The University School co-op girls’ hockey team and the Bay Area Ice Bears renewed their rivalry in the third-place game of the Eastern Shores Conference Tournament on Saturday, February 3rd at the Ozaukee Ice Center. The Wildcats skated to a 9-3 victory over their conference rivals.
“The girls played probably their best game of the season,” said Dan Carey, USM’s head coach. “We had them down 2-0 in the first period and just kept going. We played three full periods of good hockey. We’d only scored one goal in each of our last three games, so scoring nine today really helped get our scoring going again.”
The Wildcats played good defense, holding the Ice Bears to just 16 shots. Katerina Zrnova scored all three of the Ice Bears goals. Juliana Strother, the Wildcats’ goaltender, turned the other 13 aside.
Meanwhile at the other end of the rink, the Wildcats fired a total of 34 shots at Delany Butterfield, Bay Area’s goalie. All three of the Wildcats’ starting lines produced goals. Gaby Turer scored two goals. Megan McPike, Hannah Gold, Michaela Fritz, Natalie Pogorelc, Lexie Epperson, Claire Ali, and Abby Hentzen each added one to USM’s total.
Although the scoring was tipped toward the Wildcats, the score in the early going was close.
The Wildcats began the scoring early in the first period. Pogorelc stopped an Ice Bears’ clearing pass near the right side of the Ice Bears blue line and knocked the puck to Gold in center ice who then zipped a pass to the left boards. McPike was just coming on the ice. She collected the puck, swept pass a defender, moved in on Butterfield, and buried her shot at 5:20.
The Wildcats made it 2-0 in the last minute of the first period. Turer won a faceoff in the left corner of the Ice Bears’ zone and drew the puck to Libby Hennelly at the center point. Hennelly fired a low shot. It hit the stick of Ali and careened to Turer who smashed it in at 16:25.
The Ice Bears kept the score close by scoring the next goal of the game. While on a power play, Jordy Kadrlik backhanded the puck deep into the USM zone as she skated toward the blue line. Abby Anderson chased it down and swung behind the net. She spotted Zrnova cruising into the slot and passed the puck to her stick. Zrnova fired a shot over Strother’s shoulder at 11:40.
WiPH Game Summaries
WEHL 16U Southwest Skate All The Way To USA Hockey Semi-Finals
- By Coach Hoehn, WEHL 04/16/2024, 5:45pm CDT
WEHL 18U South East Girls at USA Hockey Nationals, March 20-24
- By Bill Berg Jr, WiPH Staff 03/20/2024, 7:45pm CDT
TW, Wisc Selects, and WEHL at Central Districts
- By Bill Berg Jr, WiPH Staff 03/16/2024, 9:45am CDT
19U Girls, 18U Boys Lead Six Team Wisconsin Teams to Central Districts
- By Bill Berg Jr, WiPH Staff 03/11/2024, 11:30am CDT
Tritons Stifle Stars to Go Back-to-Back
- By Bill Berg Jr, WiPH Staff 03/02/2024, 9:00pm CST
Storm Win Battle of Last Two State Champions
- By Bill Berg Jr, WiPH Staff 03/02/2024, 4:30pm CST
Gaertig and Two Minutes of Dominance Lead Springs to Division 2 Championship
- By Bill Berg Jr, WiPH Staff 03/02/2024, 11:45am CST
Tritons Ride Big First Period to Semi-Final Win
- By Bill Berg Jr, WiPH Staff 03/01/2024, 4:30pm CST
Stars Shine With Extra Attacker To Head to D1 Title Game
- By Bill Berg Jr, WiPH Staff 03/01/2024, 12:00pm CST
Ice Bears Get the Chance to Defend Their Title
- By Bill Berg Jr, WiPH Staff 02/29/2024, 10:30pm CST
The Wildcats answered quickly. In the Ice Bears’ zone, Wildcats’ defenseman Jenna Klenz stopped a Bay Area clearing attempt along the left boards. She quickly centered to puck to Turer in the high slot. Turer took a few steps in then winged a shot into the Bay Area net at 13:08.
The Ice Bears responded in less than 30 seconds. Zrnova picked off an errant Wildcat pass near the Wildcats’ blue line and skated in all alone. She deked Strother then lifted a backhander into the net at 13:30.
The score was just 3-2, but the Wildcats were still playing with determination. They increased their lead with another last-minute goal while on a power play late in the second period. As the Wildcats moved the puck around the Bay Area zone, it went to Fritz at the left point. She passed it down the boards to Hannah Neudorfer. Neudorfer passed it to the high slot to Gold who cranked a slapper past Butterfield at 16:31.
The Wildcats scored five more goals in the third period. The first of these came at 3:02. Taking a faceoff in the right circle of the Bay Area end, McPike won the draw and pushed the puck to Neudorfer on the boards. In turn, she passed it to Fritz at the near point. Fritz fired. Fritz scored. The goal was the eventual game winner.
A little over three minutes later, the Wildcats made it 6-2. Klenz started the play by fired a shot from the point. The puck rebounded to Neudorfer who shot a low shot. The puck slithered like a snake along the goal line. Pogorelc knocked it securely across at 6:40.
Zrnova interrupted the Wildcats’ scoring parade at 10:05 when she grabbed a loose puck near the Ice Bears blue line and took off on a two-on-one with Toni Williams. As she moved into the Wildcats’ zone, Zrnova deftly made a stickhandling move that froze the defender. She then skated in and slugged the puck under Strother.
The Wildcats weren’t to be bothered. They scored again soon. Gold got the puck along the left mid-boards in the Ice Bears’ zone, skated into the high slot and passed it to Jorden Bonk who was covering for her at the right point. Bonk took a step in then fired a long shot at the net. The rebound came out to Zoe Neudorfer on the right of the net. She passed it through the crease to Epperson who popped it past Butterfield at 11:49.
In center ice, Maggie Meissner began the play for the Wildcats' eighth goal. Meissner knocked a loose puck down the left boards. Hentzen battled for it and gained control. She centered it to Ali who was skating toward the blue line. Ali raced into the Bay Area end, and from the mid-slot she gunned the puck into the upper corner of the net at 12:55.
The Wildcats finished their scoring onslaught at 15:18 of the final period. Ali got the puck in the left corner of the Bay area zone. She skated out to the near circle then passed the puck to Klenz who was waiting in the high slot like she was at a bus stop. Klenz fired a shot that roared over the goal and off the glass behind the net. It bounced back out front. Hentzen snared it and whipped a low shot into the net.
Bay Area is now 8-11-3. The Ice Bears conclude their regular season at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 10th when they take on the Metro Lynx in an non-conference clash at the Cornerstone Ice Center in Green Bay.
The win improved USM’s record to 15-8. The Wildcats finish their regular season in a non-conference contest against Onalaska at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 9th at the Omni Center in Onalaska.
