The 2011 WIAA State Tournament for Girls’ Hockey is the tenth tournament held. The St. Croix Valley Fusion enter the tournament trying to become the first team to not only win three WIAA Girls’ Hockey titles, but the first to win three in a row. The first tournament was held in 2002 and the title was won in overtime by the Hudson Raiders over the Viroqua Blackhawks. Hudson became the first team to win back-to-back state titles the next season by defeating the Fond du Lac/Waupun Warbirds in overtime. The final score in both games was 3-2. No team won back-to-back titles again, until the Fusion completed the task last year. Appleton United won the state title in 2007, their first year as a WIAA girls’ hockey team. The seniors on this team were in eighth grade during that title run.
The United entered the playoffs as the #4 seed in sectional three. They opened the playoffs with a 5-3 victory over the Badger Thunder (Baraboo Co-op) and advanced to the sectional semi-finals. In the sectional semis, #1 seeded Fond du Lac Co-op Warbirds awaited Appleton. The Warbirds were ranked #4 in the state at the end of the regular season. Fond du Lac fell to the United 3-2. The United faced the Bay Area Ice Bears in the sectional final. Appleton denied the Ice Bears a second straight trip to Madison with a 3-1 victory.
The Fusion entered the playoffs as the number 2 team in the state and top seed in Sectional One. The Superior Spartans were the first opponent for St. Croix Valley in the playoffs and fell 6-0. The Fusion had to play the Chippewa Falls/Menomonie Co-op, a team which proved to be an Achilles heel during the regular season having tied and defeating the Fusion, in the sectional semis. The Fusion posted their second straight shutout with a 3-0 victory. In the sectional finals, the #2 seeded Hayward/Spooner Hurricanes would try to derail the Fusion from the third straight trip to Madison. However, the Fusion earned the right to Madison with a 6-2 victory.
The Fusion outscored their opponents 104-34 during the regular season, while the United won the scoring battle 111-78. Appleton was led by junior, Anna Westmark with 48 points (31 goals, 17 assists). Emma Kohl, a freshman, was second on the team with 43 points (28 goals, 15 assists). Two players had 24 points, Carly Miller (a senior) had 11 goals and 13 assists, while sophomore Katie Trucco had 12 goals and 12 assists. St. Croix Valley had four players with 24 or more points, too. Alice Cranston (a senior) had 57 points (41 goals, 16 assists); Hailey Rock (a junior) with 37 points (21 goals, 16 assists); Tara Frey (a senior) 28 points (9 goals, 19 assists) and Nikki Plunkett 24 points (9 goals, 15 assists).
As we look at the goaltenders, Kalli Armagost, a sophomore, had GAA (Goals Allowed Average per Game) of 1.69 this season while stopping 325 of 355 shots for a 0.915 save percentage for the Fusion. Freshman Elisabeth Breaker had a GAA of 3.23 and stopped 436 of 514 shots for a 0.848 save percentage. However, in the playoffs Breaker has a GAA of 2.33. Armagost has a 0.67 GAA in the playoffs with two shutouts.
Coach Dier, has proven in the past and again this season, that his team peaks at playoff time. The United have embraced the roll of the underdog and hope to ride their momentum to the state championship game. While they need to limit Alice Cranston’s scoring opportunities, they realize the rest of the team is just as dangerous and have the ability to pick up the scoring if Alice is shutdown.
On the Fusion’s side, Coach Cranston will not allow the players to look past the United. They realize they have an opportunity to do something special and Appleton is one of the potential roadblocks to their goal. This means concentrating on attacking in the offensive zone and limiting the shots on their goaltender.
This promises to be an exciting game as the records mean nothing at this point and both teams have the same objective: “A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP”.
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