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Wildcat girls ease past Fondy/Waupun

By Tom Gelifuss, 12/23/12, 2:30PM CST

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USM scores seven in final 34 minutes for win

The University School co-op girls’ ice hockey team defeated the Fond du Lac co-op team 7-1 in an Eastern Shores Conference game at Fond du Lac Saturday afternoon.

The game seemed to be splintered into two parts for USM. The first period was scoreless, and the Wildcats played tentatively. But things changed. In the second period the Wildcats awoke and scored four goals; they continued their dominance of the game by adding three more in the final period to win going away.

USM’s head coach Jason Woods said, “We started out okay. We’d had a long break away from games and it affected us. After the first period we really picked it up and got into scoring goals, playing great defense, and having great goaltending. We controlled the puck and made good outlet passes from our zone. We started the season 0-4, but the girls went to work, and now we have won four in a row, and we’re back at .500. We have the opportunity to get ahead of the game and have a winning record if we keep playing this well.”

The Wildcats broke the scoreless deadlock at 9:19 of the second period. Senior defenseman Laine Tomesch skated out of the USM zone with the puck. Sophomore Rachel Lowe jumped into the play to give the Wildcats a two-on-two going into the Warbirds’ zone. Tomesch sent a pass to Lowe, and like a gravedigger, Lowe buried her shot in the far upper side of the Fond du Lac net behind junior Taryn Immel, Fond du Lac’s starting goalie. Lowe said, “I didn’t have to do much. Laine did all the work. She put the puck right on my stick. I looked and saw the opening and shot it."

The Wildcats added another goal just 30 seconds later. From the Warbirds’ blue line, Tomesch shot the puck. It hit the skate of sophomore Rose Revolinski. Revolinski kicked it to her stick, twirled like a top, and fired it into the upper corner of the net.

USM scored again at 14:37. Senior Abby Leitschuh got the puck in the USM zone and sent a forwarding pass to freshman Caitlin McBride who had raced ahead into center ice. McBride skated in on a one-on-one break. The defenseman tapped the puck away from McBride’s stick. It went to her feet. Like she was reading a page in “Where’s Waldo,” McBride found it, turned and immediately gunned a shot past Immel to give the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.

USM made it 4-0 on a power play goal late in the period. Revolinski passed the puck to Tomesch at the point. Tomesch fired a low wrist shot. The rebound came out to sophomore Nina Andresen who was being checked in front of the net. As she was falling, Andresen slammed the puck into the net at 15:49.

Both teams changed goalies for the start of the third period. USM substituted freshman Annie Ertz for junior starter Jaime Hathaway, and Fond du Lac replaced Immel with junior Jade Van Buren.

The change didn’t faze the Wildcats, and they quickly scored their fifth goal. On the Warbirds’ blue line, senior defenseman Meredith Behm gained control of the puck, skated in, and blasted a low slap shot netward. Revolinski coolly tipped it in at 1:33 of the third period.

Revolinski scored USM’s next goal at 7:50. She gained control of the puck in the low left circle, skated across the slot, forcing the goalie to drop to stop her. Revolinski continued across the slot. Then, like a delivery person coming to the back door, she slotted the puck into the net.

Jenna Hefter scored the Warbirds scored lone goal when she knocked in a loose puck during a scramble in the USM crease.

Tomesch scored again at 14:32 on a fine unassisted play. The defenseman gained control of the puck in the USM zone and skated it out. She wove past one defender in center ice, then she dazed another inside the Fond du Lac blue line and headed for the net all alone. Like she was adding frosting to complete a cake, Tomesch put her shot up top to finish off USM’s scoring.

USM is now 4-4 and 2-1 in the conference. The Wildcats look to continue their winning streak at 12:30 on Thursday, December 27th when they face the Baraboo Thunder in the first round of the Middleton Tournament in Middleton.

WiPH Game Summaries