December 23, 2019 at 1:13 p.m.
Vizanko scores four, Edge beats Medford 10-3 for first win
Vizanko scores four, Edge beats Medford 10-3 for first win
Lakeland's Kate Vizanko scored four times, Rhinelander's Madi Losch added a pair of goals and the Northern Edge defeated Medford Friday night 10-3 at the Simek Center in Medford.
Antigo players Emily Kassler and Evie LeVeque also found their way onto the scoresheet for the Edge (1-3-0). Even the lone Tomahawk skater in the co-op, Serena Hanke, found the back of the net.
The Edge outshot Medford 27-3 in the first period, held a 3-1 lead after 17 minutes and never looked back.
"We jumped on it right away. It was 3-1 after the first and shots were pretty lopsided," Edge coach Tom Roeser said. "We put a lot of shots on, especially the first period. I think we almost had 30 shots in the first."
Vizanko had a big night. The top line forward scored with 28 seconds remaining in the first to give the Edge a two-goal lead at the end of the period. She scored twice more in the second, and tacked on another 50 seconds into the third. Vizanko, who also scored in the Edge's 7-1 loss at Northland Pines on Tuesday, finished the week with five goals.
"She just kind of hit the ice and took over tonight. She was a definite leader out there tonight," Roeser said.
Emily Schafer did all the damage for Medford (2-6-0), scoring once in each period for the Raiders, who were outshot 48-17 in the contest.
"A few times we let (Schafer) get loose on us. She does a lot of damage, creates a lot of opportunities for herself," Roeser said.
Kassler started the festivities with a goal from LeVeque 6:14 into the game and Hanke scored her first of the season at the 9:37 mark of the first to give the Edge a 2-0 lead. Schafer scored 17 seconds later for Medford, and nearly had another breakaway chance shortly thereafter, but the Edge settled down and Vizanko made it a two-goal game after the first period.
Losch scored 55 seconds into the second to begin an onslaught of five unanswered goals for the Edge in the period. LeVeque and Vizanko scored 18 seconds apart midway through the period to make it 6-1. Vizanko scored again at the 9:33 mark and Losch added a power play goal at the 10:45 mark.
Schafer scored with two minutes remaining in the second of make it 8-2 after two period.
Vizanko and Wyndi Saari scored in the first 1:25 of the third to give the Edge a 10-2 lead.
Lakeland junior Anna Maulson played the entire game in goal for the Edge, stopping 14 pucks in victory. Maulson and Antigo senior Alicia Turunen continue a timeshare at the goaltender position.
"We did do a better job of taking care of their open people in front of the net but, both Anna and Alicia, we need to take care of those rebounds better and learn to gobble that puck up," Roeser noted.
Despite the lopsided win, Roeser said there is plenty his team can work on as it prepares to host the annual Hodagland tournament this Friday through Sunday in Rhinelander.
"We're still a work in progress," he said. "Especially in the offensive zone, we need to work a lot better at taking care of the puck. We like to throw it blindly in front of the net, and that's typically a turnover. We did that quite a bit tonight. We need to work on our cycling and putting that puck in safe spots."
The Edge will field both a varsity and a varsity reserve team as part of the eight-team tournament this weekend. The varsity squad will face Viroqua Friday night, Marquette, Mich. Saturday and Stoughton on Sunday.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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