JANESVILLE, WI—Perseverance, one of sports greatest lessons.

It has been a season of significant change for the re-branded Janesville program. They traded in their distinctive lime Fury jerseys for a more traditional look, moved to an absolutely beautiful new arena, and got a new head coach in Kurt Buchs. The new in name only, Bluebirds, were a veteran group with 15 juniors and seniors to lead the way. But change is almost always difficult.

“The move to the new arena along with rebranding was kind of an added entity that we dealt with for a bit,” admitted head coach Kurt Buchs. “I think it did take the girls a little time to embrace it all but in the end, it has been a blessing.  We finally have a place to call home and have true home games!”

"We went from having nothing to having everything, we now have our own locker room and rink we can call home. That was a big change, but a change that needed to happen to benefit the team," said senior Ava Kligora.

Then came an unexpected 0-8-1 start to the season.

Thursday night at the brand-new state of the art Woodman’s Sport’s and Convention Center the Bluebirds persevered through nearly all the sixty-four minutes allotted to earn a down-to-the-wire  double overtime victory. Macy Murphy’s second goal of the game and 10th of the season, with a mere 9.4 seconds remaining, lifted the Bluebirds over the Metro Lynx, 3-2. The “Newbirds” have taken flight rattling off a 7-2-1 record since their winless start. 

If you have not been to the Woodman’s facility, it is fantastic addition to the Wisconsin ice arena inventory. It is a beautiful, well-designed facility that will hopefully be home to many future WIAA sectional finals. The Lynx were a part of the Bluebirds slow start to their season owning a 3-2 win over them back in early December. Decked out in their classic Badger red and white jerseys, the Lynx got into penalty trouble with two first period penalties, but escaped without allowing a goal. An individual effort by Maggie Onopa put the Lynx on the board late in the period. Onopa stripped the puck from the Janesville wing along the wall and attacked down the boards, cutting around the defenseman to the net and scoring in tight on goalie Jesse DeMarasse.

The final two minutes of the opening period was frantic. First it was Metro’s Maddie Justman getting a clean shot off from between the hash marks that DeMarasse handled. Janesville’s Anna Cole looked destined for a breakaway as she chased after a loose puck, but Addie Buzzell flew out of her net to poke check it away. DeMarasse made two huge saves on a blast from the left circle and a sliding backdoor save on the rebound to Scout Elmer. The Lynx then came within a split second of taking a 2-0 lead when Justman’s shot ramped off a defenseman’s stick and past DeMarasse and into the net. The officials ruled it came after time had expired.

Kligora, who leads the Bluebirds with ten goals, teamed up with her linemate Macy Murphy to extinguish the Lynx lead and put the Bluebirds on top. At 13:55 Kligora scooted down the right-wing boards, cut to the net and sent a sharp wrist shot past the glove of Buzzell to tie the game. The duo put Janesville up 2-1 when Kligora snatched a loose puck after two Lynx players collided and sprinted into the Metro zone. The senior slipped past the defenseman and fired on Buzzell, who made the initial save, but couldn’t find the loose puck before Murphy did. The two goals came 2:32 apart.

It is no coincidence that the Bluebirds recent success is tied closely to Kligora and Murphy who have combined for 21 goals in their last ten games. Kligora, a senior and a captain posses a threat every time she touches the puck. “Ava is more of a quiet leader in so much as she’s not a rah-rah type, but more of letting her play do the talking,” Buch’s explained. “She is definitely someone we lean on when the games get tight, and we’ve had a number of those this season.”

The Lynx had several grade A chances to tie the game, but couldn’t convert. Maggie Colletti sent Coraline Haley on a breakaway with a long stretch pass and Onopa missed the cookie jar and fired over the crossbar late in the period. Murphy also had a breakaway for the Bluebirds, but the period ended with Janesville still on top 2-1.

The one goal lead held up for the Bluebirds until late in the third. Off a zone entry, Elmer circled out of the corner and found Onopa near the top of the left circle. DeMarasse never saw Onopa’s shot as Caroline Held stood on the top of the crease providing a perfect screen. The puck hit the Bluebird’s defenseman engaged with Held and trickled into the net. Regulation ended tied at 2-2 with the Lynx owning a 37-26 advantage in shots.

