Hockey as it should be.  The University School co-op girls’ hockey team traveled to Minnesota in search of some good hockey.  The Wildcats found it Friday night at the Richland Ice Arena in Richland, Minnesota where they took on the Academy of Holy Angels Stars.  The two teams played a game that was exciting, contentious, and enjoyable for participants and fans alike. The Stars scored two third-period goals to comeback and defeat the Wildcats 2-1.

“It was a fantastic hockey game,” said Jake Haury, USM’s head coach.  “We played one of our best games of the year, maybe the best.  Holy Angels is a very good team and they brought out our best.  I thought we could have won it.  We had the chances, but we just couldn’t get the puck in.  But I’m glad we got to play this game – every minute of it was worth it.  We have a tough game against Hudson back in Wisconsin tomorrow.  If we play like this, it will be another great game.”

Friday’s game displayed two good freshmen goaltenders, the Wildcats’ Marie Detert and the Stars’ Leah Lood.  Each of them played an outstanding game.  Detert made 24 saves and Lood stopped 20 shots.  The two kept the game scoreless until the last two minutes of the second period.

The scoreless tie was broken at 15:31 of the second period.  Sophomore defenseman Hannah Gold tapped the puck away from an opponent’s stick in the Wildcats’ zone.  Like a power boat roaring around buoys, Gold maneuvered past several checkers as she sped down the ice.  Entering the Holy Angels’ end, she stickhandled to the left past a defenseman.  From the left circle she torpedoed a high shot past Lood to give the Wildcats a lead.

The Stars were determined and their efforts shined in the third period.  They killed three power plays and scored the goals they needed to win the game.

Their first goal came at 2:03 of the final period.  As the Stars forechecked aggressively in the Wildcats’ zone, they got the puck behind the net. Senior Annika Duryea pulled the puck from a scrum and popped it out front to junior Mary Kay Eiden who was all alone in the low slot.  Eiden quickly fired the puck into the net to tie the game.

The Stars won the on a goal late in the third period.  Skating out of the Stars on a 2-on-1 break, freshman Jordyn Mans avoided a stick check as she entered the USM blue line.  She was free, so she took a hard shot high into the net at 14:27.

The action continued until the very end, but Lood stopped several more attempts by the Wildcats and the Stars had the win.

USM is now 13-2-1.  The Wildcats play Hudson in a non-conference game at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 16th in Hudson.