On an afternoon in which the penalty boxes were fitted with revolving doors, the Hayward Hurricanes beat the Central Wisconsin Storm 1-0 in their State Semifinal contest on Friday.

Each of these teams is known more for their defense than their offense. They showed it to start this game, not allowing anything to get to either net, and combining for just ten shots on goal in the first period.

Hayward goalie Lauren Tremblay and Storm net-minder Renee Hosler each stopped all five shots they saw.

Early in the second period, Hayward got the puck to the front of the net on a power play and banged it around for several seconds before putting it in the net for an apparent goal. A booth review reversed the call as the puck appeared to have been pushed in by a hand.

Then the parade to the penalty box started. The Storm players were flagged for seven penalties in the second period while the Hurricanes drew two calls. The last Storm penalty carried over into the third period. The Storm set a new State Tournament record with 11 penalties in the game.

Hayward used their power plays to build up a 16-3 shot advantage over the storm in the second period, but still nothing got past Tremblay or Hosler.

The Hurricanes used that extra skater at the start of the third period to score the only goal of the game. Harley Kinney took a shot from the top of the slot that looked to be going wide right. Instead it caromed off a Storm defender’s skate and in behind Hosler.

Both teams stuck to script and played tight defense for the rest of the game. The Storm mounted an attack late, but Tremblay stood tall and denied all advances, finishing the day with a 15 save shutout. Hosler stopped 26 shots on the day.

Hayward advances to play in their second championship game, having won it all two years ago.