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Wildcats Out Battle Cougars

By Del Scanlon, WiPH, 12/03/21, 11:45PM CST

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Balanced Attack Leads to Close Game

The games between USM and Cap City seem to be games that come down to the wire more often than not. The game on Friday was no exception. The two teams took to the ice at 'The Ice Pond at Waunakee' on Youth Hockey Night and gave the crowd an exciting game.

The Cougars took the early lead at 6:42 of the first period. Imagine you are looking into Cap City's offensive zone from the center face-off circle. Aubrey Duprey makes the pass to the left side of the rink to teammate Rachel Robbins at the top of the face-off circle. Robbins immediately passes the puck to the high slot position filled by Meg Cumming who fires the puck in for the first goal of the game.

The following face-off found the Wildcats moving the puck out of their defensive zone after the Cougars dumped it. Kaitlyn Nelson forced a turnover and took the puck in for the unassisted goal at 6:52 to give Cap City a 2-0 lead. The action continued as both teams moved the puck. Late in the first period, the Wildcats' India Vielehr passed the puck up to Eleanor Lagenfeld. Lagenfeld went behind the Cap City net and made a centering pass to Helen Bechthold in the low-slot. Bechthold took the shot and it slid pass Izzy Hahn for the goal with 1:58 remaining in the period. The Cougars led 2-1 at the end of one.

The second period was a repeat of the first as both teams fought to gain an advantage. Advantage was the key word of the period as in USM taking advantage of a power play opportunity. The Wildcats were applying pressure in front of the Cougar's net. Cap City was trying to clear it out, but Lily Valimont ended up putting the puck in the net with Molly Guenther and Charlotte Fetherston assisting on the goal at 9:39 of the second. The period ended with the game tied at 2.

The third period found USM taking the lead at 3:21, when Molly Guenther came out of a scrum in the corner to the right of Izzy Hahn. She skated towards the low slot and took her shot that found it's way into the goal giving USM a 3-2 lead. The Cougars thought they tied the game with 9:41 remaining in the third, when the puck slowly slid past Samantha Stommel into the net. However, the referee immediately waved his arms signaling no goal and indicated Stommel had the puck covered. To the credit of the players and coaches, both teams went back to playing hockey with no discussion about the call. The game ended with the Wildcats claiming a 3-2 victory.

Samantha Stommel finished the game with 23 saves, while Izzy Hahn had 32 saves.

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