There were 41 seconds left when freshman Rachel Simonson took the shot.  There were 40.8 left when the puck hit the pipe and caromed into the net to give the Viroqua Blackhawks a stunning 1-0 victory over the University School co-op Wildcats in a girls’ hockey game played on Saturday, December 21 at USM.

Throughout the previous 50 plus minutes, senior goaltender Abigail Severson kept the Blackhawks in contention by stopping all 43 shots the Wildcats fired her way.  Her teammates managed to shoot just 9 other shots at the Wildcats’ sophomore goaltender, Sami Stommel, in the game in which no penalties were called.

The Wildcats had the puck in the Blackhawks’ end for a majority of the game, but they couldn’t get it past Severson.  The scoring frustrations they’ve suffered most of the season continued, intensified by Severson’s stern blockade of the net.

It was Viroqua’s tenth and final shot that made all the difference.  Junior Erin Simonson collected the puck deep in the Blackhawks’ zone, circled behind the net, and skated up the left boards.  Near her team’s blueline, she passed the puck to Rachel Simonson at the far blue line.  Rachel skated into the Wildcats’ zone on a one-on-one.  From the lower left circle, she fired the puck toward the far post.  The shot clanged, then careened behind Stommel, breaking the scoreless tie at 16:20 of the third period.

Knowing the Wildcats had done everything but put the puck in the Blackhawks’ net, USM’s head coach, Dan Carey, shook his head and said, “Obviously, this is a tough loss for us for a number of reasons, but the girls worked hard and played well.  We just need to stay focused every day on getting better and on scoring goals.”

The Blackhawks returned to Viroqua from their trip to Milwaukee with a record of 2-4-1.  They play the Northern Edge at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, December 27, at the Rhinelander Ice Arena in Rhinelander.

USM is now 1-6-2.  After Christmas, the Wildcats travel to Blaine, Minnesota to play in the Herb Brooks Holiday Classic.  They open the tournament at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 30 when they face off against International Falls High School of International Falls, MN, in the Open Division of the tournament on the ice of Super Rink 4 at the National Sports Center in Blaine.