The University School co-op girls’ hockey team scored five goals in the first six minutes of the third period to overcome a 2-1 deficit and defeat the Lakeshore Lightning 6-2 in an Eastern Shores Conference game on Tuesday, January 23rd at the Ozaukee Ice Arena in Cedarburg.
Karly Lamoreaux led the Wildcats’ comeback. She tallied a natural hat trick with three third-period goals in a little over a minute to rally her team to victory.
“It was exciting,” Lamoreaux said, noting her hat trick. “Especially because all three goals were team goals. That feels good when the teammates on our team support each other.”
The final shot totals were Lakeshore 11, USM 51. The Wildcats outshot the Lightning 11-5 in a scoreless first period. They then outshot their hosts 19-5 in the second period, but the Lightning made two count in the period and at its end led by a 2-1 score.
Dan Carey, USM’s head coach, said, “I told the girls between periods that we needed to do all the little things right in the third period. We found a way to get it done and get the win.”
The Lightning took their first lead in the opening seconds of the second period. Off the face off in center ice, Anna Gotarski took a pass from Kiia Paljakka, skated into the Wildcats zone, and buried a shot past the Wildcats’ goaltender, Julia Strother, at 0:14.
The Wildcats tied it on a power play a few minutes later. Battling for the puck behind the Lightning goal, Gaby Turer won it, moved out front, and passed it to defenseman Hannah gold on the far side. Gold gunned a shot at Kami McCardle, the Lightning goalie. The puck rebounded out to Turer in the slot. She fired it into the net at 5:22.
A few minutes later the Lightning went back ahead. They got the puck into the Wildcats’ zone and forechecked. Battling for it in the Wildcats’ right corner, Megan Wachter knocked it to Gotarski who moved it to Paljakka. Paljakka skated toward the net along the goal line then whipped a shot over Strother’s shoulder at 7:42.
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A determined set of Wildcats took the ice in the third period, ready to remedy the score. They tied it just 1:46 into the period. Megan McPike snared a loose puck in center ice and skated it deep into the Lightning’s zone. In the left circle, a defender knocked it away from her. The puck slid to Hannah Neudorfer in the left corner. She passed it back to McPike who skated toward the net and blazed a shot past McCardle, tying the game at 2-2. Libby Hennelly was awarded an assist on the play.
McPike scored what would prove to be the game winner two minutes later. The Wildcats’ confidence was rising, and they were forechecking aggressively. Their forecheck forced Lightning defender to cough up the puck. It slid to the right mid-boards. Like she was adding an item to her grocery cart, McPike gathered it up, and skated toward the low slot. As she crossed through, she lofted a backhand shot into the net at 3:41.
The Wildcats soon went further ahead. Abby Hentzen collected a loose puck near the Lightning blue line, swung wide to race past a defenseman, then cut across the crease. Her shot rebounded to Lamoreaux who clipped it into the net at 4:23.
Lamoreaux scored her second goal while skating on a power play. She started the play by taking a faceoff in the Lightning right circle. She pushed the puck toward the corner. Jordan Bonk sped to it, pulling it away from a defenseman. Bonk circled behind the net. As she came out on the left side, she centered a pass to Lamoreaux in the slot. Mindful of the rhyme, “when it’s on your stick, shoot it quick,” Lamoreaux fired and scored at 5:34.
The goal ended the power play, but Lamoreaux’s line stayed on the ice, and she scored again on the same shift. Off the ensuing faceoff, the puck went to the right boards where Bonk secured it. She passed it to Lamoreaux who was rushing past like a tornado on the prairie. Lamoreaux skated into the Lightning zone, pulling the puck to her forehand to protect it from a defenseman’s stick check. Lamoreaux then zipped a shot past McCardle at 5:49.
The loss dropped the Lightning’s record to 5-14 and 2-7 in the Eastern Shores Conference race. Lakeshore faces the North Edge in a non-conference game at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 27th at the Langlade County Multi-Purpose building in Antigo.
USM is 14-5 and 5-0 in the Eastern Shores Conference. The Wildcats face a tough opponent, Hudson, the state’s second-ranked team, in a non-conference game at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, January 26th at the Hudson Sports and Civic Center in Hudson.
