December 5, 2018 at 12:51 p.m.
Edge can't overcome slow start in loss at Pines
Edge can't overcome slow start in loss at Pines
The Eagles scored three times in the first 7 minutes, 31 seconds of the contest - and four times in the first period - as they defeated the Northern Edge 6-1 at the Eagle River Sports Arena.
Northland Pines (1-4-0, 1-0-0-0 Great Northern) peppered the Edge with 46 shots and freshman Grace Wittkopf scored once in each period to record a hat trick.
Wittkopf scored what proved to be the game-winner 4:48 into the opening period to begin a run of three unanswered goals for the Eagles, who took a 4-1 lead after one period of hockey.
"We didn't know what to expect and found out the hard way that they've got some speed and some skilled players," Northern Edge coach Tom Roeser said. "Our defensive zone coverage was terrible. We screened our goalie a lot. But, as the game went on, that actually got better and I was pleased with that."
Alicia Turunen stopped 27 of the 29 shots she faced over the final two periods for the Edge (1-1-0, 1-1-0-0 Great Northern), and 40 shots overall.
Roeser said the defense improved as the game progressed, but Wittkopf was able to poke in point-blank chances late in the second period and just 14 seconds into the third to account for the final margin.
"The third period, I was happy with some of our defensive zone coverage, especially up high in the zone," Roeser said. "We blocked a few shots, which is what we've been aiming for. We've been working on that in practice. We struggled when the puck got a little lower. We let people walk to the net like (Wittkopf). She's a big, strong girl and we can't let her walk to the net."
The teams exchanged goals in the first 3:33 of the contest on an unusual special teams shift. Cameron Ramesh scored short-handed for Pines, finishing off a 2-on-1 chance with the Northern Edge on the power play, but the Edge tied it with one second remaining in the skater advantage when Madi Losch threw a puck on net from near the red line that Northland Pines goalie Ashlynn Boxrucker bobbled into the goal.
"We decided we were going to put pucks on net when we could and that's what we did," Roeser said. "I didn't even see it. I thought it was going to be a whistle. I started talking to someone (on the bench), so I'm not even totally sure what happened there."
That was the only blemish for Boxrucker, who made 11 saves in victory for Northland Pines. Hannah Kramsvogel and Kia Dalka added goals in the first period for the Eagles.
Overall, Roeser said he felt his team improved from a season-opening 4-3 win over Medford back on Nov. 19, but there's still plenty of room for improvement.
"Our power play still needs some work. We need to learn to take control of the zone under control and not slap the puck around, which we did most of the night," he said. "Toward the end of the game we had a couple of chances where we generated shots because we didn't toss the puck around too much."
The Edge hits the road Friday night for a non-conference contest at Viroqua.
"We're going to give the girls a couple of days to rest and get home at a decent hour," Roeser said. "We'll practice Thursday. We've got plenty to go over Thursday, get the pucks back on our stick and work on puck control. Our puck protection really needs work that's what we're going to work on. Then we've got a long trip to Viroqua."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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