A potent offense led by Morgan Kivel’s five goals powered the Wisconsin Selects to a pair of wins over the Minnesota Ice Cougars last weekend in Somerset. The victories, 4-0 and 7-4, kept Wisconsin undefeated for the season with a record of 10-0-1. PaisLee Lystig and Izzy Johnson each contributed a goal and three assists and Sierra Andert earned her second shut-out of the season.

Selects 4   Minnesota Ice Cougars  0

The Ice Cougars have been a difficult match-up for Wisconsin, having won the last five meetings between the two teams. Getting off to a good start would be important and that is exactly what happened for the Selects. Eleanor Adams gathered a rebound and lifted a backhand shot over Ava Cahill’s shoulder, from a tight angle, to put Wisconsin on the board first at 6:23 of period one. It was a smothering period for the Selects’ defense as they allowed only one Minnesota shot on goal, while firing ten on Cahill.

A precision pass by Resse Duncan set up Wisconsin’s second goal. Duncan feathered a pinpoint pass from behind the net, back to the weakside, where PaisLee Lystig deposited an open net goal and Wisconsin led 2-0. It would be Duncan again in the third period igniting the Selects third goal. The senior winger fimmediately sent a pass to a breaking Morgan Kivel in the neutral zone. Kivel froze Cahill with a stickhandling flurry, then slid the puck home on her backhand and it was 3-0. “Reese does a lot of little things throughout the game, she pays attention to the details,” said head coach Dan Bauer. “Scoring the goals always garners attention, but Reese made two really nice plays to make those goals possible.”

Kivel put the final touch on the game with just under two minutes to play on another breakaway. It was Loeffelholz again springing Kivel who finished with a swift wrist shot just under Cahill’s blocker. “Morgan can score, she is proving that,” said Bauer. “She knows how to finish around the net.”

Minnesota nearly ended Andert’s shutout midway through the third period when Piper Wheeler hit the post and Andert came across the crease to stone Tony Alm’s rebound attempt. Andert finished with 15 saves for Wisconsin and Cahill 26 for Minnesota.

Selects  7   Minnesota Ice Cougars  4

It took the Selects just 21 seconds to grab the lead in game two. Izzy Johnson blocked an Ice Cougars point shot and was off to the races with Kivel on a 2-0 breakaway. Johnson finished on her own deking  

Cahill and scoring on her forehand. Wisconsin advanced their lead to 2-0 on nice redirect from the top of the crease by Colby Sprenger. Penny Loeffelholz picked up her third assist of the weekend. “Penny’s game is very consistent,” noted Bauer. “High effort, tenacious, always a threat with the puck on her stick.” Minnesota closed the gap to 2-1 on a goal by CeCe Alm. Andert made an initial save, and stopped a rebound, but Alm stayed with it and finally pushed the puck in.

Kivel banked her third goal of the weekend on a gorgeous backdoor feed from Izzy Johnson to end the period with a 3-1 lead. Shots were 10-6 in favor of Minnesota.

The Ice Cougars pulled back within a goal again just 42 seconds into period two. A neutral zone turnover by Wisconsin sent Minnesota in on a 2 on 1 break. Anna Lane snapped a wrist shot over Andert’s shoulder from the bottom of the circle to cut the Selects lead to 3-2.  

Wisconsin’s Marley Larson answered at 5:03 with her third goal of the season on an assist from Lystig who stepped in front of a breakout pass and fed Larson between the hash marks. Defenseman Annika Olinski showcased her quick release when she rifled a bullet past Cahill from just inside the blueline. Kivel converted an Izzy Johnson pass from the top of the crease and Wisconsin took a 6-2 lead after two frames. It was Johnson’s third assist of the weekend. “Izzy has a great motor,” Bauer said. “She is a disrupter, hard on the forecheck, relentless on the backcheck. That effort and compete is contagious, we have a lot of players that fit that mold, and the team feeds off it.”

The Cougars did not go away quietly, making it 6-3 at 5:30 of the third on a goal by Abby Olson just as a Selects penalty expired. Wisconsin didn’t allow the door to be opened with a Kivel goal, her third breakaway chance, fifty-four seconds later. It was her team leading 9th goal of the season. Minnesota added a late goal as the Selects chalked up their 10th win of the season, 7-4. Bauer likes his team’s unselfish approach. “Morgan had a nice couple of games, but really it has been somebody different each weekend. Our balanced scoring has been a real strength of our team. Nobody needs to feel like they need to carry us.”

“Obviously allowing four goals isn’t ideal,” admitted Bauer. “But what I did like was how we responded each time Minnesota tried to close the gap in this game. Our powerplay needs to be better, it supplied them with more momentum than it did us.”

Wisconsin will get a weekend off coming up before traveling to Brookings, South Dakota on October 18th. They got some encouraging injury news regarding goaltender Makenna Hutchison who is healing faster than expected and may make the trip to Brookings.

Photo Credits: Alicia Larson