The eight-minute overtime didn’t solve the stalemate, but Murphy clanged a potential game winner off the crossbar and Justman’s point blank chance with less than thirty seconds remaining was stopped by DeMarasse. It was on to double overtime 3 on 3.

It appeared that the game would end when Kligora and Sophia Ferrera got loose for a rare 2 – 0 rush. Kligora’s pass wasn’t quite in Ferrera’s wheelhouse, delaying her shot until she was almost past the net. With the game clock about to strike midnight, Micki Andrews, a promising freshman defenseman who played a solid game, fired a puck on net from the blue line that Buzzell directed to the corner. Murphy gathered the loose puck on the wall, spun away from the defenseman and made a bee line to the net lifting the puck past Buzzell to win the game with 9.4 seconds remaining.

Perseverance won again.

Demarasse, who has entrenched herself as the Bluebird's number one goalie was rock solid with 43 saves. Since the new year, she has played every game for the Bluebirds putting up a 2.19 GAA and 91.9 save percentage.

Addy Buzzell finished with 30 saves for the Lynx. Onopa and Elmer were offensive threats for the Lynx throughout the game and defenseman Mary Gaffaney plays with a lot of poise and patrols the Metro defensive zone with authority. Freshmen Maggie Colletti and Cami Nelson made their presence known throughout the night.

Buchs certainly appears to have the Bluebirds headed in the right direction. He recognized the value of having former head coach Luke Steurer and his assistants to stay on staff. “It has been great to have had Luke stay on as a part of the staff, he acknowledged. “He has done a lot of behind the scenes work that has allowed me to focus more on the coaching side of it all this first season.” Having his assistants stay on has benefitted the program as well. Those include Joel Fonseca and Chad Kligora.

For the veterans on the team, the coaching change was indeed challenging. "The hardest change was the coaching," Ava Kligora admitted. "Having coaches that stayed from last year helped the team a lot with the turn around." The perseverance stage has passed and the benefits are evident. "Our new coach has settled in and has helped improve our team," said Kligora. "We have turned the season around and think we can make a good run through playoffs." 

Janesville (7-10-2) is back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Stoughton ( 5-9-4). The Lynx (6-10) also face the Icebergs next, on Thursday.

Three Stars of the Game: 1-Murphy/Kligora, 2-DeMarasse, 3-Onopa

Blue Collar: JB-Ferrera, ML-Gaffaney

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JANESVILLE, WI—Perseverance, one of sports greatest lessons.

It has been a season of significant change for the re-branded Janesville program. They traded in their distinctive lime Fury jerseys for a more traditional look, moved to an absolutely beautiful new arena, and got a new head coach in Kurt Buchs. The new in name only, Bluebirds, were a veteran group with 15 juniors and seniors to lead the way. But change is almost always difficult.

“The move to the new arena along with rebranding was kind of an added entity that we dealt with for a bit.” Admitted head coach Kurt Buchs. “I think it did take the girls a little time to embrace it all but in the end, it has been a blessing.  We finally have a place to call home and have true home games!”

Then came an unexpected 0-8-1 start to the season.

Thursday night at the brand-new state of the art Woodman’s Sport’s and Convention Center the Bluebirds persevered through nearly all the sixty-four minutes allotted to earn a down-to-the-wire  double overtime victory. Macy Murphy’s second goal of the game and 10th of the season, with a mere 9.4 seconds remaining, lifted the Bluebirds over the Metro Lynx, 3-2. The “Newbirds” have taken flight and since their winless start, rattling off a 7-2-1 record.

If you have not been to the Woodman’s facility, it is fantastic addition to the Wisconsin ice arena inventory. It is a beautiful, well-designed facility that will hopefully be home to many future WIAA sectional finals. The Lynx were a part of the Bluebirds slow start owning a 3-2 win over them back in early December. Decked out in their classic Badger red and white jerseys, the Lynx got into penalty trouble with two first period penalties, but escaped without allowing a goal. An individual effort by Maggie Onopa put the Lynx on the board late in the period. Onopa stripped the puck from the Janesville wing along the wall and attacked down the boards, cutting around the defenseman to the net and scoring in tight on goalie Jesse DeMarasse.

