Sometimes the game of hockey can be cruel. Sometimes you feel like you have done enough to find victory and yet it escapes your grasp. Fox Cities Stars Head Coach Blake Hackbarth shook his head as he made his way back toward his team’s lockeroom after his Stars suffered a 3-1 loss to the Warbirds. “That’s hockey”, he said with a shrug.

Not twenty-four hours removed from a challenging overtime loss to ECA in the Holiday Classic semi-finals, his team had responded out-shooting the Warbirds 27-7 through the first two periods. They even took an early 1-0 lead, yet in the end found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-1 score at the Cornerstone Community Center in Ashwaubenon.

On the other side the 11-3 Warbirds were still reeling from the eye-opening 7-0 loss to the state’s top ranked Bay Area Ice Bears. On the strength of the poised goaltending of freshman Kennedy Kohlman, who turned away 35 shots, the Warbirds got back on the winning track and captured third place in the WIPH Holiday Classic.

The showdown of Eastern Conference foes just thirty-five miles from each other started off fast. Fox Cities grabbed a 1-0 lead just over four minutes on a delayed goal by Olivia Merritt. The Xavier sophomore escaped the defenseman behind the Warbird net and threw a backhand from just above the goal line that eluded goalie Kennedy Kohlman. The official waived the goal as he moved toward the back of the net, then emphatically pointed to signal that puck had indeed crossed the line. The Stars took a 1-0 lead.

The Warbirds didn’t waste any time, responding thirty-two seconds later with the tying goal. Defenseman Cassidy Murphy knocked down a failed clearing attempt by the Stars at the blue line and quickly fired a shot on net. Brooklyn Kohlman had set a perfect net front screen allowing Murphy’s shot to find its way inside the far post to tie the game. As the period hit the half-way mark, the Stars held a 10-2 shots advantage. Fox Cities slick forward Evelyn Mursau twice stickhandled her way through the Warbirds defense only to be stopped by Kohlman.  The period would end in a 1-1 tie.

Fox Cities continued to get pucks on the Warbirds net and Kohlman continued to deny them. Lyla Cooke lined a shot off Kohlman’s mask from between the dots and Ella Merritt couldn’t get a loose puck past the sprawled goaltender in a late period scramble. Hard-working sophomore Callie Rottman would break the tie on a wrap-around goal from behind the net to send the Warbirds into the third period with a 2-1 lead. Despite their 27-7 shots advantage the Stars were down a goal.

The Warbirds took a 3-1 lead at 12:23 of the third. Stars goaltender Makenna Otto made a pair of saves on forward Olivia Baer, but was helpless as Allison Waara dumped a weakside rebound from the second shot into an open net. Fond du Lac made the most of their 15 shots, but in defense of Otto, she did not have much of a chance on two of the goals. Fox Cities finished with 36 shots. Kohlman, the granddaughter of the late Don Kohlman, made several key saves late in the game with Allison Waara in the box and the Stars on a powerplay.

In one of those special high school moments, Fox Cities Talia Bellotti skated over to check on a fallen Warbird Callie Rottman during the third period. It is the kind of sportsmanship you love to see at any level of sport.

The 5-4 Stars will next play on Saturday, January 4th when they travel to Waunakee to face Cap City. The Warbirds will also hit the road traveling to Stoughton to face the Icebergs on Friday, January 3rd.

Three Stars of the game:

1-WB-Kennedy Kohlman, 2-WB-Rottman, 3-FOX-Mursau

Blue Collar-WB-Baer, FOX-Rhoda