded the screened Edge goalie Sophie Schmidt. The goal at the 4:11 mark was assisted by Sarah Peplinski.

The Edge nearly cut into the lead midway through the period while on a power play. Red Panther goalie Emily Bubla made a couple of saves but found herself sprawled on the ice after stopping the shots. The puck was loose in the slot and an Edge player tried to slide the biscuit into the semi-open net, only to hit the left post and bounce across the slot out of harm's way.

The second period ended with the guests leading 2-0 and holding a slim 7-5 shot margin.

The third period featured fierce action, but neither team was able to score. Point-Rapids had a couple of power play chances midway through the period but was unable to convert.

The Edge co-coaches Nick English and Jon Forster pulled Schmidt out for an extra attacker with just under a minute remaining. A Red Panther penalty with 39 seconds left gave the Edge a chance for a 6-on-4 goal, but the visitors were able to keep the puck out of the net and celebrated the two-goal margin as the horn sounded.

The Red Panthers outshot the Edge 14-8 in the final 17 minutes of play.

Bubla earned her first shutout of the season with a 23 save performance, while Schmidt matched the sophomore save-for-save, ending with 24 in the contest.

The Red Panthers (3-2, 2-0 GNC) have their work cut out for them as they travel to #2 Onalaska next Tuesday, while the Edge (1-2, 1-1) travel to GNC newcomer Waupaca next Friday.