The St. Croix Valley Fusion girls’ hockey team scored three first period goals and went on to defeat the University School co-op 3-1 in a non-conference game played on Saturday, January 25th at the Wildcat Centre in River Falls.
The Wildcats were on a road trip to play strong teams in the northwestern part of the state. It was the second straight game in which they gave up three goals in the first period, but no more after that. Friday, the Wildcats lost to Hudson, 3-0.
Reflecting on the team’s trip, Dan Carey, the Wildcats' head coach, said, “It was a tough weekend in the win-loss columns, but the girls played some really good hockey. Our compete level was pretty good, and it was fun to play some really high-powered teams to help us get ready for the state tournament playoffs.”
The Fusion clearly dominated the early part of Saturday’s game. They outshot the Wildcats 14-4 in the opening period and 34-17 in the full game, during which the Fusion’s goalie Sydney Seeley made 16 saves and the Wildcats’ goaltender, Sami Stommel, made 31 saves.
The Wildcats stemmed the tide in the final two periods. Although outshot, their determination and stamina turned the game into a competitive contest. They actually outscored their hosts in the final 34 minutes of the encounter.
Still, the first period belonged to the Fusion; throughout it, they showed why they are ranked in the top five in the state.
The Fusion began their scoring early in the first period. Forechecking, Sammie Johnson gained control of the puck on the right half wall. She pushed the puck back to the near point to Jenna Bergmanis, who took a shot on goal. Abbie DeLong popped the rebound into the Wildcats’ net at 6:36.
The St. Croix Valley team made it 2-0 at 10:19. As Jaden Woiwode was skating into the Wildcats’ zone, a backchecker caught her and pressured the puck away from her stick. It dropped back to Tyann Mittl in the high slot. Using Woiwode and the backchecker as a screen of Stommel, Mittl fired a shot that flew past the goalie and into the net.
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The Fusion scored their final goal while on a power play late in the first period. As the Fusion worked the puck around the Wildcats’ zone, Bergmanis got the puck in the right circle. She and Amber DeLong preformed a scissors exchange. DeLong headed into the circle and then passed the puck back to Bergmanis at the center of the blue line. Bergmanis one-timed the on-coming puck into the net at 13:36. The power play goal was only the second that the Wildcats’ penalty killers have conceded all season.
The Wildcats were down, but they refused to give in. They played the Fusion evenly in the second period then scored the only goal of the third period.
They scored it at 9:28. Taking a faceoff in the Fusion’s right circle, Layne Diffley drew the puck to Jordan Bonk on the boards. Bonk passed the puck to Faith Krajna at the center of the blue line. Krajna slapped a low shot toward the net. Rachel Gauthier tipped it past Seeley for the Wildcats’ only goal of their weekend trip.
The win gave St. Croix Valley a 14-5 record. The Fusion are also 3-1 in the Big Rivers Conference. They host North St. Paul/Tartan in a non-conference game at 7:00 p.m. at the Wildcat Centre in River Falls.
USM is now 4-10-4 and 2-1-2 in the Eastern Shores Conference. The Wildcats are not afraid of challenges. They face another against another top-five team, the Fox Cities Stars, who are also the defending state champion. The Eastern Shores Conference game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Friday, January 31st at USM.
