The University School co-op girls’ hockey team defeated the Stoughton co-op Icebergs 8-0 in a non-conference game to win the championship of The Girls Hockey Classic tournament at USM on Saturday.

The Wildcats swept the three games they played in the round robin tournament, outscoring their opponents by a total of 31-0.  Playing in goal for the Wildcats, Liz Ostermeyer shutout each of those opponents.  Saturday, Ostermeyer turned aside all 7 shots taken by the Icebergs while her teammates poured 48 shots on Kenzie Torpy, the Icebergs goalie.  Eight of those shots went past her.  Sloan Sullivan, Nicole Unsworth, and Nina Andersen each scored twice, while Jessica Malloy and Caitlin McBride each scored one goal apiece for the tournament’s champions.

USM coach Megan Bailey commented on the Wildcats’ play in the tournament,  “We played fast all weekend.  We got some monkeys off our back with our team play, and we had outstanding goaltending.   Everyone played well, even our freshmen. The team truly set the tone for our games in Hudson next weekend.”

Defenseman Sloan Sullivan scored the Wildcats' first two goals.  She tallied the first at 4:47 of the first period.  Her defense partner Lauren Hennelly moved in from the point to corral a loose puck on the right sideboards in the Icebergs’ zone.  Hennelly continued into the corner, turned, and lined the puck to Sullivan in the high slot.  Sullivan moved in and rifled a shot through a screen in front of Torpy.

Sullivan scored again just over a minute later.  She jumped ahead to join Unsworth on a two-on-one rush out of the USM zone.  As they moved into the Icebergs’ end, Unsworth moved the puck to Sullivan who one-timed a shot from the slot to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead at 5:53.

The Wildcats added another goal just over two minutes further into the period.  While cycling the puck in the Stoughton zone, Camille Marks sent it to Jessica Malloy at the top of the right circle.  Malloy spotted Andersen, who had just jumped on the ice during a change, coming into the play.  Andersen received the pass perfectly and beat Torpy with a shot in front of the net at 7:59.

Malloy made it 4-0 for the Wildcats late in the period.  She pulled a rebound from a point shot by defenseman Hannah Koniar away from a defender then wired a shot from the lower left circle high into the net at 14:07.

The Wildcats scored two more goals in the second period.  The first came when an attempted Wildcat clearing pass hit an Iceberg defender in the rear end.  The puck bounced to Unsworth in center ice.  Like a chimney sweeper clearing the way for Santa Claus’s delivery, Unsworth swept through the Icebergs’ slot, closed in on Torpy, and cleanly lofted a backhander under the cross bar for the goal at 9:09.

USM head coach Jason Woods described the Wildcats’ next goal as “maybe the best goal we have scored so far this year.”  He watched as Koniar forwarded a pass to Andersen as Andersen and Unsworth raced through center ice on a two-on-one break.  From the left circle in the Icebergs’ zone, Andersen passed the puck across to Unsworth.   Torpy moved to face Unsworth, so Unsworth sent a return pass to Andersen who one-timed the puck into the goal at 13:46.

Unsworth scored the Wildcats’ next goal at 1:13 of the third period.  Taking a face off in the USM end, Rose Revolinski drew the puck to Koniar who chipped it up the boards to Unsworth.  Unsworth took off like Air Force One, flew through center ice, and zoomed into the Icebergs’ end.  She maneuvered around a defender, taxied in on the net, and safely delivered the puck to the intended destination.

The Wildcats scored their final goal at 11:46 on an excellent individual play by Caitlin McBride.  She snared a loose puck in center ice, pulled it past an Iceberg poke check at the blue line, and headed down the slot. She deked another defender then discharged a shot past Torpy to give USM an 8-0 lead. “Great individual play,” said Woods after McBride scored.

USM is now 5-1 and 2-0 in the Eastern Shores Conference.  The Wildcats play Mahtomedi of Minnesota on Friday, December 19th at the Hudson Sports and Civic Center in Hudson, Wisconsin beginning at 8:00 pm.