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Tate, Dwyer lead Warhawks past USM

By Tom Geilfuss, USM assistant , 02/09/20, 5:15PM CST

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Senior netminder earns fifth shutout of the year

Shannon Dwyer scored a breakaway goal to give the Arrowhead co-op girls’ hockey team a 1-0 victory over the University School co-op in the final round of the  Eastern Shores Conference Tournament on Saturday, February 8th at USM.

It was the fourth game between the two teams this season. The Warhawks’ victory gave them a 2-1-1 advantage between the two squads, yet all four games were close and had low scores. The Wildcats scored just five goals in the series, while Arrowhead scored four goals.

The games all featured good goaltending.  Senior Emma Tate earned the shutout in the latest encounter by stopping all 32 shots the Wildcats took on goal. USM sophomore Sami Stommel made 12 saves in the contest.

As the shot totals indicated, the Wildcats took the play to the Arrowhead end, but Tate frustrated them continually.

The Wildcats had the puck in Arrowhead’s end for most of the second period, a period in which they outshot the Warhawks 15-2, but one shot that didn’t get to the net made all the difference.

Dwyer made that big difference at 7:58 of the second period. The sophomore explained what happened, “It started with the defender.  She had the puck and was looking for a shot.  I stepped in front of the shot.  It hit the inside of my wrist.  I took it from her.  I saw I had a defender coming down on my right side, and I also saw I had a forward of my own team coming down on the opposite side of her.  I saw the far side open.  I wasn’t necessarily looking for a goal, more for rebound for my teammate.  But it went in.  It felt amazing because of our rivalry against the USM team.  It felt so good with my teammates all around me and celebrating.”

Despite the goal, the Wildcats continued their scoring efforts for the remainder of the game, but Tate remained as firm as a mountain in front of her net and kept the Wildcats down in a goal-scoring desert.

After the game, USM’s coach, Dan Carey said, “I told the team they played really well. We had the puck in their zone all game.  We outshot them, but it is tough when you just can’t score.  I give Arrowhead and their goalie credit.  She was really good today.”

As a result of the victory, Arrowhead is now 10-11-2.  The Warhawks conclude the regular season with a non-conference game against Northland Pines at 7:10 p.m. on Friday, February 14th at the Mullett Ice Center on the Arrowhead campus in Hartland.

USM is now 5-13-4.  The Wildcats finish their regular season with a weekend trip to western Wisconsin.  They play Onalaska in a non-conference game at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, February 14th at the Omni Center in Onalaska.  On Saturday, February 15th they head to the Mose Lamb Hockey Rink in Tomah to play Black River Falls at noon.

WiPH Game Summaries