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Fusion Ride Third Period Flurry to Win

By Delmar Scanlon, WiPH Staff, 12/29/16, 7:30AM CST

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Natalie Gabbert and Taylar Meier score 2 goals each in third

Wildcats come up short against Fusion

A rivalry game between St. Croix Valley Fusion and the USM Wildcats took place in the first round of the Culver's Cup tournament in Madison.  The two teams have played over the years with the Fusion winning the majority of the games in the early matches and the last few years have gone to the Wildcats.

The Fusion were able to get on the board first, when Abbie DeLong hit an outlet pass to Amber DeLong.  Amber had a breakaway against the Wildcats and was able to put the puck home with a shot just above the outstretched glove of Marie Dedert at 10:31 of the first period.  St. Croix Valley had a great opportunity to increase the lead on a power play, when University School of Milwaukee picked up penalties with 4:03 left in the first and a second penalty 1 minute later.  The Wildcats managed to kill off both penalties and ended up with a breakout from their own defensive zone with a under 40 seconds remaining in the period.  Claire Ali took the puck along the boards and skated into the Fusion's defensive zone.  Ali took a shot as she skated over the top of the crease, but Ellen Coggio made the save.  USM's Gabby Turer and Abby Hentzen trailed the play.  Hentzen put the puck just under the crossbar with Turer assisting at 16:24 of the first period.  The period came to an end with the score knotted at 1.

The second period found the Wildcats outshooting St. Croix Valley 17-6, but neither goaltender allowed the other team to score.  Both teams were able to kill off penalties in the period.

The Fusion scored quickly in the third period as Natalie Gabbert put one home at the 1:02 mark with an assist from Kamryn Jacobs.  Taylar Meier bumped the lead to 2 with an unassisted goal at 3:40 of the third.  Meier scored at 6:27 of the third, when she took a pass from Coggio and put the puck in the back of the net.  Gabbert concluded the scoring with an assist from Meier with 27 seconds remaining in the game.

Ellen Coggio finished the game with 34 saves for the Fusion, while Marie Dedert had 28 saves for USM.

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