Disclaimer: All opinions expressed in Lockroom Logic are solely those of Dan Bauer and do not reflect the opinions of Wisconsin Prep Hockey or its partners. Dan presents his opinions based upon his lifetime of teaching and coaching experience and we present them unedited.
The Wisconsin Selects stayed alive in their quest for a National Championship with a 7-4 victory over Little Caesars of Farmington Hills, Michigan. Gabi Heuser and Julia Purintun each scored twice to pace the offense and Greta Woelber turned aside 24 shots in net.
Little Caesars struck first just over three minutes into the game when Carly Maliszewski knocked a loose puck home from a scramble in front of Woelber. Wisconsin tied the game at 11:38 when Zowie Hunter redirected a Rhylee Buesgen shot past Jenna Wilsher. The Selects powerplay would play a big part in the win scoring their first of three goals when Julia Purintun wired a shot from the top of the circles for a 2-1 lead. Caesars tied the game late in the period. Wisconsin held a 21 to 8 shots on goal advantage.
Wisconsin continued to control play in the second period out shooting Little Caesars 16-10 and scoring a pair of goals building a 4-2 lead. Ashley Slupe fired a shot from the blueline through traffic just ninety seconds in to give Wisconsin a lead, 3-2, that they wouldn’t relinquish. Gabi Heuser added an unassisted wrap-around goal at 6:54.
Little Caesar’s goaltender Jenna Wilsher left the game about sevens minutes into third period when she took a hard shot by Savannah Harris off the mask. Kelly Brown replaced her and was quickly greeted by a Gabi Heuser goal off the face-off. Addy Milota pushed the face-off past the center on the draw and fed Heuser stationed on the backdoor. Julia Purintun scored her second powerplay goal, from the same spot as her first and the Selects lead was 6-2. Kennedy Engel cut the lead with powerplay goal for Caesars, but Wisconsin quickly regained the four-goal margin on their third man-advantage goal of the game by Addy Milota. Little Caesars added a late goal for a final score of 7-4.
Wisconsin finished the game with a decisive 44-24 margin in shots. The Selects powerplay went 3 for 8 and was key contributor to the win. Wisconsin will finish pool play against the Adirondack Thunder at 2:30 Friday, at Munn Arena on the campus of Michigan State University.
Dan Bauer is a free-lance writer, retired teacher & hockey coach in Wausau, WI. You can contact him at drbauer13@gmail.com.
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