A late third-period goal by junior Michaela Fritz’s gave her senior teammates on the University School co-op girls’ hockey team a 3-2 victory over the Warbirds/Beaver Dam co-op to help them celebrate Senior Night on Tuesday, January 16th at USM.
The Wildcats and their fans celebrated the win and paid homage to the contributions to the USM co-op by the team’s six seniors: Carlyn Ells, Hannah Gold, Abby Hentzen, Megan McPike, Natalie Pogorelc, and Juliana Strothers.
Fritz’s goal stopped a third-period Warbirds comeback in the Eastern Shores Conference contest. Fritz described her game-winner, “It was a rebound to me from the top of the circle. I was relieved when I realized it went in. The opposing team was pressuring hard and had a lot of intensity, so to have a one-goal lead late in the game felt good.”
The game was close throughout, and both goalies played well. Senior Rebecca Avalos made 26 saves for the Warbirds, while Strother stopped 34 shots in net for the Wildcats.
The first period ended in a scoreless tie. The Wildcats opened the scoring with a goal at 6:27 of the second period. The Wildcats chipped the puck deep into the Warbirds zone and began to forecheck. Junior Lexie Epperson pressured a Warbird defenseman in the right corner, causing her to cough up the puck. Like on owl on the hunt, Freshman Zoe Neudorfer swooped in and got the puck. She skated behind the Warbirds’ net and swung out for a wraparound attempt. The puck slid through the crease. Epperson snared it and fired it past Avalos.
Good forechecking helped the Wildcats scored again just over a minute later. A rebound off of Avalos’ pads popped out to a defender who started to skate out of the zone. freshman forward Jordan Bonk tripped the puck away high in the slot. Bonk skated to the right and was checked. The puck bounced along the boards to junior Karly Lamoreaux. Lamoreaux deftly stickhandled past two defenders as she closed in on Avalos. Her shot from the low slot went in at 7:56.
That old chestnut, “a two-goal lead is the worst lead in hockey” proved true for the Wildcats in the third period. The Warbirds changed the momentum with a goal early in the period. Junior defenseman Morgan Brown snagged a loose puck near the blue line in the Wildcats zone. She skated in and fired a low shot.
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Strother stopped it. The rebound caromed to the stick of Alyssa Heim. Before the junior could shoot, the puck popped away from her stick. It went right back to Brown who swiftly buried the next shot at 4:47.
The Warbirds then tied the score at 2-2 at 12:41. Off a faceoff in the Wildcats’ left circle, the puck came out to senior defenseman Lauren Huettl at the near point. Huettl passed it to junior Maike Zipp on the mid-boards. Zipp skated into the circle and ripped a high shot over Strother’s shoulder.
The Warbirds kept up the pressure. But Fritz’s goal stemmed it. Zoe Neudorfer took a faceoff in the left circle in the Warbirds’ end. She drew it back. The puck hit a stick and bounced to Fritz in the high slot. She immediately fired. The puck arced up, then down behind Avalos for the game winner at 14:41. Hannah Gold was awarded an assist on the play.
The Warbirds pulled Avalos at that time, but the Wildcats kept them from scoring with the extra attacker and secured the victory.
Dan Carey, USM’s head coach, commented, “I’m glad we won. It was a good win for our team after three tough losses. I’m happy for the seniors to have a win on their Senior Night.”
The loss dropped the Warbirds’ record to 10-5 and 2-3 in the Eastern Shores Conference. They take on Appleton United in a conference clash at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 20th at the Appleton Family Ice Center.
USM now is 12-5 and 4-0 in the conference. The Wildcats play the Brookfield Glacier in another Eastern Shores Conference game at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, January 19th at the Ponds of Brookfield.
