December 29, 2017 at 12:19 p.m.
Many happy returns
Losch rallies rejuvenated Edge to 2-1 win in Hodagland Tourney opener
Many happy returns
With the Northern Edge back at full strength Thursday, Losch got back to what she does best, score. She did it twice, including the game-winner on a power play with 2:35 remaining, as the Edge skated past the Stoughton co-op Icebergs 2-1 at the Rhinelander Ice Arena in the opening round of the Hodagland Hockey Tournament.
It was an end-to-end play for Losch, who got a clearing pass from goalie Alicia Turunen, skated the length of the ice and beat Icebergs netminder McKenzie Nisius top shelf for the game winner. Turunen received credit for the assist.
"She knew she could take that puck and have her chances," Northern Edge coach Kevin Sandstrom said of Losch's winner.
The loss snapped a three-game losing streak for the Edge in which it played without several key players, virtually all of whom were back in the lineup Thursday.
"To start off your home tournament with a win, knowing we have two big contests starting tomorrow and Saturday, that's a huge way to start. Hopefully that carries some momentum into an early start tomorrow," Sandstrom said.
Gracie Lenzner returned from a concussion and was moved to defense, where she was paired with Losch. Meanwhile, the return of Kourtney Carrico (wrist) and Nevaeh Forster (concussion), allowed the team to roll Ellen Padgett and Jade Forster as its second defense tandem.
The depth was evident late, as the Edge had enough stamina to get the win.
"The fact that we were able to roll four in two pairs and save their legs, that unit across the board had an outstanding night," Sandstrom said of his defenders.
Stoughton took the lead midway through the second period on a short-handed goal by Hannah Weber, who capitalized on a turnover by Padgett in the defensive zone.
"The puck bounced a little weird off Ellen's stick. She's trying to make a play with it, it bounced a little weird into a very fortunate Stoughton player, who made a nice shot to beat Turunen," Sandstrom said.
Losch, who now leads the Edge with eight goals on the season, tied the game with 2:02 remaining in the second on a play similar to her game-winner.
She caught a pass near the blue line by Carrico and skated in for a top-shelf goal.
"Both time she took it all the way to the hash marks, not getting to the red line and sending it in, not getting to the blue line and taking a shot, she took it all the way as far as she could up until the last second and finally ripping a shot," Sandstrom said. "Both awesome, quality shots."
Just as impressive, according to Sandstrom, was how the team responded to falling behind midway through the contest.
"That's a goal that over the last couple of games has definitely deflated and completely defeated us," Sandstrom said. "This time we bounced back, tied it up and carried it right into the third, where I thought we were a much better team than we were in the second."
The Edge slightly outshot the Icebergs 22-21. It marked only the second time this season the Edge outshot an opponent. The other came in a Dec. 12 win at Medford, which preceded the three-game losing streak that ended Thursday night.
Carrico was a spectator for all of those contests, after injuring her wrist in a 2-2 tie Dec. 4 at Northland Pines.
The Edge's leading scorer from last season, still playing with a cast on her injured hand, managed an assist in her first game back.
"It's nice to see her get rewarded immediately upon returning," Sandstrom said. "She came in and made an instant impact. She was thrilled getting back on the ice, just holding a stick. She still has the cast on, it's just now formatted to hold a stick. This is a girl that wants to play so bad that she's willing to play with a cast on her wrist, and she looked good tonight. I think she showed a little bit of rust. Hopefully she shook it all off and she's ready to look just as good come tomorrow."
The Edge played Viroqua yesterday in a game that concluded after deadline. Rhinelander/Antigo will face Medford today at 11 a.m. to conclude the tournament.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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