Healthy and at full strength, the University School co-op girls hockey team left the doldrums of their season and sailed to a 7-1 victory over the visiting Xavier co-op of the Fox Cities in an Eastern Shores Conference game Saturday night.

"We played the way we'd been playing earlier in the year," said USM's head coach Jason Woods, "especially in the second and third periods."

The Wildcats out shot the Stars 18-3 in the first period but scored only one goal. As the Wildcats cycled the puck in the Fox Cities' zone, Jessica Gold moved it to Sally James, who sent it to Megan Bailey behind the net.  Bailey wheeled out front and shot the puck past the Stars' goalie Allie Gloudemans at 4:11.

The USM scoring machine was humming in the second period when the Wildcats scored four goals.  The first came early in the period.  Liz Curley sent the puck behind the Stars' net.  Forechecking like a lion with hungry cubs, Rose Revolinski chased down the puck and fed it to Abby Berman in the slot.  Berman lined a shot over Gloudemans' blocker at 1:53.

The Wildcats scored their next goal while short-handed. Nina Andersen forechecked intrepidly and forced a Fox Cities defender to make an errant pass.  Bailey caught it near the Fox Cities' blue line, stickhandled past a defender and stuffed the puck under Gloudemans at 9:41.

Just over a minute later USM scored again.  Gold got the puck at the Fox Cities' blue line and fired a hard shot toward the net.  It hit the stick of Rachel Lowe and popped to Ellie Wigdale on the side of the net. Wigdale rammed it in at 10:57.

The Wildcats tallied their fifth goal while on a power play at 14:27. As the Wildcats methodically moved the puck around their opponent’s zone, it went to defenseman Margot Peterson at the point.  Peterson gunned a shot on net.  The rebound came out to Abby Wigdale in the slot and Wigdale immediately blazed a wrist shot into the net.

The scoring spree for USM continued in the third period. Once again Gold got the puck at the near the Fox Cities' blue line on a pass from Meredith Behm.  Once again Gold put a shot on net.  The rebound came out to Laine Tomesch in the slot, and Tomesch made her shot good at 0:35.

Fox Cities scored its only goal at 6:28.  Cycling the puck in the USM end, Caiti Jensen passed it to Rian Lennon in the corner.  Lennon sent it to Nicole Barfknecht in the far corner.  Barfknecht skated out across the goal line with the puck and sent it on net.  Heidi Golembiewski, the goaltender for USM, made the save and steered the puck to a USM defenseman.  Unfortunately, the defenseman couldn't steer the puck clear, and it popped into the USM net.

Although they gripped a 6-1 lead like a grilled cheese sandwich on pumpernickel, the Wildcats weren't feeling satiated. They therefore scored another goal late in the period. From the Fox Cities' blue line, Rebecca Hart sent the puck to Abby Wigdale on the mid-boards.  Wigdale sent a pass to Tomesch in the near circle. Tomesch skated into the slot and fired a high shot, up where you store the holiday decorations, at 15:58.

In the game Gloudemans made 42 saves and Golembiewski made 17 saves.

Fox Cities is now 6-12-1 and 1-9 in the conference.  USM is 12-4-1 and 5-2-1 in the conference.  The Wildcats play another conference game at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday when they travel to the Ponds in Brookfield to clash with the Kettle Moraine co-op.