Two goals, two final goals. Anna Gontarski scored the tying goal with 21 seconds left in the third period then scored the winner on a breakaway in overtime to give the Lakeshore Lightning a 4-3 win over the University School co-op girls’ hockey team in a non-conference game played Tuesday, January 24th at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee.
Gontarski tied the game at 3-3 when she batted an off –angle rebound past the Wildcats’ goaltender Juliana Strother. The Lightning had pulled their goalie, Jaden Mirek for an extra skater with about a minute left in regulation. They got the puck into the USM end and began firing. Caitlin Kennedy flung a high shot from the right circle toward the net. The puck bounced off the netting on the top of the goal and flew to Gontarski who was unmarked on the left. Gontarski’s goal sent the game into overtime.
In the overtime period, Gontarski intercepted a D to D pass at the Lightning’s blue line and sprinted away. She skated into the USM zone and from the low slot she pushed a low shot inside the post past for upset victory at 4:57.
Until those final minutes the Wildcats seemed to be in control of the game. They outshot the Lightning by nine at 35-26. Mirek kept the Lightning in the game by stopping many close in shots. But the Wildcats scored early and held the lead until the final seconds of the third period.
“It was our game to lose, and we did just that,” said Jacob Haury, USM’s head coach. “We made too many mistakes, many of them mental, and that cost us.”
The two high school teams played in the Panther Arena as guests of the Milwaukee Admirals who played their own game later in the evening. Haury noted, “It was great of Harris Turer (the Admirals’ CEO) to let us and Lakeshore play here. I hope it means other high school teams can play in this arena before other Admirals’ games. It was a great experience for the girls on both teams to come in here and get a chance to play downtown.”
The Wildcats scored two goals in the first period. They scored their first at 15:10 when defenseman Libby Hennelly gained a loose puck along the boards near the center red line and passed it to Gaby Turer skating along the Lakeshore blue line. Turer turned, cut between two defenders, and rushed in all alone toward Mirek. From the slot, Turer launched a rising shot over the goalie’s glove to give the Wildcats the lead.
WiPH Game Summaries
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Seconds later the score was 2-0. The Wildcats sent the puck deep into the Lakeshore end. As the Lightning attempted a breakout, defenseman Hannah Gold interrupted the play at the left side of the blue line. She tossed the puck toward the net. It skipped, and, catching Mirek off-guard, bounced between the goalie’s skates for a goal at 15:59.
The Lightning moved a bit closer at 1:46 of the second period. Off a faceoff in the Wildcats’ left circle, Avery Bolander chipped the puck into the left corner. Darby MacLeish moved in to get it. She centered it out front to Hannah Frontier who was standing there unguarded despite two Wildcats players nearby. Frontier quickly slung the puck past Strother.
The Wildcats increased their lead late in the period while on a power play. Skating into the Lakeshore zone, Megan McPike moved down the left boards to the corner and circled toward the net. Just before she went behind it, she backhanded a pass to Lexie Epperson, who had stealthily moved into the low slot. Epperson immediately fired a wrist shot past Mirek at 13:15.
The Lightning edged closer at 6:57. In the right circle of the USM zone, Hannah Schuette snagged a puck that a Wildcat defenseman couldn’t control. She moved toward the net and fired a high writs shot. Strother tried to glove it, but it fell away and slithered over the goal line.
That set the scene for Gontarski’s final two goals that gave the Ligthning the win.
After the game, Nate George, the Lightning’s head coach, said, “I’m really happy with the win. But I am already worried about next Tuesday when we have to face USM again.”
The Lightning improved their record to 6-11 with the victory. USM is now 10-7-1. The Wildcats will need to correct their mistakes quickly. They play the state’s top-ranked team, the Central Wisconsin Storm, in a non-conference game on Friday, January 27th at USM 7:30 pm.
