It’s time to go to Madison once again.  The Wildcats of the University School co-op girls’ hockey team defeated the Bay Area Ice Bears 3-2 in the Sectional 4 Championship game to head to the state tournament.

The Wildcats won a very close game Saturday at the Appleton Ice Center in Appleton to gain themselves another trip to Madison and a chance to defend their state champion title.  Although the Wildcats have a young team with 14 freshmen and sophomores populating their roster, it was appropriate that the team’s senior captains led the way. Hannah Koniar scored two goals and forward Caitlin McBride scored one for Wildcats. The team’s third captain, junior Nicole Unsworth, assisted on two of the goals.

The Wildcats’ captains have been through it before. It was the third year in a row that the Wildcats have battled the Ice Bears for the Sectional 4 championship.  Bay Area won the Sectional in 2014 and went on to win the state championship.  The Wildcats won the sectional final in 2015 and then won their own state championship.

2016’s game was full of drama.  Koniar opened it by scoring a goal just seconds into the game.  After Bay Area tied the score on a second period goal by junior Morgan Zirbel, McBride’s goal renewed the Wildcats lead.  Freshman Mia Dunning’s scored for the Ice Bears in the final seconds of the second period tying the score once more. Koniar’s second goal of the game broke the 2-2 tie in the third period to give the Wildcats the slim margin of victory.  Goaltending was a key part of the low-scoring affair.  Freshman Marie Detert made 27 saves for the victors.  Sophomore Ana Holzbach turned aside 37 at the other end of the ice.

Smiling after the win, Koniar commented on the hard -fought game, “It was a very intense, high-paced game. We never let down. I was very nervous as a senior going into this game. The thought of having your high school career end is a feeling that no one should have to deal with. Coming out with a win was what we worked so hard for all year. We knew Bay Area would come after us with everything they had, and sure enough they did, but as a resilient team, we roughed it out and won.  My last year as a part of this team will end in Madison. The dream of returning to the Alliant Energy Center is a reality for the third time in my high school career, and I couldn't be happier.  I couldn't be more proud to be a part of this team. We have a group of girls with huge potential, hearts, and talent.”

Koniar scored her first goal at 0:38.  After the game’s opening face off, the Wildcats quickly moved the puck into the Ice Bears’ zone.  McBride battled for it in the left corner forcing the puck to bounce away from an Ice Bear defender.  It deflected off the sideboards to Unsworth.  Unsworth skated back toward the blue line and lined a pass to Koniar at its center.  Koniar stepped in and blasted a shot past Holzbach to give the Wildcats the lead.

The remainder of the first period was hotly contested, but neither of the teams was able to score another goal during it.

Zirbel tied the score on a power play goal at 3:28 of the second period.  The speedy defenseman got the puck deep in the Bay Area end and took off.  She skated down the right boards past several reaching opponents.  Deep in the USM end, she cut toward the net.  As she moved into the crease, she forced the puck past Detert to tie the score at 1-1.

The Wildcats responded with a power play goal of their own.  They systematically moved the puck around the Bay Area zone, seeking opportunity.  Unsworth skated it to the center of the blue line then passed it to sophomore Hannah Gold in the right circle.  Gold gunned it toward the far post.  McBride was there. She steered the puck into the open side of the net at 12:41.  It was McBride’s third backdoor goal in as many games.

Gold admitted she was trying to score herself, “Nicole passed me the puck, and I saw that I had an open lane to shoot. So I took a slap shot on the ice, and Caitlin tipped it in for the second goal.”

Dunning scored with just 14 seconds left in the middle period.  She got a loose puck in center ice and skated across the Wildcats’ blue line into the high slot.  She blazed a slap shot into the net to tie the sore at 2-2.

It was evident to the fans in the stands that the game would remain close and that the third period would be thrilling.  Dunning’s goal made the Ice Bears confident as they headed onto the ice for the third period, but the Wildcats were equally confident.   Both teams were ready to prove their mettle.  Both were eager to go to state.

They fought hard to score throughout the period, but only the Wildcats were able to find the net with a shot.  It came off Koniar’s stick at 5:47.  Taking a face off in the right circle in the Bay Area zone, McBride won it to the boards to freshman Gaby Turer.  Turer passed it out to the near point to Koniar.  Koniar stepped toward the center of the line, giving her teammates time to set up a screen, then she whizzed a shot past Holzbach for the game-winning goal.

But the game went down to the final seconds.  The Wildcats took two penalties in the final two minutes.  The Ice Bears pulled Holzbach and had a 6-on-3 advantage in the final 1:11.  McBride, Koniar and junior defenseman Rachel Hoge did an outstanding job keeping Bay Area from bearing down too hard and scoring on Detert.

After the game, USM’s head coach Jake Haury said, “First off I want to congratulate Bay Area on a great year. It's always bittersweet coaching against a friend, but coach Erikk (Bay Area’s head coach, Brandon Erkkila) did a great job with those fine young ladies this year. Today we gave a championship effort that I have challenged the girls for all year. I am very proud of them for that. I am very honored to be a part of this group and what they have accomplished up to this point. We still have two big games to prepare for and make sure that we accomplish what we set out to do at the beginning of the year.”

The loss ended another fine season for the Ice Bears. Bay Area finished with an 18-8-1 record. USM is now 22-3-2.  The Wildcats play the Central Wisconsin Storm in the semi-finals of the WIAA State Tournament on Friday, March 4th at The Alliant Energy Center in Madison. The game will begin about 1:00 p.m.