There is a general stereotype that goaltenders can often be peculiar or labeled as head-cases. And then sometimes opposing goalies can get in your team’s collective head. Tuesday night at the Blue Line Family Ice Center in Fond du Lac, freshman goaltender Kennedy Kohlman must have looked like a brick wall to the Fox Cities Stars team. In two previous meetings the Stars had peppered her with seventy-one shots and only found the back of the net once. Brick by brick, save by save Kohlman built that wall again with a thirty-four save masterpiece leading Fond du Lac to a 5-1 semi-final win over Fox Cities.

A steady Stars attack, 11-12-12 shots per period, was met with routine and acrobatic saves as Kohlman turned away everything except a second period powerplay tally by Evie Mursau. With the Stars still grinding to close a 4-1 third period deficit, and on the powerplay, Talia Bellotti sent a backdoor pass to a wide-open Magaret Thomas who hammered a one-timer that Kohlman, fully extended, gloved to deny the best scoring chance of the game. Thomas slammed her stick in frustration, and the Warbirds surrounded Kohlman, their human wall, at the net.

There was still 8:42 to play, but Kohlman sent a clear message that this game was over. When the final horn sounded, the Warbirds had a 5-1 victory and Kohlman an astounding 104 saves in 106 Stars shots over three games. A .981 save percentage will win you a lot of games.

“Kennedy Kohlman had an outstanding performance,” said Warbirds Head Coach Lindsay Lewison. “Her level of consistency as a freshman is truly remarkable, and I have never seen anything quite like it. She is the backbone of this team.”

The Warbirds started the scoring when defenseman Violet Wagner held a puck in at the blue line, then sent the puck to the front of net where a wide-open Calle Rottman gathered the pass, spun, and tucked it past Addison Grasse for a 1-0 lead at 6:03. It was Rottman’s twentieth of the season. Thirty-four seconds later Warbirds leading scorer Alisson Waara got a lead pass from Brooklyn Kohlman stepped around the Stars defenseman wristed a shot past Grasse for a 2-0 advantage. The diminutive Waara is a bulldog when it comes to puck protection and possession.

“We started this game on a stronger note,” said Lewison. “Callie Rottman has proven to be a huge asset in recent matches by scoring our initial goals. This early scoring provides us with the momentum we need.”

Margaret Thomas had a pair of great chances in the period, the first on a rush that got her an open look from between the dots and the second on a 2 on 1 with Clara Voight that Kohlman flew out of her crease to stop. Later in period two, Thomas took a 2 on 1 pass and ripped a top shelf bullet from inside the left dot that Kohlman just got enough of with her glove to deflect over the goal. It was a night of frustration for Thomas and the entire Fox Cities team.

Dana Jacobson, one of nine impressive freshmen for the Warbirds, extended the lead to 3-0 on a rebound goal with 3:55 to play in the opening period. It was a tough start for Fox Cities freshman goalie Addison Grasse who finished the period with three saves.

The Warbirds powerplay struck early in the second on a backdoor open net goal by Jillian Schuster. Kayla Dogs started the play with a shot from the point that Dana Jacobsen redirected to Schuster. Dogs, a mainstay on the Fondy blue line also runs the top of their power play. “We are very fortunate to have very disciplined defensemen like Kayla Dogs,” said Lewison.

Midway through the second, the Stars finally got a puck past Kohlman, and it just may have been a puck she didn’t even see. Kohlman stopped the initial shot by Thomas, but she couldn’t locate the rebound before Evie Mursau quickly put it into an open net for a powerplay goal, cutting the lead to 4-1.

The second period was almost entirely a battle of special teams with nine penalties being whistled and a total of eighteen for the game. The Warbirds penalty kill lived up to its rating shutting down 19 of 20 Stars powerplays during the three games. A blocked shot and scrambling, diving puck clear by Rottman in the first period was indicative of the Fondy effort on the PK.

“Both teams played extremely physical,” noted Lewison. “We faced challenges in maintaining our momentum, as both sides frequently drew penalties.”

Jacobson, who had a strong game for Fond du Lac finished off the scoring with an empty-net goal. Fox Cities had a 5 on 3 advantage with about six minutes to play, but the Warbird penalty killers continued to disrupt the Stars advantage. I thought perhaps Fox Cities might consider pulling their goalie to create a rare 6 on 3, but Hackbarth kept Grasse in the net.

Fox Cities finishes up their season at 15-11. For Head Coach Blake Hackbarth it is his first senior class to graduate after playing entirely for him. “Simply grateful for Talia Bellotti, Ella Merritt, Sara Lusk, Samantha McQuaid, Alexis Process, Lillian McCracken for buying into the new Stars Way,” said an emotional Hackbarth. “I was twenty-three years old with no head coaching experience and they made the job easy and worth it from the start. Through all the dorky sayings, hard practices, great wins they had their teammates back, their programs back and my back. It was an honor to be their hockey coach and I’m going to miss them dearly, but the impact they’ve had on not just me, but their teammates, and community will be felt for a long time. I know they are leaving our program as better humans, scholars, athletes and to me that is what winning truly is at this level.”

It was win number twenty for the Warbirds and with it comes a date with the state’s top team, the 24-1 Bay Area Ice Bears. The two will meet in the section three final Friday at the Champion Center in Appleton.