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Storm and Wildcats battle to 3-3 draw

By Tom Geilfuss, USM Asst. Coach, 01/31/16, 10:30AM CST

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Young goalies play well in contest between #1 and #2

In a non-conference battle between the top two teams in Wisconsin, the University School co-op girls’ hockey team fought from behind to tie the Central Wisconsin Storm 3-3 in overtime Saturday afternoon at USM.

Freshman Claire Ali and junior Nicole Unsworth scored third period goals to tie the top-ranked Storm. Unsworth also scored a goal in the second period. The Storm scored all three of their goals in the second period on shots by senior Elizabeth Bauer, and juniors Taylor Treu and Jamie Hendrickson.

As would be expected when the state’s top teams get together, the hockey drama was exciting and the play went back and forth all afternoon. The Storm’s surge in the second period added to the tension for the home crowd, as they witnessed the Wildcats stage their late comeback.

Two young goalies made tough saves to keep the competition close during the game. The Storm’s sophomore goalie, Chloe Westberg, made 22 saves while the Wildcats’ freshman goaltender, Marie Detert, stopped 28 shots by opposing shooters.

The Wildcats out shot the Storm 9-6 in the opening period.  There was plenty of heated competition between the competing teams as well as some good scoring opportunities for each team, but neither the Wildcats nor their visitors were able to score in the frame.

It was Senior Night at USM. After the scoreless first period, the Wildcats and their fans honored the team’s three seniors: Hannah Koniar, Caitlin McBride, and Zoe Oskarsson.

Then the hockey action rose to a fever pitch as four goals were scored in the second period.

The Storm scored first in the period.  In the USM zone, junior Angie Stroik stopped a puck along the right sideboards.  Stroik passed it to the near point to Treu.  Treu fired a low shot through Detert’s five hole at 2:12.

The Wildcats came back to tie the score a few minutes later.  Sophomore Abby Hentzen chipped the puck to the right boards.  Unsworth grabbed it and skated toward the Storm’s net.  On her approach she fired a high shot that darted past Westberg at 6:30.

The Storm went back ahead almost immediately.   On a breakout from the Storm’s zone, junior Katelyn Ramthun sent Bauer off to the races with a pass.  Bauer skated down the right and past a defender as she entered the USM zone.  Bauer continued deep into the zone and let loose an off angle shot that eluded Detert at 7:04.

The Storm went further ahead late in the period when Hendrickson made an end-to- end rush that concluded as she cut in on Detert and clipped the puck past her at 15:17.

Throughout the season the Wildcats have shown themselves to be a resilient crew, and they proved it once again in the third period.

They closed the scoring gap to one early in the period.  Breaking out of the Wildcats zone, McBride knocked the puck to Ali who had swung to the center from her wing position.  Ali skated down the left side, and McBride joined the rush.  Near the Storm’s blue line, Ali passed the puck back to McBride.   McBride went wide, attracting the defenseman.  Ali went to the far post of the net. From the left circle McBride crossed the puck back to Ali who quickly pushed it past Westberg at 1:31.

The teams played furious hockey as the Wildcats worked to tie the score and the Storm tried to maintain their slim lead.  It wasn’t until there was only 1:34 left in regulation time that the Wildcats succeeded in their task.

It was a brilliant play by Unsworth.  She collected a loose puck near the Wildcats’ blue line and headed toward the Storm’s goal with intense determination.  She swept past two opponents.  As a defenseman stepped to stop her, Unsworth slipped the puck between her legs and curled around her. She cut to the left as she neared Westberg then swung in toward the right and jammed the puck at the goalie.  The rebound dropped. Unsworth collected it and stuffed it in as she skated by.

The late goal sent the game into an eight-minute overtime.  Each team had a golden opportunity to win the game, but Westberg and Detert stood stable, strong and solid as each faced the impending doom.

After the game, Jake Haury, USM’s head coach, commented on the game, “The Storm is obviously a really good team; that’s why they’re number one in the state.  I thought we battled evenly with them for four periods.  Going into that third period down by two, we showed our mental fortitude and played a strong team game.  I’m proud of the effort on the ice.  We never gave up out there.  Those kinds of efforts are what championship teams are made of.  We’ll need that kind of effort in the conference tournament this coming weekend.”

USM is 16-3-2 and 6-0-1 in the Eastern Shores Conference. The Storm’s record is now 15-4-1. The Wildcats play the Fox Cities Stars in the opening round of the Eastern Shores Conference Tournament. The game will be played at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 4th at USM.

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