The final two minutes of the opening period was frantic. First it was Metro’s Maddie Justman getting a clean shot off from between the hash marks that DeMarasse handled. Janesville’s Anna Cole looked destined for a breakaway as she chased after a loose puck, but Addie Buzzell flew out of her net to poke check it away. DeMarasse made two huge saves on a blast from the left circle and a sliding backdoor save on the rebound to Scout Elmer. The Lynx then came within a split second of taking a 2-0 lead when Justman’s shot ramped off a defenseman’s stick and past DeMarasse and into the net. The officials ruled it came after time had expired.

Kligora, who leads the Bluebirds with ten goals, teamed up with her linemate Macy Murphy to extinguish the Lynx lead and put the Bluebirds on top. At 13:55 Kligora scooted down the right-wing boards, cut to the net and sent a sharp wrist shot past the glove of Buzzell to tie the game. The duo put Janesville up 2-1 when Kligora snatched a loose puck after two Lynx players collided and sprinted into the Metro zone. The senior slipped past the defenseman and fired on Buzzell, who made the initial save, but couldn’t find the loose puck before Murphy did. The two goals came 2:32 apart.

It is no coincidence that the Bluebirds recent success is tied closely to Kligora and Murphy who have combined for 21 goals in their last ten games. Kligora, a senior and a captain posses a threat every time she touches the puck. “Ava is more of a quiet leader in so much as she’s not a rah-rah type, but more of letting her play do the talking,” Buch’s explained. “She is definitely someone we lean on when the games get tight, and we’ve had a number of those this season.”

The Lynx had several grade A chances to tie the game, but couldn’t convert. Maggie Colletti sent Coraline Haley on a breakaway with a long stretch pass and Onopa missed the cookie jar and fired over the crossbar late in the period. Murphy also had a breakaway for the Bluebirds, but the period ended with Janesville still on top 2-1.

The one goal lead held up for the Bluebirds until late in the third. Off a zone entry, Elmer circled out of the corner and found Onopa near the top of the left circle. DeMarasse never saw Onopa’s shot as Caroline Held stood on the top of the crease providing a perfect screen. The puck hit the Bluebird’s defenseman engaged with Held and trickled into the net. Regulation ended tied at 2-2 with the Lynx owning a 37-26 advantage in shots.

The eight-minute overtime didn’t solve the stalemate, but Murphy clanged a potential game winner off the crossbar and Justman’s point blank chance with less than thirty seconds remaining was stopped by DeMarasse. It was on to double overtime 3 on 3.

It appeared that the game would end when Kligora and Sophia Ferrera got loose for a rare 2 – 0 rush. Kligora’s pass wasn’t quite in Ferrera’s wheelhouse, delaying her shot until she was almost past the net. With the game clock about to strike midnight, Micki Andrews, a promising freshman defenseman who played a solid game, fired a puck on net from the blue line that Buzzell directed to the corner. Murphy gathered the loose puck on the wall, spun away from the defenseman and made a bee line to the net lifting the puck past Buzzell to win the game with 9.4 seconds remaining.

Perseverance won again.

Addy Buzzell finished with 30 saves for the Lynx. Onopa and Elmer were offensive threats for the Lynx throughout the game and defenseman Mary Gaffaney plays with a lot of poise and patrols the Metro defensive zone with authority. Freshmen Maggie Colletti and Cami Nelson made their presence known throughout the night.

Buchs certainly appears to have the Bluebirds headed in the right direction. He recognized the value of having former head coach Luke Steurer and his assistants to stay on staff. “It has been great to have had Luke stay on as a part of the staff, he acknowledged. “He has done a lot of behind the scenes work that has allowed me to focus more on the coaching side of it all this first season.” Having his assistants stay on has benefitted the program as well. Those include Joel Fonseca and Chad Kligora.

Janesville (7-10-2) is back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Stoughton ( 5-9-4). The Lynx (6-10) also face the Icebergs next, on Thursday.

Three Stars of the Game: 1-Murphy/Kligora, 2-DeMarasse, 3-Onopa

Blue Collar: JB-Ferrera, ML-Gaffaney