March 26, 2018 at 11:32 a.m.
Team review: RHS/Antigo girls' hockey
Edge improves but faces uncertain future
Team review: RHS/Antigo girls' hockey
The Stars won that playoff game 3-1, thanks to a late empty netter, but it was arguably the most complete game the Northern Edge played in a year marked by flashes of good hockey and times of inconsistency.
"Not a whole lot more you can do than maybe find the net one or two more times," Edge coach Kevin Sandstrom said following the loss. "Everything we talked about needing to do, we did. It just so happens we play a sport where you can do everything you need to do and not come out on top. Up until a few seconds left on the clock, there wasn't a guarantee that Fox Cities was going to walk out of here with a win, so I couldn't be more proud of everything we saw tonight."
Here are five things to know about the Edge, which posted a 7-16-1 record on the season.
Goalie shuffle
The Edge went into the year knowing it would have to replace four-year starter Shea Petersen in net, and thought they had an answer in incoming freshman Nevaeh Forster.
But that plan changed early in the season when the Edge asked one of its top scorers from last year to don the goalie pads.
Alicia Turunen - who scored twice and had an assist in the Edge's first game of the season - auditioned at goalie during a doubleheader against Marquette, Mich. Nov. 25 in Antigo. Ninety-nine saves in two games later, the job was Turunen's for the remainder of the season.
She finished the year with a 6-14-1 record with a 3.45 goals against averaged and a .900 save percentage. That was despite a heavy workload. The 681 shots she faced in the regular season were the third-most in the state among goalies with a save percentage of .900 or greater.
"She played at an outstanding level all season long on numerous occasions. She really gave us the ability to be as competitive as we were," Sandstrom said.
Madi's markers
The Edge knew they would have another offensive weapon this year with the addition of sophomore Madi Losch, who played bantams for the Rhinelander Ice Association as a freshman.
Losch didn't disappoint in the scoring department, leading the Northern Edge with 17 goals scored to go along with six assists. But, as the season went on, Losch played more and more minutes as a defender.
"We realized that she's ten times more valuable stopping the other team from having breakaway chances," Sandstrom said.
Sharing the wealth
Losch was not the Northern Edge's leading scorer, however. That honor went to senior Payton Bunnell who finished the year with 10 goals and a team-high 15 assists.
Another senior, Kourtney Carrico, was tied for third in scoring with three goals and 11 helpers on the year. Sophomore Lauren Kefalinos chipped in seven goals and seven assists.
The Edge had only two players - Bunnell and Losch - average at least a point per game during the season, but they had a propensity to get all of their players involved. All 15 players on the roster had at least one goal or one assist on the season. Fourteen of them got on the scoresheet alone in a 9-0 rout of Medford Jan. 16 in Antigo.
What's next
The Edge is set to graduate six players, which equates to exactly 40 percent of this year's roster.
That includes Bunnell, Carrico and Padgett - who combined for 50 points this season - along with Gracie Lenzner, Ashley Adams and Claire Arbuckle.
While the Hodags will have some pieces back - led by Turunen, Losch and Kefalinos - the team is only slated to pick up one incoming freshman, leaving the roster perilously thin for next year.
"It's hard. Is it possible? Sure. Is it convenient or ideal? Absolutely not. Do you risk not being able to play if one or two players should go down with injury? Yes," Sandstrom said, referring to the looming numbers crunch. "In order to keep the co-op in its current form with Rhinelander and Antigo, we're probably going to need three to five players - and that's the absolute minimum. We want a lot more than that."
Uncertain future
Exactly what form girls' hockey in Rhinelander takes next year is still up in the air. A number of solutions have been discussed, including trying to bring a different school into the co-op, recruiting from within the framework of the current co-op or merging with another team - the Lakeland/Tomahawk co-op being the most discussed possibility.
Sandstrom described the latter as a method of last resort and vowed to try to keep the current Northern Edge co-op intact.
"If the two (teams) become one, that eliminates 20 roster spots. That's the way that I look at it. Across the state you see teams eliminating one team to become a (bigger) unit. Every time a team's eliminated, it eliminates 20 chances for girls to play hockey. My idea would be for us to do what we can to not have that happen," he said.
Rhinelander High School activities director Brain Paulson said he has been in contact with WIAA regarding the co-op's situation.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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