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Neudorfer stars in 2-1 USM win

By Tom Geilfuss, USM assistant , 02/16/20, 2:15PM CST

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Junior forward scores twice for Wildcats

Zoe Neudorfer scored two goals to lead the University School co-op girls’ hockey team to a 2-1 victory over the Black River Falls co-op in a non-conference game on Saturday, February 15th at the Mose Lamb Hockey Rink in Tomah.

The Wildcats won both games on their weekend trip to western Wisconsin and thereby finished their regular season on a high note.

Saturday afternoon’s game was low-scoring thanks to the goaltending efforts of Black River Falls’ Josie Mathison and USM’s Sami Stommel.  Mathison stopped 25 of the Wildcats’ shots, while Stommel made 16 saves.

Neudorfer made the difference.  She commented on her two goals, “My first goal was a power play goal. To be honest, I’m not quite sure how it was set up. I was on the right side of the net and shot and it went in. My second goal happened within 10-15 seconds of being on the ice. The other team’s defense lost the puck right around the face off dot. I picked it up and shot high left side. It was a really good feeling to score both, and I think it’s really important for the team that we won today. We’ve been getting better the whole season, and we’re making really good team efforts.”

Neudorfer’s first goal came in the first period.  It was set up when Maggie Meissner took a shot from the point that Mathison stopped.  Eileen Carey grabbed the rebound at the side of the net and swung behind it.  As she came out, she passed the puck toward the crease.  A defender smacked the puck to the side; it went right to Neudorfer’s stick.  Neudorfer swiftly whipped a wrist shot past Mathison at 12:47.

She scored the game winner at 3:27 of the second period.  Molly Guenther broke up a breakout attempt by the Tigers along the left boards.  A defender pulled the puck from the scrum and headed to near circle.  The puck slipped from her stick.  Neudorfer snared it, stickhandled past the other defenseman then gunned a shot over Mathison’s glove-side shoulder.

The Tigers edged closer with a goal midway through the third period.  Samantha Hansen knocked the puck away from a defenseman’s stick along the right mid-boards in the Wildcats’ zone.  The puck slid into the near circle.  Hannah Lane skated in, got the puck, and immediately fired a shot into the net at 6:24.

WiPH Game Summaries

The Wildcats’ head coach, Dan Carey had warned the Wildcats that they had lost third period leads earlier, including one the night before.  The Wildcats heeded his point.  They played tough defense in front of Stommel, clearing the puck quickly.  They moved the play into the Tigers’ zone and forechecked fiercely.

In the final minute, Black River Falls pulled Mathison, but during the concluding seconds the Wildcats allowed the Tigers to take only one shot, and it was from outside the blue line.  The Wildcats held firm and brought a victory with them on the bus back to Milwaukee.

After the game, Meissner, who is one of the Wildcats’ captains, commented on the win, “Today we worked hard to secure and protect our lead and ended with a win. It was a good end to the regular season. This year we had some ups and downs throughout the season, but we always stayed strong as a team, which was super important. We have really come together at the end of the season and are ready to compete hard in the playoffs.”

Black River Falls is now 10-13-1.  The Tigers begin the playoffs against the Viroqua Blackhawks in a Sectional 3 quarter-final game of the WIAA girls ice hockey tournament at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 20th at the Milt Lunda Memorial Arena in Black River Falls.

USM is 7-13-4. The Wildcats begin the playoffs against the Lakeshore Lightning in a Sectional 4 quarter-final game of the WIAA girls ice hockey tournament at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 21st at USM.